With the start of a new year, comes a new raft of TV shows to watch out for. Some of these have already been picked up in the UK, some haven’t. Here’s our pick of the darker, more interesting sounding tv series to watch out for in the next few months.
Zero Hour
Zero Hour stars ER/Top Gun’s Anthony Edwards as Hank Galliston, a man who’s spent his life debunking conspiracies in his magazine Modern Skeptic. However, his life is turned upside down when his antique clock fixing wife is kidnapped, apparently due to a clock she’d been working on, Hank finds himself knee-deep in the sort of conspiracy he’s spend his formative years disproving…
What we think: Hard to say… Looks interesting, and I like Anthony Edwards as an actor, but elements of the set up bother me. He runs a skeptic magazine, only to get caught up in a conspiracy?.. Humm… Just seems to be laying it on a bit thick. Plus I’m slightly concerned it’s going to suffer from FlashForward/The Event-itus, where the story has to be spread so thin, nothing really happens, and takes the entire series to get to the point… It’s an interesting premise, i’m just not sure how sustainable it’ll be.
Not picked up in the UK yet, so keep an eye out here for more info!
The Following
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_c3PNs1eV8
Starring Kevin Bacon as Ryan Hardy, retired FBI agent who’s pulled back into the field to catch escaped serial killer Joe Carroll (James Purefoy) who Hardy put away 9 years earlier. However, it soon becomes apparent that Carroll is in control of a sinister web of killers, all who are in contact with each other.
What we think: The Following is getting very positive vibes from people in the US (although it doesn’t air until Jan 21st). It’s created, produced and written by Kevin Williamson, who’s also responsible for developing The Secret Circle, Vampire Diaries, and the Scream movies, so he’s no stranger to dark drama, but this seems to be a more serious affair than his previous work. Bacon and Purefoy are a great bit of casting to play off each other as well. Definitely one to watch out for.
The Following airs on Sky Atlantic – 22nd Jan 2013 at 10pm (just 1 day after the USA).
Revolution
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwfCRAtkYEI
Revolution is a show we’ve been tracking for sometime. It’s takes the idea that all electricity has mysteriously been ‘turned off’ in the world, leaving the populous to deal with a future without power. Set 15 years after things went dark, the collapse of government and order has let to an apocalyptic dystopian future where warlords and bands of milita rule. However, the Matheson family hold a mysterious device, which they believe hold the key to restoring electricity to the world, but they must avoid the harsh regime of the Monroe Republic, who’s leader is after the power for himself.
What we think: Revolution started airing in Sept 2012 in the US and was getting decent numbers. However, it’s on a hiatus until March, so it remains to be seen if it can hold momentum when it returns. Reviews have been mixed, but on paper it really is a show to be excited about. Created and written by Supernatural’s Eric Kripke, produced by J. J. Abrams, and the first episode is directed by Iron Man’s Jon Favreau. Billy Burke (Charlie Swan in Twilight) leads the cast as Miles Matheson, with Giancarlo Esposito (Gus Fring in the brilliant Breaking Bad and the Sidney Glass in Once Upon a Time) as the first major antagonist chasing down the Matheson family. Other notable cast includes Elizabeth Mitchell (Erica Evans in V, Juliet in Lost), David Lyons (ER, The Cape), and Tim Guinee (Tomin in Stargate SG-1, Lie to Me, The Good Wife, 24).
Revolution comes to Sky 1 in February 2013.
Hannibal
Hannibal is NBC’s take on Thomas Harris’s Hannibal Lecter books, and shows the beginning of the relationship between the genius forensic psychiatrist and FBI profiler Will Graham. A relationship which will turn Lecter into Graham’s greatest ever foes. Graham enlists Lecter’s help in catching a serial killer, unaware that the psychiatrist has a rather more intimate knowledge of serial killers than he realises…
What we think: This adaptation of the Lecter story comes from the pen of the brilliant Bryan Fuller (Pushing Dasies, Wonderfalls, Dead Like Me), and NBC felt the script was so strong they ordered 13 episodes without a pilot. This maybe foolish hubris on NBC’s part (it wouldn’t be the first time they’ve made a rash scheduling decision!), but given Fuller’s track record of writing wonderfully interesting (albeit not always commercially successful) television, i’m willing to believe they made the right choice. The casting is solid, with Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale) taking on the role of Lecter, and british actor Hugh Dancy (The Big C) playing Graham. Supporting cast include Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix, CSI) as Graham’s FBI boss Jack Crawford, Gina Torres (Firefly, Angel, Suits) as Crawford’s wife, and Gillian Anderson (X-Files) as Lecter’s psychotherapist.
There’s not even a trailer out for Hannibal yet, but it’s due to air on NBC in the US during the ‘first half’ of 2013. At a guess, i’d expect it around April/May over there, which would most likely mean Sept in the UK (assuming it’s good enough to be picked up).
You can keep track of the latest air date info for Hannibal here.
Cult
Jeff Sefton is a journalist who’s obsessive brother Nate is convinced hit TV show ‘Cult’ intends to do him harm. Usually Jeff laughs off lil bro’s paranoia, but when Nate vanishes, Jeff investigates, only to uncover a world of rabid fans, and dark unsettling happenings… Aided by Skye, a young ‘Cult’ research assistant, who’s become uneasy with some of the events surrounding the show, the pair uncover a gruesome underworld where things have become less of a TV fiction, and more a deadly reality…
What we think: Potentially, it’s a cult TV show called called ‘Cult’ about a cult TV show called ‘Cult’! Really, sounds right up our street! Matt Davis (The Vampire Diaries) takes the lead as Jeff Sefton, with Jessica Lucas (Cloverfield) as Skye Yarrow. The fictional show ‘Cult’ that has the fans so obsessed stars Alona Tal (Jo in Supernatural) as LAPD detective Kelly Collins who is trapped in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with charismatic cult leader Billy Grimm, played by Robert Knepper (T-Bag in Prison Break). I’m not entirely clear if that means Tal and Knepper will also be playing themselves, or if they’ll have ‘actor’ characters too. It’s an interesting idea, but it may turn out to be too clever for it’s own good… or worse, not clever enough. It’s a tough sweetspot to hit to keep viewers interested, but not too confusing to make it inaccessible.
Keep an eye out here for UK TV premiere info on ‘Cult’.
