5 returning television shows we’re excited for

Alex Bailey / Netflix

Lisa Tomasetti / See-Saw Films / SundanceTV

Courtesy Fox

Courtesy Amazon Studios

Chris Newbould takes a look at some of the key shows returning and what to expect from them.

Orphan Black

Tatiana Maslana returns as, well, most of the characters, in the fifth and final series of this cloning drama. It focuses on Sarah Manning, a woman who assumes the identity of one of her clones, Elizabeth Childs, after witnessing her suicide. The show raises issues about the moral and ethical implications of cloning, and its effect on issues of personal identity.

• BBC First; spring

The Crown

Claire Foy and Matt Smith will return for the second season of The Crown, the most expensive TV show to date. They star as Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in the historical drama about the British royal family. Do not get too attached to the lead actors though – with the show now signed up for six seasons – each covering a decade of the Queen's reign, producers have revealed that the cast will change every two seasons, to reflect the ageing of the characters.

• Netflix; late in the year

Top of the Lake: China Girl

The steady stream of Hollywood movie stars switching to TV continues, and does not get much more A-list than Nicole Kidman, who will join the cast of this BBC detective drama for its new season. She plays an Australian woman whose story "will intersect with" the main character, Detective Robin Griffin, once again played by Mad Men star Elisabeth Moss. We pick up her story four years after the events of the first season. Game of Thrones and Star Wars: The Force Awakens actress Gwendoline Christie also appear in "a major role".

• BBC First; summer

24: Legacy

There is just 24 hours to save the world, and Jack Bauer is nowhere to be found. Much-loved, ground-breaking, real-time action thriller 24 is returning, but without Kiefer Sutherland as the star. Instead, Corey Hawkins – who excelled in his portrayal of Dr Dre in the 2015 film Straight Outta Compton – stars as Eric Carter, a former soldier who teams up with the newly revived Counter Terrorism Unit, in a race against time to catch the bad guys.

• Fox; February

Z: The Beginning of Everything

Christina Ricci returns as Zelda Fitzgerald, the wife of novelist F Scott Fitzgerald, in this historical drama set during the period leading up to their courtship and beyond. This is actually the first season, but follows a well received one-off pilot in November 2015. It is based on Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, by Therese Anne Fowler.

• Amazon Prime; January 27