Doesn’t it feel like you were just reading my 2010 Fall TV Preview back in mid-September? You know what they say–time flies…when you’re watching so much TV. I’m going to run through the new network shows that I’m most anticipating and I’ll let you know which returning shows you should be watching. In addition, I will comment on the new shows that debuted this fall and let you know when they return from holiday hiatus, as well as say goodbye to the ones that prematurely got axed. Cable TV gets some love down there, too. Feel like skipping past my opinions and want to see the midseason schedules for the big four networks? They’re right here: CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC.
CBS: The most watched network is introducing two new dramas with Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior and Chaos, a comedy in Mad Love, and marking the the return of Paula Abdul with her reality series Live to Dance. If you’re a fan of Criminal Minds, you’ll likely want to tune into the new spinoff series starring Forest Whitaker. Chaos is being described as a “comedic drama about a group of rogue CIA spies” and it stars Eric Close (NCIS), James Murray (UK’s Primeval), and Kurtwood Smith (That 70s Show). Sounds like a typical CBS procedural to me. Mad Love is hoping to break out in CBS’ Monday night comedy lineup; it stars American Pie‘s Jason Biggs, Judy Greer (Arrested Development), and Sarah Chalke (Scrubs). Do you find yourself obsessing over reality shows like So You Think You Can Dance? Abdul’s Live to Dance will be right up your alley.
This fall saw the premiere of a handful of new CBS series, but the one I was most looking forward to was Hawaii Five-O. The explosive and highly entertaining pilot led into many other exciting episodes. It did not take very long for me to realize that a CBS procedural had become my favorite new network series. Alex O’Loughlin does a fine job at playing Steve McGarrett, but it’s Scott Caan’s Danno (who recently received the Best Supporting Actor nomination) who steals the show with quick wit and perfect compatibility with his partner O’Loughlin. With Victor Hesse pulling strings behind bars and the introduction of the infamous TV villain Wo Fat at the end of the latest episode, there’s much to look forward to when Hawaii Five-O returns with all new episodes Monday, January 3 at 10PM.
NBC: This network is still trying to find its feet after last year’s Jay Leno Show fiasco. Midseason premieres include David E. Kelly’s Harry’s Law (starring Kathy Bates), America’s Next Great Restaurant, Perfect Couples, and The Cape. I am most looking forward to the latter two programs. NBC actually ran a preview episode of the comedy Perfect Couples last week and unfortunately it didn’t fare so well with me. The jokes it tried to make were rather bland and the interesting assortment of characters did not share much in common. If you can think back to the fantastic Modern Family pilot, that is what I was sort of expecting here; three distinctly unique couples with a common thread tying them together in a way that makes you care about their relationship to one another. This was, however, a preview and I’m hoping that the actual pilot contains a spark to keep in interested in these characters and their lives; also, let’s hope the jokes get funnier. Perfect Couples premieres January 20 at 8:30PM.
Next up is The Cape. If you watch TV you’ve likely seen many commercials promoting the superhero drama. David Lyons (ER) stars as Vince Faraday, a cop who is framed for a series of murders and sets out to become “The Cape”, a comic book superhero, and he “takes the law into his own hands.” The most recent preview I saw on TV revealed a wide range of villains Faraday will be fighting against; James Frain is Peter Fleming, The Cape’s nemesis. And don’t forget about Summer Glau (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) who stars as Orwell, an investigative blogger and The Cape’s ally. It looks like a spooky action-packed drama that should take the place of the ill-fated Heroes and the sub-par new series The Event while it’s on hiatus. The Cape‘s two-hour premiere airs Sunday, January 9 at 9PM; it’s regular time slot is Mondays at 9PM.
Parks and Recreation finally returns January 20 at 9PM. After an admittedly lackluster first season, Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and the entire Pawnee Gang picked up the slack and contributed toward a stellar second season. No sophomore slump here! Every single character is flawed in one way or another, but they also each have rewarding qualities that make you want to cheer them on. Knope, for example, may come off as a dimwitted, idiotic political figure, but at her core she cares about her friends at the Parks Department and she’s willing to fight against all injustices within the town of Pawnee. With the departure of fan favorite Mark Brendanawicz (Paul Schneider), season three will more prominently feature Rob Lowe and Adam Scott, two characters with much potential who were introduced late last season. The fourth episode is titled “Ron and Tammy II”, and if it plays out anything like its season 2 counterpart (stellar performances by Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally) I have full faith Park and Rec will continue to shine for years to come.
I had high hopes for The Event, but it’s quickly becoming the next FlashForward. (In fact, I enjoyed ABC’s sci-fi drama a whole lot more.) The network hyped The Event to be the next big hit, but in doing so it attached it to two other high profile series and the comparison made was ill-advised. A commercial boasted, “If 24 and Lost had a baby, it would be The Event.” The Event certainly tried to become the next Lost, with intermittent flashbacks for storytelling purposes but it failed to do it right. After the first few episodes it started to feel like the show was trying to mimic Lost instead of branch off in a new direction. With that said, I am happy to report that the show has learned from its early mistakes and is attempting to make good on them with intriguing character stories and mythos-packed action sequences. The seemingly random flashbacks have been scrapped and replaced by detailed and emotional stories that shed light on the prominent characters; the Simon Lee and Blake Sterling stories proved to be the series best episodes thus far. And speaking of mythos–as much as I am interested in Sophia’s plan for her people, one can only watch a show called The Event for so long without having an inkling as to what the event is. Also, Sean and Leila have been on the run for way too long; here’s to hoping that the producers give them something more to do when The Event returns from an extended hiatus on March 7 at 9PM. I admit I am hooked to the series, but only by a few weak threads.
And know I want to take this space to vent about the cancellation of Undercovers. Who knew a J.J. Abrams series could be axed, am I right?! The casting, acting, writing, and production were all top notch. The show looked as great as the leads. Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Boris Kodjoe really make the perfect couple; the sexy spy duo just clicked. And you can’t forget about Ben Schwartz’s Bill Hoyt; he dominated as the series’ comedic relief. Every episode brought us to a new exotic location, and the action sequences were killer. What it all comes down to in the end is ratings, and unfortunately this NBC procedural did not attract enough viewers. I’m starting to think that the show would’ve fared better over at CBS next to other crime shows. Just when the show was getting injected with some intriguing mythos the network decided to can it. Why did Alan Dale’s character feel it was necessary to reactivate the Blooms back into the CIA? What was enclosed in the envelop the Blooms obtained at the conclusion of the latest episode? Why is Shaw so angry all the time? Unfortunately the answers to these questions will not be answered for fans of the show. As of today, NBC has no plans to air the final two episodes of the series; hopefully “Dark Cover” and “The Reason” make it to the DVD release.
FOX: The network with powerhouses like Glee and American Idol is premiering four new series this midseason: crime drama The Chicago Code, comedy Traffic Light, reality show Million Dollar Money Drop, and an animated show not created by Seth McFarlane called Bob’s Burgers. Also note the return of American Idol with an all-new lineup of judges (Wednesday, January 19 at 8PM) and the network plans to air a special post-Super Bowl episode of Glee on February 6.
This fall FOX brought us Raising Hope and Running Wilde, two comedies I instantly fell in love with. Unfortunately I must part with the latter one. But good news first. Raising Hope was the very first new fall show to be given a full season order and boy was that well deserved. Martha Plimpton takes the cake with her amazing, highly believable portrayal of Virginia Chance. And who knew Garret Dillahunt (her husband Burt) could go from playing an evil Terminator (in Fox’s ill-fated Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) to a dimwitted, lovable father figure? Lucas Neff does a phenomenal job playing the protagonist Jimmy; from the pilot onward it was easy to make a connection to the young man and support his decision to raise Hope, the bastard child of a serial killer. Shannon Woodward is adorable as Jimmy’s love interest Sabrina, and Cloris Leachman’s Maw Maw all of a sudden became the show’s most off-the-walls, laugh-out-loud characters. I’m glad I took a shot in the dark when I tuned into the premiere; following My Name Is Earl, series creator Greg Garcia has another runaway success in his arsenal.
A fond farewell is due to Running Wilde. Creator Mitch Hurwitz attempted to resurrect the wit and charm from Arrested Development but unfortunately, again, viewers did not flock to his comedy gold. Arrested‘s Will Arnett (he played G.O.B.) teamed up with Keri Russell in a simply delightful comedy about a self-centered billionaire and his journey to finding the meaning of a charitable life. Supporting actors Mel Rodriguez (Migo), Robert Michael Morris (Mr. Lunt), Peter Serafinowicz (Fa’ad), and David Cross (Andy, and Arrested‘s Tobias Fünke) were wonderful and added to the light-hearted hilarity. Little Stefania LaVie Owen played Russell’s daughter Puddle, and though her narration was not as self-referential as Arrested‘s Ron Howard it was just as smart, reliable, and fitting. There are still four episodes left to air, and I’ve heard that another Arrested alum is joining the fray; Jeffrey Tambor was cast to play Arnett’s father just as he did in Arrested as patriarch George Bluth! With this sad cancellation, hopefully Hurwitz will take advantage of the extra time and ramp up production of the Arrested Development feature film. The remaining Running Wilde episodes are expected to air sometime this month.
ABC: Following in NBC’s footsteps, ABC is taking a risk and expanding its Wednesday night comedy lineup until the 11PM mark. Freshman comedies Mr. Sunshine (starring Matthew Perry and Allison Janney) and Happy Endings (starring Elisha Cuthbert and Zach Knighton) will try to fit in with The Middle, Better With You, and Modern Family. Medical dramas Off the Map and Body of Proof starring Dana Delany and Jeri Ryan and reality show Secret Millionaire also make midseason premieres.
Anticipation is high for the return of V. While the first season had its ups and downs, the later episodes leading up to the epic finale “Red Sky” solidified this show as a sci-fi drama well worth watching. (Spoiler alert!) We’ve got a great Fifth Column team in Erica Evans, Father Jack Landry, Ryan Nichols, and the mysterious Hobbes, but season two promises to up the ante with more Fifth Column supporters cropping up around the world. Chad Decker knows the truth about Vs, and hopefully he will use this knowledge to his advantage when he talks it up with Anna. It’s great to have Lisa on our side, and it’ll be interesting to see how she interacts with her mother, the Queen V. Also I’m looking forward to the introduction of Dianna, Anna’s mother, who will be played by Jane Badler. Badler played the original antagonist in the 1983 miniseries, but it has been revealed that although she carries the name Dianna, her reinvented character will serve a new role in the modern series. What will the Vs do to Josh? Will we ever see Ryan’s human/alien baby? Answers will arrive in due time, but you can expect an explanation of why the sky turned red when V returns Tuesday, January 4 at 9PM.
Props to No Ordinary Family for fleshing itself out and becoming one of the breakout hits of the fall TV season. What started out as a simple story about an ordinary family gaining superpowers turned into a well-rounded show with grounded main and supporting characters (I’m looking at Autumn Reeser’s Katie and Romany Malco’s George). The standalone stories work well, but sparks fly when the family comes together to fight crime. The JJ + Daphne collaborations are cute (but what do you expect, they’re kids!); the Jim and Stephanie Powell duo, on the other hand, is awesome. Their battle against the serial arsonist in “No Ordinary Anniversary” was quite epic, and I’m looking forward to more moments like these. The overarching mythos finally started to gain some tread in the later episodes; I’m intrigued by Dr. King and his minion Will/Josh and curious about where their intentions lie. The final, gripping scene between Will and Daphne was loads of fun and I’m interested to see what repercussions take place as a result of it. I’m hooked. No Ordinary Family returns Tuesday, January 4 at 9PM.
Cable TV: I’ve already shared my praises surrounding the premiere season of The Walking Dead. It’s my favorite off-network show at the moment; too bad it doesn’t return for an extended 13-episode second season until next Halloween on AMC. Also, an honorable mention goes to Boardwalk Empire which proved to be a compelling HBO series. If you ever experienced college (or want to know what it’s like) you’ve gotta tune into Glory Daze. The show follows a group of college freshman who are getting acclimated to fraternity life in the 1980s. It all feels very true to life, it’s just funnier. That wacky episode when Brad Garrett accidentally gets high was brilliant! The TBS series returns Tuesday, January 4 at 10PM. Speaking of TBS, Conan is fitting right back into the late-night mold there. Some cable midseason premieres you should be taking note of include: the final season of Big Love premieres January 16 on HBO; the prequel series Spartacus: Gods of the Arena starts January 21 on Starz; and South Park season 15 begins April 27 on Comedy Central. Also, be on the lookout for Game of Thrones (based on the George R.R. Martin fantasy novel), Camelot (a modern telling of the King Arthur story), and Breakout Kings (a show about convicts helping the government from the creators of Prison Break) on HBO, Starz, and A&E, respectively, this spring.
Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva put together a list of all upcoming midseason TV premieres and return dates. Check it out right here.