12 of the best TV shows you can watch in January

The Beauty premieres January 21 on Hulu in the US and January 22 on Disney+ in the UK

Apple TV

11. Shrinkage

With Harrison Ford as the lead character, this sophisticated comedy has one of the best ensemble casts on television, along with the rare ability to be funny and poignant while avoiding any sentimentality. The plot has evolved from its early focus on Jimmy (Jason Segel) and his unorthodox psychological methods as he deteriorates following the death of his wife. In this third season, Paul (Ford), Jimmy’s friend and mentor, deals with increasing symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, while Jimmy appears ready to move into a relationship. Jeff Daniels plays Jimmy’s father, and Michael J. Fox plays a Parkinson’s patient, a role tailored to his well-known experience living with the condition. But it’s the regular cast that shines. Jessica Williams, Luke Tenney, Michael Urie, Christa Miller, and Ted McGinley are more comfortable than ever as friends and neighbors who comedically intrude into each other’s lives endlessly. As Bill Lawrence, the show’s co-creator, told TV Insider: “This is a show about a small family that has built a nuclear safety bubble around itself” — and that continues to evolve.

Shrinking premieres January 28 on Apple TV globally

Netflix

12. Bridgerton

Season 4 belongs to Bridgerton’s second son, the artistically minded lecherous Benedict (Luke Thompson). According to the rules of his society (and the historical romances on TV), it’s time for him to grow up and settle down. At a masked party, he spies a young woman whom he calls the Lady in Silver, and is immediately taken with her. We soon learn, and Netflix has revealed, what he didn’t know: She’s made her way to the ball Cinderella-style, but she’s actually a lowly maid. How would he find her unless she lost a shoe? Yerin Ha plays mysterious love interest Sophie Paik. She works with another new character, the cruel Lady Araminta Gunn (Katie Leung, Cho Chang in the Harry Potter films), who has two daughters to marry. The regular cast returns, including (at least a little) Jonathan Bailey as Anthony Bridgerton, along with Claudia Jessie as lusty Eloise and Nicola Coughlan as Penelope, who is now married to Colleen Bridgerton and has admitted she’s been Whistledown’s gossip lady all along. Half the season will premiere this month, and the remaining four episodes on February 26.

Bridgerton premieres January 29 on Netflix globally

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