So, I know I've been on an extended hiatus for the majority of 2015, and for that I apologize. My work and home lives have been insanely busy. I have been writing this post piecemeal all summer long though so I could get it up onto the blog for you and return in a big way. So, for the fifth straight year now (wow, I can't believe I've been writing this blog for that long!), here is my extended TV preview. I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think and what shows you're excited for down in the comments!
Making their debut this year: (11)
There's a bunch of new shows coming this year that I'm excited for, and fortunately for my time schedule, the majority of them are shortened season shows. Rather than airing a full 22 episodes like most network shows, some of these shows have shorter seasons. I still watch a lot (probably too much) of television, but thankfully as more and more shows are moving towards the limited season format, it allows me to keep caught up with all the awesome that is airing on so many different networks.
The Bastard Executioner - Kurt Sutter and F/X network have had a great relationship. He was involved in the show The Shield as a writer and producer, then created Sons of Anarchy for the network. Now his 3rd outing is set in 14th century England in the reign of King Edward I (aka Longshanks, the same villain king from Braveheart). Starring True Blood's Stephen Moyer, The Americans' Matthew Rhys, and SOA's Katey Sagal, the show features a great cast and it looks to be a good bloody show, kind of like a more historical and less fantastical Game of Thrones. The first season will be 10 episodes and begins on September 15th on F/X.
Blood & Oil - Apparently even though Dallas was recently cancelled by the folks over at TNT (see the cancellations section below), it looks like the Hollywood folks think that Americans like to watch shows about greedy oil tycoons and their dysfunctional families and their competitors. It's got a pretty solid cast though, including Don Johnson, Delroy Lindo, Chace Crawford, and Scott Michael Foster who I loved on Greek as the slacker Cappie. We'll be giving this one a shot, and it begins on ABC on September 27th.
DC's Legends of Tomorrow - This one isn't coming to TV until some time in 2016, but it will be now the 3rd series set in the same shared universe of Arrow and The Flash over on the CW. Since both Arrow & The Flash are a part of my DVR rotation already, I'll be adding this one too as well since it ties in and brings characters from both shows onto the new one. Look for both of those shows to build up this one periodically throughout their seasons, and you should watch all 3 shows if you want to get the most out of this shared universe. No word on the exact premiere date or how many episodes the first season will have, but it is unlikely to have more than 13 in its first year, I'd imagine.
The Expanse - I am really really really hoping and praying that SyFy doesn't screw this one up. The Expanse is based on one of my favorite series of novels in any genre by author James S.A. Corey (which is really a pen name for 2 guys writing together). The network wants this to be their new flagship prestige sci-fi show, like Battlestar Galactica once was. They definitely have some great source material to work with, as the novels are up to 5 books now and counting (with one a year slated through 2019). SyFy is going to run this show like Game of Thrones, with each season being one book. If you like science fiction at all, watch this show, and you also need to be reading the books because they are some of the best books I've read in a long time. The fact that they got some pretty good actors including Thomas Jane and Oscar Nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo (House of Sand & Fog) in the cast, as well as having the show written for TV by the same guys who wrote the awesome dystopian film Children of Men gives me a lot of hope that they are going to get this right. It debuts on SyFy on December 14th for a 10 episode season.
Fear the Walking Dead - The prequel/spinoff of The Walking Dead began in August on AMC and is nearly done with its 6 episode first season. It's already been renewed for a 2nd season too. I'm always down for more zombie mayhem, and it's cool to watch the world fall apart as this show brings us back to the beginning of the zombie apocalypse. It airs on Sunday Nights through October 4th, and will be back for a 15 episode second season some time in 2016.
Heroes Reborn - Heroes was a fun show, until it completely jumped the shark and never lived up to its potential. Now NBC is bringing it back for a 13 episode run. Lets hope they learned from their mistakes the first time around, and bring us a show that is exciting and worth watching again. I'm glad that many of the better characters from the original, like Hiro and HRG are back too. The heroes return on September 24th on NBC.
My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - Well, with all the superhero and sci-fi shows I'm adding to our DVR, I have to let my wife pick some new shows too. This one on the CW looks pretty funny, especially if they stick with the crazy internal monologues and musical numbers. The fact that this show was originally planned for Showtime also increases my interest in checking this one out, as maybe it will be a little bit more edgy than your standard network show. Also, the creater and star, Rebecca Bloom, used to write for the hilarious Robot Chicken, so that gives me hope as well. It debuts on the CW on October 12th.
Quantico - This thriller on ABC looks kind of like a cross between The Americans and Homeland, with a dash of Shondaland thrown in (one review called this show Grey's Academy) featuring a group of recruits at the FBI academy at Quantico, but one of them is apparently a terrorist mole. It should be interesting to see if they can keep up the suspense, or perhaps the show will go the way of Katherine Heigl's short lived spy thriller State of Affairs. We'll be tuning in as long as it's good though. It debuts on September 27th on ABC.
Scream Queens - I figure this first season of the show will be its best, as that is Ryan Murphy's track record (Glee, Nip/Tuck, American Horror Story). His shows always start out great and then eventually go off the rails into awfulness. It's got a great cast though, including Jamie Lee Curtis, Emma Roberts, Abigail Breslin, and Oliver Hudson, so hopefully the show will be a lot of fun to watch. It begins on Fox on September 22nd and is slated to run for 15 episodes.
Supergirl - Although this new DC comics show is from the same people that created Arrow & The Flash (and Legends of Tomorrow), there is no word yet on if it is set in the same universe. Since it airs on CBS, not the CW, I'm not holding my breath for cross-network tie ins, but who knows? The show looks light and fun, more like The Flash than Arrow, so this should be a fun little superhero show. Kara Zor-El flies onto our TV screens on CBS beginning on October 26th.
Wicked City - This 80s era true crime thriller is based loosely on the story of the Sunset Strip Killers in Los Angeles. Airing on ABC, it has a limited run of 10 episodes and stars Ed Westwick and Erika Christensen as the killers, and I can definitely see both of those actors in that role so that is some good casting there. We have to wait until October 27th to see if the show is any good, but hopefully it will be enjoyable. Westwick was the best part of Gossip Girl, and Christensen was very creepy in the flick Swimfan.
After the jump: what is returning to the DVR, what got cancelled, and what almost made the cut but not quite. Click on "read more" for the rest! -->
