The world may feel uneasy right now, but there is plenty of new entertainment to look forward to before 2020 is out.
Some of the year’s biggest releases are still yet to drop, which means there is still lots of great TV, music and movies to distract us for the rest of the year.
Lock-in during lockdown with our picks of the best in new entertainment...
Kylie - Disco, November 6
From Dua Lipa and Jessie Ware to Roisin Murphy and Kylie, disco has enjoyed a glittering comeback this year, and has provided the perfect escape from the real world.
The year’s last big disco release, simply called Disco, come courtesy of Kylie Minogue. The singles Say Something and Magic are a good indication of the album’s direction: big, ethereal melodies and optimistic lyrics. “Love is love, it never ends: can we all be as one again?” asks Kylie. Delicious pop escapism.
Little Mix - Confetti, November 6
Competing with Kylie for the number one spot in the same week is Little Mix, whose new album Confetti was announced by the girls recently on Instagram.
We’ve already had a taste with the singles Holiday, Break Up Song and Sweet Melody, so we’re excited to hear what else the band has in store.
Mariah’s Secret New Christmas Project, Date TBC
It’s barely November and Mariah Carey, Queen of Christmas, has already been taking charge of the news. When Mariah first put this pic of director’s chairs up on Twitter, it led fans to speculate about who the initials belonged to (it didn’t take long for most to agree it’s likely Jennifer Hudson and Ariana Grande...)
No more news about this giant collab is available as yet, although fans believe the project may be a re-recording of Mariah’s ’90s hit All I Want For Christmas Is You.
Earlier this week she shared this ridiculous, yet absolutely iconic, video declaring: “It’s Time,” before All I Want For Christmas plays in the background. Could an announcement about the new project be soon to follow?
Miley Cyrus - Plastic Hearts, November 27
Miley’s collaboration with Mark Ronson, Nothing Breaks Like A Heart, has informed the sound of her forthcoming album Plastic Hearts, which is a very good thing indeed.
So far we’ve heard the brilliant lead single Midnight Sky, as well as Miley’s covers of Blondie’s Heart of Glass and Zombie by The Cranberries (live versions of both will appear as bonus tracks).
“No one checks an ego like life itself. Just when I thought the body of work was finished… it was ALL erased. Including most of the musics relevance.
Because EVERYTHING had changed,” Miley said recently in a dramatic note on Instagram, referring to the fire that destroyed her house and the original album-that-never-was.
I’m A Celebrity 2020, November 15
After nineteen years in the depths of the Australian outback, I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! relocates this autumn, to deepest, darkest... Wales.
Gwrych Castle in the Welsh countryside is the new home for the celebrity campers, and even though Wales is currently in lockdown, a spokesperson for I’m A Celeb has insisted the show will go on.
No-one’s been officially confirmed yet for the line-up, but some of the celebs rumoured to be braving the cold and the critters on this year’s edition are soap legend Beverley Callard, former Strictly Come Dancing professional AJ Pritchard, TV presenter Vernon Kay, broadcaster Victoria Derbyshire and former EastEnders star Jessica Plummer.
The Crown - series 4, November 15
The new season of The Crown throws us back again, for the fourth time, into the depths of royal history: but not quite so far back as you might imagine.
This season begins in the very late-seventies, and the focus is on the marriage of Charles and Diana in 1981. It’s the first time the super glossy, high-budget drama has been within lived experience for much of its audience: so we mostly know what’s coming, but that doesn’t stop this show still feeling explosively dramatic.
Jingle Jangle, November 13
Most years, we’re moaning Christmas has come too early. But this year, because of the pandemic, it’s a welcome slice of escapism and it can’t come soon enough.
Netflix’s big sparkly Christmas film this year is Jingle Jangle, a musical starring Forest Whitaker who plays toymaker Jeronicus Jangle, who lives in a town called Cobbleton. When his most prized toy goes missing, he enlists the help of his granddaughter to track it down.
Interestingly, Jingle Jangle was filmed in Norwich back in June this year.
I Am Greta, November 13
The maker of this Hulu documentary, Nathan Grossman, started shooting Greta protesting about climate change when she was 15. He had hoped his film, shot in low-quality mode on his camera to save space, would potentially make the local news.
But then her profile blew up around the world and Nathan kept filming: this is the end product, chronicling two years in the life of the climate change activist who told the United Nations Climate Action Summit: ‘How dare you?’
Bridgerton, December 25
Netflix’s shiny new period drama is the perfect Christmas Day escape. Set in Regency-era England in the 1800s, Bridgerton has been compared to a period version of Gossip Girl, so expect deliciously salacious drama and eye-catching outfits.
Based on the novels of the same name by Julia Quinn, the drama is created by Shonda Rhimes, the showrunner behind Grey’s Anatomy.
Free Guy, December 11
Ryan Reynolds returns this December playing a character who thinks he works in a bank, but comes to realise he’s actually a character in a computer game.
Other than Tenet, 2020 has felt void of these expansive, big-budget US blockbusters, and the Deadpool star – perhaps Hollywood’s most likeable lead guy – is here to round out the year with a dose of silliness on Netflix.
Killing Eve’s Jodie Comer also stars, and from the look of the trailer, her character has some pretty clear similarities to Villanelle.