David Farnor | On 02, Jan 2019

Netflix. Amazon Prime Video. BBC iPlayer. NOW. Walter Presents. There’s so much TV to watch these days in so many places that it can be hard to keep up. Every month, we boil down what’s on the box to the essentials you need in your streaming queue.

The New Year is finally upon us and it’s ringing in a whole new wave of box sets to binge – because what better way to clear away the Christmas cobwebs than a four-part dose of Luther, or a new run of True Detective?

Viewing schedule too packed? We’ve sorted through All The TV to bring you your January watchlist – what’s worth watching, why and where you can find it online in the UK.

Danny Dyer’s Right Royal Family

“I don’t think I’ve ever been in a building that’s more god-like where you think you could see God plotting up in here…”

After Danny Dyer gave us one of the best TV moments of 2017 when he find out that he was descended from King Edward III, the Beeb is doubling down on that Dyer family tree magic with a documentary exploring his heritage in more detail .

Episode 1 sees him acting like his 35x great grandfather, the viking Rollo, before following in the footsteps of his ancestor William the Conqueror – and did we mention his 26 x great grandfather King Louis IX, aka. Saint Louis? With two hours of this spread over two weeks, expect something proper brilliant.

Tin Star: Season 2

Tim Roth returns in a second season of Sky’s hit drama about a man facing his demons in a remote community. We pick up with the Worth family where we left them in Season 1. As what he lives for threatens to fade away, Jack fights back. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Bradshaw (Christina Hendricks) attempts to forget her traumatic ordeal, and the depths she had to sink to get out of it, but any relief is cut short… All episodes will be available on Sky Box Sets following Season 2’s premiere.

Luther: Season 5

Idris Elba’s detective returns to the streets of London as a new string of nightmarish murders unearth the darker depths of human depravity. First airing on New Year’s Day, the remaining three episodes are stripped nightly across Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 9pm.

Doctor Who: Resolution

“This is the DNA of the most dangerous creature in the universe…” That’s the sound of Doctor Who returning for a New Year’s Day special, as Jodie Whittaker’s Time Lord takes on what looks to be her biggest enemy yet.

Written by Chris Chibnall and directed by Wayne Yip, the episode will see Tosin Cole’s Ryan, Bradley Walsh’s Graham and Mandip Gill’s Yaz join the Doctor for a one-off outing, following Season 11’s finale. As the New Year begins, a terrifying evil is stirring from across the centuries of Earth’s history. With the Doctor, Ryan, Graham and Yaz returning home, will they be able to overcome the threat to planet Earth?

A Series of Unfortunate Events: Season 3

In the series’ third and final act, the Baudelaires will stop at nothing to solve the mysteries of the VFD and end Count Olaf’s relentless pursuit for good.

Comedians of the World: Season 1

This global series showcases 47 comedians from 13 regions in 8 languages in an unprecedented stand-up comedy experience. The groundbreaking collection will feature a range of stand-up specials from comedians diverse in style, gender and ethnicity.

Escape at Dannemora

Showtime’s star-studded drama is based on the stranger-than-fiction account of a prison break in upstate New York in the summer of 2015 that spawned a massive manhunt for two convicted murderers. Starring Oscar-winners Benicio del Toro (Traffic) and Patricia Arquette (Boyhood), alongside Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood) and Bonnie Hunt (Life with Bonnie), all episodes will be available on-demand alongside the premiere’s broadcast.

Who Wants To Be a Millionaire

A brand new series of the quiz show that sees contestants given the opportunity to answer 15 questions to win a million pounds. New host Jeremy Clarkson returns, with a surprisingly fitting blend of frank honesty and self-aware sarcasm.

Marvel’s Runaways: Season 2

Hulu’s superhero series, based on the comic books created by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona, tells the story of six diverse teenagers who can barely stand each other, but must unite against a common foe – their parents. When our six L.A. teens stumble onto a terrible secret, they realize their parents have been lying to them all their lives. But what are they after? And why? While the kids investigate, the adults start to wonder if their kids are hiding secrets of their own… Season 1 is also available on-demand.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Season 13

The gang finally return for more depraved hilarity (with or without Dennis).

Manhunt

Based upon the memoirs of London Metropolitan police detective Colin Sutton, Martin Clunes plays the former DCI, as he determinedly and tenaciously pursued a serial killer. The drama tells the real life story of how the murder of French National, Amelie Delagrange, on Twickenham Green in August 2004 was eventually linked to the murders of Marsha McDonnell in 2003 and the abduction and murder of Milly Dowler, as she travelled home from school in 2002. Episodes 2 and 3 will air on Monday 7th and Tuesday 8th.

The Gifted: Season 2, Part 2

Set in the X-Men universe and in association with Marvel, The Gifted returns for the second part of its sophomore run, as the Inner Circle and the Mutant Underground have divided the Strucker family and our group of mutants. Part 1 of Season 2 is available on Sky On Demand and NOW until 18th March 2019.

Brexit: The Uncivil War

Set primarily during the referendum, Brexit: The Uncivil War will explore the myriad tactics employed to swing one of the most important referendum results in living memory. Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Dominic Cummings, the leading strategist and Campaign Director of Vote Leave, but the most exciting talent involved is James Graham, the Olivier-winning writer behind Quiz, The Vote and Coalition, whose grasp of politics, and ability to dramatise pertinent, complicated issues, is second to none.

Catastrophe: Season 4

Season 4 of Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney’s hilariously frank sitcom picks up after Rob’s (Rob Delaney) secret relapse to alcoholism ended in a dramatic car crash and forced confession to Sharon (Sharon Horgan), while Chris (Mark Bonnar) displayed an unexpected softer side towards Rob and an altogether less soft side to Fran’s (Ashley Jensen) obnoxious new boyfriend. Now, as Rob tries to head on the straight and narrow and Sharon does her best to support – “It’s like he’s on a crusade, but to somewhere boring and we all have to come…” – will the couple navigate the relentless tsunami of life’s challenges, or see their relationship finally submerged by it all?

Charmed Reboot: Season 1

This new reimagining of the fantasy drama promises to showcase the power of sisterhood and be as fierce and funny as the original.

Hunted: Season 4

Seeing members of the public trying to evade a team of hunters who track them with police-like powers might not sound like riveting TV – but that’s only because you haven’t seen the programme in action. Channel 4’s reality cat-and-mouse contest is smartly conceived, slickly executed and, even after three seasons and some celebrity specials, highly entertaining.

Sex Education: Season 1

Meet Otis Milburn – an inexperienced, socially awkward high school student who lives with his mother, a sex therapist. Surrounded by manuals, videos and tediously open conversations about sex, Otis is a reluctant expert on the subject. When his home life is revealed at school, Otis realizes that he can use his specialist knowledge to gain status. He teams up with Maeve, a whip-smart bad-girl, and together they set up an underground sex therapy clinic to deal with their fellow students’ weird and wonderful problems. Through his analysis of teenage sexuality, Otis realises he may need some therapy of his own.

Titans: Season 1

Led by Batman’s former protégé Robin, a group of teen heroes forms to fight crime while wrestling with their inner demons in DC’s gritty take on the Teen Titans franchise.

True Detective: Season 3

The award-winning HBO drama returns for a long-awaited third season on Sky Atlantic. Focusing on a macabre child-murder case that plays out over the course of 35 years, this season stars Mahershala Ali (Moonlight), alongside Stephen Dorff and Carmen Ejogo. The disappearance of a young Arkansas boy and his sister in 1980 triggers vivid memories and enduring questions for retired detective Wayne Hays (Ali), who worked the case 35 years ago with his then-partner Roland West (Dorff). What started as a routine case becomes a long journey to dissect, and attempt to make some sense of, the life-changing event. The mystery begins with a double-bill of episodes, broadcast at the same time as the US (2am), before being repeated at 9pm.

Cold Feet: Season 8

Award-winning comedy drama Cold Feet returns This January for an eighth series. Starring James Nesbitt, John Thomson, Fay Ripley, Hermione Norris and Robert Bathurst.

The Passage: Season 1

Based on the best-selling trilogy and from Executive Producer Ridley Scott, The Passage focuses on Project Noah, a secret medical facility where scientists are experimenting with a dangerous virus that could lead to the cure for all disease, but also carries the potential to wipe out the human race. Mark-Paul Gosselaara stars.

Star Trek: Discovery: Season 2

Mysterious events in different regions of the galaxy launch the USS Discovery on a new mission with a temporary captain: Christopher Pike of the Enterprise.

Grace and Frankie: Season 5

In the return of this Emmy winning comedy, the two friends (Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin) launch a scheme to get their old lives back. Watch out for a guest appearance by RuPaul.

The Grand Tour: Season 3

The third seasons of Amazon’s motoring series, hosted by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, sees the former Top Gear trio burning rubber around the world, causing chaos through tricky terrains in Colombia, Mongolia, China, Detroit and… Stansted Airport.

The Punisher: Season 2

One of Netflix’s few Marvel series still left standing, The Punisher’s second season sees Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle return for more vigilante action. He’ll be joined by some new faces in Season 2, including Josh Stewart (Insidious: The Last Key) as John Pilgrim, a man who has left behind a life of violence, but will be forced to use his old skills and enter Frank Castle’s world. Floriana Lima (Supergirl) will play Krista Dumont, a smart, compassionate, and driven psychotherapist for military veterans. Giorgia Whigham (Scream) will join them as Amy Bendix, a street-smart grifter with a mysterious past.

Pure

Channel 4 explores a lesser-known form of OCD in its new drama, an honest, funny series about getting to know your mind and your mates. It follows 24 year old Marnie (newcomer Charly Clive), who has ‘bad’ thoughts all the time and can’t tell anyone. Her mind is XXX-rated and intrusive thoughts are piling up inside her head. It turns out she’s actually caught in the grip of an excruciating type of obsessive compulsive disorder – a form of OCD nicknamed ‘pure O’ – where her obsessions take the form of intrusive thoughts, often sexual, and the compulsions are unseen mental rituals that deeply affect her daily life. Only, Marnie doesn’t know this yet – she just knows: Something. Has. Got. To. Give.

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