In a busy year for crime drama, Elisabeth Moss turns detective in Top of the Lake and you might even find out what happened to Sherlock

Utopia

Channel 4 continues its drama push with a new thriller, Utopia, written by Dennis Kelly, co-writer of the West End hit Matilda and BBC3's marvellous Pulling. This six-parter is about a graphic novel that predicts disasters and brings dreadful trouble to all those who come in contact with it. It's an intriguing – and indeed risky – starting point for a drama that also comes with a strong cast, including Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and Geraldine James. Channel 4, January.

Borgen

We may have seen off Sarah Lund, but Borgen's Birgitte Nyborg is made of stronger stuff. Or is she? Things were pretty bleak, personally and professionally, when we left the PM last time round – but then this is a Danish drama. Certainly nobody's in high spirits when we rejoin press and politicians for this second series, which kicks off in Afghanistan. BBC4, January.

Game of Thrones

Television fantasy is often, frankly, appalling. Perhaps it's the scale of Game of Thrones and its enviable cast (even though most of them don't last long) that has helped this tale of dirks and direwolves buck that trend. (George RR Martin's source material might have had something to do with that, too.) Annoyingly, non-Sky subscribers currently behind on season two will have to wait until spring for the box set, which is also when this third series comes to screen. Sky Atlantic, April.

Top of the Lake

Directed and co-written by Jane Campion and starring Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men's Peggy), this BBC2 drama, delayed from last year, centres on a 12-year-old girl who disappears after it becomes known that she is five months pregnant by a man she refuses to identify. Promises to be a cut above most detective drama. BBC2, spring.

Dancing on the Edge

Love him or hate him, film-maker Stephen Poliakoff's work is always event viewing – and 2013 marks his first BBC series. Dancing on the Edge, set in the 1930s, follows a black jazz band in London and stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, who was magnificent in The Shadow Line for the same channel. BBC2, spring.

Sherlock

It has been almost a year since we saw Sherlock splatter into that pavement – a whole 12 months of puzzling away at how he managed to fake his own death. Sadly, there's still some time to wait before the hows and whys are unpicked, but the explanations should be worth the wait. BBC1, late 2013.