While cinemas remain shut around the world, we're turning to our televisions more than ever. Thankfully, there's never been a better time for new TV shows, as the major streamers up their content creation in a huge way. In March, for instance, we can expect Disney Plus and HBO Max to go head-to-head with two major superhero shows: Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Zack Snyder's Justice League mini-series.
What other new TV shows are on the way? Well, you're in the right place as we dive head-first into everything you should be excited about. This isn't an exhaustive list, but an editorially chosen one of the things we're most excited for in 2021.
Cobra Kai season 3
Release date: January 2021
Get your gi on, Cobra Kai returns for season 3. Having won legions of new fans following its transition from YouTube Red to Netflix, the next season looks set to answer a few questions and bring back a few more Karate Kid characters.
WandaVision
WandaVision release date: January 15, 2021
Marvel's first Disney Plus series, WandaVision brings some of the MCU's biggest movie characters to the small screen. This one looks particularly wild, as the show looks set to dice into multiple dimensions – and even set up Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. This is going to be one confusing head trip.
Falcon and the Winter Solder
Falcon and the Winter Solder release date: March 19, 2021
Following WandaVision comes Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which will be the second Disney Plus-exclusive Marvel show. MCU mastermind Kevin Feige has promised crossover between the Disney Plus shows and the movies, so get this on your watch list if you're a Marvel fan.
Zack Snyder's Justice League
Release date: March 2021
Zack Snyder is reworking his fated Justice League adaptation into a mini-series with all-new footage and a wildly different story. Expect this to be a cinematic experiment like no other – all available on HBO Max.
Loki
Release date: May 2021
The God of Mischief returns, this time on the small screen. The Disney Plus series has a huge cast – including Owen Wilson and Richard E. Grant – alongside Tom Hiddleston's lead character. Expect some timeline games...
Cowboy Bebop
Release date: TBC 2021
Cowboy Bebop is one of the most iconic anime series of all time – and Netflix are chancing a live-action remake of the series. The streamer has high hopes for this one, with the writers room already working on a season 2.
Sex Education season 3
Release date: TBC 2021
The awkward adventures of Gillian Anderson and Asa Butterfield's mother and son return to Netflix in 2021. How will the sex therapist deal with her ever-curious offspring? Expect many, many more aubergine emojis.
Parasite
Release date: TBC
Bong Joon Ho is teaming up with Adam McKay to turn his OScar-winning movie into a limited series for HBO. If that sentence doesn't have you excited, then nothing will. This won't be an adaptation of the movie, but a different story that deals with similar topics. Get very excited for our future best TV shows of 2021.
Dexter
Release date: TBC
Who would have thought, of all the shows to make a comeback, Dexter would be one of them? Following its divisive finale, the killer returns to Showtime in 2021, and hopefully the limited series will right to a few wrongs...
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Release date: TBC
The return of Captain Christopher Pike and the U.S.S. Enterprise in Star Trek; Discovery left fans clamouring for a spin-off. Their prayers were answered with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, a new series that returns Pike and the crew and sees them tackle all-new adventures around the galaxy.
Stranger Things season 4
Stranger Things season 4 release date: TBC
Who is "The American"? Is Hopper still alive? Will Joyce and the family be able to relocate successfully? These are all lingering questions we have after Stranger Things season 3 finished. Hopefully they will all be resolved later this year, though no exact release date for Stranger Things season 4 has been announced yet.
Lord of the Rings Amazon show
The Lord of the Rings Amazon show release date: TBC
No-one's expecting Amazon's Lord of the Rings TV show to be released anytime soon. We currently have a few casting announcements, such as Will Poulter as one of the leads, and a period setting, in The Second Age, but little else. Still, we're hugely excited to see what co-showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay will do with Tolkien's world. Because the more time spent in Middle Earth, the better.