Welcome to May, the month typically associated with punchy TV season and series finales. While you’re dealing with anticipatory cliffhangers and dramatic conclusions, there are two shows coming on the air this month you shouldn’t let go under your radar.
Wayward Pines is a fresh Fox series created by Chad Hodge (The Playboy Club) and executive produced by filmmaker M. Knight Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs), based on the novel Pines by Blake Crouch. It’s a gripping, suspenseful mystery with a promised twist coming before the end of the 10-episode run, straight out of Shyamalan’s toolbox.
[The series] follows Secret Service agent Ethan Burke who, while investigating the disappearance of two fellow agents, finds himself trapped in the titular town, a Stepford village of the damned in which no one is allowed to leave. The citizens live in abject terror of the mysterious people in charge who run things via random phone calls, which seem to usually involve orders to commit terrible acts upon pain of death.
Matt Dillon (Crash) stars as Burke and Empire‘s Terrence Howard–who is pulling double duty for Fox here–plays the town sheriff. Check out the rest of this all-star cast: Melissa Leo (The Fighter), Toby Jones (Infamous), Carla Gugino (Entourage), Shannyn Sossamon (How To Make It In America), , Reed Diamond (24), Tim Griffin (Prime Suspect), Charlie Tahan (Charlie St. Cloud) and and Juliette Lewis (who currently stars in ABC’s Secrets & Lies).
The mystery begins to unravel when Wayward Pines premieres Thursday, May 14 at 9pm on Fox. Preview the series at YouTube.
Jump after the break to learn when AMC’s technologically infused drama Halt And Catch Fire returns for its second season.
If you haven’t checked out AMC’s Halt And Catch Fire, a finely produced drama following the PC Revolution of the ’80s, I highly recommend it. A top-notch cast led by erstwhile Ned the Piemaker Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies) explores the dramatic rise of the computer industry, weaving actual breakthroughs from major companies into its wonderfully-paced storytelling; Apple’s innovations played a significant role in season one.
The first season finale left many things up in the air for Gordon Clark, Joe MacMillan, Cameron Howe, and Donna Clark. The Giant is dead and Donna declined her husband’s invitation to work as head engineer at Cardiff Electric. Instead, she decided to join forces to form an unlikely business relationship with hacker Cameron to pursue new startup Mutiny. Elsewhere, Joe dropped everything for a soul-searching quest to find his mother.
Halt And Catch Fire returns Sunday, May 31 at 10pm on AMC.
[Key art via EW]