2018 Promising New TV Drama... or NOT
Like I've done in my past two years, I'll be adding more series as I discover them. Some I'll comment on, bringing my own peculiar biases that have been shaped from too many years of watching television. I make no apologies for them and leave you free to decide for yourself if my opinions have any merit.
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- CreatorJustin MarksStarsJ.K. SimmonsOlivia WilliamsHarry LloydA hapless UN employee discovers that the agency he works for is hiding a gateway to a parallel dimension that's in a cold war with our own, and where his other self is a top spy. The war slowly heats up thanks to spies from both sides.
- CreatorHossein AminiJames WatkinsStarsYoalah BrinsonJames NortonMerab NinidzeAlex Godman has spent his life trying to escape the shadow of his family's past. But when a murder unearths their past, Alex is drawn into the criminal underworld where he must confront his values to protect those he loves.I'm ambivalent about this series. The writing, acting, direction are all top notch. But after 3 episodes, I still don't really care about any of the characters or what's happening to them. The two leads, James Norton & David Strathairn, are not particularly strong enough actors to carry off these characters. But I keep tuning in, so maybe I'll be surprised. for now, I'll give it ...
7 stars - StarsDaniel BrühlDakota FanningLuke EvansNewspaper illustrator John Moore meets with criminal psychologist (alienist) Dr. Laszlo Kreizler to investigate a serial killer in New York during the late 19th century.
- CreatorJez ButterworthTom ButterworthJames RichardsonStarsDavid MorrisseyEleanor Worthington-CoxMackenzie CrookIn 43 AD, the Roman Army returns to crush the Celtic heart of Britannia.Pretty awful start. But... the story is compelling and pilots are notoriously bad so give it another episode or two because it gets better. As long as you're not expecting historic accuracy.
7 stars - CreatorJoe PokaskiStarsOlivia HoltAubrey JosephGloria ReubenTwo teenagers from very different backgrounds find themselves burdened and awakened to newly acquired superpowers while growing closer together every day.
- CreatorLena WaitheStarsJason MitchellJacob LatimoreNtare Guma Mbaho MwineFrom Emmy® winner Lena Waithe, The Chi is a timely coming-of-age drama series centered on a group of residents who become linked by coincidence but bonded by the need for connection and redemption.Painfully bad writing.
3 stars - CreatorJay BeattieDan DworkinStarsSteve ZahnNatalie MartinezTommy BastowRefugees from a war-torn country 180 years in the future start showing up in the present to seek asylum in an American town.
- StarsMorven ChristieAnthony BoyleChristian CookeChristmas 1954. Wealthy philanthropist Rachel Argyll is murdered at her family estate Sunny Point. Her adopted son Jack Argyll is arrested for her murder. He vehemently protests his innocence.
- CreatorBrad FalchukTim MinearRyan MurphyStarsAngela BassettPeter KrauseOliver StarkExplores the high-pressure experiences of the first responders who are thrust into the most frightening, shocking, and heart-stopping situations.Forgettable.
5 stars - CreatorSalim AkilStarsCress WilliamsNafessa WilliamsChristine AdamsA crusading school principal gets back into action as the original African-American electrical superhero.
- CreatorChris FedakStarsJack Cutmore-ScottIlfenesh HaderaLenora CrichlowA famed magician uses his skills of deception to assist the FBI in solving high-profile cases.
- CreatorPaul William DaviesStarsHope DavisBen ShenkmanJasmin Savoy BrownSet in the Southern District of New York Federal Court, brand-new lawyers work for both the defense and the prosecution as they handle the most high-profile and high-stakes cases in the country--all as their personal lives intersect.
- CreatorMarti NoxonStarsAmy AdamsPatricia ClarksonChris MessinaAfter treating her mental illness, crime reporter Camille Preaker returns to her hometown to solve the murder of two young girls. However, she is forced to face and deal with her own demons too.
- CreatorEric WaldDean WhiteStarsAlex RoeEline PowellFola Evans-AkingbolaA coastal town known for its legend of once being home to mermaids is turned upside down when a mysterious girl appears and begins wreaking havoc.
- CreatorBeau WillimonStarsSean PennNatascha McElhoneLisaGay HamiltonFictional series to chronicle the effort to send the first crewed mission to Mars.
- CreatorJenna BansStarsChristina HendricksRettaMae WhitmanThree suburban mothers suddenly find themselves in desperate circumstances and decide to stop playing it safe and risk everything to take back their power.
- CreatorDavid KajganichMax BorensteinAlexander WooStarsJared HarrisDerek MioTobias MenziesSupernatural, semihistorical, horror anthology series, where each season is inspired by a different infamous or mysterious real life historical tragedy.
- CreatorNeil CrossStarsJim SturgessAgyness DeynNikki Amuka-BirdTwo detectives with opposing viewpoints are forced to work together in a pre-apocalyptic criminal world.
- CreatorBryan ElsleyStarsTallulah HaddonSimona BrownMatthew BeardA lonely video game addict new to the online world of Azana meets a confident party girl with a dark secret.
- CreatorDavid S. GoyerDamian KindlerStarsCameron CuffeGeorgina CampbellShaun SiposThe untold story of Superman's grandfather as he fights for justice on his home planet.
- CreatorCarlton CuseGraham RolandStarsJohn KrasinskiWendell PierceMichael KellyUp-and-coming CIA analyst, Jack Ryan, is thrust into dangerous field assignments.
- CreatorSimon BeaufoyStarsHarris DickinsonDonald SutherlandHilary SwankIn 1973 Rome, John Paul Getty III, the heir and younger member of an oil tycoons' clan, is kidnapped by the Italian Mafia in order to get a ransom.
- CreatorSteve BlackmanJeremy SlaterStarsAidan GallagherElliot PageTom HopperA family of former child heroes, now grown apart, must reunite to continue to protect the world.
- CreatorLauren Schmidt HissrichStarsFreya AllanHenry CavillAnya ChalotraGeralt of Rivia, a solitary monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts.
- CreatorDrew DowdleJohn Erick DowdleStarsMichael ShannonTaylor KitschAndrea RiseboroughThe FBI and ATF seize religious leader David Koresh's Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas in the spring of 1993.
- CreatorErin CardilloRichard KeithStarsLucy HaleElliot KnightJayson BlairWhen Stella finds out that her terminal cancer is cured, she must learn to live with all the choices she made when deciding to live like she was dying.
- CreatorDan FuttermanAlex GibneyLawrence WrightStarsJeff DanielsTahar RahimWrenn SchmidtA look at how the rivalry between the CIA and FBI inadvertently set the stage for the tragedy of 9/11 and the war in Afghanistan.
- CreatorSam ShawDustin ThomasonStarsBill SkarsgårdAndré HollandLizzy CaplanA psychological-horror series set in the Stephen King multiverse combines the mythological scale and intimate character storytelling, weaving an epic saga of darkness and light, played out on a few square miles of Maine woodland.
- CreatorNatasha NarayanPaul RutmanStarsArchie PanjabiShabana AzmiNavin ChowdhryWhip-smart GP Mona Shirani is left grief-stricken when her much-loved brother is brutally murdered while working for a medical charity overseas.Compelling and well done. What you'd expect from a BBC production.
8 stars - CreatorMicah BloombergEli HorowitzSam EsmailStarsStephan JamesBobby CannavaleHong ChauAn anthology series centered around the mysterious Geist Group, an unconventional wellness company and their equally unorthodox program, the Homecoming Initiative.
- StarsTerrence HowardBryan CranstonSteve BuscemiA sci-fi anthology series with stand-alone episodes based on the works of Philip K. Dick.
- StarsNatalie DormerLily SullivanLola BessisThree schoolgirls and their governesses mysteriously disappear on Valentines Day in 1900.
- StarsHugh GrantBen WhishawAlex JenningsBritish Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe is accused of conspiracy to murder his gay ex-lover and forced to stand trial in 1979.
- StarsJohn SimmAnthony Chau-Sang WongKatie LeungJonah Mulray is a professor whose world comes crashing down when his wife is killed in a car crash in Hong Kong.
- CreatorMatthew CirulnickGaia VioloStarsStana KaticPatrick HeusingerNeil JacksonAfter being declared dead in absentia, an FBI agent must reclaim her family, identity and innocence when she finds herself the prime suspect in a string of murders.
- CreatorGwyneth HughesStarsMichael PalinOlivia CookeTom BatemanAn adaptation of the 1848 novel by William Makepeace Thackeray.
- DirectorRichard EyreStarsJim BroadbentJim CarterTobias MenziesAn aging King invites disaster when he abdicates to his corrupt, toadying daughters, and rejects his loving and honest one.
- CreatorMatthew WeinerStarsDiane LaneJJ FeildAaron EckhartAnthology of eight stories about people who believe themselves to be descendant of the Russian Royal family.
- CreatorCraig MazinStarsJessie BuckleyJared HarrisStellan SkarsgårdIn April 1986, the city of Chernobyl in the Soviet Union suffers one of the worst nuclear disasters in the history of mankind. Consequently, many heroes put their lives on the line in the following days, weeks and months.
- CreatorNic PizzolattoIssa LópezStarsVince VaughnColin FarrellRachel McAdamsAnthology series in which police investigations unearth the personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within and outside the law.
- CreatorDamon LindelofStarsRegina KingYahya Abdul-Mateen IITom MisonSet in an alternate history where masked vigilantes are treated as outlaws, Watchmen embraces the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel of the same name, while attempting to break new ground of its own.
- DirectorBarry LevinsonStarsAl PacinoKathy BakerKenneth MaharajPenn State football coach Joe Paterno becomes embroiled in a sexual abuse scandal.
- StarsMadhavanAmit SadhSapna PabbiThis series just asks one question - how far will you go to protect the one you love. Two desperate and driven men must engage in the ultimate cat and mouse game to save the one they love.
- CreatorLaeta KalogridisStarsChris ConnerRenée Elise GoldsberryDichen LachmanSet in a future where consciousness is digitized and stored, a prisoner returns to life in a new body and must solve a mind-bending murder to win his freedom.Netflix Feb 2, 2018. Can't wait for this one. Great concept with 2 of my fav male leads, James Purefoy & Joel Kinnaman.
- CreatorMichael RauchStarsAlan CummingBojana NovakovicDaniel IngsA former CIA operative who has since built a "normal" life as a gifted professor and writer is pulled back into his old life when the NYPD needs his help to stop a serial killer on the loose.
- CreatorMark AndrewEd TalfanStarsSian Reese-WilliamsSion Alun DaviesVictoria PughPolice investigate when the body of a girl is found in a lake.
- CreatorDavid FarrStarsLouis HunterChristiaan SchoombieBella DayneRetells the story of the 10 year siege of Troy, which occurred in the 12 or 13th century BC.
- DirectorKristi ZeaStarsAshley Nicole BaptisteAnna Deavere SmithShining a light on a lost generation of American youth, Anna Deavere Smith brings to life the stories of 18 real-life people, among them current and former inmates, protesters, educators and politicians.