It’s that time of year again… the winter television schedule is here! And as always, the networks have a lineup of many new programs to accompany our returning favorites.
Some of the series have promise, while others may flop—but, regardless, we’ll tune in to check them out!
Today, we’re mixing it up with comedy, a science fiction thriller, a crime drama, and the supernatural.
*****
Enlisted
FOX Summary: An army-set single-camera comedy about three brothers reconnecting with one another.
Pete Hill (Geoff Stults from Seventh Heaven, Happy Town, and The Finder) is the oldest of three brothers. He also happens to be a super soldier. But when he messes up, he is assigned a group of misfit soldiers as his punishment—a group that includes his brothers, Randy (Parker Young from Suburgatory) and Derrick (Veronica Mars and Private Practice).
Randy is in love with the Army, while Derrick is jaded with the military and his family. But these three brothers love each other… they just may not get along all the time.
The comedy also stars Keith David (There’s Something About Mary, the Riddick films, Barbershop, and many other feature films) and Angelique Cabral.
Enlisted was originally scheduled to premiere on Fox back in November… but something happened and they moved it to this Friday, January 10th.
*****
Helix
SyFy Summary: A team of scientists from the Centers of Disease Control travel to an Arctic Biosystems base to investigate a retrovirus and come up against unimaginable horrors; the team attempts to deal with the infected victims and a rebellion starts.
“The virus is just the beginning of the story.”
In Helix, doctors, scientists, and the military travel together to see what is happening at an Arctic Biosystems base. The disease they encounter doesn’t just kill, it changes—and it changes the people it infects. Every attack the doctors make to fight it fails… because it mutates.
The series stars Billy Campbell from Once and Again, Hiroyuki Sanada from Revenge and The Wolverine, and many other recognizable faces from their guest spots on popular TV shows.
Helix premieres Friday, January 10th on SyFy.
*****
True Detective
HBO Summary: Two detectives, who were once partners, are called in to give statements about the murder of a prostitute seventeen years ago; and as they share their stories, details of the case are intertwined with insights into their partnership and personal lives.
First of all, this eight part miniseries stars Matthew McConaughey-hey and Woody Harrelson. Yes, Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. Granted, Woody did TV back in the day, but since he has become a huge Hollywood star? Not so much. And my boy, Matthew? Not that I can recall… not in a starring role anyway.
The story begins in 1995 when the detectives, Rust Cohle (McConaughey) and Martin Hart (Harrelson), discover the body of a prostitute, and the narrative continues in 2012 when these two detectives are being interviewed about the case. They are brought in because the case files were supposedly destroyed in a hurricane-type storm, but the line of questioning leads Cohle to believe perhaps the case wasn’t solved previously in its entirety and more people may have been involved.
The miniseries is more a thriller than a whodunnit, according to the writer, and the story is more about Cohle and Hart’s characters and relationships. I also thought it was interesting that in this digital age, they shot the series with old-school 35mm film.
The series also stars: Michelle Monaghan (the Mission Impossible films), Elizabeth Reaser (The Twilight Saga), Alexandra Daddario (the Percy Jackson movies), Kevin Dunn (the Transformer films), and Michael Potts (The Wire).
True Detective premieres Sunday, January 12th on HBO.
*****
Bitten
SyFy Summary: The lone female werewolf in existence, who wanted to escape that life and who abandoned her pack and moved to a new city, is summoned back to her pack when bodies begin to turn up in her pack’s backyard.
Based on the Women of the Otherworld book series by Kelley Armstrong, Bitten joins SyFy’s latest batch of successful supernatural TV series (Being Human, Lost Girl, etc). The series stars Laura Vandervoort (from ABC’s V) as Elena Michaels. Elena wants nothing to do with being a werewolf, nothing to do with her pack, and wants to forget all about that life—she even hides it from her new boyfriend. But when trouble comes knocking, what’s a girl to do?
Oh, and the series also stars a lot of men. A lot of men.
Bitten premieres Monday, January 13th on SyFy.
*****
If I had to rank these in order of which one I’m most looking forward to, I’d put True Detective at number one. No contest here. Dropping quite a ways down the totem pole, Helix probably comes in second with Bitten following at number three. That leaves Enlisted in last place; although don’t be fooled by the rankings… I love to laugh and the commercials do look funny.
What do you think? Will you tune in to watch any of these new shows? Which one most interests you? I’d love to hear from you!
*****
Tiffany A. White is the author of the YA mystery Football Sweetheart series available on Kindle and Nook. She is available for contact via Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or via email at tiffany {at} tiffanyawhite {dot} com.
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