12 New TV Characters We Can't Wait To Meet In 2017
6. Kent - Guerrilla
From writer and director John Ridley - who wrote the Oscar-winning screenplay for 12 Years A Slave - Guerrilla is a limited series set in London during the 1970s.
Part political drama, part love story, it sees a couple (Freda Pinto and Babou Ceesay) liberate a political prisoner, and go on to form a radical underground cell that targets the Black Power Desk, a counter-intelligence unit dedicated to crushing all forms of black activism.
It looks impressive, but the headline act of the show comes in the form of Idris Elba. He'll be playing Kent, the political prisoner in question. While not a lot is known about the series beyond that premise (despite the fact it starts in a month), it's enough to cause real excitement.
It's the makings of a powerful and thematically resonant show, and Elba alone is a great sell. While he is now a movie star, his best work has come on TV in The Wire and Luther. Based on his performances there, he'll bring a wonderful mix of charisma, cool, strength, and complexity here, and it's the sort of role he should really be able to sink his teeth into and deliver an absolutely knockout performance.