From the recent addition of a Disney+ programme to our schedules to the return of iconic series like Killing Eve, Succession, J K Rowling’s Strike, Handmaid’s Tale and more. Here’s our choice of the Lockdown Best TV – Drama Shows 2020.

2020 has had an impressive start for us with the likes of Tales from the Loop, Belgravia and The Stranger, to some highly prized returning series; Liar, Killing Eve, Westworld and Doctor Who.

Our list of Lockdown Best TV – Drama Shows 2020:

The Mandalorian – Disney+

Disney+ is booming following its launch in the UK, and a brand-new Star Wars spin-off series from Jon Favreau is one of the shows to get excited about looking at  the traiers. The Mandalorian stars Kingsman and Game of Thrones’s Pedro Pascal as the titular Mandalorian. The series is set in a universe between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.

Killing Eve series 3 – BBC

Any day now… Killing Eve returns to screens with a new female showrunner at the helm: Suzanne Heathcote. But who will be reprising their roles? In the trailer Jodie Comer creeps out the kids in the trailer for the third series of Killing Eve. Her character Villanelle, is seen dressed as a clown at a children’s party.

Doctor Who (series 13) – BBC One

Doctor Who series 12 has come to a close and us fans have just one question – what next! This last series saw some impressive filming (movie like!) and we were impressed! So what can we expect next from Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor?

So when will the Doctor return, 2020? I’m affraid not “It will be next year sometime, hopefully, unless my holiday goes on for a really long time, which is always tempting,” series boss Chris Chibnall told EW.

Quiz – ITV

ITV have been pushing this drama the last few weeks. Exploring the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’s infamous ‘coughing scandal’, and as the trailers show it stars Matthew Macfadyen (who we all loved in Spooks), Sian Clifford, Helen McCrory and as WWTBAM host Michael Sheen.

Best Interests – BBC One

BAFTA-winning screenwriter Jack Thorne pens a brand-new four-part drama series, following a couple who must fight for their daughter’s survival — even if they don’t know whose best interests that might fulfil.

This is a story of a family driven apart by having to make choices no parent would ever want to make. Andrew and Nicci’s daughter, Marnie, has a life-threatening condition. The doctors believe it is in her best interests to be allowed to die, but her loving family disagree. And so begins a fight that will take them through every stage of a legal process, as they struggle to contemplate this huge decision. Who decides? And in whose best interests will it be?

‘As a parent of a three year old I’ve looked at the cases in the media about ‘best interests’ with some fascination and a little dread. When the worst happens, how do you keep your head when everything around you feels wrong?’ Jack Thorne

The North Water – BBC Two

Golden Globe-winner Colin Farrell has boarded the BBC Two four-part thriller The North Water, adapted and directed by multi award-winning Andrew Haigh (Lean On Pete, Looking, Weekend) and based on the critically acclaimed novel from Ian McGuire.

Set in the UK and the ice floes of the Arctic in the late 1850s, telling the story of Patrick Sumner, a disgraced ex-army surgeon who signs up as ship’s doctor for a whaling Artic expedition. On board he meets Henry Drax (Farrell), the harpooner, a brutish killer whose amorality has been shaped to fit the harshness of his world. Trying to escape past horrors, Sumner finds himself unwittingly stuck on board with a murderous psychopath. In search of redemption, his story becomes a struggle for survival in an Arctic wasteland.

The Luminaries – BBC Two

Casino Royale’s Eva Green stars in a new TV adaptation of Eleanor Catton’s Man Booker Prize-winning novel The Luminaries.

The Luminaries tells an epic story of love, murder and revenge, as men and women travelled across the world to make their fortunes. It is a 19th century tale of adventure and mystery, set on the Wild West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island in the boom years of the 1860s gold rush.

The story follows defiant young adventurer Anna Wetherell, who has sailed from Britain to New Zealand to begin a new life. There she meets the radiant Emery Staines, an encounter that triggers a strange kind of magic that neither can explain. As they fall in love, driven together and apart by fateful coincidence, these star-crossed lovers begin to wonder: do we make our fortunes, or do our fortunes make us?

Honour – ITV

Keeley Hawes is to star as the real-life detective who brought five killers to justice in the heart-breaking true story of Banaz Mahmod, the young Londoner murdered by her own family for falling in love with the wrong man.

Written by Gwyneth Hughes (Vanity Fair, Dark Angel, Remember Me), Honour tells the powerful story of Detective Chief Inspector Caroline Goode’s passionate search to discover the fate of missing 20-year old Banaz.

DCI Goode, played by Keeley Hawes, discovered that Banaz had been to the police five times to report threats to her life from members of her own family. Appalled that her own colleagues had missed multiple chances to save a young woman’s life and prevent a so-called “honour” killing, Caroline vowed that she would not rest until she finally got justice for Banaz. It was a promise that quickly became personally consuming. This tense and emotionally vivid drama brings Caroline’s long and unwavering quest to life.

Succession series 3 – Sky Atlantic and NOW TV

The best-of-the-best in backstabbing since Dallas! The Roy family returns for another series following the mind-blowing plot-twist at the end of season two. Prepare for yourself for more twists, exuberance, exotic locations, and glamous outfits.

We’re more than sure there will be no change to the fantastic casting; Brian Cox (Logan), Jeremy Strong (Kendall), Sarah Snook (Shiv), Kieran Culkin (Roman), Alan Ruck (Connor), Matthew Macfadyen (Tom) and Nicholas Braun (Greg).

The English Game – Netflix

Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes’s latest series about the history of football.

Two 19th-century footballers on opposite sides of a class divide navigate professional and personal turmoil to change the game — and England — forever.

The Barking Murders – BBC One

Further casting has been announced to BBC One’s new drama The Barking Murders; Rufus Jones (Stan & Ollie), Stephanie Hyam (Bodyguard), Leanne Best (Line Of Duty), Samuel Barnett (Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency) and Robert Emms (Chernobyl).

They join the previously announced cast of Stephen Merchant, Sheridan Smith and Jaime Winstone.

From Jeff Pope and Neil McKay, the award-winning team behind The Moorside and Appropriate Adult, the new factual drama this new factual drama about victims of Stephen Port “the Grindr serial killer” who drugged and murdered four men he met on a dating app.

Going beneath the headlines shedding new light on this story by telling it from the point of view of the families of victims, focusing on their fight to uncover the truth about what happened in the face of a now widely criticised police investigation.

Strike: Lethal White – BBC One

The unlikely detective duo Cormoran Strike (Tom Burke) and Robin Ellacott (Holliday Grainger) will be back on our TV screens for a new four-part adaptation of JK Rowling’s crime novel, Lethal White. This series starts with Strike receiving a visit from Billy, a troubled man asking Strike to investigate a crime he believe he witnessed when he was a child.

Too Close – ITV

Psychological thriller, Too Close, stars Emily Watson (Chernobyl) as a forensic psychiatrist assigned to work with a woman accused of a heinous crime but who claims she can’t remember a thing.

Written by actress and author, Clara Salaman, Too Close, is a three-part drama based on a powerful story of how two women become dangerously close when fate forces them together.

Dedicated forensic psychiatrist, Dr Emma Robinson is not easily shocked. She’s worked with her fair share of high security patients. Then she’s sent to assess Connie for trial. Their sessions become a complex psychological game with confusing undercurrents.

Can Emma find out what happened on the night of the crime?  Or what happened to turn Connie into a monster?

Riviera series 3 – Sky Atlantic

One we can’t wait for on our Lockdown Best TV – Drama Shows 2020 is Riviera, take us away, take us away!

Following a packed twist-turning series two we now await series three which has been confirmed, the fantastic Julia Stiles returns as Georgina in the hit luxurious drama based around the paradise that is the French coast we’d all love to be part of.

Big Night In – BBC One

Matt Baker says: “At a time when in my generation, the UK has never felt more together we’re inviting everyone to share a Big Night In. As a board member of BBC Children in Need for many years the very purpose of what we do is to be there for those who need us the most at a time when they need us the most.”

Lenny Henry says: “I’ve been part of the Comic Relief family for years, and at times like these it’s so important we all come together to support one another, which is why we’ve joined forces with BBC Children in Need for The Big Night In. Both charities will be supporting a huge number of smaller charities and projects that will be protecting the most vulnerable people in society, so it’s going to be a brilliant night for a great cause.”

The Big Night In will celebrate the acts of kindness, humour and the spirit of hope and resilience that is keeping the nation going during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic with a special night of programming for BBC One. This is the first time the BBC’s biggest charitable partners, BBC Children in Need and Comic Relief, have come together and the aim of the evening is to celebrate and reward those going the extra mile to support their communities in these troubled times.

Celebrities already confirmed to be taking part on the night, from the safety of their homes, are Peter Kay, Catherine Tate and Gary Barlow, and there are a huge host of famous names yet to be announced. The star-studded show will feature musical acts, money can’t buy prizes, comedy sketches and lots more surprises on the night. The UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, announced last Wednesday at the government’s daily press briefing that the UK Treasury would match pound for pound any contributions the public decide they are able to make.

Salisbury – BBC Two

Salisbury focuses on the impact the 2018 Novichok poisonings had on the local community. The drama tells the remarkable story of how ordinary people and public services reacted to a crisis on their doorstep, displaying extraordinary heroism as their city became the focus of an unprecedented national emergency. Salisbury captures the bravery, resilience and, in some cases, personal tragedy of the unsuspecting locals, who faced a situation of unimaginable horror so close to home.

The Elephant Man – BBC One

The Elephant Man follows the compelling and extraordinary life of Joseph Merrick from his working-class beginnings in Leicestershire, through the work-houses, music halls and freak shows that punctuated 19th Century culture and society; to his time at the London Hospital and his vital friendship with Dr Frederick Treves. Starting with his birth and ending with his death, McKay’s adaptation covers the true events of Merrick’s personal odyssey, his extreme courage, determination and human dignity despite challenges arising from his disability. It explores the mysteries that surround Merrick and the man behind the myth.

Charlie Heaton says: “I’m extremely excited and honoured to be given the opportunity to take on the portrayal of Joseph Merrick in the BBC’s adaption of The Elephant Man. This is such a special role and a challenge for any actor. Joseph has such an incredible story and I can’t wait to go on this journey and bring him to life.”

Space Force – Netflix

The Handmaid’s Tale series 4 – Channel 4, Hulu

Hulu’s Golden Globe- and Emmy-winning adaptation starring Elisabeth Moss returns for a fourth season, set in a dystopian future version of the United States.

Will there be new characters? Well, no major casting announcements have been made but we should expect some new faces to show up  as things develop in the storyline. A comment by Moss in a Hollywood Reporter interview seems to imply new characters will be arrive as now we have more of the Canada-set section in the story:

“We have six regular [characters] in Canada now … we spent the whole Season 3 with June in a new house with Bradley Whitford as Commander Lawrence. Obviously, June’s going to need to find a new place to live.

I don’t think she’s going back to that house! It’s an opportunity for a new location, a new world, a new part of the world to show and new characters.

Will there be a lead characters in Canada we haven’t met yet? Or could someone rise up to become more integral to the story. Make sure you keep your eyes peeled.