Latest Article|September 3, 2020|Free
::Making Grown Men Cry Since 1992
4 min read
The 2016 fall TV season is coming to an end. That means midseason replacement time is upon us. So what can we expect in the coming months from our pals in the broadcast network biz?ABC—Apparently the alphabet net is happy with its current lineup and has still got major hits to debut in midseason (like the delayed Season 6 of “Scandal”). So ABC has yet to announce any new midseason premieres, leaving several intriguing-sounding shows—such as “Imaginary Mary,” “Downward Dog,” “Still Star Crossed” and “Time After Time”—with vague “coming soon” dates. NBC—“Emerald City” (Jan. 6) is a “revisionist” version of L. Frank Baum’s Oz. books Tarsem Singh (The Cell, The Fall, Mirror Mirror) directs all 10 episodes. “Powerless” (Feb. 2) stars Vanessa Hudgens, Danny Pudi and Ron Funches in an office sitcom set in the DC Comics universe. The characters are insurance adjusters who protect people from unintended damages caused by crime-fighting superheroes. “The Blacklist: Redemption: (Feb. 23) finds several characters from NBC’s “The Black List” getting their own spin-off about covert mercenaries. “Taken” (Feb. 27) is another movie spin-off, this time of the Liam Neeson action trilogy. I’m guessing CIA operative Bryan Mills (now played by Clive Standen from “Vikings”) has his daughter kidnapped every week now. If you like “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago Med” and “Chicago PD,” odds are you’ll be fine with “Chicago Justice” (March 5). “Trial & Error” (March 7) is a true crime parody about a big-city lawyer who travels to a tiny Southern town to defend an eccentric professor (John Lithgow) accused of murder. Several folks behind “30 Rock” are responsible for “Great News” (April 25), a sitcom about life behind the scenes of a cable news show.CBS—“Ransom” (Jan. 1) comes from co-creator and executive producer Frank Spotnitz (“The X-Files”) and is loosely based on the experiences of a real-life crisis negotiator. Following hot on the heels of such action-flicks-turned-TV-series as “Rush Hour” and “Lethal Weapon” comes “Training Day” (Feb. 2), a weekly adaptation of Antoine Fuqua’s 2001 movie about a corrupt cop and his idealistic rookie partner. Ordinary people volunteer to be tracked down by professional bounty hunters in the new reality competition “Hunted” (Jan. 22). Katherine Heigl (“Grey’s Anatomy”) returns to TV in the legal drama “Doubt” (Feb. 15). Lawyers also rule “The Good Fight” (Feb. 19), a spin-off of “The Good Wife” starring Christine Baranski.FOX—Kaitlin Olson from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” stars in “The Mick” (Jan. 1) as an irresponsible drunk left in charge of her very wealthy sister’s kids. “My Kitchen Rules” (Jan. 12) is—you guessed it—a cooking competition featuring “semi”-celebrity pairings (like singer Lance Bass and his mom). “24: Legacy” (Feb. 5) is a sequel to the classic action series—but without Kiefer Sutherland (who’s now the president of the US on another network). “APB” (Feb. 6) is the crime-fighting equivalent of CBS’ medical drama “Pure Genius.” It centers on a tech billionaire who puts up his own money to build a Chicago police department with impossibly high-tech equipment.The CW—“Riverdale” (Jan. 26) is a dark, adult (well, late teen, anyway) adaptation of “Archie” comics. No, really. There’s a murder and everything.