Now a handful of years into putting out top quality original series, Netflix has become an industry of expectations unto itself, and audiences know that the majority of the company's new TV shows will generally stand tall against those on broadcast networks and much of cable. And not only can we skip the waits for fall and mid-year premieres to get all binge-heavy on things, but Netflix is at the point where it's pumping out new media on a weekly basis. It can be hard to keep up, so we've rounded up the 13 upcoming Netflix Originals that we cannot wait to start streaming in 2017. (Note that only Netflix-confirmed 2017 releases are noted, so while Marvel has reported The Punisher will be out this year, Netflix hasn't, so it's not here.)
Iron Fist
The Cast: Finn Jones, Jessica Henwick, David Wenham, Jessica Stroup, Tom Pelphrey, Rosario Dawson, Carrie-Anne Moss, Lewis Tan, Wai Ching Ho
Why We're Pumped: Iron Fist is the fourth of Marvel's standalone shows premiering before the street-tough vigilantes combines forces for what may or may not be another entry on this list. Adding Buddhism to the NYC's gritty streets, Iron Fist follows Finn Jones' Danny Rand making his long-awaited return to New York and facing a villain that threatens his family's tragic legacy and draws out his titular super-powered persona. If Iron Fist's fantastical comic narrative and rich characters aren't enough for your attention, just imagine: Daredevil's fight scenes, but with kung-fu.
When Does It Premiere: March 17, 2017
Mystery Science Theater 3000
The Cast: Jonah Ray, Felicia Day, Hampton Yount, Baron Vaughn, Patton Oswalt, Kevin Murphy, Bill Corbett, Mary Jo Pehl
Why We're Pumped: It's new Mystery Science Theater 3000!!! A cult TV series like no other, the joke-a-second classic MST3K had been off the air since 1999, and though fans clamored for more ever since, it wasn't very likely. Until creator Joel Hodgson had the brilliant idea to take his reboot idea to Kickstarter, where far more episodes were funded than the campaign originally called for. And with brilliant writers like Justin Rolland, Ernest Cline, Dana Gould and many more penning the jokes for the new line of commentaries, this could be the greatest reboot the universe has ever known. At least of those with pun-loving robots.
When Does It Premiere: Unknown
Girlboss
The Cast: Britt Robertson, Johnny Simmons, Ellie Reed, Alphonso McAuley, Dean Norris
Why We're Pumped: With Girlboss, Netflix is offering another scripted take on a true story, and this one is based on the fairly shocking and best-selling autobiography from young entrepreneur Sophia Amoruso. When Amoruso was 22, she founded the eBay store Nasty Gal Vintage, which became a highly popular standalone fashion retailer. That success story has been riddled with controversies and troubles, though, as partly exampled by the company filing for bankruptcy in 2016, the same year its founder landed on the Forbes list. Created by Pitch Perfect and 30 Rock writer Kay Cannon, Girlboss should be the American Dream story that best reflects the self-consuming last decade.
When Does It Premiere: Spring 2017
Bill Nye Saves The World
The Cast: Bill Nye, Karlie Kloss, Derek Muller, Nazeem Hussain, Joanna Hausmann, Emily Calandrelli
Why We're Pumped: A one-time staple of Saturday Morning TV, Bill Nye has remained a pop culture fixture, in part thanks to his heavy promotion of science-based thinking in the face of naysayers. With the help of five correspondents, he will host Netflix's Bill Nye Saves the World, a talk show that tackles science subject matter, as well as how it relates to the other big issues of the world in politics, society, entertainment and more. Netflix has proven itself with both edu-tainment programming and talk show programming, so Bill Nye Saves the World can only be excellent.
When Does It Premiere: Early 2017
Dear White People
The Cast: Brandon P. Bell, Logan Browning, Antoinette Robertson, DeRon Horton, John Patrick Amedori, Ashley Blaine Featherson, Nia Long, Wyatt Nash
Why We're Pumped: If you've seen the critically acclaimed 2014 film Dear White People, then you know how stellar it will be to get a bunch of half-hour episodes set in this satirical world of non-white students in a mostly-white university. (The film's Tessa Thompson, now in Westworld, isn't back to portray Sam White, who is now being played by Logan Browning. With writer/director Justin Simien back as creator, among other duties, Dear White People will be another diversity-embracing Netflix series that provides a mostly uncensored look at atypical TV fare.
When Does It Premiere: Unknown
Santa Clarita Diet
The Cast: Drew Barrymore, Timothy Olyphant, Liv Hewson, Ricardo Chavira, Skyler Gisondo, Richard T. Jones, Mary Elizabeth Ellis
Why We're Pumped: Santa Clarita Diet is Drew Barrymore's first major TV gig, and Justified vet Timothy Olyphant is a perfect co-star; also, Nathan Fillion appears. That's enough for at least a one-episode watch, but what really snared us was the big secret behind the intentionally light early synopsis of a realtor couple facing an identity crisis: Barrymore's character gets turned into a zombie in the first episode. So the Santa Clarita Diet is not your typical SoCal fare, and Better Off Ted's Victor Fresco as creator should soothe your zombie overkill worries.
When Does It Premiere: February 3, 2017
Anne
The Cast: Amybeth McNulty, Geraldine James, R.H. Thomson, Lucas Jade Zumann, Delila Bela
Why We're Pumped: An Anne of Green Gables adaptation admittedly isn't immediate must-see material for everyone, but Netflix's Anne has all the right pieces to potentially serve as the quintessential take on L.M. Montgomery's iconic characters. Why? The co-production between Netflix and Canada's CBC was adapted by Flesh and Bone creator Moira Walley-Beckett, a Breaking Bad writer/producer responsible for penning some of the series' best episodes. She has claimed Anne will be grittier and more realistic to the time period, in which the titular orphan brightens a small town with her unique imagination. We. Are. In.
When Does It Premiere: Unknown
The Defenders
The Cast: Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter, Mike Colter, Finn Jones, Sigourney Weaver, Rosita Dawson, Elodie Yung, Carrie-Anne Moss, Simone Missick, Rachael Taylor, Scott Glenn
Why We're Pumped: The small screen Marvel universe first introduced with Daredevil will finally culminate in the four-hero crossover miniseries The Defenders. Even though we haven't seen Iron Fist just yet, the three vigilantes that preceded him have inspired more than enough faith that The Defenders could be the most epic superhero project in TV history. And with Sigourney Weaver making her big TV debut as the mysterious antagonist, our excitement couldn't be taken down by any number of New York City's toughest crimefighters. With characters from all of Marvel's streaming series coming together for this epic adventure, The Defenders could easily rival everything the studio has done on the big screen in the last decade.
When Does It Premiere: Unknown
Watership Down
The Cast: James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, John Boyega, Ben Kingsley, Gemma Arterton, Olivia Colman, Anne-Marie Duff, Miles Jupp, Freddie Fox
Why We're Pumped: In the way that many of us lost our childhood innocence to the 1970s animated version of Richard Adams' modern classic Watership Down, it's time for later generations to have their own malleable minds blown by a newer take on this group of rabbits attempting to evade the destruction of their home. Netflix teamed up with the BBC for this four-part animated adventure, and the four-hour runtime will presumably offer up a more comprehensive take on the novel's story, which presumably means it will be all the more devastating and horrifying. And director Noam Murro knows a bit about violent visual effects, having directed 300: Rise of an Empire.
When Does It Premiere: Unknown
G.L.O.W.
The Cast: Alison Brie, Mar Maron, Betty Gilpin, Jackie Tohn, Britney Young, Sydelle Noel, Britt Baron
Why We're Pumped: First, G.L.O.W. is a dramedy set within the world of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, the female-led professional wrestling offshoot whose surprisingly massive heyday came in the 1980s, so that's a unique draw right there. Second, it's the latest series created by Jenji Kohan, the mind behind Weeds and Netflix's extremely popular Orange is the New Black, so there's no one better adapted for handling a show about an ensemble of women with big personalities and no shame. G.L.O.W. was conceived as Netflix acquired the acclaimed 2011 documentary about the eponymous Gorgeous Ladies, and should the new scripted series become popular, we could see a proper G.L.O.W. return in the future.
When Does It Premiere: Unknown
Godless
The Cast: Jeff Daniels, Jack O'Connell, Michelle Dockery, Merritt Wever, Sam Waterston, Kim Coates, Scoot McNairy, Donald Cerrone, Thomas Brodie-Sangster
Why We're Pumped: The cast for Godless is massive, extending beyond what's noted above, and Netflix pumping money into this Western miniseries could extend the current mini-renaissance for Old West storytelling. Godless' plot sees Jeff Daniels' dangerous outlaw Frank Griffin on the run from his partner-turned-enemy Roy Goode (Jack O'Connell), and the chase leads them to the small town of La Belle, which is made up entirely of women for some mysterious reason. Scott Frank, writer of Logan and Out of Sight (among many others), created the series, and he's re-teaming with Out of Sight director Steven Soderbergh, who is executive producing. There are no bad elements here.
When Does It Premiere: Unknown
Friends From College
The Cast: Cobie Smulders, Keegan-Michael Key, Annie Parisse, Nat Faxon, Fred Savage, Jae Suh Park, Billy Eichner
Why We're Pumped: Netflix does "traditional" comedies as well as it does the higher-concept fare, which is one reason why we're stoked about the studio's upcoming Friends from College, which has the plot of a forgettable late-winter Hollywood release; the other reason, obviously, is that cast. The group of (mostly) TV vets like Cobie Smulders and Fred Savage makes up a group of fortysomething friends who went to Harvard together, and the series explores the complex webs of relationships between each of the characters in their various stations in life. Another plus: it was created by Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Neighbors writer/director Nicholas Stoller and his wife Francesca DelBlanco.
When Does It Premiere: Unknown
Disjointed
The Cast: Kathy Bates, Tone Bell, Elizabeth Ho, Elizabeth Alderfer, Dougie Baldwin, Aaron Moten
Why We're Pumped: Honestly, it doesn't take much more than "Kathy Bates in a Netflix pot comedy," as it shouldn't. But Disjointed is also the first streaming creation from sitcom maestro Chuck Lorre, of Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men fame, so it'll be interesting to see if his hit-making sensibilities can transition to the mostly uncensored waters of Netflix. The show centers on Bates' pro-weed activist realizing her dream of opening a pot dispensary in L.A., with her son and his buddies helping out. If the phrase "Wake and Bake and Netflix" doesn't come out of Disjointed's release, they're doing something wrong.
When Does It Premiere: Unknown
