In the post-Christmas television dark ages we seem to suffer each January, I thought it might be a good time to point out some of the new TV shows we know are going to hit our screens in this new year. Here’s a rundown of a few we’re particularly looking forward to.
Mob City
http://youtu.be/6Ut04TPYnZE
From the brilliant Frank Darabont (exec producer of the 1st season of Walking Dead, and director of The Shawshank Redemption & The Green Mile) comes Mob City. The show is based on real-life accounts of the battle between the LAPD and LA’s mobsters in the 1940s. The most infamous of these gangsters was Bugsy Siegel (played by Edward Burns in the show). Bugsy was not only was the leader of the notorious Murder Inc, but was also responsible for much of the early development of the Las Vegas Strip, after the government repealed Prohibition and Siegel decided gambling was the way forward. If you want to try following in Bugsy’s footsteps, you could get some help from casino bonuses here. ;)
Other faces you may recognize in the cast are Jon Bernthal (last seen being dead… then not dead, in the Walking Dead) as Detective Joe Teague, Milo Ventimiglia (Peter Petrelli saving the cheerleader in Heroes) as Ned Stax, and Neal McDonough (Desperate Housewives, Band of Brothers) as William H. Parker, a captain in the LAPD who went on to become “Los Angeles’s greatest and most controversial chief of police”.
Why you should watch: Frank Darabont is a great director, and I’m sure would have created a very different 2nd season of Walking Dead had AMC not unceremoniously booted him from the show. It’s got a good cast, and it’s gangsters in the 40s, unquestionably the coolest time to be a gangster. ;)
When? Airs 17 January 2014 at 10pm on FOX UK
True Detective
http://youtu.be/zP1ip1Qf3bI
Created by relative newcomer Nic Pizzolatto, True Detective stars Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson as Louisiana detectives Rust Cohle and Martin Hart, whose lives collide and entwine during a 17-year hunt for a killer, ranging from the original investigation of a bizarre murder in 1995 to the reopening of the case in 2012. Michelle Monaghan (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Source Code) also stars as Hart’s wife, Maggie, who struggles to keep her family together as the men in her life become locked in a cycle of violence and obsession.
Why you should watch: It’s a HBO drama, which are almost always worth watching, and it’s starring 2 extremely successful movie stars as the leads. Given Matthew’s ‘McConaissance’ right now with movies such as Killer Joe, Magic Mike and The Wolf of Wall Street, after years of romcom posters of him leaning on something/one, he seems to have become very careful with the projects he picks, so to get involved with a tv script, it’s got to be worth looking at.
When? Should air in February on Sky Atlantic
The Smoke
http://youtu.be/GA9oSkhWBZ8
Time for a new homegrown show! The Smoke stars Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica) and Jodie Whittaker (Broadchurch) in a new drama by Skins writer Lucy Kirkwood about ‘White Watch, a team of London firefighters. Leading the crew is Kev (Bamber), a good man injured and betrayed during the worst fire of his career. Standing by Kev’s side as he returns to work is his gutsy girlfriend Trish (Whittaker) and his cocksure friend and fellow firefighter Mal (Rhashan Stone). Other members of the crew include the fearless Ziggy (Pippa Bennett-Warner) and the mysterious new boy Dennis (Taron Egerton).
Why you should watch: It has an great cast & writer, and is produced by the mighty Kudos – the people behind Channel 4’s Utopia, Life on Mars, Hustle, and of course Spooks. Plus it’s airing on Sky 1, and I would say this is a little out of their usual wheelhouse, so it’ll be interesting to see how it goes down…
When? Arrives in February on Sky 1
