Is it too early to start getting excited about all of the new releases / premieres / openings of 2017? As far as I can remember, I’ve never really known of so much stuff that excites me this ahead of the new year. Most of my list relates to the first half of the year, meaning that time should fly leading up to these dates!

1) After Anatevka

I first mentioned this in my post about seeing Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway, and after seeing the cast’s emotions online after the production closed on Dec. 31, I’m even more excited for this book to come out. Written by the revival’s Tzeitel, Alexandra Silber (who also played Hodel in the last London production), After Anatevka explores what happens to Hodel and Perchik when they’re together in Siberia. I love historical fiction, and although it is one of my favorite musicals, Fiddler on the Roof has a pretty sad second act, ending with all of the characters’ fates up in the air.  Even if this book does have a grim ending, I think this is such a cool and personal project for someone like Silber to take on. The book comes out on the Fourth of July, and I’ll definitely be trying it out!

2) Bandstand and Anastasia on Broadway

I’m actually really excited about all of the new musicals opening this season (these show clips for the acappella musical In Transit look amazing!), but I already have a bit of a soft spot for these two.

Bandstand ran at Paper Mill Playhouse last fall and will arrive on Broadway in late April, telling the story of World War II vets teaming with a war widow to win a radio contest. It’s a completely original story, which is rare these days, and, from what I know, consists of swing and big band music, which I love! I follow the musical’s leading lady, Laura Osnes, on Instagram and she posted about a Cyber Monday deal that entailed paying only $45 for a mezzanine seat at show previews.

Admittedly, I initially read the message as $45 for a regular show and was thinking about finding a time in late May to go, but the fact that the deal was for preview season actually worked out! I decided to treat myself and bought a great ticket for a show in mid April that’s only a week or so before opening night. This will be the first time I attend a Broadway show still in previews, and risks of going to these performances typically mean seeing a show that is completely different from the final product. However, because I’ll be going later on in previews and the show already ran somewhere else, I’m confident that there won’t be too many big changes and that this ticket is as good as a regular one.

I’ve mentioned several times that Anastasia is one of my favorite movies that I grew up watching, so I’m pretty excited for the Broadway opening of the new stage adaptation in late April. While I’m tentative to say that it ought to be amazing (Rasputin won’t even be in this version, and Ramin Karimloo will be playing a completely different antagonist), I’m curious about the new songs and little changes made for the movie to work onstage. However, the photos from the show’s pre-Broadway run look absolutely beautiful, and this teaser is kind of perfect. As opposed to Bandstand, I’d definitely go into this show with more expectations if I saw it, but I’m still so eager to see this version of a story I love!

3) A new season of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, more Call the Midwife, and more Timeless 

I blew through each of Kimmy Schmidt‘s seasons shortly after the Netflix releases, so it always feels like forever for the wait between seasons to end. There’s no confirmed premiere date for Season 3 yet, but from what I’ve read, it’ll hit Netflix closer to summertime this year because Ellie Kemper was pregnant in the last half of 2016. No current show makes me laugh as hard as this one does!

It wasn’t until I saw trailers for the Call the Midwife Christmas special that I realized how much I missed the show and desperately needed it to come back. I watched the Christmas special online this past week, and – of course – it made me cry. CTM just makes me feel so empowered, and I’m hoping Trixie performing the C-section is a hint that she’ll be pursuing higher medical qualifications this season. Her growth throughout the series has been amazing, and she’s gone from being a character who didn’t have much of a presence for me to being one of, if not my favorite on the show. It was also announced towards the end of 2016 that the show has been renewed for three more seasons – yes.

I started the new NBC series Timeless on Hulu this past week, and I quickly became obsessed. It’s about a team of misfits brought together to travel throughout history and track down a villain who has stolen a time machine. Some of my favorite episodes have centered around Lincoln’s assassination, the Battle of the Alamo, and the Watergate scandal. The fact that every episode takes place in different time periods satisfies the period drama fan in me, and the concept of being on a mission and traveling through time definitely attracts my Doctor Who side. The three main characters are also great. The show starts off a little slow, but by Episode 5, I was hooked and just had to keep watching. Its winter break still lasts for another week or two, so I’d definitely recommend catching up on it before new episodes start again!

What kind of entertainment are you looking forward to this year?