<span>T</span><span>his has been another seismic year for</span><span> TV. Sure, </span><span><em>Game of Thrones</em></span><span> might have left fans crippled with disappointment at its finale, but the success HBO had with </span><span>shows such as </span><span><em>Chernobyl</em></span><span>,</span><span><em> </em></span><span><em>Succession</em></span><span>,</span><span><em> </em></span><span><em>Watchmen</em></span><span>,</span><span><em> </em></span><span><em>Barry</em></span><span><em> </em></span><span>and </span><span><em>Euphoria</em></span><span> </span><span>more than made up for it. </span><span>And while </span><span>the network is still setting the benchmark for the medium, the launch of </span><span>Apple TV+ and Disney+ </span><span>last month, </span><span>as well as weekly new releases from the likes of Netflix, mean</span><span> </span><span>HBO</span><span> isn't quite as dominant as it once was.</span> <span>In the next 12 months, th</span><span>e gap between HBO and its competitors should shrink even further, </span><span>as </span><span>several channels </span><span>splash</span><span> millions of dollars on </span><span>projects </span><span>they hope will </span><span>entice viewers to </span><span>tune into them </span><span>rather than their rivals. </span><span>Here are </span><span>some of the shows </span><span>to look out for </span><span>in 2020.</span> <span>In the </span><span>past </span><span>two years, Awkwafina has blossomed into one of the best comedy actresses </span><span>today, thanks to </span><span>impressive performances in </span><span><em>Ocean's 8</em></span><span> and </span><span><em>Crazy Rich Asians</em></span><span>, as well as her astounding work in </span><span><em>The Farewell</em></span><span><em>.</em></span><span> Her stock is going to rise even higher </span><span>next year, too, </span><span>when she appears in projects such as Disney film </span><span><em>Raya and the Last Dragon</em></span><span>, which is scheduled for release in November.</span> <span>She </span><span>is </span><span>also writing</span><span> and stars</span><span> in her </span><span>own sitcom, </span><span><em>Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens</em></span><span>, which is due to come out in the US next month. Comedy Central </span><span>w</span><span>as clearly </span><span>impressed </span><span>by the pilot as </span><span>the channel </span><span>asked the US actress to deliver </span><span>10 episode</span><span>s for its </span><span>debut season. Th</span><span>e show will revolve around </span><span>Awkwafina's Nora Lum, </span><span>which </span><span>is the actress's real name, </span><span>and her life in Flushing, New York, </span><span>where she </span><span>lives with her father and grandm</span><span>other, played by B D Wong and Lori Tan Chinn, respectively.</span> <span>There's plenty of comedic pedigree involved throughout </span><span><em>Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens</em></span><span>, </span><span>as </span><span><em>Russian Doll</em></span><span> creator Natasha Lyonne</span><span> and </span><span><em>Broad City</em></span><span> producer Lucia Aniello </span><span>are among the talents </span><span>directing</span><span> episodes of the show</span><span>.</span> <span>Few trailers provoked as much excitement this year as the first prolonged look at Patrick Stewart's return as Captain Jean-Luc Picard. </span><span>There was good reason for that, too, as Stewart </span><span>was heavily involved in the development of </span><span><em>Star Trek: Picard</em></span><span>, </span><span>with the actor also taking an executive producer role alongside</span><span> </span><span>showrunner</span><span> Michael Chabon.</span> <strong>Watch the official trailer here:</strong> <span>Another executive producer, Alex Kurtzman, who wrote 2009</span><span> film </span><span><em>Star Trek</em></span><span> and its 2013 follow-up </span><span><em>Star Trek: </em></span><span><em>into The Darkness</em></span><span>, </span><span>says the show will be much more contemplative than other entries in</span><span> the franchise and will take a deeper look at Picard. This </span><span>raised hopes </span><span>th</span><span>at it </span><span>would mirror the treatment </span><span>director James Mangold gave Wolverine in 2017's </span><span><em>Logan</em></span><span>, a film that </span><span>starred Stewart, too.</span> <span>Set 20 years after the events of 2002's </span><span><em>Star Trek: Nemesis</em></span><span>, </span><span>when Stewart last played the character, </span><span><em>Picard</em></span><span><em> </em></span><span>will </span><span>follow the titular hero as he continues to </span><span>struggl</span><span>e with </span><span>what happened in the film, as well as the destruction of Romulus. We'll get to see what that actually entails when the first of </span><span><em>Picard</em></span><span>'s</span><span><em> </em></span><span>10 episodes </span><span>is broadcast on Amazon Prime </span><span>on Friday, January 24. </span> <span>The movie industry </span><span>was roundly criticised for its lack of originality </span><span>in the </span><span>past few years. But TV is </span><span>as bad, </span><span>with films such as</span><span> </span><span><em>Four Weddings And A Funeral</em></span><span>,</span><span><em> </em></span><span><em>The Dark Crystal</em></span><span>,</span><span><em> </em></span><span><em>She's Gotta Have It</em></span><span> and </span><span><em>Hanna</em></span><span> among the movies that were </span><span>remade </span><span>for the small screen</span><span>. It is a trend that will continue into</span><span> the new year.</span> <span>Not only are there plans for TV versions of </span><span><em>Clueless</em></span><span><em> </em></span><span>and </span><span><em>Snowpiercer</em></span><span>, but Zoe Kravitz is going to take the lead in a 10-episode series based on Nick Hornby's 1995 book </span><span><em>High Fidelity</em></span><span>. </span><span>John Cusack </span><span>played the lead role in the 2000 film adaptation, with the TV version set to star Kravitz </span><span>cast as </span><span>the record </span><span>shop owner who constantly makes top-five lists and is so obsessed with pop culture and music that it actually hinders her life.</span> <span>What makes </span><span><em>High Fidelity</em></span><span> even more intriguing is that Kravitz's mother, Lisa Bonet, starred in the movie as singer Marie De Salle, while her father is </span><span>famous musician Lenny Kravitz. That should only help </span><span>add to the depth and detail of </span><span>Kravitz's performance, </span><span>while she is also an executive produc</span><span>er on the project, which will have its premiere on Hulu</span><span> next year.</span> <span>Marvel</span><span> has enjoyed cinematic dominance </span><span>and </span><span>the studio </span><span>continues to flex its creative muscles in TV. </span><span>Shows such as </span><span><em>Daredevil</em></span><span>, </span><span><em>Jessica Jones</em></span><span>, </span><span><em>Luke Cage</em></span><span>, </span><span><em>The Defenders</em></span><span> and </span><span><em>The Punisher</em></span><span> </span><span>have all been streamed on Netflix. This time around, </span><span>Marvel is</span><span> focusing on its high-profile characters.</span> <span>In the next two years, </span><span>some of those who featured in Marvel's movies, such as Scarlet Witch, Vision, Loki, Hawkeye, Falcon and the Winter Soldier </span><span>will be given their own series on Disney+. </span><span><em>The Falcon and </em></span><span><em>the Winter Soldier</em></span><span> will kick off this stretch of small</span><span>-screen stories. It will </span><span>explore how Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson (Falcon) and Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes (the Winter Soldier) deal with the aftermath of </span><span><em>Avengers: Endgame</em></span><span>.</span> <strong>Watch the teaser trailer here:</strong> <span>Over the course of its </span><span>six-episode </span><span>first season, which </span><span>cost Disney $150 million (Dh550m) </span><span>to make, Daniel Bruhl's Baron Zemo, the villain in 2016's </span><span><em>Captain America: Civil War</em></span><span>, and Emily VanCamp's Sharon Carter, who also appeared in </span><span><em>Civil War</em></span><span>, will </span><span>return</span><span>. We've still got quite a while to wait for </span><span><em>The Falcon </em></span><span><em>and the Winter Soldier</em></span><span>, though, as production only beg</span><span>an at the end of October, and the earliest it will arrive on screens is next August</span><span>.</span> <span>While Andrew Haigh's</span><span> four-episode </span><span>adaptation of Ian McGuire's mystery novel </span><span><em>The North Water</em></span><span><em> – </em></span><span>a series that will star</span><span> Colin Farrell, Jack O'Connell, Stephen Graham</span><span> and Tom Courtenay</span><span> – is rightfully regarded as one of the most highly anticipated BBC productions of </span><span>next year, it's the return of writer and actress Michaela Coel that should provoke the most excitement from the British channel.</span> <span>Coel's follow-up to </span><span>2015's </span><span><em>Chewing Gum</em></span><span> is </span><span><em>January 22nd</em></span><span>, a 12-part drama</span><span> that she has created</span><span> and written</span><span>. She will also star in it as Arabella Essiedu, a </span><span>writer whose world is turned upside down when she is </span><span>given a date-rape drug.</span> <span>The BBC </span><span></span><span>clearly have high hopes for </span><span>the show</span><span> and describ</span><span>ed it as "frank and provocative" when they announced the start of production</span><span> in October. We're still not exactly sure when </span><span><em>January 22nd</em></span><span> will be released, </span><span>but it will likely to be towards the end of</span><span> next year.</span> <span>Unsurprisingly, HBO also ha</span><span>s a steady stream of tantalising shows debuting in </span><span>the new year</span><span>. There's Joss Whedon's </span><span><em>The Nevers</em></span><span>, Armando Iannucci's</span><span><em> </em></span><span><em>Avenue 5</em></span><span>, and </span><span>adaptations of Stephen King's </span><span><em>The Outsider</em></span><span> and Philips Roth's </span><span><em>The Plot Against America</em></span><span>. But it is HBO's </span><span>take on Matt Ruff's 2016 novel </span><span><em>Lovecraft Country</em></span><span> that really stands out.</span> <span>The show, which lists Jordan Peele and J J Abrams as executive producers,</span><span> will revolve around </span><span>Atticus Black (Jonathan Majors), </span><span>Letitia (Jurnee Smollett-Bell)</span><span> and </span><span>George Black (Courtney </span><span>Vance) as they embark</span><span> on a road trip across 1950s Jim Crow America in search of Atticus's </span><span>father. As well as having to contend with </span><span>racism</span><span>, there are supernatural monsters and creatures for them to tackle, too.</span> <span>Production on </span><span><em>Lovecraft Country</em></span><span> </span><span>beg</span><span>an </span><span>last year, </span><span>although there's still no release date for the supernatural horror drama. But</span><span> as is the case with every show mentioned</span><span> in this list, the sooner it is with us, the better.</span>