Ahhhhhhh, fall. A season always eagerly anticipated by this television addict, as I wonder what viewing delights are in store. Discovering an amazing new show that will be a part of your life for the next several years—sometimes well over a decade, in point of fact—is wholly awesome. This season, five very promising premieres have piqued my interest: Terra Nova, Grimm, Person Of Interest, Suburgatory, and The Secret Circle.
1. Terra Nova
- network: Fox
- Jason O'Mara, Stephen Lang, Shelley Conn, Landon Liboiron, Eka Darville
“An epic family adventure 85 million years in the making.” In the year 2149, the planet is dying, and mankind is starting over by sending people back in time to prehistoric earth to make a new beginning. Terra Nova follows the Shannons, one of the families who made the journey, as they settle into their new home, a settlement led by Commander Taylor (Stephen Lang) and threatened by not only a renegade splinter colony opposed to Taylor’s control but also man-eating dinosaurs. WOO-HOO, DINOSAURS! The special effects will be supercool (Episodes are rumored to cost anywhere from $4 to $10 million—or more.), the fact that Steven Spielberg is an executive producer is an added plus (I loved this summer’s Falling Skies, which he also produced), and I’m really looking forward to seeing Stephen Lang (whom we all loved to hate in Avatar) back in action again. Also, DINOSAURS.
2. Grimm
- network: NBC
- David Giuntoli, Russell Hornsby, Silas Weir Mitchell, Reggie Lee
Inspired by the classic childhood fairy tales, Grimm is the story of Portland homicide Detective Nick Burkhardt, who discovers he’s descended from "Grimms": supernatural hunters who find and kill mythological creatures masquerading as ordinary humans. Nick will face off this season against, among others, hexenbiests, blutbads, the cannibalistic witch from Hansel & Gretel, and the big bad wolf from Little Red Riding Hood (Mitchell: Prison Break), who will later become an informant. The omg factor of this show is pretty high for me. First, what a way to breathe new life into the done-to-death (or so I thought) police drama! Second, I superloved the Brothers Grimm tales when I was a kid (Rumpelstiltskin! Snow White! Tom Thumb!). Third—and pardon the obscurity of this last reason—the concept reminds me of one particularly good episode of The X-Files, in which only Mulder could see that these two normal-looking dudes chatting in a diner were really a couple of trolls.
3. Person of Interest
- network: CBS
- Jim Caviezel, Michael Emerson, Taraji P. Henson, Kevin Chapman
Person of Interest focuses on Reese (Caviezel, who was the very longsuffering Jesus in The Passion of the Christ) and Finch (Emerson, who was the very creepy Ben on Lost [and—trivia!—is married to Carrie Preston, who plays Arlene in True Blood]). Mysterious billionaire software genius Finch invented a computer program to identify people about to be involved in violent crimes; he teams up with special covert operations guy Reese. Together they stop crime before it happens … but their vigilante justice attracts unwanted attention from NYPD detectives Carter (Henson) and Fusco (Chapman). Sounds promising. I’m reminded of Minority Report, which I thoroughly enjoyed. And I bet there are some intriguing skeletons lurking in Finch’s closet …
4. The Secret Circle
- network: The CW
- Natasha Henstridge, Gale Harold, Britt Robertson, Thomas Dekker
Girl is orphaned after mother dies in tragic fire, girl moves to small town to live with grandma, girl discovers she and a bunch of her new friends are witches. I’m anticipating a season full of magic, mysteries, and adolescent angst. Yes, I know this show is geared toward teens, but cut me some slack. There’s still a hole in my heart from when 2009’s Eastwick was cancelled. I want a show about witches, dammit! Practically all other creatures/monsters have a show: vampires – Vampire Diaries, werewolves – Teen Wolf, zombies – The Walking Dead. Give sorceresses a shot! (Ooooooh, that would make an awesome t-shirt.) Furthermore, I seriously love Natasha Henstridge (Species I, II, and III; The Whole Nine/Ten Yards; Ghosts of Mars).
5. Suburgatory
- network: ABC
- Jeremy Sisto, Cheryl Hines, Jane Levy, Alan Tudyk
It’s the only comedy on this list for a reason—I just don’t enjoy most tv comedy (ESPECIALLY if it has a laugh track). But Suburgatory sounds promising. Plot: a divorced dad leaves New York City to give his teen daughter a better life in the suburbs … where she is disturbed by how Stepford Wives-perfect everyone/everything seems. Kinda sorta reminds me of my reaction when I went back to private school after three years of public school, lol. It’ll be fun to see Jeremy Sisto (one of my major celebrity crushes) do comedy; I’ve seen him only in serious/scary stuff (Wrong Turn, Six Feet Under, Law & Order). And Alan Tudyk (Serenity, V, 3:10 to Yuma)??? Um, yay!
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