January 7 marked the first day of the Winter 2020 Television Critics Association (TCA) Press Tour. For the next two weeks — at The Langham in Pasadena, CA — television networks and streaming services will be hosting panels presenting their returning and new programming, as well as programming in development and, even more exciting, programming statistics.
In this gallery, IndieWire will be keeping track of all of the announced new shows over the course of the 12-day Press Tour. Apple TV+ unveiled several of its upcoming programs during its Sunday TCA presentation, following up on The History Channel, Spectrum, YouTube, Oxygen, and Epix announcements of their new programming on Saturday:
Based on the first-person photo essay feature of the same name from Epic Magazine, “Little America” is a slice of life series that dramatizes real-life immigrant stories. The critically-acclaimed anthology series was renewed for a second season before it premiered.
“Home Before Dark” follows “a young girl who moves from Brooklyn to the small lakeside town her father left behind. While there, her dogged pursuit of the truth leads her to unearth a cold case that everyone in town, including her own father, tried hard to bury.” The series — created by Dana Fox and Dara Resnick — is inspired by the reporting of young investigative journalist Hilde Lysiak (played by Brooklynn Prince in the series).
This five-part documentary series “investigates the importance of TV as an intimate medium that has shaped the American conscience, and how the LGBTQ movement has shaped television,” which archival footage and interviews. It is narrated by Janet Mock, Margaret Cho, Asia Kate Dillon, Neil Patrick Harris, and Lena Waithe.
Co-created by Rob McElhenney and Megan Ganz, this comedy series “follows a team of video game developers as they navigate the challenges of running a popular video game.” At the TCA Press Tour, Apple TV+ announced that the series has been renewed for a second season.
This animated musical comedy from Loren Bouchard (“Bob’s Burgers”), Josh Gad (“Avenue 5”), and Nora Smith (“Bob’s Burgers”) centers on the Tillerman family, the caretakes of Central Park. “Owen, the park manager, and Paige, his journalist wife, raise their kids Molly and Cole in the world’s most famous park, while fending off a hotel heiress Bitsy Brandenham and her long suffering assistant Helen, who would love nothing more than to turn the park into condos.” The series’ voice cast includes Josh Gad, Leslie Odom, Jr., Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, Tituss Burgess, Daveed Diggs, and Stanley Tucci. “Central Park” is set to premiere sometime this summer.
“A reimagining of the original anthology series, each episode of ‘Amazing Stories’ will transport the audience to worlds of wonder through the lens of today’s most imaginative filmmakers, directors and writers.” Executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz (“Once Upon a Time”) serve as showrunners.
This documentary series — which will be part of the 2020 SXSW Film Festival lineup — offers a never-before-seen look inside the world’s most innovative homes. “Each episode in the nine-episode first season unveils the boundary-pushing imagination of the visionaries who dared to dream and build them.”
Rafe Spall and Esther Smith star in this eight-episode (each a half-hour) series. “‘Trying’ is a new comedy series about growing up, settling down and finding someone to love.” It is also Apple TV+’s first original series from the UK.
This 10-episode documentary series executive produced by Emmy Award winner R.J. Cutler is inspired by Apple’s “Dear Apple” spots. “’Dear…’ takes an inventive and cinematic approach to biographies of the most iconic figures in society today by using letters written by those whose lives have been changed through their work.”
Starring Chris Evans (who also executive produces) and Michelle Dockery, “Defending Jacob” is a limited series “that unfolds around a shocking crime that rocks a small Massachusetts town, and follows an Assistant District Attorney who finds himself torn between his sworn duty to uphold justice, and his unconditional love for his son.”
Spectrum Originals’ 10-episode “Manhunt: Deadly Games” anthology series will focus on the aftermath of a deadly terrorist attack at the 1996 Olympic Games as FBI agents hunt for serial bomber Eric Rudolph (Jack Huston). Meanwhile, accused man Richard Jewell (Cameron Britton) squares off against the FBI and news media to prove his innocence.
“Belgravia” will center on the secrets and scandals among London’s wealthy society in the 19th century. The series focuses on the Trenchard family, who accept an invitation to a ball on the eve of Waterloo, which sets in motion a series of events with long-lasting consequences. The limited series was created by Julian Fellowes (“Downton Abbey”).
Lifetime’s “The Clark Sisters: First Ladies Of Gospel” biopic will focus on the gospel group’s impact on the genre and explore the Clark sister’s origins. The series is executive produced by Missy Elliott, Queen Latifah, and Mary J. Blige.
Kim Kardashian’s upcoming documentary focuses on the celebrity’s efforts to free Americans she believes have been wronged by the criminal justice system. Kardashian has been using her platform to advocate for criminal justice reform for several years; in June 2018 she convinced the White House to grant Alice Marie Johnson clemency. Pictured: West at the 9th Annual WSJ. Magazine Innovator Awards in 2019.
The first episode of “Creators for Change” (which will air sometime in March) will follow former first lady Michelle Obama’s work for the Obama Foundation’s Girls Opportunity Alliance and will focus on teaching Vietnamese girls. The Vietnam special is the first installment in a series that will see various YouTube creators help young women throughout the world. Pictured: Obama speaks during an event for Obama Foundation in Malaysia in 2019.
“This is Paris” (premiering sometime in May) promises a behind-the-scenes look at the socialite’s life. Hilton said the filmmakers followed her for a year to create the project and said it would reveal things she had never publicly discussed about her life.
Described as a series about “three strangers who share an obsession with true crime and suddenly find themselves wrapped up in one,” it is co-created by Steve Martin and John Hoffman (“Grace & Frankie”), who will serve as executive producers alongside “This Is Us” creator Dan Fogelman.
This miniseries — based on the 2017 Celeste Ng novel of the same name — stars Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon and “follows the intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and an enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives.” Witherspoon plays the “picture-perfect” Elena Richardson, as Washington plays the “enigmatic” Mia Warren.
A co-production with the BBC, “Young People” is a 30-minute, 12-part of the Salley Rooney novel of the same name. “‘Normal People’ tracks the tender but complicated relationship of Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Connell (Paul Mescal) from the end of their school days in small-town west of Ireland to their undergraduate years at Trinity College.”
Zoë Kravitz stars in the television adaptation of the Nick Hornby novel of the same name. All 10 episodes of Hulu’s gender-swapped adaptation of “High Fidelity” will be available to stream on — appropriately — Valentine’s Day.
This four-part documentary series on Hillary Clinton promises to show “revealing moments from never-before-seen 2016 campaign footage alongside biographical chapters of Clinton’s life and seeks to examine how she became at once one of the most admired and vilified women in the world.” The documentary will feature interviews from Clinton herself, as well as her husband and former President Bill Clinton, daughter Chelsea Clinton, staff, friends, and journalists.
In this semi-anachronistic period piece from “The Favourite” screenwriter Tony McNamara, Elle Fanning as Catherine the Great. The miniseries chronicles the Russian Empress’ volatile relationship with her husband Peter (Nicholas Hoult), Emperor of Russia.
This eight-episode animated comedy “Rick & Morty’s” Justin Roiland (pictured) and Mike McMahan centers on a family of aliens that takes refuge in middle America.
This series from “Claws” creator Eliot Laurence takes place in an alternate version of present-day America. “The series is set in an alternate, present-day America where witches ended their persecution 300 years before by cutting a deal with the government to fight for their country.”
Freeform gave a series order to the Jessica Biel-produced “Last Summer,” written by Bert V. Royal. The series takes place over the course of three summers (1993-1995), switching perspectives between its two leads, Kate (Mika Abdalla) and Jeanette (Chiara Aurelia).
While the Freeform TCA Press Tour panel taking place the day after the premiere of Josh Thomas’ new series, news broke that there will be a special airing of the pilot on FX on Wednesday, January 22 (at 10 p.m. ET).
Narrated by Michelle Yeoh, this two-part natural history special uses high-specification drones, camera traps, and 4K technology to show viewers extremely up-close looks at creatures and wildlife in China.
Neil deGrasse Tyson will return to host the series, which will venture through both time and space, starting at the dawn of the universe and moving to a futuristic 2039 New York World’s Fair, before moving further into the future.
Nat Geo has ordered its second spin-off of “Life Before Zero,” for eight episodes set to premiere next year. “The spin-off will follow new individuals who, in a brave move, recently left their traditional lifestyle behind to face a challenging new world off the grid in the wilds of Alaska.”
Billed as “the first-ever, definitive and only authorized scripted limited series” on Franklin’s life, “Genius: Aretha” will feature a combination of archival footage of Franklin’s real-life performances (including songs like “I Knew You Were Waiting for Me” and “Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves”) and Tony, Emmy, and Grammy Award winner Cynthia Erivo performing songs from Franklin’s music catalogue.
The eight-episode series from Ava DuVernay follows the relationship of a couple — played by Xosha Roquemore (“The Mindy Project”) and Alano Miller (“Underground”) — over the span of five years, with each episode spanning a single day.
Set to premiere sometime in April, “Dragnificent!” stars beloved drag queens Alexis Michelle, BeBe Zahara Benet, Thorgy Thor, and Jujubee, as they give fans mega-makeovers into the queens of their dreams.
“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” is back! In this revival of the former ABC series, Jesse Tyler Ferguson serves as the new host. In addition to Ferguson, there will be special guests, such as Anthony Anderson, Derek Hough, Ty Pennington, LeAnn Rimes, OWN’s Laila Ali, Food Network’s Tyler Florence, and HGTV stars David Bromstad, Tamara Day, Tarek El Moussa, and Jasmine Roth.
“Who Killed Jeffrey Epstein?” is the first special in an anthology series (called “Who Killed…”) from ID.
“The case of Aaron Hernandez is, perhaps, one of the most stunning and perplexing criminal stories of this century,” said Henry Schleiff, Group President of Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, American Heroes Channel, and Destination America, in a press release. “Hernandez was in all ways, America’s golden boy, but this tragic case proves that no amount of money or fame can hide the true nature of a person.”
In a follow-up to the ID series “Twisted Sisters,” executive producer Khloé Kardashian is bringing the network “Twisted Love.” The six-part series features “tales of families, friends and lovers, and documents how at any moment, a trusted love can turn into a treacherous fate.”
This documentary explores the impact of three recent mass shootings — he Las Vegas Route 91 Harvest Music Festival, the Sutherland Springs Baptist Church in Texas, and the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida — on the survivors.
Created by and starring Jason Segel, this anthology drama follows “a group of ordinary people who stumble onto a puzzle hiding just behind the veil of everyday life.” Richard E. Grant, Sally Field, and Andre Benjamin also star.
This 10-episode “The Walking Dead” spin-off is set 10 years after the apocalypse. According to AMC, “‘The Walking Dead: World Beyond’ will feature two young female protagonists and focus on the first generation to come-of-age in the apocalypse as we know it. Some will become heroes. Some will become villains. In the end, all of them will be changed forever.”
The three-part drama “Quiz” is based on the real-life story of how Charles and Diana Ingram — played by Matthew Macfayden (“Succession”) and Sian Clifford (“Fleabag”) — attempted an “audacious heist” on the quiz show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” Michael Sheen also stars as TV presenter and “…Millionaire?” host Chris Tarrant.
Matt Berry stars as harden, drunkard Detective Inspector Eli Rabbit, in this British comedy about a group of Victorian-era detectives.
IFC is providing more of its critically-acclaimed sketch comedy series, with this one-hour special. The special will air this summer, which is, of course, months after the actual Black History Month (which is February, not a summer month). But as Blake Callaway, Executive Director of IFC and SundanceTV, said in a statement, “This one-hour spectacular will celebrate black excellence no matter what month it airs.”
This documentary narrated by Sandra Oh will tell the story of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas, three women “who embarked on lifelong journeys to live with humanity’s closest living relatives, the Great Apes.” “She Walks with Apes” will be the centerpiece of BBC America’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.
This new installment of the “Meerkat Manor” series is described as “a heartstring-tugging, dramatic tale of survival revolving around three families who are descendants of the legendary meerkat matriarch, Flower.” The series will consist of 13 30-minute episodes.
This series of short films will focus on “challenging and changing the perception of disability,” through six 15-minute long fictional monologues. The series — curated by Mat Fraser (“His Dark Materials”) — will be written, performed, and directed entirely by people with disabilities.
From the award-winning producers of “Planet Earth II” and narrated by Sir David Attenborough, “Seven Worlds, One Planet” tells the story of earth’s seven continents and how they shape the extraordinary animal behavior and biodiversity we see today. The series — which will begin with its Australia episode, in response to the wildfires — will premiere on BBC America, AMC, IFC, and SundanceTV.
“When a seemingly perfect and happy family is murdered by someone they know and trust, the small Scottish community they call home becomes torn apart with mistrust and suspicion as those closest to the family begin to question everything they thought they knew about their friends.” This four-part mini-series stars David Tennant (“Broadchurch”) and Cush Jumbo (“The Good Fight”) and will be available to stream sometime in April.
Nicole Kidman teams up with David E. Kelley once again, for this adaptation of the Jean Hanff Korelitz novel “You Should Have Known.” In “The Undoing,” Kidman and Hugh Grant star as a couple whose world is rocked by a catastrophic death.
Created by “Veep” creator Armando Iannucci and starring all-around comedy veteran Hugh Laurie, “Avenue 5” is “set in the future, mostly in space” onboard the titular Avenue 5 space ship. Laurie plays Ryan Clark, captain of the Avenue 5, who knows how to charm any passenger who takes up residency on his ship, even in major crisis time.
HBO’s miniseries adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same name stars Ben Mendelsohn and Jason Bateman, with Bateman also serving as an executive producer and director. In his review of the series, IndieWire’s Ben Travers wrote that “Richard Price and an excellent cast turn a very bad Stephen King book into a pretty good HBO series.”
At the TCA Press Tour, HBO announced its slate of new documentaries for the first half of 2020, which you can read more about here.
– “McMillion$” (February 3)
– “Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes” (February 11)
– “We Are the Dream: The Kids of the Oakland MLK Oratorical Fest” (February 18)
– “After Truth: Disinformation and the Cost of Fake News” (March)
– “Kill Chain: The Cyber War on America’s Elections” (March)
– “Atlanta Child Murders” (working title, April)
– “Autism: The Sequel” (April)
– “The Art of Political Murder” (April)
– “Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind” (May)
– “Welcome to Chechnya” (June)
– “Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn” (June)
– “Transhood” (June)
Based on the “Hot Ones” YouTube series from Complex Networks’ First We Feast, in “Hot Ones: The Game Show,” “host Sean Evans welcomes fans into the “Pepperdome” to compete against one another by answering trivia questions and eating increasing mouth-scorching hot wings for $25,000 and the chance to become Hot Ones legends.” The first season will comprise of 20 episodes, with each episode followed by an episode of “Hot Ones.”
Yes, this is a show about poop. “Tirdy Works” is “an unscripted sitcom set in a small rural town with four paved roads and a booming new business: arts and crafts created out of moose turds.” truTV announced at the TCA Press Tour that the show has been given this show a 10-episode order.
“Full Frontal With Samantha Bee” correspondent Amy Hoggart’s new series was originally ordered by TBS, but it has since moved to truTV. In the docu-style comedy series, the “under-qualified and over-confident Brit” Hoggart “attempts to untangle people’s everyday issues such as shame, revenge, anxiety, grief, and… Miami.”
After shuffling from TNT to TBS, and then back to TNT, the television adaptation of “Snowpiercer” finally has a premiere date. It’s also already been renewed for a second season.
This 10-episode unscripted series is described as a “social experiment,” determined to pull back the curtain on exotic wellness subculture via a three-week-long Costa Rica retreat “led by a colorful team of alternative healers.”
In this series created by and starring Nasim Pedrad, the “Saturday Night Live” alum plays a 14-year-old pubescent Persian boy, the titular Chad. “Chad” has a 10-episode order for its first season.
This eight-episode documentary series is set to go “behind the scenes of the extraordinary events created by Wolfgang Puck Catering and legendary restaurateur Wolfgang Puck.” Each episode is an hour-long and follows various members of Puck’s team as they work high-profile events.
In this three-part animated mini-series executive produced by “Aquaman” director James Wan, Aquaman is on his first day of the job as King of Atlantis… and he has a lot of work and catching up to do.
“The Uninhabitable Earth” is a climate change-focused anthology series, with Adam McKay serving as both writer and director. It is based on the magazine piece and book by New York Magazine columnist David Wallace-Wells and will examine possible futures brought on by specific actions or inaction in the face of the current climate crisis.
Created by Lena Waithe, “Twenties” is a half-hour comedy that “follows a queer black girl Hattie who is navigating her 20s with her two straight best friends.” Jonica T. Gibbs (“Good Trouble”) stars as Hattie.
Inspired by Awkwafina’s real-life experiences growing up in Flushing, Queens, “Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens” follows twentysomething Nora Lin (Awkwafina) as she attempts to find a purpose in her life and clumsily navigate her way through young adulthood. At the TCA Press Tour, Comedy Central announced that the series was renewed for a second season, ahead of its first season premiere.
Paramount Network has ordered “Yellowstone” co-creator Taylor Sheridan’s drama “Mayor of Kingstown” to series. “Set in a small Michigan town where the only industry remaining are federal, state, and private prisons, the story follows the McClusky family, the power brokers between the police, criminals, inmates, prison guards and politicians, in a city completely dependent on prisons and the prisoners they contain.”
“After 32 years of service, Border Patrol agent Ben Clemens finds himself helping people he has always tried to keep out of the United States.” Michael Chiklis stars as Ben Clemens in this series from Emmy Award-winning executive producer and director Michelle MacLaren (“Game of Thrones,” “Breaking Bad”).
Britbox has ordered this spin-off of its hit series “Father Brown” to series, starring Lorna Watson as the titular Sister Boniface (who appeared in the first season of “Father Brown”).
Starring Martin Freeman and Imelda Staunton, “A Confession” is about “divergent paths to justice for two women when the confession of a violent criminal is ruled inadmissible.” Based on a true story, Freeman stars as Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher, the man who is on the hunt for a missing 22-year-old woman named Sian O’Callaghan.
All six episodes of Rob Lowe’s fish-out-of-water British cop series are already available to stream on Britbox.
Jason Watkins (“Hold the Sunset,” “The Crown”) stars in this series about a pair of mismatched police detectives.
Ken Nwosu (“Killing Eve”) stars in this three-part psychological thriller about workplace bullying.
Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum are back together again for “Making the Cut,” their upcoming fashion competition series. How does this differ from “Project Runway”? “Each week, two episodes will debut and the winning look of each episode will be available for purchase (each look will go for under $100) immediately after the show on Amazon in 200 territories where the series will be available. The winner of the whole shebang will receive one million dollars to invest in their brand and the opportunity to create an exclusive line available on Amazon Fashion.”
Inspired by true events and starring Al Pacino and Logan Lerman, the series follows “a diverse band of Nazi Hunters living in 1977 New York City.” Jordan Peele executive produces the series, which was created by David Weil — who serves as executive producer and co-showrunner, alongside Nikki Toscano.
In this Cape Cod-set crime drama, Monica Raymund (“Chicago Fire”) stars as “Jackie Quiñones, a hard-partying National Marine Fisheries Service agent, who has her free-wheeling life thrown into disarray when she discovers a body on the beach – another casualty of Cape Cod’s opioid epidemic. To deal with the trauma, Jackie takes the first steps toward sobriety— until she becomes convinced it’s up to her to solve the murder.”
This eight-episode miniseries adaptation of the 2013 James McBride novel of the same name stars Ethan Hawke as 19th-century abolitionist John Brown.
With “Penny Dreadful: City of Angels,” original series creator and showrunner John Logan has changed the setting and focus from 19th-century London and Victorian-era public domain characters to 1938 Los Angeles and Mexican-American folklore. Currently in production in Los Angeles, the series stars Nathan Lane, Natalie Dormer, Daniel Zovatto, Kerry Bishé, Adriana Barraza, Michael Gladis, Jessica Garza, and Johnathan Nieves.
Showtime has revived the weekly magazine series from “Vice Media” and HBO, with a 13-episode season order.
From Emmy Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated documentarians Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady comes “Love Fraud.” This is a four-part docuseries — which will premiere at Sundance on January 23, the first time ever that a television series has screened on Day One of the festival — that “follows the search for Richard Scott Smith, who over the past two decades used the internet and his dubious charms to prey upon unsuspecting women in search of love — conning them out of their money and dignity.”
Emmy Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated documentarian Matthew Heineman directs “The Trade,” a four-part docuseries about “Central Americans on an odyssey to the United States (and others heading back home after being deported), while also delving into the shadow industries that prey on them at every step along the way.”
From “Homeland” creators Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon — alongside Emmy Award-winning director Greg Barker — comes a documentary about the effects of America’s involvement in Afghanistan since 9/11. “The documentary feature unfolds through the eyes of first-hand witnesses — a compelling cast of characters ranging from U.S. intelligence operatives, soldiers and their families, Afghan officials, journalists, top government and military officials — all of whom will bring their experiences to life through groundbreaking, emotional interviews.” “The Longest War” will premiere immediately after the penultimate episode of “Homeland.”
Emmy Award-winning director Lauren Greenfield’s documentary “The Kingmaker” looks at “the disturbing legacy of the Marcos regime in the Philippines, and chronicles Imelda’s present-day push to help her son, Bongbong, win the vice presidency”
Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Rick Rowley directs “Kingdom of Silence,” which will have a theatrical run before premiering on Showtime time year. The documentary is described as “a political thriller,” centered on “the complex relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia, and how the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi amplified entanglements between the two countries.”
Set 20 years after the events of the 2002 film “Star Trek: Nemesis,” “Star Trek: Picard” brings Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) back to the small screen. This is the he eighth television series in the “Star Trek” franchise.
In this new series from Academy Award-nominated writer Paul Attanasio (“Quiz Show,” “Donnie Brasco”), Emmy Award winner Edie Falco stars as Abigail “Tommy” Thomas, the first female Chief of Police for the LAPD.
A spin-off of Dick Wolf’s “FBI” (also on CBS), “FBI: Most Wanted” follows Julian McMahon’s Jess LaCroix, a seasoned FBI agent, and his team as they work as a mobile undercover unit to track and capture criminals on the Bureau’s Most Wanted list. On January 12, CBS put out a press release revealing that “FBI: Most Wanted” is the most-watched series premiere of the 2019-2020 season.
“‘Interrogation’ is a true-crime series based on a case that spanned more than 20 years, in which a young man was charged and convicted of brutally murdering his mother. After being sentenced to life in prison, he continued to fight to prove his innocence.” Starring Peter Sarsgaard, all 10 episodes of “Interrogation” will be released at once, with the promise that “viewers will see the day of the crime and then follow the evidence like a cold case detective, abandoning the linear narrative and determining their own investigative path by watching the episodes leading up to the finale in any order.”
Stephen Colbert and the co-creators of Showtime’s “Our Cartoon President” are teaming up once again for “Tooning Out the News.” The series will involve “short daily segments leading up to a weekly full episode that includes a cast of animated characters mocking news of the day, and interviewing real world guests and newsmakers.”
CBS All Access announced a new original docuseries from Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Richard Linklater, focusing on animal rescue in and around Linkater’s hometown of Austin, TX.
This “The Silence of the Lambs” sequel series comes from executive producers and writers Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet and will be set in 1993, a year after the events of the movie.
Created by Brad Neely (“China, IL”), this animated series from CBS All Access follows “an overconfident female head-of-a-household as she struggles to regain a higher status for herself, and for her family of oddballs, after losing her job and moving from the rich side to the poor side of an Arkansas small town. To save money, they’ve moved into their inherited Victorian fixer upper, the historic Harper House.”
“Indebted” stars Adam Pally and Abby Elliott as Dave and Rebecca, a couple whose attempt to start a new life after years of parenting is thwarted when Dave’s parents (played by Fran Drescher and Steven Weber) show up at their doorstep — broke and in need of a place to stay.
Based on the best-selling memoir by Bruce Feiler, “The Council of Dads: My Daughters, My Illness and the Men Who Could Be Me,” “Council of Dads” follows Scott Perry (Tom Everett Scott) after he gets a cancer diagnosis that could be terminal. Concerned about his daughters’ future without him, he and his wife Robin (Sarah Wayne Callies) recruit a few of their friends to function as a “council of dads,” father figures to their children.
Sam Esmail’s new anthology drama, “Briarpatch,” stars Rosario Dawson as Allegra Dill, “a no-nonsense professional who returns to her quirky hometown to solve her sister’s murder.”
USA Network is bringing “The Biggest Loser” back, with Bob Harper back as host. At the TCA Press Tour, Heather Olander (Senior VP of alternative series development and production, USA Network & Syfy) explained the benefits and challenges of rebooting a show like “The Biggest Loser”: “What’s great about both ‘Temptation Island’ and ‘The Biggest Loser’ is that they’re both well known formats, ‘The Biggest Loser’ even more so because it’s had 17 seasons. It does help in the marketplace, where it is very hard to launch new shows, having a built in familiarity with the title. The downside is that there’s a perception coming in of what the old versions might be and both shows have that. Times have changed, both those shows launched over a decade ago. Overcoming those is probably the challenge.”
At the Winter TCA Press Tour, NBC announced that it has ordered the 11-episode, single-camera sitcom “Young Rock” to series. The series comes from Nahnatchka Khan (“Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23,” “Fresh Off the Boat”) Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson himself, with Khan and Johnson serving as executive producers. The series will chronicle Johnson’s younger years, and Johnson will appear in all 11 episodes. Jeff Chiang, Dany Garcia of Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions, Hiram Garcia, Brian Gewirtz, and Jennifer Carreras will also executive produce.
This 10-part series from the producers of “Planet Earth” and “Blue Planet” is a “global event series” covering landscapes, wilderness, and creatures across the Americas. “The New World is a massive piece of four-quadrant commercial entertainment that has the capacity to capture the curiosity and minds of millions,” said Paul Telegdy, Chairman of NBC Entertainment.
Based on the Dark Horse comics series of the same name, in “Resident Alien,” Alan Tudyk stars as Harry, an alien that crash lands on Earth and has to pass himself off as a small-town human doctor. “Harry starts off living a simple life… but things get a bit rocky when he’s roped into solving a local murder and realizes he needs to assimilate into his new world. As he does so, he begins to wrestle with the moral dilemma of his secret mission and asking the big life questions like: ‘Are human beings worth saving?’ and ‘Why do they fold their pizza before eating it?'”
Syfy announced it’s developing a limited series about the group of misfit children who refused to grow up, set 10 years after the Lost Boys and Wendy Darling left Neverland. “Now grown up and estranged, Wendy Darling and The Lost Boys must return to Neverland to face a new evil that threatens the very existence of the magical place they once called home, reigniting bitter rivalries and unearthing twisted secrets from their past.”
The series focused on the horror character from the “Child’s Play” film franchise will have Don Mancini, creator of the franchise, serve as showrunner and executive producer.
This seven-episode British miniseries “World on Fire” (under PBS’ “Masterpiece” banner) follows the hidden lives of ordinary people — from British, Poland, France, Germany, and the United States — during World War II. Helen Hunt, Sean Bean, Lesley Manville, Blake Harrison, and Jonah Hauer-King star.
A two-part biography on the life and presidency of George W. Bush, written, directed, and produced by Barak Goodman (“American Experience – Oklahoma City,” “American Experience – My Lai,” “American Experience – Clinton”).
In “One Child Nation,” filmmaker Nanfu Wang seeks out to tell and uncover the “the untold history of China’s One-Child policy.” One-part investigative report, one-part family history, this documentary won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance.
“Told through individual lives and personal histories, the series will cast a new lens on the dramatic transformation of the United States since the mid-19th century, and the role Asian Americans have played in shaping that history.” The five-part docuseries premieres in May of 2020.
This new 10-episode series follows explorer and naturalist Steve Backshall as he travels to and explores uncharted territories around the word. From unclimbed peaks to unexplored caves.
This episode of “Nova” will take a look at the partnership between Cuba and the United States in lung cancer treatment and vaccines.
This edition of “Great Performances” presents the television and streaming premiere of the play “Gloria: A Life,” starring Christine Lahti as Gloria Steinem. From PBS’ website: “The play features an all-women cast playing both male and female roles. Act one focuses on Steinem’s life and path to activism. Act two consists of a “talking circle” with the audience to discuss the play’s themes, moderated by Gloria Steinem herself.”
The broadcast premiere of Stanley Nelson’s Grammy Award-winning documentary, “Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool” features full access to the Miles Davis Estate, never-before-seen footage, and interviews with Quincy Jones, Carlos Santana, Clive Davis, Wayne Shorter, Davis’s son Erin Davis and nephew Vince Wilburn, among others.
Written by and starring Holland Taylor, “Ann” is a play about Ann Richards, late Governor of Texas.
This documentary from Sarah Burns and David McMahon — directed by Ken Burns — takes a look at the public housing project East Lake Meadows, opened by the Atlanta Housing Authority in 1970 and demolished in the mid-1990s. During its time, East Lake Meadows was known as “little Vietnam.”
In this two-hour film, PBS’ “Frontline” investigates Jeff Bezos and how he created the empire known as Amazon.
This four-part docuseries is based on The New York Times bestseller of the same name by Gary L. Stewart, who claims his father was the Zodiac Killer.
Ordered to series back in the fall of 2018, “Breeders” is a parental comedy starring Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard. The official trailer for the series dropped on Thursday, January 9, the day of the FX Winter TCA Press Tour panel.
FXX describes the upcoming “Dave” as “the comedy series about a neurotic man who is convinced he’s destined to be one of the best rappers of all time.” The series is based on the life story of comedian-rapper Dave “Lil Dicky” Burd, who stars in the series and co-created it with Jeff Schaffer (“The League”).
This nine-episode limited series stars Cate Blanchett and “tells the true story of the movement to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, and the unexpected backlash led by a conservative woman named Phyllis Schlafly, played by Blanchett.”
Created by Alex Garland (“Ex Machina,” “Annihilation”), “Devs” is an eight-episode limited series. (As Garland said at New York Comic-Con in 2019, “I was really interested to know what it would be like to have closer to eight hours to tell a story rather than two.”) “Devs” follows a software engineer (Sonoya Mizuno) who — in an attempt to solve her boyfriend’s murder — ends up investigating her employer (Nick Offerman) and his company’s secretive development division.
A legal drama that follows Aaron Wallace (Nicholas Pinnock), a prisoner who becomes a lawyer while behind bars; Wallace serves as legal representation for his fellow inmates while working to overturn his life sentence for a crime he didn’t commit. The series, executive produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, was inspired by the life of Isaac Wright Jr. “For me, it was important to grab an essence of who he was. The way he deals with things, his composure, his level-headedness, his steady demeanor was something I felt was important to capture for the role,” Pinnock said on Wednesday.
A family sitcom following the trials and tribulations of Jo (Christina Vidal) and Bill (Will Sasso), parents of two young kids who try to make it day-to-day as a functioning family. Bill’s very judgmental live-in mother and Jo’s large, Latinx Catholic family are at odds with Jo and Bill, but the duo have each other’s backs, even if it means they are united against everyone else.
Romantic comedy “The Baker and the Beauty” will follow the love story of a humble and baker (Victor Rasuk) and an international superstar (Nathalie Kelley). Rasuk’s character is a conformist but his life is changed when he meet’s Kelley’s character during a wild Miami night, and the duo’s unlikely relationship is put to the test due to their differing backgrounds. The show is adapted from the hit Israeli series “Beauty and the Baker.”
Mel Brooks is producing ABC’s next live musical, which will be based on his “Young Frankenstein” Broadway musical and 1974 comedy film. The “Young Frankenstein” announcement – and ABC’s renewed focus on live programming – comes several months after the ratings success of ABC’s “The Little Mermaid: Live!” musical. Casting has yet to be announced.
Fox has ordered a stop-motion holiday special from Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, the Emmy Award-winning company founded by Seth Green, John Harvatine IV, Matthew Senreich, and Eric Towner. The special will premiere next winter, as part of the network’s “Not So Silent Nights” holiday-themed programming, and will be written by Emmy Award winner Tom Root (“Robot Chicken”).
Executive produced by Ellen DeGeneres — and inspired by a “Masked Singer”-inspired segment on her own talk show — “The Masked Dancer” will feature celebrity contestants performing unique dances, while covered from head-to-toe in elaborate costumes and face masks, leaving audiences to guess their identities.
John Slattery stars in Manny Coto’s (“24,” “Dexter”) tale of the nightmare that is A.I., Fox’s upcoming “neXt.” According to Coto, “It’s a manhunt without a man with a ticking clock that isn’t sure either, but this thing gets exponentially smarter.”
The first spin-off series from Fox hit “9-1-1,” this Rob Lowe vehicle premieres with a two-night special event beginning Sunday, January 19, following the NFC Championship Game, and continuing with its time period premiere on Monday, January 20 at 8 PM ET.
Maggie Lawson and Jason Biggs star in “Outmatched,” a sitcom featuring an average couple attempting to raise their three genius children with some level of normalcy.
As Fox describes the series: “Filthy Rich” is “a southern Gothic family drama in which wealth, power and religion intersect – more correctly, collide – with outrageously soapy results.” Kim Cattrall stars in this series, developed by Tate Taylor (“The Help,” “Girl on the Train”) and based on a New Zealand series of the same name.
Timing-wise, Winter TCA Press Tour came a week after the series premiere of “Deputy” but two days before the second episode. So it’s still got that brand new show smell. Stephen Dorff stars in this modern Western cop drama, as a fifth-generation lawman who becomes L.A. County Sheriff due to an arcane rule from the Wild West days.
