We made it. Survived another year. One that saw historic strides and setbacks in the realm of TV and film. Dual labor strikes paused productions as artists fought for proper compensation. Meanwhile viewers fought the battle of the bulge as streaming prices continued to spike, networks merged and rebranded, and cable TV made its grand return in ad-tier subscriptions. All is fair in love of TV.
So we’re back like we never left preparing for the next crop of new and returning shows, limited series, reboots, remakes, and adaptations to obsess over for the next 366 days. Here’s my personal preview for the first 90.
January
Found S1 Part 2 (NBC)
The freshmen series styled as Scandal meets Cold Case shines with Shanola Hampton leading a different set of gladiators. Hampton’s Gabi Mosley leads a private firm specializing in missing persons often underserved or underrepresented by mainstream society. The episodes carry equal heart and truth with each case-of-the-week not always having a happy ending.
What makes this run-of-the-mill, feel-good procedural stand out are its main characters’ backstories. Each member has a central trauma related to being missing: whether the mother (a fabulous Kelli Williams) who spends her evenings in the bus station where she last saw her missing son; or, the tech specialist (Arlen Escarpeta) who works remotely due to severe agoraphobia, a result of his own kidnapping.
And then there’s Mosley who escaped her captor as a teen, making a fearless advocate for the most vulnerable. It also left her hiding a secret beneath the surface: her former captor (a splendid Mark-Paul Gosselaar) hidden in her basement.
Part one of season one returns on NBC Tues., Jan 9. And it’s been renewed for a second season.
Echo (Disney+)
For more than a decade, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has paraded its PG-13-ish heroics to great success, despite what’s happened as of late. Now, Disney’s Marvel is finally embracing its darker side. Under its somewhat separate SPOTLIGHT BANNER, we receive the five-episode spinoff Echo, which is aligning itself with the TV-MA-rated content of Netflix’s Marvel series. First introduced in Hawkeye, Echo follows Maya Lopez’s (Alaqua Cox) return home after a devastating battle against her adopted uncle, the ruthless Wilson Fisk aka Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio).
After finding out the truth about her father’s murder, Maya, an indigenous woman, seeks refuge at her family’s reservation. But her search for solace is haunted by the violent tendencies of her past. Paired with the more mature tone is the confirmed appearances of both D’Onofrio’s Kingpin and Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil. The two last shared the same screen in 2018’s final season of Daredevil.
All five episodes of Echo arrive on Disney Plus and Hulu January 9.
True Detective: Night Country (HBO)
I’ve only seen the third season of HBO’s anthology crime drama series. I do know the first is cherished as its best, with the sophomore entry labeled the worst. So what will we get in the fourth edition? Well, we have Oscar winner Jodie Foster and rising star Kali Reis as our leads, the first time a season has had two sole female leads. It’s set during the longest nights of the Alaskan tundra, meaning for some GOT-level of camera work, for better or worse. And we’re solving the murder of a group of men are found beneath the ice near a research base. Mystery upon mystery.
Everything should line up for a great season of television, despite series creator Nic Pizzolatto not in the writers’ room. We’ll find out when the show premieres Jan. 14 at 9 p.m. on HBO and Max.
The Irrational S1 Part 2(NBC)
Jesse L. Martin made a pleasant return to NBC in the new mystery procedural that sees him playing a behavioral scientist whose study of human behavior helps authorities solve high-profile crimes. While the week-to-week cases are interesting, they don’t pack the same punch as a Found. But, the overarching mystery centering Martin’s Alex Mercer as a victim of an unsolved hate crime keeps me coming back.
The Irrational returns to conclude its rookie season Jan. 29 and has been renewed for season two.
February
Shogun
FX (on Hulu?) adapts James Clavell’s classic novel about nobility and betrayal in 1600 Japan. Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) faces mutiny amongst his royal subjects when a marooned ship of European settlers arrive on the coast. A battle for power ensues as Toranaga must trust his daughter to protect their name and legacy. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Anna Sawai stars in this thriller adaptation arrive February 27. View the trailer below.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
I squinted when this project was first announced.Donald Glover reimagining the film that gave us Brangelina? No thanks. But given the marriage didn’t last, perhaps the series will be good. By the looks of the trailer, it looks as if the narrative has taken more of a The Americans perspective, with as Glover and Maya Erskine’s secret agents entire marriage being the mission. Mr. & Mrs. Smith comes to Prime on Feb. 2.
Elsbeth
I don’t know much about Carrie Preston’s Elsbeth other than she was born of the Robert & Michelle King universe. And frankly, you had me at Robert & Michelle King. Coming to CBS this year is a spinoff featuring Preston’s semi-legal PI sleuth here to solve crime and litigize in an hour’s time. And I’ll be watching on CBS February 29.
Genius: MLK/X
I feel ashamed that I haven’t tuned in to the other Genius series. The National Geographic original has done wonderful pieces on some bastions of history, from Picasso to Aretha. Now, just in time for Black History Month, the historical anthology series will examine the often misunderstood and misrepresented relationship between the two titans of Black liberation thought: Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. King will be played by Chevalier lead,Kelvin Harrison Jr., with Aaron Pierre of last year’s Brother, playing the man formerly known as Mr. Little.
Two of the brightest young actors tackling these giant-of-men roles should be a sight to see. Genius MLK/X arrives February 1.
March
The Cleaning Lady S3
As one of the few broadcast series I’ve enjoyed in recent years, Fox’s adaptation follows the trials of an immigrant woman, Thony (Elodie Yung), seeking life-saving medical care for her son. A physician in her native Philippines, Thony is unable to secure the same privileges in the U.S., forcing her to work as a casino cleaning lady. When she accidentally encounters a fatal exchange, she saves face by becoming an accomplice to the mob boss who runs the establishment. In exchange for her silence, she gains access to quality treatments and funds.
Season two saw Thony fall in deeper with the criminal underworld after she has to cover up a crime too close to home. And just when she thought she had broken even, the threat of deportation breaks her hopes and dreams of protecting her family.
The series does great care in telling the challenges immigrants and undocumented citizens face daily. How normal interactions and tasks, like reporting a crime or even missing school, can result in life-alerting emergencies. Season three is due March 5, but unfortunately it will be without the male lead, Adan Canto, who sadly passed of cancer this month.
my streamable life 