If ever there were a time for a fresh start, it’s now, as we all attempt to rise from the ashes of 2017’s raging dumpster like some bedraggled phoenix. But hey, new year, new you, (new administration?), and hopefully new tastes in pop culture await. The usual Hollywood harvest of sequels, prequels, and remakes is on the horizon once again. But allow us to steer you down the road less traveled with our top crop of fresh takes in 2018.
The same rules as our list last year applies: films and TV shows can’t be adapted or spun off from something previously published or produced (i.e., no Star Wars prequels), and albums have to be from artists making their debut with an LP.
FILM
Isle of Dogs
Directed by Wes Anderson
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Tilda Swinton, Koyu Rankin, Frances McDormand, Yoko Ono, Scarlett Johansson, Greta Gerwig, Edward Norton, Liev Schreiber, Bill Murray, Harvey Keitel, Jeff Goldblum, and Courtney B. Vance
Release date: March 23, 2018
A Quiet Place
Directed by John Krasinski
Starring: John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Noah Jupe, and Millicent Simmonds
Release date: April 6, 2018
L’insulte (The Insult)
Directed by Ziad Doueiri
Starring: Adel Karam and Yasser El Basha
Release date: January 26, 2018
Proud Mary
Directed by Babak Najafi
Starring: Taraji P. Henson, Danny Glover, Margaret Avery, and Neal McDonough
Release date: January 12, 2018
Thoroughbreds
Directed by Cory Finley
Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Olivia Cooke, and Anton Yelchin
Release date: March 9, 2018
Honorable Mention: Bohemian Rhapsody
It would be criminal if this film wasn’t mentioned. However, this feels like one of those don’t-hold-your-breath kind of scenarios. This project has been in the works for years, with Sacha Baron Cohen originally attached to play Freddie Mercury. The role went to Mr. Robot‘s Rami Malek last year. But recently, director Bryan Singer was fired during production amid rumors of being M.I.A. on set and replaced by Dexter Fletcher. The release date is currently set for Christmas 2018.
TV
Good Girls
NBC
Created by Jenna Bans
Starring: Christina Hendricks, Retta, and Mae Whitman
Premiere date: February 26, 2018
Alone Together
Freeform
Created by Esther Povitsky, Benji Aflalo and Eben Russell
Starring: Esther Povitsky and Benji Aflalo
Premiere date: January 10, 2018
Mosaic
HBO
Created by Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Sharon Stone, Beau Bridges, Paul Reubens, and Garrett Hedlund
Premiere date: January 22, 2018
The Chi
Showtime
Created by Lena Waithe
Starring: Common, Jason Mitchell, Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, Jacob Latimore, Alex Hibbert, Yolanda Ross, and Tiffany Boone
Premiere date: January 7, 2018
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Netflix
Created by the Coen brothers
Starring: Tim Blake Nelson, James Franco, Tyne Daly, Zoe Kazan, and Ralph Ineson
Premiere date: TBD
MUSIC
Shame
Songs of Praise
Release date: January 12, 2018
Camila Cabello
Camila
Release date: January 12, 2018
Her
Her
Release date: TBD
Dita Von Teese
Dita Von Teese
Release date: February 2018
Cardi B
TBD
Release date: TBD
I have a lot of pressure on me.I️ have songs stashed up .I just don’t think they qualified for my album .Sometimes i think is ready sometimes i think it’s not so I’m going to take my time till it’s right.
— Cardi B (@iamcardib) November 19, 2017
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