While the summer can sometimes be a strange time in the TV schedule, plenty of dramas are due to air over the coming months. Some big releases are coming to the BBC, Amazon, and Netflix, among many others.
This year has already seen plenty of eagerly awaited dramas being released, including the conclusion of the Netflix series Ozark starring Jason Bateman and Laura Linney, the Apple TV+ show Severence starring Adam Scott, John Turturro, and Christopher Walken, and BBC offerings like The Responder (featuring Martin Freeman), the Peaky Blinders finale and This Is Going To Hurt (with Ben Whishaw).
Now we're into August, some of the big-budget series are starting to emerge, chief amongst which is the Game Of Thrones spin-off, House of the Dragon. The prequel series is set two centuries before the events of the original show and will focus on the Targaryen civil war, with Emma D'Arcy playing Rhaenyra Targaryen, the King's firstborn, and former Doctor Who actor Matt Smith as rogue prince Daemon Targaryen.
Read more: Netflix 2022: New TV shows, films, and favourite series coming this year
If you still have an appetite for new TV drama after all that, then there Is good news – there are still plenty of eagerly awaited shows set to premiere in the rest of 2022. Here are some top picks of upcoming TV dramas due to be released.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
It's impossible to talk about upcoming TV releases without mentioning Amazon's big-budget fantasy drama chronicling the second age of Middle Earth, set years before the events of The Hobbit. Despite being set long before the beloved Peter Jackson movie franchise, the show will feature several Tolkien characters familiar to fans, including Elrond, Galadriel, and Isildur.
The show will star Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Robert Aramayo, and Lenny Henry, amongst many others. It is due to be released on Prime Video on 2 September.
SAS: Rogue Heroes
Confirmed to be coming to BBC One at some point this year, the six-part historical drama is an adaptation of Ben Macintyre's book of the same name about the founding of the elite special forces unit. Adapted for the screen by the legendary television writer Steven Knight (whose previous credits include Peaky Blinders and The Detectives), the show will star Connor Swindells (Sex Education), Jack O'Connell and Alfie Allen.
Gangs of London (Series 2)
Potentially due in Autumn 2022, the second instalment of the crime drama Gangs of London is coming to NOW TV and Sky Atlantic. The new series is rumoured to be even more violent than its 2020 debut, with director Corin Hardy telling Empire: "Blood is such an important colour to use in the canvas of action.
"You get this immediate reaction when you see it." The cast will include Sope Dirisu as Elliot Finch, Michelle Fairley as Marian Wallace, and Brian Vernel as Billy Wallace.
The Crown (Series 5)
Traditionally airing in Winter, the new series of Netflix's royal drama will be released on the platform sometime in November 2022. Imelda Staunton will now lead the cast in Peter Morgan's royal biopic drama, which is due to be the show's penultimate series.
Jonathan Pryce, Lesley Manville, Elizabeth Debicki, and Dominic West are also set to star in the show.
Jack Ryan (Series 3)
Reported to have wrapped with filming in October of last year, the latest series of Jack Ryan will see John Krasinski return for the show's third instalment.
While no specific release date has been confirmed yet, it's rumoured that the show's latest series will hit Prime Video in Autumn 2022.
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