Diksha Sundriyal
It hasn’t been long since Netflix came up with its streaming service. However, considering the success it has met within a very short span of time, it can be understood that it is due to the quality content that it has provided in all sections of entertainment, from films to series. While it is a collection house for movies and TV shows from decades back in time, Netflix has made its name for the original content that it brings for its international audience. The presence of its movies has increased in film festivals and award shows, and from the past couple of years, including this one, Netflix has made its strong presence felt even in the Academy Awards. However, what actually entices its audience is the streak of amazing TV shows that it comes up with every year. ‘Mindhunter’, ‘The Crown’, ‘Stranger Things’ and ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ are only a couple of shows that took the world by storm.
With ‘Always a Witch’, ‘Nightflyers’ (based on the novella by George R.R Martin) and ‘Russian Doll’ already released, the standards have only increased for the upcoming shows. Here is the list of the upcoming new shows coming out on Netflix in 2019 and 2020. We can only hope that these latest Netflix shows are as good as some of the recent series it produced.
18. Madam C.J Walker Project (2019)
Sarah Breedlove was an African-American entrepreneur who changed everyone’s views about what women, especially the African-Americans, could do in the society. In the late 1800s, she came up with beauty and hair products for black women and became one of the most successful people in America. In fact, she is said to be the first ever self-made millionaire woman in the history of the country. No matter how great the results were, her story was full of trials and struggles, and that’s why it is more important to acknowledge the journey than its outcome. In an effort of that, Netflix is producing a limited series based on her life, in which Octavia Spencer will play the lead role.
17. Raising Dion (2019)
This sci-fi series will be based around a woman who discovers new struggles of raising her young son. Nicole’s husband, Mark, was a scientist. However, a tragic incident resulted in his death and this left Nicole alone to raise their only son. The loss of her husband and the responsibility of raising a child had already been weighing down on her. But, somehow, Nicole pulled herself together and managed to do the job. Until one day, she discovered that her son is not normal. He starts exhibiting some powers which at first seem minor, but then, day by day, get more intense. How does she deal with that?
16. Justice (2019)
As I said, Netflix has the policy of expansion which has allowed it to set up shop in every country. UAE is the next on its list. With its first Arabic show, which it will produce in collaboration with the networks of the country, Netflix has come up with ‘Justice’. It is a legal drama and will follow the story of Farah. Her family runs a law firm in UAE, and she has freshly returned after completing her studies in the USA. However, she refuses to join the family business and sets out to carve her own path in the legal world.
15. What If (2019)
Anthology series are becoming more and more popular now. Yes, we like cliff-hangers at the end of every season and wilfully suffer the agony of waiting for the next. But sometimes, some shows just go on and on, and watching them becomes an agony in itself! Anthologies are better because even if one season goes wrong, the other could be better (something that happened with HBO’s ‘True Detective’). ‘What If’ will follow the same format. The basic theme will be exactly what the title suggests. How does one action or event cause an effect on the life of others? What are the moral implications of the bad things done by good people? Further details about the show are obscured, but we do know that Renée Zellweger will be in the lead role.
14. Jupiter’s Legacy (TBA)
‘Jupiter’s Legacy’ is a comic book series written by Mark Millar, who is also the author of other comic books that were adapted into successful films like ‘Wanted’, ‘Kingsman’ and ‘Kick-Ass’. Millar’s this story focuses on a world where the superheroes have seized control of the government and are now ruling the world. As for other superheroes, this presents a dilemma. Do they go with the flow, or do they restore order as it was before? Considering the great stuff that we have received from Millar’s previous comics, we can easily say that ‘Jupiter’s Legacy’ will be one hell of a ride too.
13. Turn Up Charlie (March 15, 2019)
“Sexiest Man Alive” Idris Elba is a man of many talents. He is a great actor, but he is also a great DJ. But, that’s in real life. In ‘Turn Up Charlie’, he’ll play the role of a not so successful person. Charlie is waiting for his career to take off as a DJ, but it has been a very long time since he has been doing that and there doesn’t seem any hope for him. His love for being a bachelor has left him a lonely man. Companionship comes up in the form of an eleven-year-old girl, Gabby, who is the daughter of Charlie’s more successful friends. He acts as a nanny to her, and that’s when things start to change for him.
12. Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 (2020)
Per Netflix’s official announcement, the third season of the anime series will be directed by Appleseed’s Shinji Aramaki and Kenji Kamiyama, while the latter had worked previously on ‘Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex’. The premise of ‘Ghost in the Shell’ is well-known – set in 2030, the time when people rely more on prosthetics and have become cyborgs in the Japanese city of Niihama, amid special task forces to tackle crime involving cyborgs. The first two seasons were centred around corruption scandals within the Japanese government.
11. Black Summer (2019)
The genre of zombie movies has gained a lot of momentum, especially after the success of ‘The Walking Dead’. Every year, we get at least one zombie movie and have at least a bunch on the horizon. Netflix has been making all sorts of shows for its audience, so why should they be behind in the zombie genre. To rectify that situation, a new series is in the making. ‘Black Summer’ will be set in the same universe as the Syfy’s series ‘Z Nation’. It will follow the story of a mother who has to find a way through the zombie infested world to find her daughter.
10. Altered Carbon (TBD)
The second anime series recently announced by Netflix, which already has a live-action television show can’t get any better. The present live-action television series is set in a dystopian future where a person’s memories and consciousness can be downloaded onto a cortical stack, a device which can then be attached to the vertebral column of another body or a sleeve (artificial bodies), to transfer the consciousness and memories. Apparently, the new anime series is touted to be based on similar lines, albeit in a parallel universe i.e. it could be a spinoff. If at all, the anime version could cover for all the shortcomings of the present live-action series. Only time will tell that.
9. The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019)
The world of fantasy is endless. You can create whatever world you want, in any way you want it. There are endless possibilities with this genre. In 1982, a high-fantasy movie came by the name of ‘The Dark Crystal’. It followed the quest of a Gelfling to restore balance to his world. ‘The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance’ will serve as the prequel to this story and will allow the producers to come up with a solid back story for its characters, as well as the whole universe. The series will have eight episodes and the characters will be voiced by actors like Taron Edgerton, Anya Taylor-Joy, Helena Bonham Carter, Natalie Dormer and Alicia Vikander.
8. Jinn (2019)
We have all heard the story of Aladdin, and the genie that was released from the bottle. However, if you have heard other tales from ‘Arabian Nights’, then you must know that the character of the genie isn’t as friendly as Disney made him out to be. If not, then this series will introduce you to a new concept. Set in the modern world, it follows a group of youngsters who bear witness to the release of a powerful Jinn, and must now work together to stop the supernatural entity from destroying the world as they know it. The series will be in the Arabic language, though subtitles will make it okay to watch for the whole world.
7. Messiah (2019)
Religion is a very complicated thing. It is different for everyone, and the problem is that everyone wants their version to be true for the rest of the world. And this is the cause of half the problems in the world. This series will be woven around a similar concept. It will follow the rise of a man who claims to be the Messiah of the modern world. We have seen how people have reacted to such figures in the past and how these figures have changed the course of history. It’ll be interesting to see how this story will work in the modern setting.
6. Pacific Rim (TBD)
The popular ‘Pacific Rim’, which already has a couple of live-action films, is making a comeback on Netflix with an all-exclusive anime series. The word on the street is that the premise would be set around a young boy and a girl who would assume control of an abandoned Jaeger and traverse the country, looking for their parents, while the Kaiju crisis still looms on them. Unfortunately, Guillermo del Toro, the original creator of Pacific Rim won’t be involved in the project.
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5. Queen Sono (2019)
The world of espionage is very exciting. However, it would be sane to believe that it might not exactly be as lavish and centred as what we see in the movies, especially the ‘Bond movies’ and the ‘Mission: Impossible’ series. The spies live proper lives, no matter how set they might be in truth or lies, but they do have to deal with some things that normal people do. ‘Queen Sono’ will follow the story of one such spy. Working as an agent for the South African government, it will focus on both the clandestine and the cover life of the protagonist.
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4. The Umbrella Academy (February 15, 2019)
Based on the comic book series of the same name, this show has a very interesting concept. In 1989, a certain number of children are born to the women who weren’t pregnant a day prior to their birth. A handful of these children are adopted by a billionaire who creates the Umbrella Academy, believing that he will take care of the children and prepare them for the future. What he doesn’t take into account is the diverse nature and the characteristics of the children, which eventually leads to the breaking of the family. Now, years later, these children are reunited by the death of the man who brought them together, and a global threat with its clock ticking to destroy the world.
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3. Central Park Five (2019)
On April 19, 1989, a heinous act happened that changed the course of the life of six people. The first of them was Trisha Meili. She was an investment banker, in her late 20s. One day, she went out for jogging but was found raped and brutalised. The crime left her in a coma for 12 days. The other five were a group of men, four African-Americans and one Hispanic, who were charged with the crime. They confessed to it but then mentioned in the court that they were coerced to do so. However, this didn’t change the fact that they still were convicted and served time in jail. Later, a piece of new information came to light that changed everything about the case.
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2. After Life (March 8, 2019)
Ricky Gervais is another level of comedian. If you haven’t seen ‘The Office’ (the U.K one, the original one!) then you need to watch it ASAP. You need to watch everything that Gervais is in because until you get the hang of his comedy, you will not truly appreciate this show! It will follow the life of Tony, or what becomes of it after his wife dies. His wife was the only sensible thing in the world for Tony, and after her death, he doesn’t know how to make sense of everything. At first, he thinks about killing himself, but then, a thought pops in his mind. It’d be too easy for the world if he died. So, he decides to make everyone suffer.
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1. The Witcher (2019)
One of the most anticipated shows of Netflix, ‘The Witcher’ will be a fantasy drama based on the book of the same name. It will star Henry Cavill in the lead role of the monster hunter who traverses the world in search of the things that he is trained to kill since his childhood. But people prove to be trickier to him than the monster sometimes. And then, a sorceress and a princess enter the equation, and everything changes for the Witcher. Being a high-grade fantasy, and premiering after one of the most popular fantasy shows will come to an end, there are a lot of expectations resting on the shoulders of this one. People will want something new to obsesses over, and this could very well be the next big thing for them.
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