10 2018 TV Shows To Watch Instead Of Game Of Thrones

6. King Lear

Remains of the Day
Columbia Pictures

Ok, this one is technically cheating as it's currently billed as a TV movie, but the release format could change, and if Black Mirror episodes can be counted as TV movies and Twin Peaks: The Return can make Sight and Sound's list of best 2017 films, this can land here.

There are plenty of Shakespearean elements to Game of Thrones, and this is not only the real deal, but one of the Bard's best - and one that links itself nicely to Westeros. It's got a Mad King, children squabbling for control of the throne, characters who believe they're in the right even when they're villains, and themes around the collapse of power, kingdoms, and civilisation, but also the hope that remains within.

If that's not enough, then the joint venture from Amazon and the BBC will star the great Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins, reunited the pair some 25 years after Remains of the Day, with the cast rounded out by the likes of Emily Watson, Florence Pugh, Christopher Eccleston, Jim Broadbent (who appeared in GoT Season 7), and Andrew Scott.

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NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.