The shows to look forward to in 2021

Will Amazon’s Lord of the Rings be the best new show of the year? Plus: PBS has a stunning take on a mystery movie, Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels come to life, and Nic Cage swears a lot on Netflix. Happy New Year! Thank gosh THAT’S over with, amirite? We can all put 2020 behind us, happy in the fact that every single one of our problems magically went away just because our Puppy Firefighters calendar now says 2021 instead of 2020. OK, that’s not actually how it works. Remember how much we hated 2018? And 2019? Hoo boy. Still, I have a good feeling about 2021, and I'm sending those feelings to you all to start the year right. And what better way to start the year than with new TV recommendations? -Tim [Your Watch This Now! newsletter is created by Senior Recommendations and Reviews Editor Tim Surette and more show-obsessed editors at TV Guide!]( [The Watch]( Series premiere Sunday at 8/7c on BBC America [The Watch brings the sci-fi Discworld novels to life]( Fantasy author Terry Pratchett's beloved Discworld novels get partially adapted, which is a good thing, because if you tried to adapt all of them and their contents, you'd be looking at about 100 different shows. The Watch keeps its focus on the city of Ankh-Morpork and its police force, known as The Watch, making the show a supernatural police procedural set inside Pratchett's bizarre world that's occupied by cretins, lowlives, monsters, and more. Expect lots of satirical takes on the fantasy genre as The Watch is mixed with crime, adventure, and humor. Richard Dormer, Game of Thrones' Beric Dondarrion, stars. [Elizabeth Is Missin]( Sunday at 9/8c on PBS [Elizabeth Is Missing is a different kind of mystery drama]( Many of Masterpiece on PBS’s detective shows fit the same standard mold of the genre: A character with a quirk digs through clues to crack cases and fumbles through romance/friendship on the side. The latest from Masterpiece is a different kind of masterpiece. In Elizabeth Is Missing, an older woman battling dementia is convinced that her friend is missing, but as she investigates her disappearance, she has trouble trusting her own mind. Serious Memento vibes here. The film was highly acclaimed when it was released in the U.K. in late 2020, with glowing praise for two-time Oscar winner Glenda Jackson. [History of Swear Words]( Coming soon [Nic Cage swears up a storm in one of Netflix’s new shows this week]( The up-for-anything actor breaks down the History of Swear Words. [Here’s everything coming to Netflix this week](. SPONSORED [The Smartest Way to Carry Your Cash & Cards.]( The Ridge Wallet is slim, RFID-blocking, and guaranteed for life. Shop now for free shipping & free returns. [Shop Now]( [WandaVision]( Coming soon [The most anticipated shows of 2021]( It’s never too early to think ahead. As the clock struck 2021, [I took a look at the shows that I’m most excited for in the new year](. Well, at least the shows we know about. [Unsubscribe]( | [View online]( © 2021 TV Guide, A Red Ventures company. All rights reserved. TV Guide, [235 2nd St., San Francisco, CA 94105, U.S.A.](#) [Privacy Policy]( | [Terms of Use](