Who says we do not get the seasons here in Singapore? We might not get leaves turning shades of red, orange and brown but we still get to experience autumn – in the form of the American fall TV season.
Pay TV operators mio TV and StarHub have been steadily upping their game and Singaporeans have at least 17 new titles heading their way from now till the end of the year, with more to come next year.
Sci-fi has a splashy presence among the offerings with an alien invasion in Falling Skies and terrifying dinosaurs in Terra Nova. Take a look at the executive producer credits for both shows and one name jumps out – Steven Spielberg, one of the most influential and successful American film-makers of all time.
Intriguingly, Spielberg has his hand in yet another series. This is Smash, about a hit Broadway musical for which the curtain goes up next year.
Other name producers with new projects include Lost’s J.J. Abrams with the crime thriller Person Of Interest and 24’s Howard Gordon with the counter-
terrorism drama Homeland.
Also making an impact are fairy tales. They are the inspiration for Once Upon A Time, in which familiar characters are transported to a modern-day setting, and the 2012 offering Grimm, in which the villains turn out to be real and only one homicide detective has the power to stop them.
Given the success of Modern Family, sitcoms about parents and children continue to sprout. This year’s healthier-than-usual crop includes Suburgatory, I Hate My Teenage Daughter and Man Up.
Staples such as the medical drama are being given a new lease of life with a new star as Rachel Bilson headlines Hart Of Dixie.
The one series that really stands out is American Horror Story with its unusual tone and vibe. It could turn out to be this year’s Twin Peaks (1990-1991), an unexpected hit that came from nowhere.
To ease the transition to a new season, Life! gives a rundown on 16 new shows and lets you in on what to expect.
Happy fall season everyone!
Terra Nova
When: From Wednesday (mio), Oct 29 (StarHub)
Where: mio TV Season Pass, Channel 727; Fox Channel, StarHub Channel 505; Fox Channel HD, StarHub Channel 558
What: Dinosaurs. Steven Spielberg. I am sold. Given executive producer Spielberg’s success with the Jurassic Park movie series, everyone is hoping for a monster hit with Terra Nova.
In the year 2149, Earth is severely overpopulated and all life is on the brink of extinction. The Shannon family are among the lucky few who get to be part of a new colony, Terra Nova, which has been established 85 million years in the past. The catch – it is a time when ravenous carnivorous dinosaurs tore across the land.
The best-known actor here is probably Stephen Lang (far right, foreground). He was the tough-guy Colonel Miles Quaritch in James Cameron’s Avatar (2009) and here, he plays the tough-guy Commander Taylor who heads the colony.
No expense has been spared in bringing this vision to life and Terra Nova is reportedly the most expensive TV series ever. The Independent newspaper estimated that it cost £200,000 (S$398,000) to make one minute of the sci-fi drama.
There is no doubt that the series looks good but given its cost, the big question here is whether it can break new ground in attracting audiences to the small screen.
Man Up
When: From Oct 20
Where: mio TV Season Pass, Channel 732
What: What does it mean to be a man in today’s world? Will Keen (Mather Zickel, centre) is married with children and he wants to be a role model for his teenage son. He also wants gaming time with his buds, the loud and excitable Kenny Hayden (Dan Fogler, right) and the dweeby Craig Griffith (series creator Christopher Moynihan, left).
Good on Fogler for parlaying his Tony Award-winning performance in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee into a viable career, but he has to watch out being typecast.
Think of this as a younger version of Men Of A Certain Age (2009 to 2011).
Homeland
When: From Oct 4
Where: mio TV Season Pass, Channel 731
What: A top-notch cast headlines this topical drama about terrorism in America.
Say “welcome back” to Claire Danes, best known for her work on the critically acclaimed but short-lived teen drama My So-Called Life (1994 to 1995). And “hello again” to TV veteran Mandy Patinkin, last seen on Criminal Minds.
A prisoner-of-war (Damian Lewis, far right, as sergeant Nicholas Brody) believed to be dead is rescued in Iraq and returns home to a hero’s welcome. But CIA officer Carrie Mathison (Danes) has her doubts and tries to convince her mentor Saul Berenson (Patinkin) that he has switched loyalties.
Meanwhile, on the home front, Brody’s wife (Morena Baccarin, right) and children have to adjust to the return of a husband and father.
The series opener sets up several promising narrative threads. A seemingly more realistic version of the counter-terrorism drama 24, though a CIA officer is already breaking federal laws in the first episode.
Hart Of Dixie
When: From Wednesday
Where: mio TV Season Pass, Channel 725
What: Another Everwood-influenced medical drama. Dr Zoe Hart (Rachel Bilson, right) packs her bags and moves to Alabama where she will learn that caring for patients is not the same as merely treating them.
The series marks the second collaboration between executive producer Jason Schwartz and star Bilson. He created the teen soap The O.C., which provided her with the breakout role of party-girl Summer. Bilson turned what could have been a one-note sidekick into a spirited character whom audiences could root for.
Her likeable charm is still intact even if her potential love interests – The Good Wife’s Scott Porter and The Young And The Restless’ Wilson Bethel – are already all sketched out in the first episode.
2 Broke Girls
When: Currently available
Where: mio TV Season Pass, Channel 704
What: Poor girl Max (Kat Dennings, right) and down-and-out rich girl Caroline (Beth Behrs, far right) are twenty-something waitresses at a Brooklyn diner. Despite their chalk-and-cheese personalities, they become friends. They dream of making US$250,000 (S$317,000) so that they can open their own cupcake shop.
At the end of the first episode, the amount they have raised thus far is shown. Expect a snakes-
and-ladders situation as they trudge towards their goal.
The series was co-created by Sex And The City’s Michael Patrick King. Dennings’ sassy and sensible Max is likeable.
American Horror Story
When: From Oct 7
Where: mio TV Season Pass, Channel 706
What: Ben (Dylan McDermott, above centre) and Vivien (Connie Britton, left) are trying to salvage their marriage and they decide a fresh start is the answer. They move into an old mansion in Los Angeles with their daughter Violet (Taissa Farmiga, right), unaware that there are ghosts lurking and skeletons rattling about.
The new series from Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, who are behind high-school musical Glee (2009-present) and plastic surgery soap drama Nip/Tuck (2003-2010), is intriguing, all right. The ensemble cast is a strong one with actress Jessica Lange signing on for her first regular TV role as the next-door neighbour who knows more than she lets on, Frances Conroy (the matriarch in Six Feet Under) as the housekeeper and McDermott playing angsty once more after The Practice.
American Horror Story keeps the viewer off-kilter and though the first episode has almost too much weirdness, its creepy vibe is a welcome addition to the TV landscape.
Falling Skies
When: From Oct 3 at 8.20pm
Where: AXN Beyond, StarHub Channel 525
What: Aliens have invaded Earth and decimated most of the human race. Survivors form a resistance group, Second Massachusetts. They are led by former military officer Weaver (Will Patton) and history professor Tom Mason (Noah Wyle, third from left), who is searching for his son. For some nefarious reason, the aliens have been rounding up children and attaching a metallic device to each of them.
Fans of Wyle will be glad to see him back on the small screen after his low-key big screen outings. He is best known for his turn as Dr John Carter (1994 to 2005) in the long-running medical drama ER (1994 to 2009) and was named by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in 2001.
Producer Steven Spielberg is attached to the project and given his sci-fi flicks such as Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1977) and War Of The Worlds (2005), expectations were high. The series has garnered some positive reviews and will be back for a second season of another 10 episodes next year.
Prime Suspect
When: From Nov 3 Where: Diva Universal, StarHub Channel 522
What: The ground-breaking British police procedural of the 1990s and 2000s starred Helen Mirren as a no-nonsense detective.
Maria Bello (left) gamely steps into the role for the American remake after hanging up her scrubs on the medical drama ER (1994-2006). Joining her is actor Aidan Quinn, once a leading man in films such as the thriller Blink (1993).
Crossovers between the Atlantic are not uncommon but success is by no means assured.
For every The Office, there are misguided efforts such as Coupling and Life On Mars.
Person Of Interest
When: From tomorrow
Where: mio TV Season Pass, Channel 719
What: John Reese (Jim Caviezel, above) is a former CIA agent hired by the mysterious Mr Finch (Michael Emerson) to stop crimes before they occur.
What sounds like a crime procedural with a twist comes with an impressive pedigree. The show is created by Jonathan Nolan, author of the short story Memento Mori, which his brother Christopher adapted into the acclaimed film Memento (2000).
Person Of Interest marks Caviezel’s return to the small screen. He had appeared on shows such as Murder, She Wrote early on in his career before taking to film in works such as Terrence Malick’s war drama The Thin Red Line (1998) and Mel Gibson’s The Passion Of The Christ (2004).
The Secret Circle
When: Currently available
Where: mio TV Season Pass, Channel 702
What: Given the success of The Vampire Diaries, it is no surprise that another work by author L.J. Smith has been brought to the small screen.
As with Diaries, there is once again a young woman dealing with a world of fantasy and magic, one that holds both promise and danger. Here, Cassie discovers that she comes from a family of witches after losing her mother. She also finds out that she completes a ritual circle of six and, like it or not, she has powers that others have already made plans for.
A new crop of actors with flawless skin and perfect hair such as Thomas Dekker and Brittany Robertson (both above) will hope that their circle of fans can be as large as Diaries’.
Friends With Benefits
When: Currently available
Where: mio TV Season Pass, Channel 549
What: Beyond sharing a title with the Justin Timberlake-Mila Kunis romantic comedy, there does not seem to be anything linking the series to the film.
Unfortunately, the attractiveness quotient of the friends enjoying mutual benefits seems to be decidedly lower here. The cast includes Ryan Hansen (left), Danneel Ackles (far left), Jessica Lucas, Zach Cregger and Andre Holland. Who, you ask? Exactly. The show about friends in Chicago was canned in the US after 12 episodes, so don’t get too attached.
A Gifted Man
When: 2011
Where: AXN Beyond, StarHub Channel 525
What: Touched By An Angel meets Everwood as a self-absorbed and brilliant neurosurgeon Michael Holt (Patrick Wilson) learns to be gentler and kinder through visits from his dead ex-wife (Jennifer Ehle). Jonathan Demme (The Silence Of The Lambs, 1991) directed the pilot and is executive producer.
After belting out songs in Broadway musicals, Wilson left an impression in films as different as sex predator thriller Hard Candy (2005) and the dark drama Little Children (2006). Can he can make his surgeon role more complicated, and interesting?
Also worth noting is Julie Benz. She has made her supporting work count in Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel and Dexter, and plays Wilson’s onscreen supernatural-believing sibling.
I Hate My Teenage Daughter
When: From Dec 2
Where: mio TV Season Pass, Channel 736
What: The set-up of two divorced mothers raising their teenage daughters sounds like the makings of a generic sitcom.
But Jaime Pressly, so good at being nasty on My Name Is Earl (2005 to 2009), has comic verve as the mum with the ultra- conservative upbringing, Annie Watson. And she has an easy chemistry with fellow mum/best friend Nikki Miller, who is still haunted by her past as an unpopular girl. Nikki is played by Katie Finneran, who was in the brilliant and all-too-brief Wonderfalls (2004).
So far, the mothers are proving to be far more interesting than the bland and manipulative daughters played by Kristi Lauren and Aisha Dee. Keep the focus on Annie and Nikki and the show will be fine.
New Girl
When: From Oct 1
Where: Star World, StarHub Channel 501; Star World HD, StarHub Channel 555
What: A newly single Jess (Zooey Deschanel, far right) moves into an apartment with three single guys: (from left) Coach the former athlete (Damon Wayans Jr), Nick the bartender (Jake Johnson) and Schmidt the Casanova (Max Greenfield).
Deschanel’s kooky charm has served her well in films such as (500) Days Of Summer (2009) and she is also one-half
of the acclaimed music act She & Him.
She muscles in on her sister’s territory – Emily Deschanel in crime drama Bones. But since Zooey has guest-starred on Bones, bet on Emily to return the favour at some point, if New Girl is around long enough.
Once Upon A Time
When: From Oct 25 (mio), December (StarHub)
Where: mio TV Season Pass, Channel 734; and Star World, StarHub Channel 501; Star World HD, StarHub Channel 555
What: The world of fairy tales has lost its happily-ever-after. Characters such as Snow White (Big Love’s Ginnifer Goodwin, left) are now trapped in a town called Storybrooke where they have different identities and not an inkling of their storied past.
It is up to sceptical Emma Swan (House’s Jennifer Morrison) to break the curse of the evil queen and things are set in motion when a son (Jared Gilmore) she gave up for adoption turns up on her doorstep 10 years after the fact.
The set-up is long and laborious and seems quite dully serious when a lighter touch would have been nice.
Revenge
When: From today
Where: mio TV Season Pass, Channel 715
What: It is billed as an adaptation of the Alexandre Dumas novel The Count Of Monte Cristo. The key word missing here is “loose”.
Emily VanCamp (right) is Emily Thorne, a young woman vowing vengeance on the people who killed her father and destroyed her life. In the playground of the rich and powerful that is the Hamptons, Thorne schemes and plots to bring down Victoria Grayson (Madeleine Stowe, looking great at 53) and those close to her.
In Everwood (2002-2006) and Brothers & Sisters (2007-2010), VanCamp played a sensitive high-school student and a young woman dealing with family secrets. She now morphs into a cold-blooded instrument wreaking havoc and devastation. They sure do grow up quickly.
Suburgatory
When: From Sept 30
Where: mio TV Season Pass, Channel 729
What: Despite the terrible tongue-twisting clunker of a title, Suburgatory turned out to be a most promising series. Not since Wonderfalls (2004) and Dead Like Me (2003-2004) has there been such a mordantly funny young woman on television.
Sixteen-year-old Tessa (Jane Levy) has been forcibly transplanted to suburbia by her father George (Jeremy Sisto, left). Stuck in her own private purgatory, she copes by employing her cynical wit and an acid tongue.
Newcomer Levy is one to watch while Sisto gets to hang loose after his three-year stint on the sombre Law & Order.