9 new TV shows to keep an eye on in 2018.

There's a lot of TV around these days. A lot. Between Netfix, Amazon Prime, Hulu and the 17 billion TV channels around its tough to keep up. Actually no its impossible, and made more difficult by the new influx of stuff coming this year. But its a first world complaint really ain't it and sure we might as well start somewhere so here's 9 I think are worth watching out for though. 1 will definitely be available on Netflix and the others..........well........how you watch the others is between you and whatever god you believe in. Cough.

Britannia 

This looks to be the one that will keep those of us suffering from Game Of Thrones withdrawals afloat. The story of the Roman invasion of Britain in the 4th century and the violent sex crazed druids and tribes fighting to keep them out. Bloody sword play and shagging will no doubt abound. Kelly Reilly, David Morrisey and Mackenzie Crook star. Available in full on Sky boxsets from today.

The Chi

The Chi (pronounced Shy) is a story of life in the underprivileged southside of Chicago. The serious flipside to Shameless. I've seen episode 1 of this and it's good stuff. Tough and gritty and doesn't shy away from the harsh realities of being a minority in Trump's America. Jason Mitchell who was so good in Straight Outta Compton leads a superb cast of well drawn characters. 2 episodes of this are out now. Episode 1 is available on YouTube too.

The Assassination Of Gianni Versace

Remember last year's show The People VS OJ Simpson? Remember how brilliant it was? Well this story of the murder of Gianni Versace by Andrew Cunanan is it's follow up and early word on it is excellent. Creator Ryan Murphy is doing his own take on famous American crime cases and because he will be doing a different story each year it's never dragged out or packed with filler. This looks nuts. 1st episode is out now.

Maniac 

It's Superbad 2 : Superbad Harder. OK it's not but the stars of the 2007 film, Emma Stone and Jonah Hill are back together again in this new show about the fantasy worlds of two people struggling with mental health issues. This could be great as long as we are laughing along with the characters and not at them. Plus like...just look at that mullet. No idea when this one is coming out but it's being shown on Netflix.

Howard's End

Look at that above picture. Sumptuous. Matthew McFayden and Hayley Atwell star in this new adaption of the E.M. Forster novel about class status in the early days of the 20th century. Created by Kenneth Lonergan who directed the fantastic You Can Count On Me and Manchester By The Sea. Early reports about this tell us it's a cracking adaption that still has a lot of relevance to modern times.

Happy

A hitman is badly wounded and when he gets brought back from the brink of death, an imaginary friend tags along for the ride. I've seen 3 episodes of this and it is fucking bonkers. Great fun and lead by a brilliant Christopher Meloni. If you only know him as Stabler from Special Victims Unit you are in for a crazy ride. Don't bother with this one if you are easily offended.

Roseanne

Yup. It's coming back and it's pretending that the horrible last series that left us all with a bad memory of this once fantastic show never existed. I've pretty high hopes for this one actually as it was at one stage the funniest show around and it has a great cast who are still regular faces on TV and cinema. Plus it has two Becky's. I'm curious about how this last part is going to work out but it should be fun. Back in March.

Good Girls

Mae Whitman, so good in Parenthood. Rhetta, so good in Parks And Recreation. Christina Hendricks, so good in Mad Men. Put the three of them together and you've got a comedy drama that can't go wrong. It's about 3 women struggling to make ends meet who decide to turn to crime but of course things don't work out the way they planned. This should be fun. Starts next month.

Waco

The story of the standoff between David Koresh and his Branch Davidian cult in Waco, Texas and the FBI and ATF agencies. This 6 part series is going to be told from the viewpoint of Koresh himself and the agents involved. Taylor Kitsch is the cult leader and Michael Shannon and Andreas Riseborough have large roles too. The latter two actors are two of the best in the business at the moment and make this pretty much unmissable. Starting next week.