(SPOT.ph) We’re only one month into 2019 and you’ve probably already binge-watched your way through a couple of series (*ehem* You *ehem*). Or maybe you’re still trying to muster the courage to start a new one (those zombies in Kingdom look hella creepy). While you have a lot of options—including K-Drama ones—we rounded up the most exciting shows that’ll have you all booked on the weekends in 2019.
Sex Education
Release date: Now streaming
Watch it on: Netflix
By now, you’ve probably seen photos of that British guy that looks oddly familiar (that’s Asa Butterfield from Ender’s Game and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas) and that girl who resembles Margot Robbie (that’s Emma Mackey). They’re the stars of Netflix’s Sex Education, a high-school comedy-drama series set in the United Kingdom. In the show, the badass Maeve Wiley (Mackey) convinces the innocent goody-two-shoes Otis Milburn (Butterfield) to use what he learns from his sex-therapist mom (Gillian Anderson) to run a sex clinic at school. If you loved the TV show Skins, and the movies Wild Child and Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging, the eight episodes will be a breeze.
Folklore
Release date: Now streaming
Watch it on: HBO Go
You don’t have to wait till Halloween to get spooked—not when you can already stream all episodes of HBO’s Folklore (preferably with the lights on and in broad daylight). The six-episode show is an anthology series that features the creepiest and most spine-chilling creatures, stories, and myths from six different countries in Asia, namely, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.
I Am the Night
Release date: January 28
Watch it on: TNT (U.S.)
This new limited series is for fans of true crime—and Chris Pine. I Am the Night centers around Fauna Hodel (played by Indie Eisley). The real-life Hodel wrote her autobiography, One Day She'll Darken: The Mysterious Beginnings of Fauna Hodel, about her grandfather being the prime suspect in the infamous Black Dahlia murder case. In the series, as Hodel investigates her connection to the murder, she comes across (fictional) journalist Jay Singletary (Pine) who’s been trying to uncover the secrets of the mystery himself.
PEN15
Release date: February 8
Watch it on: Hulu
You probably didn’t have the fondest memories of middle school. Neither did PEN15’s creators and executive producers Maya Erskine, Anna Konkle, and Sam Zvibleman—which is why Erskine and Konkle are also starring in the show as 13-year-olds. Yup, a bunch of grown-ups will be playing prepubescent kids alongside actual kids. You can expect it to be hilarious too, because The Lonely Island members Andy Samberg (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccon are also producers.
Miracle Workers
Release date: February 12
Watch it on: TBS
Whereas The Good Place introduces viewers to the concept of heaven and hell—or at least, the illusion of them, Miracle Workers focuses on how miracles (like two people falling in love) work. Based on the novel, What in God’s Name, the show stars Daniel Radcliffe as Craig, who is in charge of making sure all prayers are answered. But he struggles to get anything done because he doesn’t get any help from his vacation-loving boss a.k.a. God (Steve Buscemi).
The Umbrella Academy
Release date: February 15
Watch it on: Netflix
If you sang along to My Chemical Romance’s “Welcome to the Black Parade” as an emo teenager, then you’ve probably already heard of The Umbrella Academy. It is, after all, a comic book created and written by none other than My Chemical Romance (MCR) frontman Gerard Way himself. The story revolves around seven kids who were born with superpowers and adopted by a billionaire businessman who creates The Umbrella Academy in an effort to save the world. When the father dies, the six remaining kids work together to solve the mystery of his death while also preparing for an apocalypse.
What We Do in the Shadows
Release month: March
Watch it on: FX
Those who found themselves unexpectedly laughing out loud while watching Thor: Ragnarok probably looked for more films by director Taika Waititi—and found the mockumentary gem that is 2014’s What We Do in the Shadows, which he co-directed with Jemaine Clement. The hilarious movie follows the directors themselves as they play vampires who live with other vampires in a typically quiet suburb in New Zealand. They’ll be returning to helm the 2019 series of the same name. This time, it’s set in New York, but Waititi says that the series and the movie are both in the same universe that could “rival that of Marvel.”
Now Apocalypse
Release date: March 10
Watch it on: Starz (U.S.)
What if all your childhood crushes from TV appeared together on one show? There’s Beau Mirchoff from Awkward, there’s Avan Jogia from Victorious, and then there’s Tyler Posey from Teen Wolf. They all star in Now Apocalypse, a comedy series that follows a group of friends in Los Angeles that has acclaimed director Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s trilogy, Unsane) as an executive producer. They’re just trying to figure everything out—from sexuality and dating apps to art and some weird and premonitory dreams Ulysses (Jogia) keeps having. It’s set to premiere on the U.S. channel Starz, but fingers crossed it’ll be aired or streamed in the Philippines, too.
Watchmen
Release date: TBA
Watch it on: HBO
Yes, it’s different from the 2009 movie of the same name. But it’s still based on the graphic novel from Alan Moore. Watchmen is set in a world where people with superpowers are treated as outlaws. In a snarky (but also brutally honest) Instagram post, creator and showrunner Damon Lindelof (Lost) describes in detail how he grew up with the stories and how he wants to do it justice, especially for the fans.
Carnival Row
Release date: TBA
Watch it on: Amazon Video
It’s not every day that you get to see a neo-noir-slash-Victorian fantasy series, but that’s exactly what viewers are getting with Carnival Row, which stars Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the series tells the story of “mythical creatures fleeing their war-torn homeland have gathered in the city, and tensions are simmering between citizens and the growing immigrant population.” On top of the already strained relationship, there are unsolved murders to be dealt with.
