Ten entertainment things worth anticipating in 2013

Good news, Boing Boing readers: There is going to be a 2013! Not only that, but tons of cool stuff is coming in the way of entertainment. Here is my list of ten of the cooler things hitting screens both big and small, according to my own personal preferences (and perhaps yours)!

The new season of The Venture Bros.

Our long wait (two years, not counting the Shallow Gravy special) is nearly over! News came out in little dribs and drabs, but we will finally be getting a new season of Adult Swim's The Venture Bros. in early 2013. Some signs even point to January, which would be pretty sweet (birthday present for me), but just knowing that they're coming is news enough for some of us. You can be sure to see an official season premiere date at BB. In the meantime, Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer were kind enough to grant me an interview at New York Comic Con and give me some details.

Anchorman 2

Can Adam McKay & Co. produce a worthy successor to the 100 percent quotable Anchorman? Sequels are a tricky game, but would even a bad sequel to Anchorman be that bad? The entire original main cast is on board, maybe even Kristen Wiig. The people who wrote the first movie are writing the second one. And it's not as if this move came hastily; the original arrived in 2004. I think there is every reason to look forward to this, even if it doesn't top its predecessor. I just want to see what kind of lines they'll come up with.

Community finally returning

It's going to feel awkward, like talking to someone your best friend stopped dating because you still like them and consider them a friend. But even without Dan Harmon running the show, Community fans are very, very eager to see their favorite show again. And after a bit of jerking around, we finally will on Thursday, February 7! We'll have to say goodbye to 30 Rock first, but it's good to see NBC try to nurture one of its most well-received comedies.

The conclusion of The Walking Dead Season 3

On a somewhat similar note, given the recent news of a showrunner change, just a few days after the return of Community is the return of The Walking Dead on Sunday, February 10! This season has been extremely kickass, having taken several twists and turns while having no mercy on its main characters. And now that David Morrissey's Governor is ready to become completely unhinged, it's going to be pretty insane. Also worth getting excited about: the new hour-long version of The Talking Dead hosted by Chris Hardwick! You won't even have to wait an hour and a half to see it, because it'll air right after the new Walking Dead -- the way it always should have!

Bates Motel

Hear me out on this one, because I think it might actually be kind of cool, despite my affection for the movie Psycho. Part of that affection does not include the "explainy" end to the movie, when we're treated to a paragraph of why Norman Bates did what he did. Bates Motel is going to give us this story by showing, not telling. We're getting a young Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore), we're getting Mother Bates (Vera Farmiga), and we're going to see one extended theory on why Sonny Boy became a murderer. The teaser trailers make the show look like it'll be weird, spooky, and maybe even creepy on a level that people won't want to watch it before going to bed at night. (Finger crossed!) I just really, really hope that it's good.

The new Evil Dead

Again, hear me out: I was just as skeptical as the next die-hard Evil Dead fan, and like many devoted Evil Dead fans, I don't want a new movie overshadowing the original for the younger generation. But going by the first stills and trailers, Fede Alvarez's Evil Dead looks like it's just plain going to be a good horror movie. While it doesn't have the low-budget charm of the original, maybe the only solution is to stop the comparisons. Yes, it has the same title, but as Bruce Campell -- who produced this movie with Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert -- has been insisting, it's not a remake. It's a new entry in the Evil Dead series. The first three movies will never leave their special place in my heart, and I'm ready to keep an open mind.

Arrested Development on Netflix

I don't think there is anything in pop culture (heavy on the "cult") more anticipated than new episodes of Arrested Development arriving in the spring, with the entire original cast, creator, and writers, as if they'd never prematurely left us after three seasons. Not only is it great news for AD fans, but it's probably the best news Netflix has gotten in a really long time. Much like an Anchorman sequel, this was not a last-minute idea to make money. This was something that had been floating around in Rumorville for years without any real evidence of being true, like Bigfoot. And then suddenly, one day, Bigfoot held a press conference and declared its existence.

Star Trek Into Darkness

(Video link) I'll admit to only being an amateur Trekkie, but the first J.J. Abrams movie got me to finally watch Star Trek: The Original Series, and I'm hooked. I love the theorizing about who Benedict Cumberbatch is really playing and where this might lead into future movies. But mostly, I'm looking forward to seeing a Star Trek movie in a movie theater for the first time. I hope the die-hards will accept this very enthused newb.

Amazing awards show hosts for generally lame awards shows

Read any blog, tweet, or Facebook post during awards season: according to all the coolest kids, awards shows are lame, yo. Establishment, rich people, etc. etc. But we are getting three awards shows that, despite their lameness, will be hosted by awesome people. In January, the Golden Globes will be hosted by Amy Poehler and Tina Fey at the same time. The following month, Seth MacFarlane will probably do a silly musical number and offend people at the Oscars! And in April, Rebel Freaking Wilson will host the MTV Movie Awards. You don't have to like awards shows. In fact, all of the hosts I just mentioned will be mocking the ceremonies the entire time they're performing their hosting duties. And this -- plus, maybe some booze -- will make for great awards show parties.

The Heat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5m7Ml76zoA

(Video link) Holy crapcakes, Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock in the first buddy cop movie starring two women? I cannot tell you how badly I want this to be good. Seriously, a part of my soul will break into pieces if this is bad, even though I have a hard time thinking it will be.

What are you guys excited about in 2013?

• [soap]

  Archer doesn’t make the list?

  The conclusion of Breaking Bad?

  The remake of Oldboy?

  Ok.  Let’s settle on 12 anticipations and 1 dread.

  ;)

• [Manny]

  “[T]he first buddy cop movie starring two women” only if you don’t count Copycat, 1995, Holly Hunter and Sigourney Weaver.

  • [Asa Taylor]

    They weren’t partners, even though there is the uncomfortable team-up aspect.  Love that movie though.

    • [Manny]

      Yeah, you’re probably right about the buddy thing. I’ve always had it filed in my mind under “Buddy”, though. I really like the women’s relationship and I still get a shudder thinking about Harry Connick Jr’s character.

      • [feminismisfun]

        I, for one, think a request for one’s “squirrel covers” to be totally appropriate.

  • [Roger Strong]

    Also 1988′s Feds with Rebecca De Mornay and Mary Gross.

    • [NI MEN HAO-DY TRAMPOLINA]

      :D

  • [NI MEN HAO-DY TRAMPOLINA]

    Also, Feds.

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095145/

  • [brighton deepthroat]

    Howzabout ‘Miss Congeniality 2′?

• [spamky]

  No Game of Thrones & Breaking Bad?

• [planettom]

  < [VENTURE BROS.] two years, not counting the Shallow Gravy special)

  Also not counting the 2012 Halloween special…

• [DrPlokta]

  First buddie cop movie starring two women? Would that be not counting the four Cagney & Lacey TV movies that they made in the 1990s?

• [Peter Bebergal]

  Also, Legend of Korra, season 2, the amazing unsung show of 2012.

  • [artbyjcm]

    This and the Tron Uprising series really surprised me. I feel like this is what Gargoyles was for me but for the current generation.

  • [Peter]

    It was good, but also disappointing and didn’t live up to expectations, but I’m a little more confident about season 2 and beyond now that they’re upping the episode count and hiring more writers. 

    I am surprised it hasn’t gotten more press considering it was extremely highly rated (for a cartoon… I think some episodes beat the ratings of Game of Thrones eps), and one of the few female-led cartoon shows.

    • [David]

      I’d read that Nickelodeon wasn’t fully sold on the concept of Avatar 2, a female-kickass-character. That’s why they had so few episodes. The first Avatar had time to slowly develop the story line and to run off on tangents. I hope that the next several seasons of A2 will do the same.

• [Conspirator]

  How about Feds as a buddy cop movie starring two women?  Mary Gross, Rebecca De Mornay, made in 1988, ok they were FBI, not cops, but still it fits the buddy cop mold.  

  • [NI MEN HAO-DY TRAMPOLINA]

     ”Suck shit through a tube.”

• [Andrew Roach]

  No one has mentioned the 50th anniversary special for Doctor Who. Seriously? 

  • [artbyjcm]

    This and the new Star Trek were the main things I was looking forward to.

• [cocoabrioche]

  The Mortal Instruments movie!

• [SedanChair]

  I–Is Breaking Bad not coming out this year? DON’T TOY WITH ME

• [Seth Gallmeyer]

   Oh my, what about Ender’s Game!?

  • [IronEdithKidd]

    The potential for this to be done poorly is very high.

  • [NI MEN HAO-DY TRAMPOLINA]

    Snore.

• [Blazeldude]

  Seth MacFarlane doing things is not something to look forward to.

  • [unclemike]

    I don’t see Seth MacFarlane on Jamie’s list.

• [Jellodyne]

  Go Team Venture!  ¥ ¥

• [Damian Barajas]

  Really? Remakes and sequels are a thing to look forward to now?

• [carloscarlson]

  I’ve seen “The Heat” and I would temper those expectations if I were you.  

• [Marc Hills]

  Pray tell, how did the impending awesomesauce known as The Last of Us not make this list?  Surely in 2013 a groundbreaking, wholly original video game  (amidst a sea of sequels and repackaged content in all entertainment mediums) not qualify as something to eagerly anticipate?

  • [artbyjcm]

    They seemed to be focused on TV and movies, but I have to admit, that game has had me very interested for a long while now.

• [JoelCave]

  New Stephen Chow movie – Journey to the West? Or Wong Kar Wai’s The Grandmasters? 

• [Crashproof]

  This is entertainment?  I will hug my books and the internet for sparing me from it.

• [signsofrain]

  Definitely missing Breaking Bad, Archer, Korra, Game of Thrones, The Last of Us (thank you previous posters), and an ironic mention of Half-Life 3.

• [oasisob1]

  What about Mockingbird Lane?

  • [Talia]

     Not so much.

    http://tvline.com/2012/12/27/mockingbird-lane-nbc-no-series-order/

• [DewiMorgan]

  So glad I don’t have a TV.

• [Once Dead Flesh]

  Venture bros makes me run around like kermit in a panic….

• [Sean]

  my two cents - 
  tv:
  Doctor Who 50th anniversary
  Sherlock – series 3
  Breaking Bad 
  Game of Thrones
  Walking Dead
  Arrested Development
  Community
  Phoneshop – series 3

  movies:
  Alan Partridge: The Movie (!!!)
  Elysium (big budget sci-fi from the director of district 9)
  A Field in England (new ben wheatley film)
  The Zero Theorem (new terry gilliam)
  The World’s End (final chapter in edgar wright’s cornetto trilogy [shaun of the dead, hot fuzz])
  Star Trek Into Darkness
  The Look of Love (michael winterbottom directed, steve coogan starring, same style as 24 Hour Party People)

  video games:
  GTA V
  Bioshock Infinite
  Watch Dogs
  Star Wars 1313

• [Peter]

  For me…

  TV: Returning shows, I guess Walking Dead and Game of Thrones, Doctor Who 50th anniversary, Legend of Korra S2…

  SHIELD, American Gods, Under the Dome in development…

  Movies: I guess Ender’s Games, the author is seriously problematic but the story still strikes a chord with me and I can’t wait to see how they screw it up.

  That’s about it… there are a bunch that fall in the ‘might be interesting’ category, but they don’t really get me excited yet.

  And books are entertainment too, for some of us, at least, so in that vein…

  Impulse, by Steven Gould, the 3rd novel in the series that started with Jumper
  Hopefully Echopraxia (or whatever it winds up being called), by Peter Watts, the “sidequel” to the excellent Blindsight, but it hasn’t appeared on a publishing schedule yet so it might be 2014.

  And many delightful discoveries that I’m not even aware of yet (and some that I am, but technically came out last year and I’m just waiting for paperback or to find them used).

  • [Antinous / Moderator]

    Movies: I guess Ender’s Games, the author is seriously problematic but the story still strikes a chord with me and I can’t wait to see how they screw it up.

    Having a 15 year-old actor play a five year-old character is a good start.

• [patienceshehulk]

  I disagree strongly with your suggestion that remakes, rehashes prequels and sequels are with a walrus’s fart. And I go into detail here: http://patienceshehulk.tumblr.com/post/39084078253/im-sick-of-these-positive-new-evil-dead-reviews

• [Keith Seaman]

  PACIFIC RIM!! And all you hipsters with no TV complaining about pop culture, why are you even on this thread? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vKz7WnU83E

  • [Antinous / Moderator]

    When I went to the movies the other day, I saw a trailer for a film about an apocalyptic Earth with Idris Elba shouting memes, a trailer for a film about a post-apocalyptic Earth with Will Smith being a Will Smith meme, and a trailer for a film about a post-apocalyptic Earth with Tom Cruise being a Tom Cruise meme.

    I’m just going to go curl up with my My Dinner with André lunchbox.

    • [signsofrain]

      Tell me more!

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWFJOxG5sSw

• [Al Corrupt]

  I am gasping for new Venture Bros.
  Gasping!

• [sockdoll]

  Entertainment things!

• [B E Pratt]

  Surprised that no one has yet mentioned that there was already a Bates Motel film. Well, ok, a TV movie. But it starred Bud Cort which is always a plus. Had thought it was a short lived series, but was apparently wrong. It is up on YouTube as a ten parter:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJsjIjguG9M&feature=related

• [MrJM]

  Really looking forward to the next season of The Big Bang Theory.

• [Samsa]

  Die-hard Trek fans realize these new movies have absolutely nothing in common with Star Trek and are just giant action movies set in space sharing the same name for some reason. We judge you accordingly.

• [registradus]

  So is Rebel Wilson “cool” now? I haven’t seen her in anything except bad Australian tv comedy