There is no better feeling in the world than pressing play on a new television series and immediately knowing “this is it—this is my new show.” Truly, there’s not a day that goes by when I don’t wish I could watch The Good Wife for the first time all over again (that show was perfect. Don’t @ me).
Luckily, in the era of Peak TV, there have never been more options to try before finding The One. Here, the 16 best and most anticipated new shows of 2019 (in order of release date). Happy viewing!
1. ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’
Premiere date: January 10
Okay, okay, okay, I know Brooklyn Nine-Nine is not a new show, but it’s amazing and it’s switched networks. So it’s different. Leave me alone.
2. ‘Sex Education’
Premiere date: January 11, Netflix
Otis Milburn (Asa Butterfield) is a socially awkward virgin who somehow gets roped into giving sex advice to students across campus…for a price. Hear me out though. Gillian Anderson (X-Files) stars as Otis’ sex-therapist mother, and she is perfection. In fact, the entire show is a lovely kind of weird that will remind you a bit of Everything Sucks! meets End of the F**king World.
3. ‘Roswell, New Mexico’
Premiere date: January 15, The CW
For those of you who haven’t seen the original Roswell, The CW just brought back the story of three sexy aliens trying to keep their family secret hidden in the small, alien-obsessed town of Roswell, New Mexico. But this time, it has Tyler Blackburn (Caleb from Pretty Little Liars), which is a good enough reason as any to tune in.
Another reason: the explosive chemistry between Nathan Dean Parsons (sexy alien deputy Max Evans) and Jeanine Mason (badass human Liz Ortecho). Or what about the fire between Blackburn and relative newcomer Michael Vlamis (who plays alien bad-boy Michael Guerin)? This show’s just really sexy, OKAY?
4. ‘Deadly Class’
Premiere date: January 16, SYFY
Yes, that is Lana Condor from To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before with tattoo sleeves. In Deadly Class, Condor stars as Saya, just one of the young assassins training at the underground campus Kings Dominion. It’s set in the ’80s, so you know the music will be just as sick as the fight scenes.
5. ‘The Other Two’
Premiere date: January 24, Comedy Central
What if Justin Bieber had way less successful older siblings…does Justin Bieber have older siblings?! Comedy Central’s The Other Two is a hysterical look at the lives of one tween pop-star’s collateral damage: his underachieving brother and sister.
6. ‘I Am the Night’
Premiere date: January 28, TNT
A limited series based on the unsolved Black Dahlia murders, starring Chris Pine and directed by Wonder Woman’s Patty Jenkins? Enough said.
7. ‘Russian Doll’
Premiere date: February 1, Netflix
If you didn’t watch Natasha Lyonne’s (Orange Is the New Black) seedy, twisted version of Groundhog Day, you’re in a bad timeline and I hope someone comes and helps you out of it.
8. ‘The Umbrella Academy’
Premiere date: February 15, Netflix
Similar to Deadly Class, The Umbrella Academy is based off a popular comic-book series about a group of kids in a special school, only this time the teens have supernatural abilities. But here’s where things get a bit more unique than your average X-Men drama: seven kids were born by women who were never pregnant, then adopted by a billionaire who trains them to become superheroes. Now, all grown up, these supers must stop the apocalypse.
9. ‘Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists’
Premiere date: March 20, Freeform
Yet another reason for PLL fans to rejoice! Freeform reunites Alison DiLaurentis (Sasha Pieterse) with Mona Vanderwaal (Janel Parrish) in Beacon Heights, a town that “seems perfect, from their top-tier college to their overachieving residents.” Of course, that means there’s nothing perfect about it, and there’s gonna be plenty of murder and lies.
10. ‘Chernobyl’
Premiere date: May 6, HBO
How could we not include the top ranking TV show on IMDB?! Chernobylis a five-part miniseries that tells the story of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster and pretty quickly became plenty of people’s new fave HBO show after a certain series finale (*cough* Game of Thrones *cough*) had a far from stellar reception.
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11. ‘The Society’
Premiere date: May 10, Netflix
Things take a turn for the weird in the town of West Ham when all the adults mysteriously vanish *dun dun duuun*. A group of high school students, including Kathryn Newton from Big Little Lies as Allie, then have to run their small town after a mysterious forest appears and makes outside electronic contact impossible. Drama ensues.
12. ‘Good Omens’
Premiere date: May 31, 2019
This fantasy series stars Michael Sheen as an uptight angel and David Tennant as a rowdy, sarcastic demon, as they team up to save the world from the apocalypse. Oh, and John Hamm is in it, too, as the archangel Gabriel, but really just Jon Hamm if he worked for heaven. Tell me that doesn’t sound epically good.
13. ‘Euphoria’
Premiere date: June 16, 2019
There’s no doubt that teen drama Euphoria has become our summer obsession. Reasons why include (in no particular order): Zendaya is captivating in it, the makeup is insane, Maddy Perez is quite possibly the baddest bitch ever and one scene alone has at least 17 penises. What’s not to love?
14. ‘Nancy Drew’
Premiere date: October 9, 2019
If the latest episodes of Riverdale are just too painful for you, hopefully the new Nancy Drew series will be able to fill all of our teen-murder-mystery needs. According to exec producer Stephanie Savage, this version of the iconic character will be a little more gritty, saying, “she wasn’t just a good girl…she had a little darkness in her.” Oh my.
15. ‘His Dark Materials’
Premiere date: Fall 2019, HBO
Regardless of whether you were a fan of the fantasy His Dark Materials book series, the upcoming HBO adaptation looks at least considerably better than the 2007 film adaptation of The Golden Compass (no shade Nicole Kidman). The series follows a parallel universe where everyone has a daemon, aka a animal version of their soul, and things take a dark turn when children start to go missing. If that doesn’t hook you, James McAvoy and Lin Manuel Miranda are in it.
16. ‘The Morning Show’
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Premiere date: Fall 2019, Apple
All we’ve got on Apple’s first bid to replace Netflix and Amazon is this short plot description from IMDB:
An inside look at the lives of the people who help America wake up in the morning, exploring the unique challenges faced by the men and women who carry out this daily televised ritual.
Honestly, all you really need to know is that it’s starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carrell, so you’re gonna watch it.