Television doesn’t sleep. The sheer amount of content—over 450 scripted programs aired in the year 2017!—can prove overwhelming for even the most dedicated TV buffs. Television Academy voters make Emmy selections in August, and SAG-AFTRA members vote on SAG Awards in January, but their job requires tuning in all year long. Backstage is breaking down, month by month, the buzzy shows and performances that merit awards attention in the ever-growing landscape of the small screen. Mark your calendar and become a couch potato along with us!
December is bringing plenty of television to keep you busy as you enjoy being cozy at home in cold weather. In what was once a traditionally slow month without broadcast TV’s winter hiatuses, streaming networks offer countless returning favorites and new series to binge over the holiday breaks.
Fans and critics alike will be excited to see Amazon’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” return for its third season, and the reboot sequel of another groundbreaking series, “The L Word: Generation Q,” on Showtime. Anthology series fans will be happy this month, with two series of Hulu’s “Into the Dark” launching, and the second season of “Tell Me A Story” debuting on CBS All Access. Idris Elba launches his “In the Long Run,” which he created and stars in on Starz, while the newest streaming service, Apple TV +, welcomes in only its second month the drama “Truth Be Told,” starring Octavia Spenser as a podcast host investigating a murder and possible miscarriage of justice. Put all the December premieres and performances below on your radar!
Amazon Prime Video
The streaming network, known for collecting critical praise and awards, returns with the third season of Amy Sherman-Palladino’s fan favorite “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” on the 6th. The show and its stars Rachel Brosnahan, Tony Shalhoub, Alex Borstein, and move have received both Emmys, Golden Globes, and SAG Awards—and could continue to do so. Dec. 13 brings the science-fiction drama “The Expanse,” based on the novel series of the same name, launching its fourth season.
READ: How to Get Cast on ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’
Apple TV+
The new but formidable streaming service offers its newest drama “Truth Be Told.” Based on lawyer-turned-writer Kathleen Barber’s novel “Are You Sleeping,” this 10 episode thriller stars Oscar winner Octavia Spenser as the host of a true crime podcast. It offers plenty of twists and turns, and an all-star cast including Lizzy Caplan playing a set of twins, Aaron Paul, Elizabeth Perkins, Mekhi Phifer, Annabella Sciorra, and Ron Cephas Jones.
CBS All Access
The streaming wing of broadcast network CBS launches Season 2 of “Tell Me A Story” on the 5th. The show features an anthology format as it takes classic fairy tales and reimagines them as darker psychological thrillers. This season’s cast features Carrie-Anne Moss, Paul Wesley, Odette Annable, and Matt Lauria, as the series delves into such classic princess stories as “Cinderella,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “Sleeping Beauty.”
FOX
Just in time for the holidays, Denis Leary and Elizabeth Perkins star in “The Moodys,” a miniseries adapted from a hit Australian comedy about a dysfunctional Chicago family as they gather for the holidays. The cast also features Jay Baruchel, Francois Arnaud, and Chelsea Frei. If successful, Fox hopes to turn the Christmas-themed show, which premieres on the 4th, into a holiday anthology format.
Hulu
Come Dec. 6, Hulu debuts its newest in the popular anthology horror series “Into the Dark,” with “Into the Dark: A Nasty Piece of Work.” That same day, new series “Reprisal” premieres, a noir thriller starring Abigail Spencer as a woman looking for revenge against those who left her for dead. The third and final season of Marvel’s superhero series “Runaways” premieres on the 13th, and on Christmas Eve, another edition of “Into the Dark” debuts; this one entitled “Into the Dark: Midnight Kiss.”
History
The sixth and final season of historical drama “Vikings,” starring Gustaf Skarsgård and Katheryn Winnick, premieres on the History Channel Dec. 4.
IFC
Critically acclaimed British comedy series “Toast of London” makes its stateside debut on the 4th. Starring Matt Berry as an eccentric actor, the show’s first season will be broadcast by IFC throughout December and will launch Seasons 2 and 3 in the new year.
Netflix
Kicking off the month on the 5th, Netflix will premiere “The V Wars,” starring Ian Somerhalder, Adrian Holmes, Peter Outerbridge, Kyle Harrison Breitkopf, Jacky Lai, and Kimberly-Sue Murray; the horror-drama is centered around Jonathan Maberry’s vampire comics of the same name. On the next day, Spanish series “Three Days of Christmas” will launch; and on the 18th, musical drama “Soundtrack” will be added. The show features an ensemble cast including Callie Hernandez, Jahmil French, Jenna Dewan, Campbell Scott, Madeleine Stowe, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Megan Ferguson, Evan Whitten, and Paul James, who are connected through the music the show features.
On the 20th, fantasy series “The Witcher” debuts, based on the book series by Andrzej Sapkowski, which was also adapted into a popular video game. Henry Cavill stars as the main character, monster hunter Geralt of Rivia, and the series has already been greenlit for a Season 2. The second outing of sci-fi drama “Lost in Space” premieres on the 24th; and on the 26th, the hit “You,” formerly from Lifetime and starring Penn Badgley, begins its second season featuring new additions to the cast, including Victoria Pedretti and Charlie Barnett.
Showtime
The sequel to the groundbreaking 2004–09 “The L Word” series, “The L Word: Generation Q,” premieres on the 8th. Original cast members Jennifer Beals, Katherine Moennig, and Leisha Hailey reprise their roles, and will be accompanied by Arienne Mandi, Leo Sheng, and Rosanny Zayas, playing new characters. That same night, Showtime launches its newest comedy, “Work in Progress,” centered around comedian Abby McEnany, who also wrote the series with Tim Mason and Lilly Wachowski. The show made a splash at its Sundance Film Festival debut earlier this year, making it one to watch.
READ: The 50 TV Comedy Actors Who Deserve Your SAG Vote in 2019
Starz
Golden Globe Award winner Idris Elba stars on “In the Long Run,” which debuts on the premium channel on the 6th. The show is a personal project for Elba, who also created the series and based it on his own childhood, telling the story of an immigrant family as they make their life on a council estate in the U.K.
Sundance Now
The New Zealand thriller “The Gulf” makes its stateside debut Dec. 4. And on the 18th, Norwegian thriller “Wisting” premieres, starring Carrie-Anne Moss as a former FBI agent teamed with Sven Nordin’s titular character, William Wisting, to catch a serial killer.
USA
The cable network launches its newest on the 19th: “Dare Me,” a drama series starring Willa Fitzgerald and Herizen Guardiola based on Magan Abbott’s book of the same name about high school cheerleading.
Check out Backstage’s TV audition listings!