The Television Critics Association has finished its Winter press tour. As well as Marvel’s offerings there are other new shows this year. It’s not just superheroes! I learned about the existence of many of these from Joanna Robinson and Dave Chen’s pop culture podcast Gen Pop. You should really listen & support their Patreon FYI.

Below you can find the trailers for each of the shows and why I’m excited for them (or maybe ambivalent towards). Of course being American television, release dates are US. Sorry, kiwis.

 

1. Powerless

February 2nd

Okay, this one’s kind of about superheroes. I’m psyched for this one mostly because of Firefly’s Alan Tudyk and Community’s Danny Pudi. It’s based in the DC universe about regular folks who work for Wayne Security run by Batman’s cousin, Tudyk. DC has already got its universe set up with the likes of Flash, Arrow, and Supergirl with their multiple crossovers, but this show feels more separate in it’s tone. Of course it’s on a different network as well so it will likely stay that way.

 

 

2. 24: Legacy

February 5th

No more Jack Bauer, finally! And thank god it’s not another white anti-hero. But as the thumbnail below shows we’re not going to be in an entirely new 24 universe. CTU is back in one form or another and so is Tony Almeida.

Do we really need more 24 in our lives? Fox seems to think so.

 

3. Legion

February 8

Based on the not very well known X-Men character; Legion. He’s Xavier’s son but that’s a whole ‘nother kettle of fish. The show doesn’t appear to be interested in the multiple existing X-Men films.  Which is good, because I’m ready for something fresh. And Legion is by Fargo (the series) creator Noah Hawley. And that show was pretty darn special.

 

4. Crashing

February 19th

Not to be confused with the 2016 UK series of the same name (trust me, I’ve googled). Starring Pete Holmes and Lauren Lapkus, and Artie Lange. Directed by Judd Apatow, it’s about an aspiring comedian spiralling out after his wife leaves him. You know me, I love a good depressing-uplifting series.

 

5. Big Little Lies

February 19th

Some big names here; Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Alexander Skarsgård, Laura Dern, and Adam Scott. Based upon a book by Liane Moriaty. Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée of Dallas Buyer’s Club and Wild. No idea on the story but it’s HBO so it will be pretty, and it’s got talent.

 

 

6. When We Rise

February 27th

A semi-factual account of activists from the LGBT community. Of course we’ve had protests throughout history but it seems especially relevant right now with the recent Women’s March on Washington. Starring Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie O’Donnell, Guy Pearce, and Michael K Williams. It’s a seven-part mini-series “event” (as networks love to refer to shorter series).

 

 

7. Brockmire

April 5th

Brockmire is an evolution of the webseries, A Legend in the Booth. Starring Hank Azaria (from The Simpsons if that name sounded familiar. The voice of Moe & The Comic Book Guy among others ). It’s about a sports commentator who gets fired for spew of profanity on air. Now I’m not that into sports, but the show looks funny and heartwarming enough for me to give it a shot.

 

8. Feud

March 5th

Another anthology series from Ryan Murphy (seriously, when will he stop). I do love the idea of the anthology series, using the same actors, and a new story for the next season, but wish it wasn’t from this creator. This one’s about the behind the scenes of a conflict between actors Joan Crawford (Jessica Lange) and Bette Davis (Susan Sarandon) while making the film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?.

 

9. American Gods

April

The real reason why Bryan Fueller pulled out of the Star Trek TV reboot; American Gods. Based on the novel by Neil Gaiman. Deadwood’s Ian McShane is in this! Haven’t read the book myself, but people are excited for this one.

 

10. Downward Dog

Mid-2017

Another adaptation of a webseries (see kids, webseries’ aren’t a waste of time). This one’s about a talking dog with Allison Tolman from Fargo. Reminds me of Wilfred, but y’know with an actual talking dog, not an Aussie in a dog costume. Consider it a more adult version of Disney’s Dog With A Blog.