January, February… March! Let’s take a look at six premieres airing this month. Jump after the break.
Monday, 3/3: Bates Motel (A&E, 9PM)
Freddy Highmore and Vera Farmiga return in the imaginative Psycho prequel series Bates Motel from Lost‘s Carlton Cuse and Friday Night Lights‘ Kerry Ehrin. “B” is dead and Norman is reeling from the consequences of not remembering the brutal crime he most definitely committed. Watch season 2’s trailer here.
Note: Following the premiere, A&E will air an after-show special called Bates Motel: After Hours; think of it like Talking Dead, but for Bates! The half-hour after-show will feature a live discussion of the episode between Cuse, Ehrin, Farmiga, Highmore, and Max Thieriot. It hasn’t been made official yet if this will be a regular thing each week, so stay tuned.
Sunday, 3/9: Resurrection (ABC, 9PM) / Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (FOX, 9PM)
The people of Arcadia, Missouri are forever changed when their deceased loved ones suddenly start to return. An 8-year-old American boy wakes up alone in a rice paddy in a rural Chinese province with no idea how he got there. Details start to emerge when the boy, who calls himself Jacob, recalls that his hometown is Arcadia, and an Immigration agent, J. Martin Bellamy, takes him there. The home he claims as his own is occupied by an elderly couple, Henry and Lucille Langston, who lost their son, Jacob, more than 30 years ago. While they look different, young Jacob recognizes them as his parents. Those closest to the family try to unravel this impossible mystery — but this boy who claims to be the deceased Jacob knows secrets about his own death that no one else knows.
ABC’s latest drama Resurrection promises to be an emotional, existential, and exciting journey about death, reincarnation, and the mysteries of life. It’s got a solid cast led by Kurtwood Smith (That 70s Show), Francis Fisher (Touch), and Omar Epps (House) and the extended preview released last May promotes an intriguing tale that’s worth a look in my book.
A very different kind of show premieres on one of the big networks this month and it’s called Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey. It’s not a drama or a sitcom but an epic educational science program about the mysterious of the universe hosted by renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. Famed scientist Carl Sagan hosted his own PBS show Cosmos: A Personal Voyage in 1980 and this new version aims to bring back scientific knowledge and theories to the masses. Sagan’s widow Ann Druyan serves as an executive producer along with Family Guy‘s Seth MacFarlane (it would appear the talented voice actor has a myriad of interests). Though the show will discuss heavy topics from the big bang to the theory of evolution, life-like CG animated sequences will complement Tyson’s narration making the program accessible to all. Preview Cosmos here.
Note: The 13-part series will premiere across various FOX networks including The National Geographic Channel. If you’re really into this, make sure you tune to NGC on Mondays at 10PM each week for a second hour of Cosmos bonus footage and behind-the-scenes content.
Monday, 3/10: Believe (NBC, 9PM)
The next show from J.J. Abrams–maker of Alias, Lost, Fringe, Revolution, and Person of Interest–is Believe. Alfonso Cuarón, director of Gravity, serves as an executive producer and helms the pilot which introduces a little girl with special powers like levitation, telekinesis, the ability to control nature and see the future. As her powers grow stronger an evil force emerges that wants to take advantage of her abilities to control the world. A wrongfully imprisoned death row inmate is tasked with the responsibility to oversee her safety. Like all Bad Robot productions, Believe deserves your attention. Preview it here.
Note: Believe moves to its regular Sundays at 9PM timeslot on 3/16.
Sunday, 3/16: Crisis (NBC, 10PM)
To bring the most powerful people in the world to their knees… threaten what they hold most dear. It’s field trip day for the students of Ballard High, a school that educates the children of Washington, D.C.’s elite, top-of-their-industry CEOs, international diplomats, political power players, even the President’s son. But when their bus is ambushed on a secluded rural road, the teenagers and their chaperones are taken, igniting a national crisis. Now, with some of the country’s most powerful parents at the mercy of one vengeful mastermind, the question arises: How far would you go and what would you become to ensure your child’s safe return? With so many parents and dignitaries put into play with nowhere to turn and no one to trust, the unthinkable grows from the select families at risk to an entire nation at stake.
NBC’s new political action thriller boasts a well-rounded cast with Gillian Anderson (The X-Files), Dermot Mulroney (New Girl), Rachael Taylor (666 Park Avenue), and Max Martini (Revenge). Preview Crisis here.
Tuesday, 3/18: Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe (ABC, 8PM)
ABC is going to air an “exclusive primetime documentary special” that goes inside Marvel Studios and the development of its various properties including the superhero movies and ABC’s own Agents of Shield. In the one-hour doc, “audiences will be taken further into the Marvel Cinematic Universe than ever before, offering viewers a front row seat to the inception of Marvel Studios, the record-breaking films, the cultural phenomenon, and further expansion of the universe by Marvel Television.” Specifically, the special will feature behind-the-scenes footage from the films as well as sneak peeks at upcoming Marvel movies Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, and even The Avengers: Age of Ultron.