With so many new and returning shows to look forward to, 2020 is shaping up to be a prolific year for true (and untrue) crime.
The Outsider
January 12 @ 9 pm, HBO
This 10-episode Stephen King adaptation looks very, very good. Did you catch the premiere?
Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez
January 15, Netflix
Did you listen to the Boston Globe’s podcast about him last year? This case just makes me sad, but it also sparks conversations about the cycle of violence and toxic masculinity that I am totally here for, so I’m curious what this Netflix documentary will reveal. (Truthfully though, when it comes to football cases, I’m much more intrigued by the mystery of Steve McNair’s murder.)
Vienna Blood
January 19 @ 10 pm, PBS
This 1900s period drama just might fill the hole left in my life by the end of Poldark and The Alienist – oh how I miss those costumes! And very much like The Alienist, this show follows a student of Sigmund Freud who uses psychoanalysis to help an Austrian detective solve murder cases.
Riverdale: Season 5
January 22 @ 8 pm, The CW
The best part about my favorite show is how we never have to wait long for its return, and this season promises to be the kookiest yet.
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Season 3
January 24, Netflix
Can’t wait to get witchy again and follow this homegirl into the bowels of hell 🔥
The Stranger
January 30, Netflix
Another Harlan Coben adaptation mystery (Safe and The Five) for your viewing pleasure. Seemingly happy families + shocking secrets coming to light? Check.
I Am A Killer: Season 2
January 31, Netflix
The eerie documentary series returns to make us question what makes someone a murderer, or a monster.
Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer
January 31, Amazon Prime
Keeping the Ted trend alive into 2020, this documentary features interviews from Elizabeth Kendall and others who survived their relationships with the infamous (and now thoroughly overexposed) serial killer.
Luna Nera
January 31, Netflix
A teenage witch discovering her powers in 17th century Italy? AND there are witch hunters? I already love Sabrina and The Order and The Witcher even Hemlock Grove, so sign me up.
McMillions
February 3, HBO
If you’re not familiar with the McDonald’s Monopoly scam, strap in for a wild story of good ol’ American greed. Better yet, start with this fantastic piece from The Daily Beast.
The Sinner
February 6 @ 9 pm, USA
USA Network is killing the prestige thriller game, and they’re bringing back The Sinner for a third season starring “Dirty” Bill Pullman, aka my favorite sad-sack detective. If you haven’t already watched the first two seasons, you really should.
Briarpatch
February 6 @ 10 pm, USA
Just stay in your seat, because right up next we have a new series from Mr. Robot’s Sam Esmail. Rosario Dawson returns to her hometown to investigate her sister’s mysterious death…and honestly, that’s all I need to know to get hooked.
Wrong Man: Season 2
February 9 @ 9:45 pm, Starz
Not sure how I missed the first season of this documentary series by Joe Berlinger, which follows three men who claim they have been wrongly convicted.
Kidding
February 9 @ 10 pm, Showtime
Watch children’s show puppeteer Jim Carrey continue to lose his shit in the new season of this incredibly depressing comedy that debuted during our year of existential despair entertainment.
Up and Vanished: Season 2
February 15 @ 7 pm, Oxygen
The upcoming season will focus on new cases of missing people. View the trailer here.
Outlander: Season 5
February 16 @ 8 pm, Starz
Claire and Jamie return to TV just in time to cure our post-Valentine’s Day blues. (Reminder: cuffing season is still cancelled.
Sacred Lies: The Singing Bones
February 20, Facebook Watch
After watching Limetown and the first season of this series, I’m starting to view Facebook Watch as a legitimate platform capable of putting out some interesting content. The second season is also based upon a Brothers Grimm fairytale, this time bringing the fantastic actress Juliette Lewis and True Blood‘s Ryan Kwanten into the fold.
The Most Dangerous Animal of All
March 6 @ 10 pm, FX (each episode airs on Hulu the next day)
This four-part series is based on the 2014 book by Gary Stewart, whose obsessive search for his estranged father reveals clues that he might have been the Zodiac Killer.
Lost Girls
March 13, Netflix
If you’re intrigued by the Long Island Serial Killer cold cases, tune in for this dramatization that focuses on a single victim, Shannan Gilbert, and her mother Mari’s mission to uncover the truth about her death. There’s a lot to unpack about this case, especially how attitudes toward sex workers impacted the way law enforcement approached the investigation. I’m planning to take a deeper dive with Robert Kolker’s book Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery, and if you can’t wait until March, get caught up on the LISK case with the Killing Season.
Mrs. America
April 15, Hulu
Gotta watch this one for Cate Blanchett’s turn as Phillis Shlafly, notorious traitor of American women who fought against the Equal Rights Amendment with everything she had. Actually the whole cast in this period piece sounds incredible: Rose Byrne as Gloria Steinem, Uzo Aduba as Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Paulson, Melanie Lynskey…I’m so stoked, I can’t wait. Even in 2020 people are conveniently confused about the mission of feminism, much less what it means (definition: political, social and economic equality of the sexes), so it feels like a critical time for this FX show to clear these details up for the masses. It’s a long shot, but maybe if a show can help haters learn the history of what the fuck these women fought for, they’ll understand who has actually had their back this whole time.
Fargo: Season 4
April 19, FX
The newest season stars Chris Rock as the head of a crime syndicate in 1950 Kansas City, Missouri. (Apparently at this point, “Fargo” refers to the entire Midwest.)
That ought to be enough to hold us over, at least until the next batch of spring premieres are announced. If you still need more to binge, see if there are any shows you missed in 2019!
