When it comes to creating top-notch prestige dramas and comedies, be they limited series, TV shows or made-for-TV movies, HBO knows what it’s doing. Frequently serving up some of the most exciting shows around (and that’s saying something, considering we live in the era of peak TV), HBO in 2017 premiered hot properties like The Night Before, Big Little Lies, Divorce and Westworld. We also got fresh seasons of Game of Thrones, Veep, Silicon Valley and Insecure. Do you remember how much the internet would explode with excitement after each and every episode of these fantastic shows?
And if you thought 2017 was a big year for HBO, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
2018 is poised to be another banner year for the premium cable channel as it leans hard into the drama category and brings to our screens some of the darkest and twistiest family dramas, small-town dramas and crime dramas we may watch all year. But don’t worry: With the return of some of your favorite comedic TV shows as well, there’s going to be something for everyone on HBO in 2018.
‘Mosaic’
Running over six consecutive nights in the final full week of January, Mosaic comes from the mind of Steven Soderbergh and follows famed children’s author Olivia Lake and the men and women who swirl around her. After Lake is murdered, it’s up to local authorities and the sister of Lake’s boyfriend to find out who actually killed her. Mosaic is currently airing on HBO and will be available on HBO Go simultaneously.
‘Paterno’
Al Pacino steps into the shoes of iconic former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno in Paterno, which focuses on the titular coach’s role in the fallout from the revelations about his assistant coach Jerry Sandusky’s abuse of young boys. Paterno premieres in the spring.
‘Fahrenheit 451’
The classic novel by Ray Bradbury has been adapted for HBO and will star Michael Shannon, Sofia Boutella and Michael B. Jordan in a limited series about a young fireman living in an alternate universe where books are burned on sight. He chooses to rebel, but can he also get others to reject their oppressive government and choose to think for themselves? Fahrenheit 451 arrives sometime later in 2018 and will be perfect for fans of The Handmaid’s Tale and folks who love timely dramas.
‘Succession’
Succession promises heavy hitters like Brian Cox and Kieran Culkin as well as some serious drama. According to Indiewire, the show “circles around the Roy family and their media conglomerate. The latter is a global force with considerable power. The former controls that power, but the family’s internal dysfunction could get the better of them.” Succession arrives in the spring.
‘Here and Now’
Holly Hunter and Tim Robbins star in Alan Ball’s (TrueBlood) latest show, a drama about two educators and their adopted adult children navigating the complexities of life in their unique situation. Expect this hot new drama to drop on Feb. 11.
‘Notes From the Field’
Renowned theater actor Anna Deavere Smith brings her one-woman show to HBO. It’s about the school-to-prison pipeline, which many Americans need to know more about, and was compiled from Smith’s interviews with more than 200 people. Notes From the Field premieres on Feb. 24.
‘Barry’: Season 1
Bill Hader will bring his Saturday Night Live wits to HBO with Barry, which is set to premiere on March 25. Hader will star as Barry, a Midwest hitman who also loves acting and chooses to pursue his acting dreams in Los Angeles.
‘Westworld’: Season 2
We’re all clamoring to get our hands on the highly bingeable, all-consuming, deeply exciting and twisted show that is Westworld — especially after the Season 1 finale teased dark clashes. Season 2 doesn’t have a specific premiere date, but let’s hope it follows in the footsteps of Season 1 and drops sometime in late summer or early fall.
‘Sharp Objects’
Sharp Objects stars Patricia Clarkson and Amy Adams, who plays “a crime reporter fresh out of a psychiatric hospital [who] returns to her hometown to investigate the murder of two young girls,” according to Indiewire. It sounds like your standard dark crime drama, but considering it was written by Gillian Flynn, who also penned Gone Girl, there’s likely more than meets the eye here. The series will premiere sometime in the summer.
‘Veep’: The Final Season
It’s time to say so long and farewell to the award-winning HBO comedy Veep and the amazing actors who star in it. A premiere date for the first episode of Season 7 hasn’t been set, but there’s a good chance Veep will take its final bow in fall 2018.
‘Big Little Lies’: Season 2
With Meryl Streep joining the rest of the original cast, Season 2 of Big Little Lies is going to be a knockout when it likely premieres in fall 2018.
‘Insecure’: Season 3
There’s no specific premiere date, even though we know Insecure is coming back in 2018. But that doesn’t matter because we’re so, so ready to rejoin Issa and her friends as they figure out how to adult in Season 3.
‘True Detective’: Season 3
There’s a chance to redeem True Detective in Season 3 with a knockout cast that includes Oscar winner Mahershala Ali, The Girlfriend Experience‘s Carmen Ejogo and Halt and Catch Fire‘s Scoot McNairy. There’s a good chance the show will air in fall or winter 2018, but there’s still little to go on in the way of plot. A mystery around True Detective? We wouldn’t have it any other way.
‘Chernobyl’
Possibly premiering as early as fall or winter 2018, Chernobyl features The Crown‘s Jared Harris as “Valery Lagasov, a Soviet Union scientist who was chosen by the Kremlin to investigate the 1986 nuclear disaster that resulted in 46 deaths and remains one of the worst man-made catastrophes in human history.”
‘Watchmen’
The graphic novel, about a ragtag group of vigilante superheroes living in an alternate 1980s America where the threat of nuclear war looms large, is being adapted this time by Lost and Star Trek screenwriter Damon Lindelof. There’s no word yet on a specific premiere date, but expect the pilot to drop on to HBO later in 2018.
‘Silicon Valley’: Season 5
The dry, wry and cringeworthy comedy is coming back to HBO for its fifth season sans T.J. Miller but with the rest of the lovable Silicon Valley nerds in tow. Season 5 is set to premiere on March 25.
‘2 Dope Queens’
Jessica Williams and Phoebe Robinson bring their hit podcast to life with a staged version of their show and, thankfully, it’s televised so we can all rejoice in their comedic stylings. 2 Dope Queens hits HBO on Feb. 2.
‘Atomic Homefront’
This shocking documentary explores St. Louis, Missouri, as the past location for a uranium processing center and how present-day citizens of the city are still dealing with those radioactive effects. It debuts on Feb. 13.
‘Last Week Tonight with John Oliver’
John Oliver is coming back to give viewers the grim yet frequently hilarious news of the week in the only way he knows how. Luckily, the wait isn’t too long; Last Week Tonight is back for Season 5 on Feb. 18.
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