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Amid the uncertainty 2021 brings, there are a few things we’re looking forward to watching, reading and listening to. We also take a look back at 2020, a year when artists and institutions were forced to make a pandemic pivot


Books

Although most brick-and-mortar bookstores might not yet reopen in the early days of 2021, there are more than enough reasons to keep those stores’ online ordering systems in healthy business over the next few months. Here are five Canadian books we can’t wait to read in 2021.

2020 in review

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Illustration by Salini Perera

Film

With Warner Bros. sending all of its 2021 films to streaming service HBO Max the same day that they open in theatres, we at least know the upcoming year will have some movies coming out, including a new Dune, a new Matrix, and a new Conjuring. But what about movies that HBO Max-less Canadians can look forward to, whether theatres remain shuttered or not? Here are five 2021 movies that won’t require theatres to be open, or Canadians to turn into VPN experts and/or pirates. And we preview 21 movies coming in 2021, for all tastes and viewing preferences.

2020 in review

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Music

No adage had a tougher 2020 than “The show must go on.” Festivals, major tours and dive-bar gigs were wiped away by COVID-19, replaced by a smattering of socially distanced concerts and countless live events streamed online. Yet shows, such as they were, went on. So what will the music scene look like in 2021?

2020 in review

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Television

The pandemic’s impact on TV production will be illuminated in the early going in 2021. That’s not a bad thing, as some titles, forced to arrive late, might have been ignored in the usual avalanche of fall TV. Now they can emerge new and fresh. Here’s what’s coming to television in 2021.

2020 in review

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Theatre and performance

Making predictions about live theatre is a tricky business at the best of times – and 2020 turned out to be the worst of times. Looking ahead to 2021, at least, we know what we don’t know. Only a very few brave or foolish Canadian theatre companies have announced shows. Here are six theatrical experiences coming up in 2021 that will happen one way or another.

2020 in review

The heroes of 2020

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Illustration by Antony Hare

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