Thirty-odd years ago, Bruce Springsteen sang despairingly about “57 channels and nothin’ on,” but the paradox of choice is even more pronounced for the contemporary clicker.
With what seems like at least 57 streaming services out there these days, the anxiety of searching for a show is more acute than ever. It’s enough to make you turn to a good book – or back to basic cable, at least.
But before you resign yourself to Law and Order Toronto: Criminal Intent (spring 2024 on Citytv), take a look at five impending shows that might be worth renewing a subscription or two.
True Detective: Night Country (Crave, Jan. 14)
HBO
Few shows have had such buzz followed by fizz as HBO’s True Detective. But the brand is back for Season 4 – and there’s reason to hope for a gripping good time with Mexican filmmaker Issa López newly at the helm as showrunner. A heavyweight, double Oscar winner Jodie Foster, and a literal welterweight, boxer-turned-actor Kali Reis, are the detectives this time around investigating the disappearance of eight men at a research station in Ennis, Alaska. The visuals in the trailer are all northern noir, promising blood in the snow and frightening frozen corpses.
Avatar: The Last Airbender (Netflix, Feb. 22)
Netflix
No, not that Avatar. In its original animated form aired in the oughts, Avatar: The Last Airbender was a culture-blending fantasy series about various “benders” manipulating water, earth, fire or air; it managed to be both popular and win a Peabody Award. Netflix’s new live-action reboot from showrunner Albert Kim isn’t Canadian – it just seems that way with Aang, the titular bender of air, played by Vancouver teen Gordon Cormier and waterbender Katara played by Kiawentiio (star of Tracey Deer’s Canadian Screen Award-winning film, Beans). Paul Sun-Hyung Lee of Kim’s Convenience is on board too as General Iroh, retired from the Fire Nation’s war machine.
The Trades (Crave, spring)
Supplied/Bell Media
Bell Media’s streamer has built its cred in crass Canadian comedy with Letterkenny, but its future in that department lies in more than just spinoffs such as Shoresy. The Trades comes from the producers of Trailer Park Boys and stars the actor who played good old Ricky from that series – that’d be Robb Wells – as a welder named Todd Stool eager to be promoted to site manager at Conch Industries in Nova Scotia. Instead, Chelsea (Jennifer Spence) from head office arrives to take that job and throws his community of tradesmen and women for a loop. Todd’s dad is played by veteran trader Patrick McKenna (you know, from Traders – and The Red Green Show) and the head of Conch is played by the crassest Canuck of all, Tom Green.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Prime Video, Feb. 2)
David Lee/Amazon Prime
There was no huge nostalgia for the 2005 action comedy about married spies that got Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt together, even before the depressing details of their divorce starting dripping out.
But as far as recycled IP goes, this new serialized version seems worth surveilling given it stars Atlanta’s Donald Glover (creator of the show with Atlanta writer Francesca Sloane) and Maya Erskine from perennially underrated Pen15. Plus, the likes of Michaela Coel, Paul Dano, Parker Posey, John Turturro and Alexander Skarsgard will appear.
The Regime (Crave, spring)
HBO
A little further down the line in 2024 comes this new limited HBO series starring Kate Winslet as the chancellor of a fictional Central European autocracy. Stephen Frears (A Very English Scandal) and Jessica Hobbs (The Crown) direct a cast that includes Hugh Grant and back-on-the-rise Andrea Riseborough. With Succession writer Will Tracy in charge, will it fill the hole in the prestige satire slot left by the departure of the Roys - or will it skew more toward Tracy’s comedy-horror film The Menu? Tune in to laugh and shudder either way.
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J. Kelly Nestruck