12 Monkeys
Terry Gilliam’s beloved sci-fi masterpiece has been developed for TV by Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett, who previously worked together on Nikita and Terra Nova. That sentence will probably dismay more people than it excites — never mess with the classics, etc — but it would be harsh to dismiss the series offhand. Gilliam’s film was itself an adaptation of La Jetée (a French short-film from 1962) and for television the basic premise appears to be intact.
Starts Jan 16th
The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore
Formerly known as The Minority Report, Wilmore’s new show will air Monday to Thursday, filling the slot previously occupied by The Colbert Report. He was brilliant as the “Senior Black Correspondent” on The Daily Show and the change of title here suggests a move away from racially based satire — which is probably going to make it broader and stronger. This should be a solid replacement for Colbert.
Starts Jan 19.
Marvel’s Agent Carter
The ever-expanding Marvel universe now includes this spin-off from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. with Hayley Atwell reprising her Agent Peggy Carter from the Captain America films. Set in 1946, Carter works for the covert Strategic Scientific Reserve and in a short, eight-episode run she’ll team up with Howard Stark (aka Iron an’s dad) in post-WW2 espionage, counterintelligence and arms-dealing antics.
Starts Jan 6.
Togetherness
The new comedy from the Duplass brothers finds two couples living under the same roof in Los Angeles. Mark Duplass, Melanie Lynskey, Steve Zissis, and Amanda Peet star in the eight-episode run, and while the trailer screams “rich, white-people problems” we’re hugely encouraged by the fact it’s on HBO, so it can be more adult and not have to pander to advertisers’ sensibilities. And it has the lovely Amanda Peet.
Starts Jan 11.