Sky Box Sets for January

Sky Box Sets premieres for January include the thriller Riviera and seasons three of Dark Matter and four of Vikings.

The Hollywood Reporter summed up Riviera, which stars Julia Stiles a billionaire’s widow who uncovers the dark underbelly of their Vanity Fair lifestyle, as “eye candy that’s not worth the calories”:

Having seen three episodes of Riviera, lured in by the fact it was created by Neil Jordan (The Crying Game, The Borgias), who co-wrote the first two episodes with Booker Prize-winning author John Banville (The Sea), something went awfully wrong in the translation from idea to execution.

And, according to an interview Jordan gave to U.K. newspaper The Guardian, that something isn’t too difficult to suss out: The finished product was worked over pretty thoroughly after he and Banville left the project after those first two episodes. For his part, Jordan has thoroughly distanced himself from Riviera (which saw huge ratings in Europe but was savaged in many reviews).

Screening in order of transmission:

• The Bastard Executioner
• Boardwalk Empire S2
• Masters of Sex S4
• Togetherness S1.
• Dark Matter S3
• Haven S1
• Togetherness S1
• Boardwalk Empire S3
• Vikings S1
• Togetherness S2
• Fringe S3 (eps 1-11)
• Vikings S2
• Haven S2
• Togetherness S2
• Boardwalk Empire S4
• Vikings S2
• Riviera S1
• Fringe S3 (eps 12-22)
• Vikings S3
• The Jinx
• Riviera S1
• Boardwalk Empire
• Vikings S3
• Fortitude S1
• Fringe S4 (eps 1-11)
• Vikings S4 (eps 1-10)
• Mad Dogs
• Fortitude S1
• Bellevue S1
• Vikings S4 (eps 1-10).