Just when you finally got all caught up on the shows on your DVR and your queue, TV is back! All our favorite shows — plus some new ones — are ready to keep you warm and cozy during the next couple winter months. Or, the next few winter months, depending on where you live. So grab your softest blanket and hot beverage of choice, and get comfy. We’ve got shows to watch!
I’ve watched previews for all these shows, but I haven’t seen a single full episode yet. So this list is purely informational, okay? I’m making no promises whatsoever that a dystopian vampire show starring Zack Morris from Saved by the Bell will be any good. And I take zero responsibility for your inevitable addiction to an animated reboot of an 80s computer game. (Back when we had floppy disks that actually flopped. Remember that? Are you as old as I am?)
Anyway. I’m keeping this post brief as I’m frantically preparing to launch a podcast (WHAT?! Yes. It’s true. And exciting. And inducing great panic. That seems about right…right?!). (Edited to add, after actually writing the post: I know. It’s not actually brief. I am a lying, pants-on-fire liar. I don’t actually know how to do “brief.” But I think you know that.)
AN.Y.WAY. In order of premiere date, here are some new shows coming your way soon (click the title to watch a trailer):
- GOOD TROUBLE (Freeform) – 1/8 – This is a spinoff from THE FOSTERS.
- SCHOOLED (ABC) – 1/9 – This is a spinoff from THE GOLDBERGS. Before I started watching THE GOLDBERGS (aka, my new favorite) I didn’t see the appeal of this show. Now I can’t wait to watch! (Although I’ll probably wait until I’m caught up with THE GOLDBERGS.)
- BROOKLYN NINE-NINE (NBC) – 1/10 – No, this isn’t technically a new show. It’s more an old, beloved show on a new network. At the end of last season, Jake and Amy got married; it’ll be interesting to see how that dynamic or the new network influences this season!
- FAM (CBS) – 1/10 – This looks like a run-of-the-mill sitcom, and I don’t plan to watch. But just in case you are, I didn’t want to leave it out!
- THE PASSAGE (FOX) – 1/14 – This is the vampire show I mentioned earlier. Annnnnd, I don’t know, guys. It’s based on a trilogy of popular books that one of my friends (whose reading taste I trust implicitly) has RAVED about. And it stars Mark-Paul Gosselar who I thoroughly enjoyed when I finally watched PITCH last year (and definitely enjoyed in FRANKLIN & BASH) (What I’m saying is that I know he’s not ACTUALLY Zack Morris from SAVED BY THE BELL but, let’s be honest, I’m probably going to insist on calling him that forever until I die.). And I was intrigued by the trailer — almost as much as I was completely grossed out. I just don’t know if I can stomach this one, but I kind of want to.
- ROSWELL, NEW MEXICO (The CW) – 1/15 – This is a reimagining of the late-90s ROSWELL, a show I never watched but wish I had. After all, teens and science fiction ARE two of my favorite genres. So I’ll probably give this one a try. (Also, the lead actress is the season 5 winner from SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE!)
- DEADLY CLASS (SyFy) – 1/16 – I’m thinking this is basically like Harry Potter. Except, instead of being about a school for wizards, it’s about a school for assassins. And instead of being tame enough for my tween daughter to watch, it might be too dark or violent for me. Basically the same. Okay, this is a “coming-of-age” show about teens in the 80s who attend a school for assassins. The trailer looks awesome. But I’ll have to let you know if it’s too much for me or not. (Fingers crossed it’s not! I could definitely not handle the SABRINA reimagining on Netflix, but I have been a little bummed to miss out on it anyway.)
- CARMEN SANDIEGO (Netflix) – 1/18 – Yes, THAT Carmen Sandiego. And we don’t have to ask where in the world she can be found; this new animated show is on Netflix. I am 100% on board and can’t wait to watch this one!
- I AM THE NIGHT (TNT) – 1/28 – All right, I am not normally interested one bit in dark and twisty shows inspired by true events. Even if they star Chris Pine. Which this does. But I watched the preview and it looks … intriguing. Will I actually watch? Who knows. But maybe. (The show follows a young woman who was adopted and begins investigating her family of origin with a washed-up reporter.)
- THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY (Netflix) – 2/15 – IMDB sums it up well: “A disbanded group of superheroes reunite after their adoptive father, who trained them to save the world, dies.” Sounds good but, then again, I still haven’t caught up on CLOAK & DAGGER or watched any episodes of RUNAWAYS. My track record with teen superheroes is pretty lame, apparently! (But this show looks like it has potential.)
- WHISKEY CAVALIER (ABC) – 2/27 – An FBI agent and a CIA operative with clashing personalities must work together in this half-hour action comedy. If I could only watch one new show, THIS WOULD BE IT. It’s right up my alley in all the ways, and I’ve been looking forward to it since I watched the first trailer last summer!
- PROVEN INNOCENT (Fox) – 2/15 – After spending 10 years in jail for a crime she didn’t commit, a woman now leads a team that works to overturn wrongful convictions. I don’t watch a ton of legal dramas currently, so I might have the mental space for this one. It looks good.
- SHRILL (Hulu) – 3/15 – Based on the memoir by Lindy West (which has been on my to-read list for a while now) and starring Aidy Bryant of Saturday Night Liver, this six-episode show follows a woman attempting to change her life without changing her body. I’ll be watching this one…even if I don’t get to the book.
- THE FIX (ABC) – 3/18 – Marcia Clark (of OJ Simpson fame) has written and is producing this crime drama. It stars Robin Tunney and basically answers the question, “What if OJ did it — and then does it again?”
A few other dates you might want to mark on your TV-watching calendar (what? you don’t have one of those? Weird.):
- AMERICAN IDOL returns on March 3
- The eighth and final season of GAME OF THRONES finally begins in April
- FOX will broadcast the live musical, RENT, on January 27. Vanessa Hudgens will be in it.
- NBC will broadcast the live musical, HAIR!, on May 19. The cast hasn’t been announced. Also, I think this is a real weird pick for live network television…
All right, friends, that’s it! I hope this list is helpful for you. Jump down to the comments and tell us:
