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So What Do We Watch Now?

Image via abc.go.com

While 2011 wasn’t exactly flush with incredible new shows, two instant classics did manage to emerge. Showtime’s Homeland and HBO’s Game of Thrones were the two standouts, but overall it did feel like a bit of a letdown year with more than a few duds…remember The Killing?

Back in 2010, we saw epic miniseries when The Pacific, Downton Abbey, and Sherlock debuted in the U.K., and over on this side of the pond we got Treme, Boardwalk Empire, Justified, Louie, Rubicon, Parenthood, and the short-lived, but awesome Terriers. Heck, even on the cartoon side of things there were adequate new shows with the Avengers, G.I. Joe, and Transformers. It’s telling that the best new network show this year was…I guess maybe Revenge on ABC or The Secret Circle on The CW? Now that’s a little scary.

Here’s hoping 2012 offers us a few more stellar shows to fill the week. Below we go over the new series that will try and lead the way on the next couple of months of television.

House of Lies—Showtime, debuts January 8

Don Cheadle, Kristen Bell, and Ben Schwartz (aka Parks and Rec’s Jean Ralphio) all on television together?! If nothing else, it should be interesting to check out the first of Showtime’s half-hour comedies that actually looks…you know…funny. It’s unlikely the show will totally knock my socks off or replace the empty hole Community left in my heart, but starting off the year with a potentially solid comedy would be good enough.

Alcatraz— FOX, debuts January 16

Don’t expect another Lost! Please! Sorry, just trying to temper expectations a little. Sure, the series is produced by J.J. Abrams, stars Jorge Garcia, and involves characters jumping through time, but it isn’t as if Abrams will actually write or direct any episodes. So don’t build up expectations for those first eight episodes of Lost that were non-stop, pure, super-duper awesome. But there’s quite a bit I am looking forward to with Garcia, the great Sam Neill, Sarah Jones (who really impressed me as Polly Zobelle during season two of Sons of Anarchy) and a pretty cool premise: criminals that disappeared from Alcatraz show up decades later, unaged and wreaking havoc.

Touch—FOX, debuts January 25

In the battle to either be excited about a new series from 24 star Kiefer Sutherland or terrified of a new series by Heroes creator/destroyer Tim Kring, I’ll side with excited. After all, Sutherland was in Stand By Me—so there’s that. Sutherland plays the father of a mute child who develops the ability to predict the future, but can’t communicate that information easily. So Sutherland and Danny Glover (who apparently isn’t too old for this shit) will be working as detectives every week, solving mysteries and saving people or the like. Variations on the theme worked for Quantum Leap and Early Edition, and the repeatable structure of the stories might prevent Kring from driving things completely off of the rails. This one has a ton of potential to impress.

Luck—HBO, debuts January 29 

The pedigree is certainly here from top to bottom. Besides the HBO brand name and star Dustin Hoffman, the series is from Collateral director Michael Mann, and David Milch who (before the dark days of John From Cincinnati) created Deadwood, one of the three greatest series in HBO’s impressive history. The trailers have promised us a colorful and diverse world of gamblers, owners, trainers, bigwigs, bums, jockeys and…I suppose horses as well. Even after JFC and misfires like the Miami Vice movie, Milch and Mann have earned far too much good will not to give this potentially epic drama a good hard look.

The River—ABC, debuts February 2 

When I first saw the trailer a few months back, I knew this was going to be one of the most intriguing new series of the TV season. Shot in a documentary/found footage style that our own Billy has discussed before, The River follows the prodigal son and devoted wife of a famous nature show host (played by Joe Anderson and Leslie Hope) who lead an expedition down the Amazon River to find the missing Bruce Greenwood. The unique style (creator Oren Peli directed the first Paranormal Activity and produced the rest) set The River apart, and if the story and performances hold their own this series could stand above the rest. I fully support the decision to limit the first season to only eight episodes. Finally the networks are learning the lessons of pacing that cable channels have been using to kick their tails for years now. My concerns are how well the cast of lesser and unknown actors holds up and whether or not Puerto Rico (for the pilot) and Hawaii (for the rest of the series) can stand in for one of the most unique environments in the world.