So much has happened since my article last month about the Upfront aftermath! Timeless, Ghosted, and Champions aren’t returning in the fall. On the flip side Netflix decided to add Lucifer to their roster making it the second broadcast show to survive its cancellation and second show saved by a streaming website. Amazon picked up The Expanse for its next season too!
We also learned that Fox will air WWE Smackdown on Fridays starting in October of 2019! Which brings me to what I’m really excited for. That is the shows I really want to enjoy and hope will do well this next season!
In no particular order:
The Passage
Airing on Fox at some point in the spring, The Passage is an adaptation of a book series about science and vampires and the end of the world! The show follows Mark Paul Gosselar as Brad Wolgast, the guy who has to keep Saniyya Sidney’s Amy safe. Specifically he has to keep her safe while they’re on the run from the CDC/other government entities. They want to experiment on her so that they can save the world from vampire/zombie like creatures. Or something like that? I watched the trailer for this three times through. Of course, with FOX losing space in its schedule and this show likely costing a lot, who knows if it makes it past season one, but if the writers do a good job…This show might just succeed in its allegories. Any show that starts with a White dude (or written as White) telling a young Black girl that her life is worthy is definitely deserving of a premiere watch.
Charmed
So much has been said about Charmed that I don’t have much to add to the discussion about reboots (that I already haven’t said). I never watched the original at length and have no interest in watching it, but the few episodes I did watch were cheesy and campy. Which I don’t think is a bad thing! The trailer for the reboot is just as silly and fun, but updated for 2018 which I also don’t think is bad. I’m excited to see what the cast, crew, and writers do with the premise. Especially since the sisters are Latina and one is Afro-Latina! I’m especially pleased that the first monster of the week is a professor who creeps on his students. I hope Maggie kicks his ass. Plus the show runner and producers are all well established. In fact, all but one is also in charge of Jane the Virgin which has had its own missteps, but as a whole is a great show.
I definitely wonder how the show will premiere and whether it will beat Black Lightning‘s premiere at 0.9. Since ratings decrease every year, I don’t expect that. If it does though, clearly Nielsen viewers are interested enough to try it out despite, or maybe in spite of all the backlash. The show already has international streaming orders, and I’m sure it’s getting the Netflix treatment which means it isn’t going anywhere. So I hope the writers planned a great first season!
Magnum PI
Okay no one is more shocked than I at this. I loved Hawaii Five 0 when it first aired and I really do enjoy MacGyver, but a third Lenkov headed reboot?? But they cast Jay Hernandez! And one of the mains is a lady! (Obviously for romance purposes and also ~diversity~) But she seems badass, and I do appreciate that the show looks as campy and fun as the original. This was another show where after watching the trailer I actually really wanted to watch the pilot then and there. CBS is always going to put their eggs in the procedural basket for a variety of monetary reasons and I can’t even blame them. Plus the three way crossover between the LenkovReboots would be so ridiculously fun to watch, so I hope this ends up succeeding.
The Village
It’s This is Us meets an apartment building! That’s pretty much the show, but Lorraine Toussaint decided to pick The Village‘s pilot over other offers, so it must be good. It also premieres next spring. Starring an ensemble cast, the show follows the stories of nine residents of this one Brooklyn apartment building. Unfortunately the trailer was not released, so all my excitement for it is literally just because of Lorraine Toussaint, and I like This is Us when I need a good cry. My only complaint is that the pilot script indicated that Nick’s character is an amputee vet. The actor most definitely is not. The promotional image however, shows him standing. So it’s unclear if they kept that aspect after casting? If they did, they should have cast someone who actually fits the bill! Red Line on CBS is currently the only show that has a visibly disabled actor portraying a disabled character! It is 2018, it’s time to stop “cripping up“/disabled mimicry!
ABC
The only network not on this list is ABC because I genuinely do not have any excitement towards any of their new shows. Part of that is absolutely at the ridiculousness of their banking on Roseanne for ratings when they are still in third place and after her firing…I doubt The Connors is going to bring in the 2.0+ they want regularly.
Which goes for all the networks, to be honest. So few new shows break the 2.0 demo rating, and most shows are fractional by the end of the season. Breakout shows are more fun and exciting for PR, but let’s just hope that shows stay stable this next season.
What shows are y’all particularly excited to see? Or are there any shows that you aren’t sure about but will watch if they do well?
