We’ve chosen the best films, TV shows and music to look forward to in 2017…
So you’ve exhausted everything Netflix, caught up with all things necessary on catch-up and got bored of looping the same 13 songs on your 2016 playlist. Now’s the time to look forward to what you’ll be rating over the year ahead.
Must-see TV
No Offence
Mandatory Credit: Photo by David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock (5674359x) Will Mellor House of Fraser British Academy Television Awards, Arrivals, Royal Festival Hall, London, Britain – 08 May 2016
One of the best dark comedies of recent times returns to Channel 4 in January. The consistently excellent Joanna Scanlan (she also played passive-aggressive press officer Terri Coverley in The Thick Of It) heads up the female-led police comedy-drama created by Shameless writer Paul Abbott. Genuinely one of the greatest things on TV.
Guerilla
Luther’s back! Sort of. But in a different show on a different channel. Idris Elba stars in this political drama set in 1970s London on Sky 1. A pair of activists help to liberate a political prisoner from a radical underground cell and set their sights on bringing down a counter-intelligence unit that’s set up to crush black activism. The brilliant cast also includes Freida Pinto.
Santa Clarita Diet
This dark comedy starring Drew Barrymore hits Netflix on 3 February. It tells the story of two married real estate agents living in Santa Clarita in California with their daughter Abby. Drew’s character Sheila ‘goes through a dramatic change’ but we’ll have to wait until then to find out what. Drew’s described the show as ‘crazy and exciting’ – one to add to your list on Netflix as soon as it drops.
Taboo
You know those pictures that came out last year of Tom Hardy covered in tattoos in a forest, naked as the day he was born? Well, this is the fruit of that labour, which comes to FX on 10 January. The series is set in 1814 and Tom plays James Keziah Delaney, a man who’s travelled the world but comes back to London a changed man. He returns to take over his father’s shipping empire, but the way is paved with conspiracy, murder and betrayal. Which is obviously scary, but at least it’ll be punctuated with some nudity.
Girlboss
Netflix has adapted the amazing real-life story of online selling tycoon Sophia Amoruso. At just 22 years old, she set up her own business Nasty Gal, selling vintage clothes on the internet, and quickly became one of the richest self-made women in the world. Sophie wrote #Girlboss, a bestselling book about empowerment and, er, being a total girl boss. US actress Britt Robertson plays Sophia in the 13-part comedy series.
Let It Shine
Mandatory Credit: Photo by David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock (7555594ah) Gary Barlow, Dannii Minogue and Martin Kemp ‘Let It Shine’ press launch, Ham Yard Hotel, London, UK – 13 Dec 2016
Gary Barlow couldn’t stay away from talent competitions for long and now he’s got his very own. Let It Shine, on BBC One in January, is searching for five lads to play Take That in a musical version of their story. So it’s in a similar vein to Any Dream Will Do and How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?, but with Gaz as an easier-on-the-eye Andrew Lloyd Webber. Gary’s celebrity panel comprises Dannii Minogue, Spandau Ballet dad-hottie Martin Kemp and Glee’s Amber Riley. Best of all, it’s presented by Graham Norton and Mel Giedroyc.
Doctor Foster
Suranne Jones quite rightly won a ton of awards (including a BAFTA) for her role as Dr Foster in the explosive BBC series and it was one of the channel’s biggest hits of 2016. Season two is set two years after the events of the first and Jodi Comer, who plays Dr Foster’s husband’s other woman Kate, has revealed that this time around things will be shown more from her perspective. It’ll feature the aftermath of the couple’s messy divorce and the weeks and months that follow.
House Of Cards
Traditionally, the US political drama series drops on Netflix in February each year. Will Frank and Claire Underwood wreak havoc in power? If real-life events in US politics are a guide, absolutely anything could happen…
Broadchurch
Mandatory Credit: Photo by ITV/REX/Shutterstock (5824887a) David Tennant and Olivia Colman pictured on their first day on set of the third series of ‘Broadchurch’ TV show, Season 3 – May 2016
The final series of the gripping detective drama will air early in 2017, with David Tennant and Olivia Colman returning as DI Alec Hardy and DS Ellie Miller one last time.
Stranger Things
The standout Netflix hit about a disturbing parallel universe was the must-watch series of 2016 and it’s expected to return in July. The kids from the show, including British actress Millie Bobby Brown, have been everywhere since it dropped. The show’s creators the Duffer Brothers released a mysterious trailer for season two, teasing the episode titles. They say the next 10 episodes are ‘a sequel rather than a second season’. Will Barb finally get justice?
Delicious
Delicious – Series 01 Episode 01 Dawn French as Gina.
The first episode of this new Sky 1 drama starring Dawn French has already aired and it features lashings of love, sex, lies and betrayal – so what’s not to like? Cook Gina (French) and her pal/nemesis Sam (Emilia Fox) have both been betrayed by caddish former husband and husband respectively Leo (who’s played by Game Of Thrones’ Iain Glen). It’s written by Mr Selfridge creator Dan Sefton, so it’s bound to be a massive hit.
Great News
Tina Fey’s got a new TV show! She’s executive producer on this comedy, which tells the story of Katie (Briga Heelan), a news producer whose overbearing mother is coming back to work at her station as an intern. Keep an eye out for a UK air date.
Music to your ears
Fickle Friends
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Vaughan Pickhaver/REX/Shutterstock (4931448o) Fickle Friends Boardmasters Festival, Cornwall, Britain – 09 Aug 2015
A sparky five-piece band from Brighton who’ve been making breezily infectious 80s-tinged indie-pop for the past few years and only recently signed to a label. They’ve already notched up over 9 million streams on Spotify and are set to release their debut album later this year. Their frontwoman Natti Shiner is super-cool.
You’ll like them if you like: Haim, Two Door Cinema Club
Alexandra Savior
US singer Alexandra is only 21, but she’s already worked with some of the biggest names in music. She’s written with Arctic Monkeys’ Alex Turner, including touring with The Last Shadow Puppets, while Alex returned the favour on her new single Mystery Girl, a haunting pop tune. You might recognise her voice from some of the music on True Detective and she’s guested on a Tame Impala track too.
You’ll like her if you like: Sultry Lana Del Rey types
Jorja Smith
British soul singer Jorja, 19, is set to be massive after making the BBC Sound Of 2017 list. Her smooth vocals and clever lyrics have seen her compared to Amy Winehouse. ‘[It’s a] great comparison to have,’ she says. ‘But hopefully the more I do my music, the more people will be like: “Jorja sounds like Jorja.”’
You’ll like her if you like: Amy Winehouse, Lauryn Hill
Glastonbury headliners
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Richard Isaac/REX/Shutterstock (5735283cq) Festival goers light a flare while Catfish and the Bottlemen perform on the Other Stage – fans Glastonbury Festival, UK – 26 Jun 2016 Day 5, Sunday
It’s the festival’s last big one until 2019 as those fields need time to recover, so 2017’s festivities are bound to be a hoot. In the frame to headline this year are acts including Foo Fighters, Radiohead, The Stone Roses and Ed Sheeran. Little Mix could also be in with a shout after having the fastest-selling girl band album since the Spice Girls. Please make this happen!
Take That on tour
The evergreen man-band, now comprising Mark Owen, Howard Donald and Gary Barlow, release their eighth album Wonderland and play 21 dates in May and June. It was thought Robbie Williams might join them for the 25th anniversary (!) gigs, but he’s too busy. We’re hopeful.
Adele’s homecoming
Isn’t Adele the greatest? After doing a trillion live shows (well, more than 100) across the world in 2016, she added a few more dates at the end of the year and is ending her tour in style on 28-29 June and 1-2 July with sold-out shows at London’s Wembley Arena. If you were lucky enough to get a ticket, you’ll be in for a real treat.
Lorde
In 2013, you were never more than one song away from hearing Royals on the radio. New Zealander Lorde ruled music back then and she launches Lorde 2.0 on us later in 2017. Since the release of her massive debut Pure Heroine, she’s been lauded as one of the best songwriters of her generation, won countless awards and become bezzers with Taylor Swift. She’s also been slogging her guts out for her second album, saying: ‘I’ve worked like a dog for a year making this thing great for you guys.’ Thanks!
Charli XCX
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Alan Davidson/Silverhub/REX/Shutterstock (7541498ai) London, England, 7th June 2016: Charlie Xcx at the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition Preview Party 2016 in Burlington House, London On the 7th June 2016. Shm: Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition Party 2016
Understated queen of pop Charli is bringing out her third album in May. It was fanfared by her excellently catchy single After The Afterparty in October – and Charli reckons it’s going to be a total game changer. ‘This album could change the sound of pop music,’ she explains. ‘It’s the album I’ve been trying to make forever. And now I’ve done it. [It’s got] high-octane plastic moments and then more piano ballad situations.’ However, five months is a long time to wait and Charli says she might just ‘get bored and leak the whole thing before then anyway’. That’s fine with us!
The xx
The spine-tinglingly great London threesome are back with I See You, their follow-up to 2012’s Coexist. Romy Madley Croft, Jamie xx and Ollie Sim gave us a taste of things to come with the excellent single On Hold in November. The album’s out on 13 January and it’s been described as ‘more outward-looking, open and expansive’ than their previous releases. But it’s a safe bet it’ll be brilliant and most of the songs will soundtrack every TV show from now until kingdom come.
Drake and Kanye West
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Stewart Cook/REX/Shutterstock (7449730ek) Drake American Music Awards, Show, Los Angeles, USA – 20 Nov 2016
After his alleged falling out with Jay Z, it doesn’t look like Kanye will be embarking on Watch The Throne 2 anytime soon. But Kanye’s going to do a collaboration album with Drake in 2017, which could be the best thing since, er, Watch The Throne. In September, Kanye confirmed the collab, saying: ‘We’re just working on music, working on a bunch of music together, just having fun going into the studio.’ Cool. Two months later, Drake posted a pic of himself and Yeezy on his Instagram, with Kanye’s manager (and Justin Bieber enabler) Scooter Braun commenting: ‘It begins…’ No word on when the album will be out, but fingers crossed it’ll drop before the year is out.
Big-screen blockbusters
Tom Hiddleston rules 2017
Tom has two big films out this year. In Thor: Ragnarok (out 27 October) he reprises his role as Loki, the evil nemesis of Chris Hemsworth’s thunder god Thor. Chris has said he wants to ‘do something unexpected and really mix it up’ in this film, so we’ll see how that goes. Tom’s other blockbuster Kong: Skull Island (out on 10 March) is a reworking of the classic ‘ape goes wild’ tale, but unlike most King Kong films this one is set in the 1970s. A group of adventurers travel to a Pacific Island to explore, unaware of the beast within their midst. Oo-er.
The Downton Abbey movie
Mandatory Credit: Photo by David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock (5550487ev) Downton Abbey cast and crew National Television Awards, The O2, London, Britain – 20 Jan 2016
Even though the Dowager Countess – well, Maggie Smith – has pooh-poohed the idea of her appearing in a feature-length special, as her character would be 110, filming is set to being this year. Creator Julian Fellowes reveals: ‘I think it’ll be fun to get everyone together and move it to a larger scale because you have more money to spend.’
Wonder Woman
Out 2 June
After appearing in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice in 2016, Wonder Woman finally gets her own film. Gal Gadot again plays the kick-ass Amazon princess, who finds a US pilot washed up on the shore of her island paradise Themyscira. She also discovers she has some pretty rad superpowers, which is nice.
Blade Runner 2049
A sequel to the 1982 sci-fi classic was first mooted back in 1999, but it’s finally being released on 6 October. Harrison Ford’s back in the lead role for the dystopian franchise, starring alongside Ryan Gosling, Robin Wright and Jared Leto.
Beauty And The Beast
Out 17 March
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock (7523690b) Dan Stevens, Emma Watson Beauty and the Beast – 2017
There’s been massive hype for this live-action retelling of the classic tale, with Emma Watson as Belle and Downton Abbey’s Dan Stevens (nope, we still haven’t forgiven Julian Fellowes for ruining Christmas 2014) as the Beast. Judging by the trailers, it’s a beautifully lavish production. Emma’s been bringing the story up to date by making sure Belle’s a strong, independent woman, revealing: ‘We created a backstory that she’d invented a kind of washing machine so instead of doing laundry she could use that time to read. So yeah, we made Belle an inventor.’ Emma also refused to wear a corset for the role, insisting it would restrict her movement too much.
Spider-Man: Homecoming
The friendly neighbourhood arachnid gets another reboot on 7 July, with 20- year-old British actor Tom Holland in the title role as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. We. Can’t. Wait!
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2
Out 28 April
Unofficially known as ‘the film Chris Pratt got buff for’, the first Guardians Of The Galaxy movie was a huge box-office hit, raking in over £500 million. Now the gang (including Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon and Vin Diesel as living tree creature Groot) are back in cinemas this spring. The sequel is set two months after the end of the original and finds the oddball intergalactic crew travelling through the cosmos as half- human/half-alien Peter Quill (Pratt) tries to track down his estranged father after he was abducted and raised by a band of smugglers.
Star Wars: Episode VIII
Out 15 December
Star Wars fans will be partially sated by the recent release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, but the second ‘new’ Star Wars film hits cinemas in December as the follow-up to 2015’s The Force Awakens. Details of the plot are a closely guarded secret, but it’s been revealed that Episode VIII will pick up right after the end of The Force Awakens, when Rey (Daisy Ridley) met Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) on a remote island. Excitingly, Benicio Del Toro joins the cast as a baddie.
Fifty Shades Darker
Out 10 February
Mandatory Credit: Photo by David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock (4430780bj) Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ film premiere, London, Britain – 12 Feb 2015
The second Fifty Shades film is released in time for Valentine’s Day. What better way to spend the year’s most romantic date than watching what many feel is a fairly questionable erotic fiction adaptation? But fans don’t care about your literary snobbery and will no doubt swarm to see Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey and Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele.
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