‘Copacabana’ singer was forced to postpone several January concerts to undergo treatment

A new Channel 4 documentary aims to provide a fresh perspective on the most critically and commercially tumultuous period of Bowie’s career, and reflect on how this led to his swansong, ‘Blackstar’. Roisin O’Connor speaks with director Jonathan Stiasny

This first newsletter of the new year looks at some of the big questions we hope will be answered in the next 12 months, across film, TV, music and games

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Welcome to 2026! I hope you are enjoying the final dribblings of the festive break, before reality bites on Monday. As is now tradition (well, we did it once before), this first newsletter of the new year looks at some of the big questions we hope will be answered in the next 12 months, across film, TV, music and games. Hopefully it will double up as a decent primer for the year ahead too, though for a more exhaustive rundown check the Guardian’s 2026 previews for film, music, TV, gaming, stage and art. Right, let’s get on with it:

Packed with incredible scenes, this heartbreaking anniversary documentary can’t help but offer up a huge serving of nostalgic bliss

There’s a theory that the world spun off its axis with the passing of David Bowie, 10 days into January 2016. It was also two days after his final, death-infused album Blackstar appeared from nowhere. As an artistic statement it was prophetic and impeccably theatrical. A feature-length documentary now shines a black light on that album’s recording, which some call Bowie’s creative resurrection. What does it reveal? And do we want to revisit that place, emotionally?

Thankfully, Bowie: The Final Act (Saturday 3 January, 10pm, Channel 4) does not live solely in the catacombs. It begins at the zenith of Bowie’s pop fame: the 1983 Serious Moonlight tour, where the Thin White Duke turned American soul hero. This MTV-approved, Pepsi advert-inducing stardom was the onset of a career-stalling ennui, Bowie’s artistic voice drying out under the bright lights he sought. It then ricochets back to the start of his musical journey, pinballing us through its highlights. With a mythology this seismic it would be a crime not to. David Bowie invented serving looks, you know. They just happened to come from another planet.

The Beirut-born pop star is back with his first English-language album in six years, the dazzling ‘Hyperlove’. He opens up to Roisin O’Connor about the lasting influence of his late mother, Joannie, his lambasting by music critics when he broke through in 2007, and why his pursuit of love and creativity are one and the same