AS the months start to roll by in 2022, it means there are more and more TV shows to look forward to.
But not sure where to start? Read on for The Celeb Report TV Mag’s top picks.
What’s New
Outlander – Starzplay
A heady mix of time travel, windswept romance and brutal violence, historical drama Outlander has kept fans gripped for five action-packed series.
Now, after a two-year wait, it’s back for a sixth season, promising more epic and highly charged adventures, with Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and her hubby Jamie (Sam Heughan) still fighting to defend their hard-won home at Fraser’s Ridge and to keep the peace with the American Revolutionary War lurking just around the corner.
Some new arrivals – an old adversary of Jamie’s called Tom Christie (Mark Lewis Jones), his son Allan (Alexander Vlahos) and daughter Malva (Jessica Reynolds) – look set to cause Claire and Jamie all manner of strife. Meanwhile, their daughter Brianna (Sophie Skelton) is dealing with the revelation that she has a half-brother, Jamie’s son William.
As ever, it’s torrid and terrific, filled with enjoyably committed performances and an impressive attention to period detail.
Available Sunday
Shining Vale – Starzplay
Courteney Cox, Greg Kinnear and Mira Sorvino look like they’re having a total blast in this enjoyably camp eight-part comedy horror series that’s co-written by Sharon Horgan.
When New Yorkers Pat (Cox) and Terry (Kinnear) decide to give their troubled marriage one last shot by moving with their teenage kids to a creepy Victorian mansion in the backwater Connecticut town of Shining Vale, Pat clocks that they’ll be sharing the house with an uninvited guest – Rosemary (Sorvino), the ghost of a murderous 1950s housewife.
But is the whole thing in her head? Think Schitt’s Creek meets The Haunting Of Hill House and you’ll have a good idea of what to expect.
Available Sunday
How I Met Your Father – Disney+
Any classic Nineties and Noughties sitcom worth its salt seems to be getting a 21st-century reboot these days – hello Bel-Air and The Wonder Years. Now it’s the turn of How I Met Your Mother, which is being reborn as the imaginatively titled How I Met Your Father.
In this new incarnation, which is officially a sequel, Hilary Duff plays Sophie, an unlucky-in-love photographer, desperately looking for the man of her dreams. It also features Kim Cattrall – much missed from And Just Like That… – as the future fiftysomething Sophie, who narrates the events that lead to her finally finding happiness.
While not a patch on the original series – the new cast don’t have the same charisma generated by Neil Patrick Harris, Cobie Smulders, Jason Segel, Josh Radnor and co – there’s still plenty of fun to be had. Oh, and any show featuring Miss Cattrall is always worth a watch.
Available Wednesday
The Last Days Of Ptolemy Grey – Apple TV+
When his beloved nephew Reggie is murdered, 93-year-old Ptolemy Grey (Samuel L Jackson) vows to find his killer. But, with his mind clouded by the dense fog of dementia, confused Ptolemy will need the help of his initially reluctant young carer Robyn (Dominique Fishback) and a pioneering medical treatment that helps him temporarily remember his past.
Featuring an astonishing and beautifully pitched performance from Samuel, this gripping six-part thriller is moving, unique and quite brilliant.
Available Friday
Secrets Of The Spies – BritBox
From James Bond and Jason Bourne, to real-life agents like Kim Philby and Anthony Blunt, our fascination with spies goes on and on. This engrossing new three-part series lifts the lid on the shadowy world of espionage, telling the true stories of some of the most famous spies of them all, and some of the most notorious covert operations.
Featuring the testimony of ex-MI6 officers, historians and insiders, including former head of GCHQ David Omond, plus plenty of archive footage and dramatic reconstructions, it will leave you stirred, if not shaken.
Available Thursday
TOP 5
Joe vs Carole – Peacock
Anyone questioning the need for a drama about Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin when Tiger King exists should definitely give this ace new series a chance. Sure, it covers familiar territory but enough background is coloured in – vividly – to make it all worthwhile.
One Of Us Is Lying – Netflix
When five American high-school students are put in detention and one of them suddenly dies in suspicious circumstances, a murder investigation is quickly underway. Could one of the others be responsible? A moreish eight-part mystery.
Kin – Sundance Now
A Dublin family seek revenge on an international cartel after one of their clan is killed. A violent eight-part thriller, which features the likes of Ciaran Hinds, Clare Dunne, Charlie Cox and Aidan Gillen in its impressive cast.
Pieces Of Her – Netflix
Toni Collette and Bella Heathcote star in this high-octane eight-part series about a young woman, Andy (Heathcote), who discovers that her mum Laura (Collette) has a secret and deadly past. Based on the novel by Karin Slaughter.
Worst Roommate Ever – Netflix
This five-part documentary series, which recounts harrowing and horrific true stories of seemingly harmless housemates who turned out to be waking nightmares, will make sobering viewing for anyone who shares their home. Chilling.
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