Hey, you! Yes, you, you moron! What do you think you’re doing with that fridge? For God’s sake, take its door off at the very least! You could kill someone!
Month: May 2013
US TV
Fox’s upfronts 2013-4 – a rundown and clips from the new shows
After yesterday’s brush with mediocrity thanks to NBC’s upfronts presentation of its new shows, it’s time to bask in the slightly more competent pleasures of Fox’s grand designs. Slightly.
Last year, Fox had several undeniable duds including The Mob Doctor and although The Following has been picked up for a second season, it’s not exactly the greatest TV show ever made. This year, Fox has more new shows headed our way, a lot of them looking quite poor and/or male-oriented (see if you can spot some women in that picture above, for example), but we do at least have a Gavin & Stacey remake and a JJ Abrams show starring Karl Urban to look forward to. Here’s the rundown:
Comedies
- Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Screw-up cop comedy that at least has Andre Braugher and Terry Cews in the cast. And Andy Samberg.
- Dads: Seth MacFarlane gives us Seth Green and Giovanni Ribisi as – wait for it – a pair of dads.
- Enlisted: Brothers working in the army
- Surviving Jack: Adaptation of I Suck at Girls set in 1990s Southern California, in which the absent father and constant mother swap roles
- Us & Them: Gavin & Stacey move to New York and Pennsylvania
New Dramas
- Almost Human: Future cop show from JJ Abrams, with Karl Urban partnered with an android.
- Sleepy Hollow: Ichabod Crane wakes up in the modern times and solves conspiracy theories with a cop.
- Gang Related: Former gang member becomes a cop
- Rake: Adaptation of the Australian show about a lawyer with a car-crash life. Stars Greg Kinnear.
- Wayward Pines: M Night Shyamalan adaptation of Pines about a weird town. There’s a twist, and it’s not that Matt Dillon is the star
After the jump, full rundowns and full trailers for each of the shows, except for Wayward Pines. Sorry.
Continue reading “Fox’s upfronts 2013-4 – a rundown and clips from the new shows”
Tuesday’s “The return of 24, BBC3 acquires Orphan Black and Michelle Ryan joins the CIA” news
Doctor Who
- Don’t spoil the finale and win a Matt Smith/David Tennant clip
Film casting
- Noomi Rapace and Matthias Schoenaerts to star in Alive Alone
- Olivia Wilde to star in Reawakening
- Billy Crystal to star in Winter’s Discontent
- Hailee Steinfeld to star in For The Dogs
- Jennifer Garner and Michael Caine join Imagine
Trailers
- Trailer for Now You See Me, with Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Morgan Freeman et al [US only]
UK TV
- Mark Bonnar to replace Robert Lindsay on Line of Duty
- Meera Syal and David Schaal join Bollywood Carmen
- BBC2 picks up Murder to series
- BBC3 acquires Orphan Black
US TV
- 24 to return as limited series in 2014
- Sunday ratings
US TV casting
- Michelle Ryan to recur on Covert Affairs
- Angela Bassett and Patti LuPone join American Horror Story
New US TV shows
- HBO green lights: Criminal Justice limited series
- Trailer for ABC Family’s Twisted
New US TV show casting
- Matt Dillon to star in M Night Shyamalan’s Wayward Pines for Fox
- Britne Oldford joins ABC Family’s Ravenswood
News
NBC’s upfronts 2013-4 – a rundown and clips from the new shows
So it’s that time of year again – the upfronts. For the uninitiated, it’s when the main US broadcast networks reveal to the world what new TV shows they plan to give us, starting in what Americans call the fall and we Brits call autumn, but with a few ‘mid-season’ replacements (that usually never see the light of day) in there as well.
After last year’s drekfest, which followed on from the previous year’s more promising offering in almost all getting cancelled, we have a somewhat similar situation this year, with perhaps one or two shows that look decent out of a multitude of cobblers. Here’s a rundown:
Comedies
-
About A Boy –
Based on the Nick Hornby novel, and starring David “Death to any NBC show I’m in” Walton
- The Family Guide – ‘It’s not every family that’s brought closer together by divorce, but then again, the Fishers aren’t exactly typical.’ This is a comedy, BTW.
- The Michael J. Fox Show – Guess who stars in this
- Sean Saves The World – Sean Hayes, that is
- Undateable – A refreshing comedy about the “do’s,” “don’ts” and “duhs” of dating. Except it looks wretched
- Welcome To The Family – Teenagers get married. Hilarity unsues.
Dramas
-
Believe – The new Heroes, except with JJ Abrams and Alfonso Cuaron in charge
- The Blacklist – James Spader does The Following crossed with White Collar
- Chicago PD – A Chicago Fire spin-off about the police. Like the world needed one of those
- Crisis – All the kids of the nation’s politicians are kidnapped. Sure. That would happen, wouldn’t it?
- Crossbones – John Malkovich is Blackbeard the pirate. Nuff said
- Dracula – Jonathan Rhys Meyers is a vampire. Nuff said
- Ironside – Blair Underwood in a remake of the 70s classic. I’m assuming that the guy pushing the wheelchair will be white, this time.
- The Night Shift – A hospital night shift. Yawn.
After the jump, full summaries and even a trailer or two, as well as both the fall and mid-season schedules. And remember, children, that if you can spot Hannibal in either of those schedules, it’s because it’s neither been cancelled nor not cancelled, but if it had been cancelled, so that one of these new shows can replace it.
Continue reading “NBC’s upfronts 2013-4 – a rundown and clips from the new shows”
Kylie Minogue is She-Ra in NBC’s new fall line-up
Ah, if only.