FIRST OF ALL, A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR READERS. THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY, READING, AND TAKING THE TIME TO LEAVE COMMENTS. WE ALL WISH YOU A HAPPY AND HEALTHY COMING 12 MONTHS AND THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT.

But here we go again. No rest for the wicked and all that. It’s time to dive head-long into 2018 and all the delights it will bring us. And what delights – we have some of our favourite Scandi Noirs back in attendance, so good-looking American crime dramas, new stuff from Denmark and Iceland and, of course, a host of new British and Welsh-language drama to enjoy. As ever, we’ve speculated a bit as to when some of these shows might be on (that’s half the fun, right?) so do bear that in mind. Time to strap in – there’s a LOT coming your way.

A VERY ENGLISH SCANDAL

BBC One

This three-part, Russell Davies-penned series stars Hugh Grant as Jeremy Thorpe and Ben Whishaw as Norman Scott, and tells the true story of the first British politician to stand trial for conspiracy and incitement to murder. Grant will play Thorpe, who in 1979 was tried but acquitted of conspiring to murder his ex-lover Norman Scott, played by Whishaw. They will be joined by Alex Jennings, Adrian Scarborough and Jason Watkins, with Eve Myles, Michele Dotrice and Blake Harrison.

Incoming: Spring

THE TRIAL OF CHRISTINE KEELER

This six-part series takes us behind the headlines to tell a human story about the sexual and cultural politics of one of the most revealing and iconic stories of modern times. At the centre of the storm was 19-year-old Christine Keeler – a young woman whom the powerful, male-dominated establishment sought to silence and exploit, but who refused to play by their rules. No cast has been announced yet.

Incoming: TBC

BODYGUARD

BBC One

Richard Madden and Keeley Hawes lead the cast of Bodyguard, a six-part drama created and written by Line Of Duty’s Jed Mercurio. Set in and around the corridors of power, Bodyguard tells the fictional story of David Budd (Madden), a heroic but volatile war veteran now working as a Specialist Protection Officer for the Royalty and Specialist Protection Branch (RaSP) of London’s Metropolitan Police Service. When he is assigned to protect the ambitious and powerful Home Secretary Julia Montague (Hawes), whose politics stand for everything he despises, Budd finds himself torn between his duty and his beliefs. Responsible for her safety, is he actually her biggest threat?

Incoming: TBC

STRIKE – CAREER OF EVIL

BBC One

Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger return for Strike – Career Of Evil, the third adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s best-selling crime novels written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. When a dismembered leg is sent to Strike’s office, it sends both Cormoran’s and Robin’s lives into disarray, forcing them to confront ghosts from their pasts. Their partnership reaches breaking point as Robin’s wedding approaches and they disagree about how to ensnare a man who abuses children.

Incoming: Spring

THE SERPENT

BBC One

Created by Ripper Street’s Richard Warlow, this eight-part series looks good. Con man, escape artist, thief, master of disguise and psychopath, Charles Sobhraj was the chief suspect in the sensational unsolved murders of up to 20 young Western travellers across India, Thailand and Nepal through 1975 and 1976. Having slipped repeatedly from the grasp of authorities worldwide, by 1976 Sobhraj was Interpol’s most wanted man and had arrest warrants on three different continents. When Herman Knippenberg, a junior diplomat at the Dutch Embassy in Bangkok, unwittingly walks into Sobhraj’s intricate web of crime, he sets off an extraordinary chain of events that will see these two diametrically opposed men engaged in a chase across the porous borders of the Asian Hippie Trail in its twilight years.

Incoming: Autumn

THE THREE

BBC One

Based on the novel by Sarah Lotz, The Three tells the story of four plane crashes on the same day in four different countries. Three children miraculously survive. Elspeth Martin, a no-nonsense crash investigator with the NTSB in Washington, is under pressure to find out what caused the crashes. A rationalist, she is dogged in her determination to get at the truth, but this process is obstructed by conflicting evidence, media scrutiny and conspiracy theories. Then there are rumours that a fourth child has survived one of the crashes, and a mysterious message is discovered on a passenger’s mobile phone.

Incoming: Autumn

HAPPY VALLEY

BBC One

Is this the year series three of Sally Wainwright’s celebrated Happy Valley makes a return? Nothing has been confirmed – and nothing has been in the news – but the last report that surfaced stated that a third outing was likely for 2018. If it does air this year, it’ll be the back end.

Incoming: TBC

LUTHER

BBC One

It was announced that Neil Cross had written four new episodes of everyone’s favourite superhero cop back in the summer. Cross said: “Now what? It’s a question Idris and I get asked a lot. What happened to John Luther after we last saw him striding unbowed through the streets of his city, his blood red London? It can’t be over, can it? There’s so much we don’t know. So much unfinished business. The thing is, we’ve been asking ourselves the same question. Because we love John and wonder what he’s up to. And as for me, I’m scared of the monsters. The face at the window. The hand under the bed. The shadow at the end of the street. Who’s going to stop them, if not John Luther?” No cast or plot details have been announced, but this might just sneak into 2018 and be the BBC’s big winter drama.

Incoming: TBC

SHETLAND

BBC One

Douglas Henshall returns as DI Jimmy Perez for a new, six-part series of Shetland, adapted from Ann Cleeves’ celebrated novels. New cast who have joined Shetland for this series include Neve McIntosh, Sean McGinley, Stephen Walters, Gerard Miller, Allison McKenzie and Michael Moreland. This new series is an original story which sees Perez deal with murders from the past and present with unsettling similarities. When Shetlander, Thomas Malone (played by Stephen Walters) has his murder conviction overturned after 23 years behind bars, DI Perez has to reopen the investigation into the 1994 death of local teenager, Lizzie Kilmuir.

Incoming: TBC

THE BRIDGE IV

BBC Two

While the rest of Europe gets this fourth series on New Year’s Day, we have to wait until the end of the month. And that’s all we’ll say about that.

Incoming: Too bloody late

COLLATERAL

BBC Two

Starring John Simm, Carey Mulligan, Billie Piper and Nicola Walker (phwoar, what a cast!), set over the course of four days, the four-part drama explores the spiralling repercussions surrounding the fatal shooting of a pizza delivery man. Refusing to accept this is a random act of senseless violence, tough and single-minded Detective Inspector Kip Glaspie (Mulligan) is determined to discover if there is a darker truth. Politician David Mars (Simm) becomes instantly embroiled in the drama through his turbulent relationship with his troubled and unpredictable ex Karen (Piper). While Jane Oliver (Walker), a compassionate vicar, struggles to conceal her affair with the only witness to the crime.

Incoming: TBC

THE ASSASSINATION OF GIANNI VERSACE: AMERICAN CRIME STORY

BBC Two

Édgar Ramírez, Penelope Cruz, Ricky Martin and a host of others star in the follow up to the OJ Simpson story, this time telling the story of the murder of the fashion designer in the 1990s.

Incoming: February/March

BELOW THE SURFACE

BBC Four

This could be a biggie. The Killing’s Søren Sveistrup and Borgen’s Adam Price have joined forces with Meta Louise Foldager Sorensen (A Royal Affair) as executive producers, and enlisted Kasper Barfoed (Dicte, Those Who Kill and Summer Of ’92), to form a Danish dream team. Set in present-day Copenhagen, Below The Surface opens with a national crisis – the hijacking of a subway train, where 15 members of the public are held hostage. Setting in motion a chain of events that unfold across eight days, the whole of Denmark is in thrall to the hijackers’ next moves and the fate of the 15 people they hold captive. A terror taskforce led by Philip Norgaard (Johannes Lassen) and Louise Falck (Sara Hjort Ditlevsen) is dispatched to rescue the hostages. Reporter Naja Toft (Paprika Steen) acts as a go-between with the hostages and police as the captors bait the press with information about each of those aboard. As a media frenzy ensues, the country finds itself divided on how to respond.

Incoming: Spring

BECK

BBC Four (TBC)

The first of four new Beck films are airing in Sweden today (New Year’s Day), but here’s what we know: As the new films begin, Beck is still adjusting to the idea of a quiet retirement. Several familiar characters will return, including Kristofer Hivju as Steinar Hovland, Måns Nathanaelson as Oskar, Anna Asp as Jenny, Elmira Arikan as Ayda, Jonas Karlsson as Klas Fredén, and Rebecka Hemse as Beck’s daughter Inger. Beck’s neighbour Grannen, played by Ingvar Hirdwall, is also back having featured in all 38 films so far. Let’s hope they appear sooner rather than later.

Incoming: TBC

TRAPPED II

BBC Four

The first footage from series two of Trapped (above) was released by Iceland’s RVK Studios in the lead-up to Christmas, and filming for series two wraps up in March. So the hope is that the return of the winner of The Killing Times Best Crime Drama 2016 will return before the year is out. But then again, this is the BBC we’re talking about. Fingers crossed.

Incoming: Winter

MODUS II

BBC Four (TBC)

This is idle conjecture only, because BBC Four picked up the first (underwhelming) series and it feels like a natural fit for series two, even if there has been no confirmation. Series two sounds intriguing if nothing else, with the likes of Kim Cattrall and Greg Wise. The action series two is based on a state visit. US President Helen Tyler (Cattrall) visits Stockholm and from there things go wrong: she disappears without a trace. Consequently, a power struggle between different authorities is in progress and Inger Johanne and Ingvar get involved in the search. In addition, Warren Shifford (Wise), Inger Johannes’s former mentor from the FBI and the President’s closest ally, is also in Stockholm. Inger Johanne is forced to confront painful secrets from his past.

Incoming: TBC

CRAITH

S4C/BBC Wales

Starring Sian Reese-William (35 Diwrnod, Y Gwyll/Hinterland, Requiem), Rhodri Meilir (Byw Celwydd, Pride), Gwyneth Keyworth (Wasted) and Sion Alun Davies (Endeavour, Y Gwyll/Hinterland) this Welsh-language series tells the story of detective DI Cadi John who returns to north Wales to care for her ailing father. However, when the body of a young woman is found in a local river, Cadi’s world – and the world around her – is changed forever.

Incoming: Spring

MARCELLA

ITV

Anna Friel returns in Hans Rosenfeldt’s London-based series. The story begins with the discovery of a body inside a wall. The body is clothed in a school blazer and surrounded by soft toys; a devastated Marcella soon works out that the body is that of schoolboy Leo Priestley, who was abducted a few years beforehand and a friend of Marcella’s son, Edward. A task-force is quickly pulled together by newly promoted DCI, Tim and we are introduced to a new member of the team, LeAnn. In one of the first meetings, she stands up for Marcella – something that she is not used to within the workplace. As the investigation progresses, we’re introduced to a number of new characters – a former famous musician Reg and his manager and friend Alan; edgy businessman Vince Whitman and his charity boss wife Maya; a previously convicted criminal Phil Dawkins; sister and brother Gail and Eric; and Becky, the new girlfriend of Marcella’s ex-husband. Whilst the storylines entwine, Marcella is still battling with her ongoing sporadic fugue states which she struggles to come to terms with and is getting increasingly worried about the effects it is having on her and her family around her.

Incoming: February/March

NEXT OF KIN

ITV

Emmy Award winner and Golden Globe nominee, Archie Panjabi and Jack Davenport star in family thriller, Next Of Kin. The contemporary drama follows whip-smart doctor Mona Harcourt (Panjabi) who lives in London with political lobbyist husband Guy (Davenport). When a bomb goes off in London on the same day that her brother, Kareem, is abducted and murdered in Pakistan, Mona’s charmed life is shaken to its core. The situation escalates when Mona realises that her brother’s son Danish – known as Danny – has vanished from university and is being linked to both the bombing and the murder of his father. With the family facing accusations and becoming embroiled in a tangled web of betrayal and conspiracy, Mona finds herself confronted with the ultimate dilemma: how far would you go to keep your family safe?

Incoming: Monday 8th January

INNOCENT

ITV

Hermione Norris and Lee Ingleby star in this four-part drama. They are joined by Daniel Ryan, Angel Coulby, Nigel Lindsay, Elliott Cowan and Adrian Rowlins. It tells the compelling story of David Collier who is living a nightmare. Convicted of murdering his wife Tara, David has served seven years in prison. He’s lost everything he held dear: his wife, his two children and even the house he owned. He’s always protested his innocence and faces the rest of his life behind bars. His situation couldn’t be more desperate. Despised by his wife’s family and friends, his only support has been his faithful brother Phil (Daniel Ryan) who has stood by him, sacrificing his own career and livelihood to mount a tireless campaign to prove his brother’s innocence. Convinced of his guilt, Tara’s childless sister Alice (Hemione Norris) and her husband Rob (Adrian Rowlins) are now parents to David’s children. They’ve become a successful family unit and thanks to the proceeds of David’s estate enjoy a comfortable lifestyle, which is very different to when Tara was alive. For Alice there’s no doubt of his guilt and she’s utterly devastated by the prospect of David’s Appeal and Re-trial. DCI William Beech (Nigel Lindsay) who led the original investigation into Tara’s murder has a lot to lose if David’s conviction is rendered unsafe. With relationships permanently fractured and David emotionally at rock bottom he finds himself in a very dark place. Will Alice accept the court’s decision and can she and David be reconciled? And what of David’s best friend Tom Wilson (Elliott Cowan) who reneged on his alibi on the night of Tara’s murder? Is tenacious Cathy Hudson’s review of the case an investigation David should fear? What will this mean for their relationship? What will this mean for her relationship with Will? And will she uncover the truth of exactly what happened on the night Tara was murdered?

Incoming: TBC

WHITE DRAGON

ITV

This eight-part series, from Harry and Jack Williams’ Two Brothers production company, tells the story of Professor Jonah Mulray and how his life is turned upside-down when his wife, Megan, is killed in a car-crash in Hong Kong. Although she lived and worked there half the year, Jonah’s never been. He lives a small, sheltered life, and his fear of flying has kept him in London. But now he has no choice but to cross the ocean to identify the body of the woman he loved. Not long after arriving in Hong Kong, Jonah makes a shocking discovery about his wife. Over the course of eight thrilling hours, Jonah is drawn deeper and deeper into a web of conspiracy as he comes to terms with this utterly alien and unfamiliar environment, battling to uncover the truth about his wife’s death. It may just sneak into 2018.

Incoming: TBC

UNFORGOTTEN

ITV

The new six-part third series will be written once again by Chris Lang and will see Cassie and Sunny delve into another intricate historical investigation, revealing a fresh web of long-buried secrets.

Incoming: TBC

MIDSOMER MURDERS

ITV

Neil Dudgeon returns to play DCI John Barnaby for his seventh year in the role and Nick Hendrix is back as DS Jamie Winter. Joining the team this series will be redoubtable new pathologist, Dr Fleur Perkins, played by Annette Badland, who will assist Barnaby and Winter in their pursuit of justice in the picturesque but deadly countryside of Midsomer.

Incoming: February/March

TRAUMA

ITV

Starring John Simm and Adrian Lester – and created by Doctor Foster’s Mike Bartlett – this three-part series is set in the Trauma Department of a central London hospital and tells the story 15-year-old Alex Reynolds who sadly dies under the care of high-achieving trauma consultant Jon Stephens. Devastated and heartbroken, Alex’s father, Dan, believes Jon is responsible for Alex’s death and as he strives for justice, he begins to unpick the very fabric of Jon’s life. Are Dan’s concerns about how Jon cared for his son in his hour of need justified or are his actions borne of overpowering grief?

Incoming: TBC

ENDEAVOUR

ITV

Morse is back for a fifth series and the good news is that there will be six episodes instead of the usual four. The series will be set in 1968, and will welcome back Shaun Evans, Roger Allam, Anton Lesser and Dakota Blue Richards. Series creator Russell Lewis will continue to pen the episodes.

Incoming: Spring

MANHUNT

ITV

This new series is based on the memoirs of former London Metropolitan police detective DCI Colin Sutton, with Martin Clunes taking the role of the man who determinedly and tenaciously pursued serial killer Levi Bellfield. Written by Ed Whitmore (Silent Witness, Rillington Place, Strike Back), Manhunt is 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. Walking home following a night out with friends, 22-years-old Amelie was savagely attacked and struck several times on the back of the head with a hammer. Although relatively experienced in a murder investigation, DCI Sutton was assigned to the case by London’s Metropolitan Police. Hard working and instinctive, Sutton dedicated himself to finding Amelie’s killer. With very little evidence, his painstaking approach and the diligence of his fellow officers gradually led to breakthroughs in the case. Not to be underestimated, Sutton never ruled out similarities to the murders of Marsha McDonnell and Milly Dowler in the same southwest corner of London.

Incoming: TBC

BEFORE WE DIE

Channel 4/Walter Presents

Police officer Hanna is an uncompromising cop in the organized crime unit of the Stockholm Police, so principled she’s even prepared to arrest her son for drug dealing and see him serve a two sentence. But when her lover and colleague is abducted, Hanna must take over his undercover investigation. She soon realises the entire case hinges on an informer she has never met. Little does she know her investigation will risk the life of the son she betrayed.

Incoming: 15th January

NO OFFENCE

Channel 4

Jo Scanlon returns as the incomparable Viv Deering in Paul Abbott’s No Offence. Series three starts at mayoral hustings in Cinderly, an inner-city area of Manchester, is a tinderbox ready to ignite following race riots kicked off by an arson attack on a mosque. Fuelling the chaos in the community is leader of the extreme Far Right group Albion, Dennis Caddy (Neil Maskell), his outspoken girlfriend Bonnie (Tamara Lawrance) and his mouthy sister Faye (Sharon Rooney). The febrile atmosphere in Cinderly ignites as the mayoral candidate anti-establishment, local girl-done-good politician Caroline McCoy (Lisa McGrillis) goes head to head for the high-stakes electoral ward, with woolly liberal Mayor Karim Hassan (Ace Bhatti). In their midst is the master puppeteer, mercenary Far Right fanatic Ralph Beckett (Darren Connolly), forcing Viv and the team to fight toe to toe as he wages his war on both the cops and culturally-vulnerable targets – with devastating consequences.

Incoming: Spring

KIRI

Channel 4

BAFTA-winner Jack Thorne returns to Channel 4 with this new four-part series, which examines the abduction of a young black girl, named Kiri, who is soon-to-be-adopted by her white foster family, and the trail of lies, blame, guilt and notoriety that follows. At the heart of the drama lies Miriam, played by Sarah Lancashire, an experienced, no-nonsense social worker who loves and believes in her job, but has a maverick and instinctive approach to protecting the children in her care. Miriam arranges for Kiri to have an unsupervised visit with her biological grandparents. But when Kiri disappears during the visit, the fingers of suspicion and blame from the police, the press, and even her colleagues, point firmly at Miriam. As the media spotlight around the story intensifies, Miriam, as well as both sets of families, are forced to ask the toughest questions, not just of themselves, but of each other.

Incoming: 10th January

REBECKA MARTINSSON

All4/Walter Presents

Rebecka Martinsson is a drama series in eight parts based on Åsa Larsson’s celebrated and popular crime novels, The Blood Spilt, Black Path, Until Thy Wrath Be Past and A Sacrifice to Moloch. The series takes place in the far-flung icy wilderness within the arctic circle of Kiruna and revolves around lawyer Rebecka Martinsson (Ida Engvoll). Despite great success at a prestigious law firm in Stockholm, she has still not really found herself and seems lost in the capital. When a dear friend from her childhood suddenly passes away, Rebecka reluctantly returns to her hometown, but soon it turns out that not everything is as it seems. The questions arise when it turns out that her friend has been murdered and Rebecka cannot tear herself out of the place until she receives an answer. She is drawn into a gripping pursuit of a killer who turns out to be able to kill again – while Rebecka herself is forced to face a terrible trauma that once forced her to abandon her hometown.

Incoming: February

MALTESE

All 4/Walter Presents

Written by two of the creatives behind the international hit series Gormorrah and set in Sicily in the 1970s, Maltese tells the story of one man’s fight against the mafia. Dario Maltese (Kim Rossi Stuart) is a talented detective battling to stay moral in an immoral world. Returning to his hometown of Sicily to attend a friend’s wedding, Maltese is suddenly and violently sucked back into the world he fled twenty years before. This time however, he must stay to uncover the truth but what starts out as a simple murder investigation quickly escalates, uncovering more disappearances, further murders and ultimately exposing a network of corruption and lawlessness. Assassins and criminals work alongside powerful and untouchable citizens and government officials. Dodging hitman who have been sent to kill him, seeing friends and colleagues murdered, and forced to risk the life of the woman he loves, a shocking truth to a very personal tragedy awaits Maltese.

Incoming: February



13 COMMANDMENTS

All4/Walter Presents

A ‘twisted killer’ thriller from Belgium. When a self-proclaimed modern day Moses commits a series of gruesome crimes, he hopes to jolt Society’s conscience. But when his crimes are unexpectedly applauded by the public, becoming a social media sensation, it makes the job of the police trying to catch him so much harder. As the brutally of the crimes quickly escalates, the pressure to catch the serial killer builds.

Incoming: March

BULLETPROOF

Sky One

Noel Clarke and Ashley Walters star in Bulletproof as police duo, Bishop and Pike – two best mates, bonded by the same moral code despite their very obvious differences. Packed full of humour, action and emotion, the show centres on the relationships between fathers and sons and is about friendship, conspiracies and ghosts from the past. Growing up Bishop (Clarke) and Pike (Walters) had very different lives. Pike’s dad was the first black police commissioner and he grew up always trying to live up to his expectations, while Bishop grew up looking for a father figure as he was passed around foster homes, moving from school to school. Their pasts have shaped their different approaches to life, and yet they have a love and respect for each other that seems unbreakable. Their friendship is yet to be properly tested until now…

Incoming: TBC

LUCKY MAN III

Sky One

The third chapter sees DI Harry Clayton in Hong Kong, looking for answers about his ‘lucky’ charm where he comes up against some nasty underworld characters who have their eyes on more than just his bracelet. Joining James Nesbitt are show favourites Amara Karan, returning as DS Suri Chohan, Sienna Guillory as Eve and Stephen Hagan as Rich Clayton. Rupert Penry-Jones also joins the cast.

Incoming: Autumn

SAVE ME

Sky Atlantic

From the producers of the award-winning Line of Duty, Save Me stars Lennie James, Suranne Jones and Stephen Graham. Save Me is the story of a most unlikely hero, Nelson Nelly Rowe (James), and his search for Jody, his missing daughter. A daughter he hasn’t seen for thirteen years – more than half her life. Nelly’s a charmer, a chancer, a lover, a fighter, a liar. And now an estranged father accused of kidnapping the daughter he’s barely ever seen. On his way to finding Jody, Nelly will save lives, find others who have been lost, reunite loved ones, make enemies from friends, risk his life and the lives of others close to him and continually end up back on his feet after finding himself flat on his face. He’s a man that faces a stark reality, as hard as it may be to admit, that in losing his daughter he finds himself.

Incoming: February

MOSAIC

HBO (US), Sky Atlantic (UK)

Sharon Stone and Beau Bridges star in this six-part murder mystery from Steven Soderbergh. Mosaic begins in a flashback to four years before the main events of the story. Eric Neill is attempting to seduce and defraud children’s author Olivia Lake at the behest of some associates of his. In the present, Eric is in prison for Olivia’s murder; Petra, Joel’s sister, and others begin to re-investigate what exactly happened four years ago. Comes with a fancy app (for US viewers), which lets users choose their route.

Incoming: 22nd January (US), UK TBC

SHARP OBJECTS

HBO (US), Sky Atlantic (UK)

Originally touted for last year, this adaptation of the Gillian Flynn novel centres on reporter Camille Preaker (Amy Adams) who, fresh from a brief stay at a psychiatric hospital, must return to her tiny hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. Trying to put together a psychological puzzle from her past, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims a bit too closely.

Incoming: Summer

TRUE DETECTIVE III

HBO (US), Sky Atlantic (UK)

After an extended wait and a will-it-won’t-it confirmation of a third series, True Detective might just sneak into the back end of 2018. Carmen Ejogo will star opposite the previously announced Mahershala Ali in the new instalment of the HBO anthology drama. She will play Amelia Reardon, an Arkansas schoolteacher with a connection to two missing children in 1980. Ali is set to play Wayne Hays, a state police detective from Northwest Arkansas. The new season tells the story of a macabre crime in the heart of the Ozarks, and a mystery that deepens over decades and plays out in three separate time periods.

Incoming: Winter (or early 2019)

INSTINCT

CBS (US), Sky Living (UK)

Instinct stars Alan Cumming as a former CIA operative who is lured back to his old life when the NYPD needs his help to stop a serial killer. Dr Dylan Reinhart is a gifted author and university professor living a quiet life teaching psychopathic behaviour to packed classes of adoring students. But when tenacious top NYPD detective Lizzie Needham appeals to him to help her catch a serial murderer who is using Dylan’s first book as a tutorial, Dylan is compelled by the case and comes out of retirement. Helping them is Julian Cousins, Dylan’s invaluable CIA comrade who rivals Dylan in brilliance and wit, and can get top-secret dirt on anyone, anywhere, anytime. Lizzie’s boss, Lt. Jasmine Gooden, is glad to see her best detective finally agree to work with someone on a case, since Lizzie has refused any partner since a tragic event one year ago. But as Dylan feels reenergized tapping into his old skill set, his husband, Andy, is concerned that Dylan’s breaking their pact about putting away his cloak and dagger for good. Though Dylan and Lizzie initially clash, when it comes to catching killers, they realize they will make an ideal team if they both trust their instincts. Based on the James Patterson novel.

Incoming: 11th March (US)

ABSENTIA

Amazon

Created by Gaia Violo and Matt Cirulnick, the 10-episode Absentia centres on Emily Byrne (Stana Katic), an FBI agent who, while hunting one of Boston’s most notorious serial killers, disappears without a trace and is declared dead. Six years later, Emily is found in a cabin in the woods, barely alive and with no memory of the years she was missing. Returning home to learn her husband has remarried and her son is being raised by another woman, she soon finds herself implicated in a new series of murders.

Incoming: TBC

ALTERED CARBON

Netflix

In the future, human minds are digitized and downloaded from body to body. Last night, the wealthiest man on Earth, Laurens Bancroft (James Purefoy) was murdered. To investigate his death, he brings back ex-Envoy soldier Takeshi Kovacs (Joel Kinnaman/Will Yun Lee) and in exchange, Bancroft offers Kovacs the chance to live again.

Incoming: 2nd February

MINDHUNTER II

Netflix

The big question is whether the second series of Mindhunter – the winner of The Killing Times Best Crime Drama Of 2017 – will air in 2018 or 2019. Next year is more likely.

Incoming: TBC

WACO

Paramount (US), TBC (UK)

WACO is a six-part series that will broadcast in the US on the Paramount Network, and is based on the true story that shocked the world of religious leader David Koresh’s Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas in 1993. WACO features a star-studded cast that includes Michael Shannon, Melissa Benoist, Taylor Kitsch (as David Koresh) and John Leguizamo. Yet to be picked up in the UK.

Incoming: 24th January (US)

THE ALIENIST

TNT (US), TBC (UK)

This psychological thriller drama starring Dakota Fanning and Luke Evans is set in 1896, when a series of gruesome murders of boy prostitutes has gripped New York City. Newly appointed police commissioner Teddy Roosevelt calls upon Dr Laszlo Kreizler, a criminal psychologist – aka alienist – and newspaper illustrator John Moore to conduct the investigation in secret. Joining them in the probe is Sara Howard, a headstrong secretary at police headquarters.

Incoming: 22nd January (US)

REVERIE

NBC (US), TBC (UK)

This grounded new thriller follows Mara Kint (Sarah Shahi), a former hostage negotiator and expert on human behaviour, who became a college professor after facing an unimaginable personal tragedy. But when she’s brought in to save ordinary people who have lost themselves in a highly advanced virtual-reality program in which you can literally live your dreams, she finds that in saving others, she may actually have discovered a way to save herself.

Incoming: March (US)

GOOD GIRLS

NBC (US), TBC (UK)

Christina Hendricks stars in this series that follows three suburban women who are having a hard time trying to make ends meet. They decide to pull off an unlikely heist by robbing a supermarket, only to discover that they’re in for more than they bargained. Their successful robbery attracts the attention of the store manager after he recognizes one of the women, but for a different reason altogether tied to the money.

Incoming: 26th February (US)

STELLA BLOMKVIST

TBC

Here’s one we had to include, even though it hasn’t been picked up yet by a UK broadcaster. We think it will (it’s Icelandic for God’s sake). Poldark’s Heida Reed stars as Stella, a hard-nosed lawyer who takes on mysterious murder cases and delves into the murky waters of Icelandic politics. The first book by the pseudonymous Stella Blómkvist, The Murder in the Ministry, will form the basis for the first series.

Incoming: TBC

MR MERCEDES

TBC

Brendan Gleeson, Harry Treadaway, Mary-Louise Park star in this adaptation of Stephen King’s crime novel. Retired detective Bill Hodges is still haunted by the unsolved case of Mr Mercedes, who claimed sixteen lives when he drove a stolen Mercedes through a line of job-seekers at a local job fair. Meanwhile, brilliant young psychopath Brady Hartsfield, the real Mr Mercedes, reemerges to focus his attention on Hodges. What begins as an online cat-and-mouse game between the two soon has deadly real-life consequences as an increasingly desperate Hartsfield becomes bent on leaving his mark on the world.

Incoming: TBC