2015-2016 In Review: Cancellations, Renewals, and Surprises

Last May I did a round-up of the year in broadcast TV, and I think I’m going to make that an annual tradition. One change from last year – I now have less than 600 episodes on my to-watch list, compared to last year’s 900+!

ABC

So the innovative British guy is out, and ABC has a new president, one who’s besties with Shonda Rhimes (I don’t watch any of her shows, so you can guess how I feel about that). New gal cleaned house, canceling several of my favorite shows in the process, including Agent Carter (pictured above), Castle (which was sort of for the best, since it would have had to continue without Beckett), and Galavant (which at least ended well). ABC used to be my most-watched network, and now it is my least, with only 2 shows I watch returning next year: Agents of SHIELD and Once Upon a Time (which, like last year, sits mostly unwatched until I catch up during breaks). None of ABC’s nine new shows sounded especially appealing, though after watching the trailers I may try out Designated Survivor and the more boring-sounding of the three time-travel shows launching this year, Time After Time. I was thinking of giving Hayley Atwell’s Conviction a chance, but the promo made me think it’s not really my cup of tea.

0 new shows watched, 3 of my shows canceled, 2 of my shows returning

CBS

The Eye Network still has plenty of veteran shows I will keep watching until the end, even as they become more annoying to watch as the only broadcast network who doesn’t put their shows on Hulu. I have the no-commercials option on Hulu Plus, so watching CBS shows with all commercials live or on demand feels like a waste of time. I’d sign up for CBS All Access in a heartbeat if it got rid of commercials, but unfortunately, it doesn’t. I tried out the excellent Life in Pieces (renewed) and the doomed-to-fail Angel from Hell (canceled) this year. Person of Interest is also ending this summer. In addition to Life in Pieces, next year I’ll watch returning comedies The Big Bang Theory and just-renewed The Odd Couple. For dramas, I’m still watching NCIS (how I will miss DiNozzo!), NCIS: Los Angeles, Elementary, and Scorpion. Out of their new shows, the only drama I plan to try out is Michael Weatherly’s Bull (the premise is meh, but the 4-minute trailer looks awesome), but I will probably at least sample all of their new comedies.

2 new shows watched, 2 of my shows canceled (1 new), 7 of my shows returning

FOX

Fox actually had a cool screening opportunity in my area for 3 of their new shows – Grandfathered, The Grinder, and Scream Queens. Of the 3, I only liked Grandfathered, but only Scream Queens was renewed. I also really liked Cooper Barrett’s Guide to Surviving Life, which was canceled. Sleepy Hollow was a surprise renewal – the show will never be as good as its first season, and I still have a few episodes waiting to be watched, but I’ll keep watching as long as Tom Mison plays Ichabod Crane. I also will watch the final season of Bones, and of course awesome comedies New Girl and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I haven’t watched any more of The Last Man on Earth, but I may try out the show again if I’m running out of comedies over the summer. Fox’s new fall shows aren’t particularly compelling, but at midseason I may try out The Mick and APB since promos look interesting. Midseason time-travel comedy, Making History (starring Adam Pally and Leighton Meester), is the one new Fox show that earned an immediate spot on my to-watch list (which means, of course, that Fox will cancel it).

2 new shows watched (2 others tried), 2 of my shows canceled (both new), 4 of my shows returning

NBC

I noted last year that NBC had only one returning show I would be watching – Grimm. I tried out two of their new shows this year, Blindspot and Superstore, both of which I enjoyed immensely and both of which were renewed, along with Grimm. So now I will have 3 NBC shows to watch next fall, plus I will definitely check out their 3 new shows, Timeless (time travel and Matt Lanter), The Good Place (Kristen Bell), and This is Us (Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia). All have pretty decent spots on the fall schedule, so I’m hopeful they’ll stick around for at least a season, and I’ve enjoyed a lot of the showrunners’ previous shows, so I’m hopeful the quality will be good. Plus, NBC has a number of midseason shows I want to check out, especially the DC comics-set workplace comedy Powerless, starring Vanessa Hudgens, Danny Pudi, and Alan Tudyk. Excited that NBC seems to be turning things around.

2 new shows watched, 0 of my shows canceled, 3 of my shows returning

The CW

For the second year in a row, the CW renewed all their shows (spring show Containment, now canceled, had yet to premiere, and summer show Beauty and the Beast had already been announced as final season). I tried out and liked new shows Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Legends of Tomorrow. I’ll still be watching Arrow, The Flash, Jane the Virgin, The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, and iZombie (and Supernatural if we ever catch up – on season 6 now). I’ll probably try out their 3 new shows, and while I like the premise for No Tomorrow more, I liked the trailer more for Frequency. Though if Riverdale premieres in the spring, there’s not much hope for it (since the CW seems to cancel one spring show every year – Containment in 2016, The Messengers in 2015, Star-Crossed in 2014, Cult in 2013, etc.).

2 new shows watched, 0 of my shows canceled, 8 (9 if counting Supernatural) of my shows returning

2016-2017 Predictions

As much as I hate losing shows, it’s time for some long-running favorites to come to an end. Castle ended this year; Bones is entering its final season. NCIS: Los Angeles has lost viewers away from its parent show, and is now moving to Sundays. I wouldn’t be surprised if it or Elementary gets canceled next year, but if CBS’s new shows bomb, they’ll likely stick around. On the speculative side, The Vampire Diaries is showing its age, and if more actors are bailing, it should end. I also don’t see Once Upon a Time lasting much longer, though I do like how they’ve been exploring different realms every half season to keep things interesting. Supernatural will live as long as Jared and Jensen want to keep doing it, and the same with the cast of The Big Bang Theory.

I don’t think the CW will renew all their fall shows again this year. There’s just not space, and I’m pretty sure one of the newbies will go. And I’m guessing at least one returning show will be moved to summer.

New fall shows that I think will be renewed: Bull (everyone who liked Michael Weatherly on NCIS will keep watching his new show airing right after NCIS), Designated Survivor, This is Us, Speechless, The Great Indoors, and Timeless.

Share this post:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr
  • Reddit
  • NewsVine
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Technorati
  • RSS
  • email
  • Print

The CW 2014-2015 Schedule Predictions

I’ve been browsing through pilot options for next fall lately, especially as some exciting cast announcements have been made. A bunch of TV ratings geeks often come up with possible schedules for the coming year, so I thought I’d try my hand at one of my own!

Since the CW has only 10 hours of primetime TV to schedule and 6 pilots in contention, I’m starting with them! I’m basing this off the TVLine pilot list and renewal predictions from TV By the Numbers.

Out of the CW’s 6 pilots, The Flash, Supernatural: Bloodlines, and iZombie seem like the strongest options. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the other 3 is picked up for midseason, but two of them (Identity and Jane the Virgin) sound soapy and convoluted, and the third (The Messengers) sounds like a Heroes clone (including the Apocalypse adds a bit of a Sleepy Hollow vibe, but I doubt it could improve on the awesomeness that is Sleepy Hollow).

Supernatural, Arrow, Reign, The Vampire Diaries, and The Originals have all been renewed, and it is likely Hart of Dixie will be as well, as a 4th season is needed for syndication. There may be one more renewal for under-performing The Tomorrow People, low-rated Star-Crossed (I know it’s a long shot, but I adore this show!), or yet-to-premiere The 100.

Last fall, after a special premiere after The Vampire Diaries on Thursday, The Originals moved to its own time slot as an anchor for Tuesday night. New shows tend to do better following established shows for their first year or so, but The Originals has done well at 8PM. One of the reasons I believe this occurred is due to 4 of the main characters being already well-established on The Vampire Diaries. A lot of spin-offs in TV today are set in the same world as the original show and are introduced in an episode or two, but it’s rare for so many main and reoccurring cast members to move to a new show.

As far as  I can tell, The Flash and Supernatural: Bloodlines won’t have that advantage, so I believe they will do best airing after their respective original shows. The Originals has already shown it can anchor a night, so I would move it to the troublesome Mondays, to avoid having to launch a new show on that night. I think Reign would be well-suited to follow The Originals – the frequent historical flashbacks in the vampire show would make it the best match to the network’s only historical drama.

For the plum post-Vampire Diaries spot on Thursdays, I’d put iZombie. Both contemporary shows with supernatural creatures masquerading as humans, I hope Rob Thomas’s input will be able to keep up with Damon’s snark, and there’s the David Anders connection. I can also see iZombie as a special 13-episode season (like Sleepy Hollow), followed by a midseason new or sophomore show taking its place.

Just-needs-one-more-season Hart of Dixie can eek out its final run on Fridays, paired with the mercy-renewal/unscripted TV/midseason downgrade/so-so pilot of the network’s choosing.

 

To recap, how I think the CW should schedule 2014-2015:

Monday: The Originals/Reign

Tuesday: Supernatural/Supernatural: Bloodlines

Wednesday: Arrow/The Flash

Thursday: The Vampire Diaries/iZombie

Friday: Hart of Dixie/???

 

This schedule would also be gentle with the network’s 4 top-rated shows: 2 would stay in their original spots, one would move an hour earlier, and one would air at the same time a day earlier.

How would you schedule the CW? Which shows do you want to see renewed and which pilots would you want to be picked up?

Share this post:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr
  • Reddit
  • NewsVine
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Technorati
  • RSS
  • email
  • Print

Monday Madness: Favorite TV Brothers

ABC’s new drama Mind Games premieres this week (Tuesday, February 25, at 10/9c on ABC), and since the show focuses on two brothers, our poll this week features TV brothers! First, here’s the logline for Mind Games:

Centers on the complicated relationship between the Edwards brothers: Clark, a bipolar genius in human psychology, and Ross, a slick ex-con, who solve their clients’ problems using the real science of human motivation and manipulation.

It features one of my favorite comedic actors, Steve Zahn, so I can’t wait to check it out!

I didn’t realize until I started putting together this poll that it would pit some of the most popular fandoms against each other! (Sherlock, Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries, etc.) I only included more recent shows (hence the absence of The Brady Bunch boys), and included both half- and step-brothers (but not brothers-in-law).

I also did not include brothers when one of them is only in a handful of episodes. For example, Seeley Booth’s brother Jared is only in 5 episodes. I’d planned to include Michael Westen and his brother Nate, until I realized Nate was only in 15 episodes out of 111. My general rule of thumb was going with brothers who had both/all been in at least 1/3 of the episodes. Be sure to keep that in mind with any nominations!

The winner of last week’s poll, by a landslide, was Battlestar Galactica!

This poll will be open for one week two weeks, and you can choose up to 5 of your favorite TV brother duos (or trios). Be sure to spread the word so your favorites will make it into the top 10!

Even though there are many options on this list, I know there are shows I left out! As always, you can cast write-in ballots by leaving a comment, and if I receive several nominations, I may add them to the poll! Want more of a say in what makes it onto the poll each week? Be sure to follow me on Twitter, since I usually ask for nominations for the next Monday Madness the weekend before the new poll.

Without further ado, here’s the poll for this week’s Monday Madness! Voting ends around 12AM March 3rd 10th.

Who are your favorite TV brothers? (Choose up to 5!)

  • Dean and Sam Winchester (Supernatural) (19%, 25 Votes)
  • Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes (Sherlock) (15%, 20 Votes)
  • Klaus and Elijah Mikaelson (The Originals and The Vampire Diaries) (10%, 13 Votes)
  • Damon and Stefan Salvatore (The Vampire Diaries) (8%, 11 Votes)
  • Pete, Derrick, and Randy Hill (Enlisted) (5%, 7 Votes)
  • Don and Charlie Eppes (Numb3rs) (5%, 6 Votes)
  • Peter and Nathan Petrelli (Heroes) (5%, 6 Votes)
  • Frankie and Tommy Rizzoli (Rizzoli and Isles) (5%, 6 Votes)
  • Ben and Danny Wheeler (Baby Daddy) (5%, 6 Votes)
  • Michael Scofield and Lincoln Burrows (Prison Break) (5%, 6 Votes)
  • Francis and Sebastian (Reign) (4%, 5 Votes)
  • Lucas and Nathan Scott (One Tree Hill) (3%, 4 Votes)
  • Reggie Jackson and Dick Butkus (The Neighbors) (2%, 3 Votes)
  • Gob, Michael, and Buster Bluth (Arrested Development) (2%, 3 Votes)
  • Earl and Randy Hickey (My Name is Earl) (2%, 3 Votes)
  • Danny and Jamie Reagan (Blue Bloods) (2%, 3 Votes)
  • Adam and Crosby Braverman (Parenthood) (2%, 2 Votes)
  • Tim and Billy Riggins (Friday Night Lights) (2%, 2 Votes)
  • Jack and Declan Porter (Revenge) (1%, 1 Votes)
  • Tommy, Kevin and Justin Walker (Brothers & Sisters) (1%, 1 Votes)
  • Ethan and Dan Whitehorse (The Lying Game) (0%, 0 Votes)
  • Silas and Shane Botwin (Weeds) (0%, 0 Votes)
  • Chuck Bass and Eric van der Woodsen (Gossip Girl) (0%, 0 Votes)
  • Hank and Evan Lawson (Royal Pains) (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 50

Loading ... Loading ...

 

Share this post:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr
  • Reddit
  • NewsVine
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Technorati
  • RSS
  • email
  • Print

Fall TV 2013 – Part Two

Before I get started blogging about the latest news in TV, I figured I should probably wrap up my thoughts about fall TV, since there was so much I didn’t touch on in the earlier post.

To start, Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s 3rd episode was amazing, and it’s now one of my favorite new TV comedies (about even with The Crazy Ones, despite that show’s significant Mork/Buffy pull). My favorite, however, is the regulated-to-the-Friday-death-slot-before-it-even-had-a-chance Enlisted. Geoff Stults, Chris Lowell, and Parker Young have incredible chemistry as three very different brothers, and I especially love that Parker Young’s character Randy is similar to his character Ryan from Suburgatory, as I’ve missed him on that show!

For returning comedies, How I Met Your Mother’s final season has been a mixed bag of amazing episodes and boring fillers. The rhyming episode was just painful. Community is returning to its old self, but Troy will be very missed (Pierce, not so much). New seasons of The Big Bang Theory, New Girl, The Mindy Project, and The Neighbors have been consistently good, with only a handful of blah episodes for the entire bunch.

Sleepy Hollow’s entire first season was great, and I’m looking forward to the next. I’m enjoying Almost Human and Intelligence with their sci-fi crime bents, but prefer Almost Human (and while both shows aren’t doing well in the ratings, it has a better chance of survival). Once Upon a Time in Wonderland started slow but got better, and I’ll finish the show when the final episodes air, but I won’t mourn the loss. Michael Socha’s great performance may push me to finally watch the end of the UK’s Being Human.

CW’s The Originals has been a great twisty guilty pleasure show, and I’ve actually kept up with it more than The Vampire Diaries. I’m behind on The Tomorrow People (it has potential but feels unpolished), and I only saw a few episodes of Reign, though now that it has been renewed I’m more likely to watch another episode or two before I make a decision on whether to keep watching. Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD has finally found its groove.

Returning dramas have been good if unremarkable – save for the following bits: Once Upon a Time’s Neverland stint was sluggish, but the mid-season finale was blow-your-socks-off amazing. NCIS bid a proper farewell to Ziva, and new team member Ellie isn’t half bad. Person of Interest went for the tears and it still feels like there’s a hole in the team. Arrow remains one of my favorites.

Share this post:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr
  • Reddit
  • NewsVine
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Technorati
  • RSS
  • email
  • Print

What I Will Be Watching in Fall 2013 – ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, The CW

The schedules are out, the promos are released – now it’s time for me to figure out what I want to watch, what I have time to watch, what I won’t miss, and which new shows I’ll give a chance to wow me. As always, shows that aren’t live-action and scripted are ignored by this site.

New shows are in bold.

 

SUNDAY

Watching: Once Upon a Time

Not watching: Revenge, Betrayal, The Good Wife, The Mentalist

Only one new show is debuting on Sundays, Betrayal, and while the promo was good, the subject matter is meh in my mind.

 

MONDAY

Watching: Castle, How I Met Your Mother, Bones, Almost Human, Beauty and the Beast

Checking out: We Are Men, Intelligence , Sleepy Hollow

Not watching: 2 Broke Girls, Mom, Hostages, Blacklist, Hart of Dixie

Almost Human’s promo was so excellent, it got bumped right to the watching list. Of course, if it stinks, it’ll get bumped right back down. While Hostages and Blacklist had good promos, they’re just not something I’m interested in watching. Mom looks awful. Sleepy Hollow looks far better than I expected, so I’ll probably watch the pilot out of curiosity’s sake, but I doubt I’ll keep watching due to time constraints. Other than HIMYM, the returning shows that are on Mondays are the ones I fell most behind on (thinking about it now, why Castle and Bones got the short end of the stick was because we usually had a friend over on Tuesdays to watch previous seasons of HIMYM, so I didn’t have time to catch up).

 

TUESDAY

Watching: Marvel’s Agents of Shield, NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, Person of Interest, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, New Girl, The Mindy Project

Checking out: The Originals

Not watching: The Goldbergs, The Trophy Wife, Lucky 7, Dads, Chicago Fire, Supernatural

The only reason Supernatural is on the not watching list is because I haven’t caught up yet, and since I’m still on season one, I doubt I’ll catch up this summer. I was going to watch Dads because of Seth Green, but the promo was so awful I don’t even plan to watch the pilot (besides, it’s in a horrible time slot so I doubt it will last). I’m behind on The Vampire Diaries, so my “checking out” of The Originals may only consist of watching the planted pilot (not a huge fan of the original siblings or Haley). Agents of Shield went on my to-watch list as soon as it was announced, but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the promo for Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Unless the first few episodes strike a very different tone, it’ll probably stay on my watch list.

 

WEDNESDAY

Watching: Arrow

Checking out: The Tomorrow People

Not watching: The Middle, Back in the Game, Modern Family, Super Fun Night, Nashville, Criminal Minds, CSI, Revolution, Law & Order: SVU, Ironside

Wednesdays are once again my least-watched weekday. Aside from the Amell cousins’ projects, I’m passing on the entire night. Back in the Game and Super Fun Night look awful. Ironside looks excellent, but I watch so many other excellent crime dramas that new ones need a fun sci-fi twist (like Almost Human) or to cast one of my favorite actors.

 

THURSDAY

Watching: Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, The Big Bang Theory, The Crazy Ones, Elementary, The Vampire Diaries

Checking out: Reign

Not watching: Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, The Millers, Two and a Half Men, Glee, Parks and Recreation, Welcome to the Family, Sean Saves the World, The Michael J. Fox Show, Parenthood

It used to be that I mainly watched NBC comedies; now I’m just waiting for Community to come back. CBS’s The Crazy Ones pairs Mork and Buffy, which pushed it onto my short list, and the behind-the-scenes promo was as hilarious as most regular trailers. Wonderland’s preview is amazing, and Reign has an interesting premise and enough actors I know for me to give it a try.

 

FRIDAY

Watching: The Neighbors, Bones (once it moves), Enlisted, Grimm

Checking out: Dracula

Not watching: Last Man Standing, Hawaii Five-O, Blue Bloods, Raising Hope, The Carrie Diaries

Enlisted was one of my most anticipated series contenders thanks to a great cast, and the promo shows that it’ll be funny as well. I probably won’t watch Dracula, but I do want to see where they’re going with the story, so I should preview the pilot.

 

That gives me 22 shows that I plan to watch (8 comedies and 14 dramas for 18 hours total) and 7 that I want to check out (1 comedy and 6 dramas for 6.5 hours total).

What shows are you watching next fall? Vote below and spread the word!

What broadcast shows do you plan to watch during fall 2013?

  • Marvel's Agents of SHIELD (6%, 19 Votes)
  • NCIS (5%, 16 Votes)
  • Supernatural (4%, 15 Votes)
  • Arrow (4%, 15 Votes)
  • Castle (4%, 15 Votes)
  • The Big Bang Theory (4%, 14 Votes)
  • Elementary (4%, 13 Votes)
  • Grimm (4%, 13 Votes)
  • Once Upon a Time (4%, 13 Votes)
  • Bones (4%, 12 Votes)
  • NCIS: Los Angeles (3%, 10 Votes)
  • Criminal Minds (3%, 10 Votes)
  • How I Met Your Mother (3%, 9 Votes)
  • Person of Interest (2%, 8 Votes)
  • Dracula (2%, 8 Votes)
  • Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (2%, 8 Votes)
  • Almost Human (2%, 8 Votes)
  • The Mentalist (2%, 7 Votes)
  • Sleepy Hollow (2%, 7 Votes)
  • The Vampire Diaries (2%, 6 Votes)
  • Hawaii Five-O (2%, 6 Votes)
  • New Girl (2%, 6 Votes)
  • The Tomorrow People (2%, 6 Votes)
  • Grey's Anatomy (2%, 6 Votes)
  • Blue Bloods (1%, 5 Votes)
  • Revolution (1%, 5 Votes)
  • Revenge (1%, 5 Votes)
  • The Good Wife (1%, 4 Votes)
  • Modern Family (1%, 4 Votes)
  • Scandal (1%, 4 Votes)
  • CSI (1%, 4 Votes)
  • Law & Order: SVU (1%, 3 Votes)
  • Ironside (1%, 3 Votes)
  • Two and a Half Men (1%, 3 Votes)
  • Enlisted (1%, 3 Votes)
  • Raising Hope (1%, 3 Votes)
  • The Michael J. Fox Show (1%, 3 Votes)
  • The Crazy Ones (1%, 3 Votes)
  • Glee (1%, 3 Votes)
  • Nashville (1%, 3 Votes)
  • Hart of Dixie (1%, 3 Votes)
  • Brooklyn Nine-Nine (1%, 3 Votes)
  • The Mindy Project (1%, 3 Votes)
  • The Originals (1%, 3 Votes)
  • Beauty and the Beast (1%, 3 Votes)
  • 2 Broke Girls (1%, 2 Votes)
  • Reign (1%, 2 Votes)
  • Dads (1%, 2 Votes)
  • Hostages (1%, 2 Votes)
  • Parks and Recreation (1%, 2 Votes)
  • Parenthood (0%, 1 Votes)
  • The Goldbergs (0%, 1 Votes)
  • Last Man Standing (0%, 1 Votes)
  • Blacklist (0%, 1 Votes)
  • Mom (0%, 1 Votes)
  • Chicago Fire (0%, 1 Votes)
  • Super Fun Night (0%, 1 Votes)
  • Back in the Game (0%, 1 Votes)
  • The Neighbors (0%, 1 Votes)
  • We Are Men (0%, 0 Votes)
  • Betrayal (0%, 0 Votes)
  • Sean Saves the World (0%, 0 Votes)
  • Welcome to the Family (0%, 0 Votes)
  • Trophy Wife (0%, 0 Votes)
  • Lucky 7 (0%, 0 Votes)
  • The Millers (0%, 0 Votes)
  • The Middle (0%, 0 Votes)
  • The Carrie Diaries (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 31

Loading ... Loading ...

Share this post:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr
  • Reddit
  • NewsVine
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Technorati
  • RSS
  • email
  • Print

The CW Picks Up Tomorrow People, The 100, Star-Crossed, and Reign, Renews Nikita and The Carrie Diaries

The CW announced series orders for four pilots today, for a total of five new shows (including The Vampire Diaries’ spinoff The Originals) to debut in the 2013-2014 season. The Carrie Diaries was renewed, as well as Nikita, for a shortened season.

Which of these shows will I watch next season? If I have time and the trailers look good, I’ll probably try to check out the pilots for all four new shows. I still need to catch up on The Vampire Diaries to watch the planted pilot for The Originals, but I’m leaning toward not watching the spinoff. Nikita I will watch till the end, and I probably would have at least given a shot to The Carrie Diaries (especially since it includes Doctor Who’s Freema Agyeman) if I had more time when it started airing.

Tomorrow People has an impressive line-up of executive producers (from Chuck, Arrow, The Vampire Diaries, and Nikita) and features genre favorite Mark Pellegrino as well as Robbie Amell (Arrow’s Stephen Amell’s cousin – who will play a character named Stephen). People around the world gaining superpowers isn’t new (see Heroes, Alphas, and more), but can be excellent if done right.

Star-Crossed (formerly Oxygen) has a human girl falling in love with an alien boy after he and 8 other alien teens are integrated into a high school ten years after their people landed on Earth. I’m not familiar with many of the actors, so I’m counting on previews to tell me why this intriguing premise is must-see TV.

The 100 refers to a group of juvenile delinquents who are sent to a nuclear-war-ravaged Earth to see if it’s habitable again. The cast includes a few actors I know from their reoccurring guest spots on other shows. It’s based on an upcoming book series – which I think would be a dream come true: being able to write such a great novel that it’s made into a TV show before it even releases.

Reign focuses on 15-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots, and her closest friends, three of her ladies-in-waiting, amid the secrets of the French court. I usually don’t watch historical shows, but I may give this one a try as it stars Megan Follows (aka Anne Shirley) and Anna Popplewell (aka Queen Susan of Narnia).

Gone are the days of the CW being the teen girl channel. Nearly all of their scripted programming now has a supernatural/sci-fi/action hero bent (4 out of 5 new programs, 5 out of 7 renewed programs), and the remaining ones have distinctive settings (deep South, 80s New York, 16th century France). And out of their 12 scripted shows for next year, I am currently watching four, want to catch up with Supernatural, would have given The Carrie Diaries a try, and will probably watch all five new pilots. That leaves the lone show I care nothing about, Hart of Dixie (ironic since my last name is also Hart), of which I watched the pilot. I didn’t expect to like it, though, since medical shows I like are few and Southern accents bug me.

So next fall, the CW may go from my least-watched channel (the first show I watched was Nikita when it premiered) to the channel with the highest concentration of shows I watch. And with so many genre shows, perhaps it’s more deserving of the Syfy name than the Syfy channel itself!

Share this post:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr
  • Reddit
  • NewsVine
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Technorati
  • RSS
  • email
  • Print