The Up All Afternoon Top 10: Most Anticipated Pop Culture of 2019

The year just began, but I already know people who are ready to fast-forward to December just so they can experience the ninth Star Wars movie. But between now and then, there are a ton of pop culture tentpoles that will make up the bulk of the conversation in 2019. In the first UP ALL AFTERNOON Top 10 of 2019, let’s take a look at the 10 things I’m most looking forward to in the next 12 months.

10. Big Little Lies Season 2
I remember seeing the billboards for the first season of HBO’s adaptation of the hit novel of the same name and thinking, “I will never care about these rich white ladies.” But I did! And I’m super excited about the forthcoming second season, which adds Meryl Streep to the cast and swaps out director Jean-Marc Vallee for true visionary Andrea Arnold (American Honey, Fish Tank). (No Date Yet)

9. Captain Marvel
I would have been all-in on this if the only thing it had going for it was its presence in the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe narrative, because at this point I’m pretty committed. But the trailers have been dynamite and Brie Larson seems to be owning this character as well as any cast member in the MCU. Plus, there’s a kitty cat in it! (March 8)

8. John Wick Chapter 3
Everyone’s favorite babayaga returns for another super violent go-round. I love these movies and I love Keanu Reeves, so this is a no-brainer. (May 17)

7. Us
Jordan Peele’s directorial follow-up to the critically beloved box office monster Get Out looks like another genre picture that will also prod uncomfortable corners of race and class. If this does well, then Peele will essentially have a blank check for the rest of his career—like Spielberg or Scorsese, he’ll be able to make whatever he wants whenever he wants to make it, and being on the precipice of that is as thrilling as the movie itself will be. (March 15)

6. The Crown Season 3
Netflix’s best series will return with a big time jump and a completely reinvented cast, with Olivia Coleman leading the way replacing Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth II. I was already looking forward to the palace intrigue and incredible costumes, but after seeing Coleman as Queen Victoria in The Favourite, I think she should just go ahead and play every English monarch for the rest of her career. (No Date Yet)

5. Jenny Lewis, On the Line
The music business isn’t really built for anticipation anymore. In fact, it’s probably best for your personal business if you don’t announce your album before it exists. But I got incredibly excited when Jenny Lewis revealed that she’s done with a new album and that it’ll be arriving some time this Spring. This will be her first outing since 2014’s The Voyager, which was my favorite album of that year, and I’m looking forward to On the Line being on my year-end list in 2019. (Spring)

 4. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Quentin Tarantino movies are always an event, and his next one—which takes place in the summer of 1969 and seems to be based around Charles Manson and his followers—will be no exception. QT hasn’t released a film since 2015’s The Hateful Eight, so it’s been a minute, and this seems to have the potential to be a lot of fun. (July 26)

3. Pokemon: Detective Pikachu
I have never cared about Pokemon (I had just aged out of it by the time it took over the youth of America around the end of last century), but on the other hand, Pikachu wears a little hat. (May 10)

 2. Good Omens
One of my favorite books of all time (by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett) finally gets an adaptation, and it’s a perfect storm: The Amazon series was developed by Gaiman himself and stars David Tennant and Michael Sheen as an angel and a demon who find themselves unlikely aligned against the coming of the Antichrist. A few people have taken a swing at an adaptation in the past (12 Monkeys director and Monty Python member Terry Gilliam tried to get it made years ago), but this looks like it will be both definitive and awesome. (No Date Yet)

 1. Deadwood
I’ve only been waiting 13 years. (Spring)