15 riveting series you won't wanna miss in 2018

Crime, true and invented, dominates the series offerings this year, but there's plenty more too

07 January 2018 - 00:00 By tymon smith

Tymon Smith Features writer, film and series reviewer

There were too many shows to watch in 2017 and too little time. And it looks as if viewers are going to be even more spoilt for choice this year when it comes to figuring out what to watch.

Here's a taste of some of the great series to look out for in 2018:

1. THE CHI

Created by Emmy-winning Master of None writer Lena Waithe, this Showtime drama series focuses on the lives of four strangers in Chicago's notorious South Side whose lives are drawn together after a terrible tragedy.

2. AMERICAN CRIME STORY: THE ASSASSINATION OF GIANNI VERSACE

Following the success of the first installment of Ryan Murphy's anthology series, which focused on the trial of OJ Simpson, the show turns its attention to the 1997 assassination of designer Gianni Versace (Edgar Ramirez) by Andrew Cunanan (Darren Criss).

3. HEATHERS

The cult 1988 teen classic film in which the outcasts take over their high school gets a 10-part series update on the Paramount Network.

4. SHARP OBJECTS

Based on the novel by Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn this eight-episode HBO series stars Amy Adams as a journalist who returns to her hometown to investigate the murder of two young girls. Big Little Lies director Jean-Marc Vallee directs all eight episodes.

5. MANIAC

True Detective director Cary Fukunaga tries his hand at black comedy in this Netflix adaptation of a 2014 Norwegian show in which a man (Jonah Hill) creates a rich fantasy life while institutionalised in a psychiatric ward. Emma Stone also stars.

6. THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS

Netflix continues to lure the biggest names with the television debut of the Coen brothers who have created a six-part Western anthology show featuring a cast that includes James Franco and Zoe Kazan.

7. UNSOLVED

The USA Network attempts its own true-crime series with this account of the rivalry between rappers Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur and the investigations into their murders. Josh Duhamel, Bokeem Woodbine, Wavyy Jonez and Marcc Rose star.

8. TROY: FALL OF A CITY

Shot in Cape Town and developed by the BBC in collaboration with Netflix, this epic retelling of the Iliad is written by British playwright David Farr.

9. GOOD OMENS

Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's 1990 darkly comic novel gets television treatment in a six-part series developed by the BBC and Amazon Studios.

10. MOSAIC

Steven Soderbergh has created a murder mystery that works in conjunction with an app to deliver for HBO a ground-breaking new means of interaction. The storylines are determined by viewers, who can choose their own paths through the story.

11. PATRICK MELROSE

Based on Edward St Aubyn's novels detailing the trials and tribulations of playboy Patrick Melrose, this five-part series, each based on one of the novels, stars Benedict Cumberbatch.

12. COLLATERAL

Written by acclaimed British playwright David Hare, this four-part BBC miniseries focuses on the aftermath of a fatal shooting.

13. WACO

The Paramount Network focuses on the events at Waco, Texas in 1993 when a standoff between members of the Branch Davidians and US law enforcement ended in the deaths of 76 people. Taylor Kitsch takes the role of cult leader David Koresh.

14. SAFE

Dexter's Michael C Hall stars in this show set in a gated community and centering on the struggles of a paediatric surgeon who must raise his two teenage daughters after the death of their mother.

15. CASTLE ROCK

JJ Abrams and Stephen King collaborate for this Hulu show, which interweaves stories and themes from several of King's novels set in the fictional town of Castle Rock.