It may be a mild winter for east coasters, but that’s not stopping the incoming storm of highly anticipation programming from hitting the airwaves this month. There are a whopping five series premieres you cannot miss (including FX’s American Crime Story and Netflix’s Fuller House), plus the sophomore runs of AMC’s Better Call Saul and HBO’s Togetherness, among others. Jump after the break for the full rundown.
Forget the Super Bowl. February kicks off with Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story offshoot American Crime Story, his latest anthology series that promises to focus on true crimes. The first season, dubbed The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, focuses on the infamous O.J. Simpson trial told from the perspective of the lawyers. It explores the chaotic behind-the-scenes dealings and maneuvering on both sides of the court, and how a combination of prosecution overconfidence, defense shrewdness, and the LAPD’s history with the city’s African-American community gave a jury what it needed: reasonable doubt. The show is banking on the fact that you followed the high-profile case when it was in the news, and the poster’s tagline (see above) teases that “you don’t know the half of it.”
The cast includes Cuba Gooding Jr. as O.J. Simpson, John Travolta as defense attorney Robert Shapiro, David Schwimmer as defense attorney Robert Kardashian, AHS alum Sarah Paulson as prosecutor Marcia Clark, Courtney B. Vance as defense attorney Johnnie Cochran, and Bruce Greenwood as Los Angeles County District Attorney Gil Garcetti. The limited series is based on the book The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson by Jeffrey Toobin. Murphy directed the first episode and serves as executive producer with Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski, and his longtime collaborator Brad Falchuk (Glee, Scream Queens, American Horror Story).
The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story premieres Tuesday, Feb. 2 at 10pm on FX. Click here to watch the official trailer, and here to see an extended first look.
From executive producers Jay & Mark Duplass (Togetherness) comes Animals, an HBO animated comedy that focuses on the downtrodden creatures native to Earth’s least-habitable environment: New York City. Whether it’s lovelorn rats, gender-questioning pigeons or aging bedbugs in the midst of a midlife crisis, the awkward small talk, moral ambiguity and existential woes of non-human urbanites prove startlingly similar to our own.
The Duplass charm (read: mumblecore) paired with an all-star voice cast including Ellie Kemper (Kimmy Schmidt), Adam Scott (Parks and Rec), and Jessica Chastain (Interstellar), among many others, makes this oddball sitcom bubble with potential. The animation style is unique to boot; preview it here. Animals, created by Phil Matarese & Mike Luciano, debuted at last year’s Sundance Festival to critical acclaim.
Animals premieres Friday, Feb. 5 at 11:30pm on HBO.
Don’t forget that even though The Walking Dead has been off the air for awhile, it isn’t through with its current season just yet. The second half of season 6, or as we industry folks like to call season 6B, resumes Sunday, Feb. 14 at 9pm on AMC. Be sure to eye the 6B poster above, and here’s what executive producer Scott M. Gimple has to say about it:
“This image gives a look at tiny pieces of a larger world our group is about to discover. In the new world, they’ll find hope, possibility, tragedy and the terrifying cost of change.”
And in case you missed it, here’s the prologue to 6B that aired after the midseason finale. The clip teases the introduction of the show’s next big bad: Neegan.
Need your news fix, but in an incredibly entertaining way? John Oliver returns to HBO for the third run of Last Week Tonight, a half-hour satirical look at the week in news, politics and current events. The writing is impeccable, the jokes always land, and best of all, you’ll feel a renewed sense of self worth after being fed copious amounts of knowledge about things you never thought you’d invest time in. The next batch of 35 installments debuts Sunday, Feb. 14 at 11pm on HBO.
In typical Vince Gilligan fashion, we don’t know where exactly Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul is going as we head into its second season. At the conclusion of season 1, Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) started slippin’ into bad habits and his journey down a dark, corruptible path set things in motion for Saul Goodman to come into view.
In this first-look at season 2, executive producers Gilligan and Peter Gould, as well as stars Odenkirk and Jonathan Banks (he plays shady fixer Mike Ehrmantraut), talk up the next chapter in Jimmy’s transformation of becoming the Saul we knew in Breaking Bad. Jimmy and Mike’s moral codes continue to waver, and viewers will dive deeper into Jimmy’s relationships with his brother Chuck (Michael McKean) and former partner Kim (Rhea Seehorn).
Better Call Saul premieres Monday, Feb. 15 at 10pm on AMC.
J.J. Abrams’ next foray into TV is 11.22.63, a time travel thriller based on Stephen King’s best-selling novel and starring James Franco. The logline describes the show as such: a thriller in which high school English teacher Jake Epping (Franco) travels back in time to prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy — but his mission is threatened by Lee Harvey Oswald, falling in love and the past itself, which doesn’t want to be changed. With executive producer Abrams’ stamp of approval on this, that’s all I need, really, to know I have to tune in.
The eight-part event series 11.22.63 debuts in full on Hulu appropriately on Presidents Day, that is Monday, Feb. 15. Here’s a link to the trailer.
Judd Apatow knows how to make relationship comedies (see TV’s Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, and movies The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, just to name a few). The prolific film director returns to TV with Love, a contemporary look at falling in love, warts and all.
Love follows Gus (Paul Rust) and Mickey (Gillian Jacobs, Community) as they navigate the exhilarations and humiliations of intimacy, commitment, and other things they were hoping to avoid. Having recently ended their respective dysfunctional relationships, Gus and Mickey meet each other by chance at a convenience store and forge a connection in the mending of their broken hearts and egos.
Apatow executive produces with Rust and Lesley Arfin. Love rolls out on Netflix Friday, Feb. 19. And there’s more where this comes from; the streaming service has already renewed Love for a second season! Watch the official trailer.
Another Judd Apatow-produced series lands on the boob tube this month and its Girls. The fifth season continues to trek the trials and tribulations of Hannah Horvath (Lena Dunham) and her merry band of misfit friends Marnie (Allison Williams), Jessa (Jemima Kirke), and Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet). And don’t forget about Adam (Adam Driver), Ray (Alex Karpovsky), Eli (Andrew Rannells), and Desi (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), too. The new season, which can be previewed here, takes Marnie down the aisle and Shosh to Japan. It was previously reported that season 6 will be the final season of the series, so brace yourself for the beginning of the end here.
Girls premieres Sunday, Feb. 21 at 10pm on HBO.
Returning alongside Girls to HBO is Togetherness. The show, which hails from the Duplass brothers and stars the younger Mark Duplass with Steve Zissis, Melanie Lynskey, and Amanda Peet, takes a comedic look at four middle-aged people reconciling their dreams with their current personal and professional living under one roof on the fringes of Los Angeles (read: Eagle Rock). The first season was an absolute delight, funny and touching, and thanks to the Duplass’ signature mumblecore sensabilities, it feels real and very much grounded in reality all the time.
Togetherness premieres right after Girls on Sunday, Feb. 21 at 10:30pm on HBO.
Eight seasons, 192 episodes, and 22 years later, iconic sitcom Full House is making a comeback with a spinoff titled Fuller House.
In Fuller House, the adventures that began in 1987 on Full House continue, with
veterinarian D.J. Tanner-Fuller (Candace Cameron-Bure) recently widowed and living in San Francisco. D.J.’s younger sister/aspiring musician Stephanie Tanner (Jodie Sweetin) and D.J.’s lifelong best friend/fellow single mother Kimmy Gibbler (Andrea Barber), along with Kimmy’s feisty teenage daughter Ramona, all move in to help take care of D.J.’s three boys — the rebellious 12-year-old Jackson, neurotic 7-year-old Max and her newborn baby, Tommy Jr.
In addition to Cameron-Bure, Sweetin, and Barber reprising their roles from Full House, you can expect pretty much the entire original cast to make memorable cameo appearances throughout the season’s 13 episode run. John Stamos (Jesse Katsopolis), Bob Saget (Danny Tanner), Dave Coulier (Joey Gladstone), Lori Loughlin (Becky Katsopolis), and Scott Weinger (Steve Hale) are all confirmed. Noticeably absent: the Olsen twins. We’ll make due.
Full House creator Jeff Franklin returns to run Fuller House, and pop star Carly Rae Jepsen (“Call Me Maybe“) has been brought aboard to modernize the classic theme song. Netflix, the franchise’s new home, has slowly been ramping up its marketing campaign for the show. It all started with these tease-tastic teasers, and eventually led to some photos from the set and this nostalgia-heavy featurette (tissues optional but advised).
Fuller House is ready for you in your 90s-themed PJs to binge on Netflix come Friday, Feb. 26.