Must See TV: most anticipated series of 2015

must see tv

Instep takes a look at some of the most promising new television series coming out this year

Daredevil

As enjoyable as their output has been so far, we are dangerously close to having a Marvel overdose. Along with the Marvel movies that are being released this summer (Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man), we are also getting a couple of television series from the same universe. Luckily, there is little reason to start complaining just yet – the upcoming projects really do seem quite promising.

Making its way to television (or the web to be precise, as it’s a Netflix series) this May is the small screen venture of the superhero Daredevil, a lawyer who fights crime at night using his senses that were heightened after he was blinded as a young boy. The series will supposedly be similar in tone to The Wire, and stars the (quite awesome) Charlie Cox as the masked vigilante.

Agent Carter

Joining Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the ABC line-up is Marvel’s Agent Carter, giving the Captain America spy Peggy Carter her own spinoff this January. We return to the 1940s, where we find Peggy (Hayley Atwell) trying to make a place for herself in a male-dominated world while grieving the apparent death of Steve Rogers. The early response to previews suggests that the show has learned from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s initial missteps, and could take us on some exciting adventures starting this week.

Better Call Saul

The delay in the release of Better Call Saul has made “coming soon” the two most exasperating words in the English language. Now, after much wait, the 10-episode first season of the Breaking Bad spinoff prequel is finally commencing this February. The series is set six years before lawyer Saul Goodman (the delightful Bob Odenkirk) got sucked into Walter White’s world. Even though we’ve known Saul (whose real name is Jimmy McGill) for years, we don’t really know much about his life. Better Call Saul is set to change that, and we can’t wait to find out more about our favourite shady lawyer. (The fact that AMC has already ordered a second season is a very promising sign.)

Battle Creek

There just aren’t enough cop dramas on television, said no one ever. But before you write off Battle Creek as just another police procedural, you might want to consider the fact that it was created by the men who also gave us Breaking Bad and House! The snarky series (which comes to CBS in March) is the brainchild of Vince Gilligan and David Shore, and stars Josh Duhamel and Dean Winters. The show will follow the story of a mismatched pair of detectives, as the police competes with the FBI in Battle Creek, Michigan. Ok, so the premise might not scream “promising!” but the fact that Vince Gilligan has something to do with its existence fills us with hope; just please don’t remind us that he also co-wrote Hancock.

Cobalt

What do you do when you have the most-watched drama series in the history of cable television? You make a spin-off, of course. AMC has announced that The Walking Dead is getting a companion series that will take place during the same zombie apocalypse but will be set in a different location and focus on a different set of characters. Details are scant, but rumour has it that the series is tentatively titled Cobalt (whether or not the title makes it past the development stage remains to be seen) and it may (or may not) premiere this year.

The Odd Couple

Matthew Perry hasn’t exactly been very lucky with his post-Friends television ventures. Maybe third time will be the charm for the actor as he makes what will be the third television series based on Neil Simon’s play The Odd Couple. Perry and Thomas Lennon portray the titular duo who end up having to share an apartment despite their differences. CBS seems to have more faith in the idea than we do, as the sitcom has been given a very coveted slot: it will premiere right after the series finale of Two and a Half Men, and will take its position for the remainder of the season. Let’s hope for Matthew Perry’s sake that this one makes it past the first season (although for our own sake, maybe it shouldn’t).

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Two words: Tina Fey. Or ok, that’s technically one name, but you know what we’re getting at. Tina Fey is all kinds of awesome, and we can’t help but get excited that the reigning queen of comedy is behind this Netflix sitcom. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt will star Ellie Kemper as “a woman who escapes from a doomsday cult and starts life over in New York”, and its first season will make its debut in March.

The Last Man on Earth

How exactly do you make a whole series based around the premise that the human race is down to one last survivor? We will find out this March when The Last Man on Earth kicks off. The single-camera comedy finds Phil Miller (Will Forte), the last human in the world after the entire population of Earth is wiped out, looking for signs of any other person alive on the planet. He, of course, won’t object if the fellow survivor turns out to be female. Created, written, and starring the lovely Will Forte, The Last Man on Earth has a very interesting premise, and we are eager to see how things will fare for humanity’s last hope.

The Comedians

Veteran comedian Billy Crystal pairs with younger comedian Josh Gad for a comedy series about a superstar veteran comedian who reluctantly pairs with a younger, edgier comedian for a late-night comedy sketch show. Totally meta, right? FX aims to start airing the series this spring.

iZombie

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if Veronica Mars was a zombie? Of course you haven’t because that would be a very weird thing to think about, but you’ll still get the answer to that bizarre query when iZombie starts airing on The CW this May. Not to be outdone by the Marvel onslaught, DC is also bringing one of its comic book series to televisual life with this show, which revolves around a medical resident (Rose McIver) who is unexpectedly turned into a zombie, gaining the power to get the memories from the brains she eats which she then uses to help solve homicide mysteries. Expect witty banter amidst supernatural creepiness.

Also on our radar: the TV remake of the 1995 film 12 Monkeys; Backstrom, the adaptation of Leif G. W. Persson’s novels starring Rainn Wilson; the music business drama Empire; Cameron Crowe’s Roadies that revolves around the life of a band’s road crew; sci-fi thriller Westworld; the adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods; the new Ryan Murphy comedy horror series Scream Queens; the Duplass brothers’ sitcom Togetherness; the Heroes revival, Heroes: Reborn; and an Untitled HBO Rock ‘N’ Roll Project that is expected to air this year.

- By Sameen Amer

Instep Today, The News - 7th January, 2015 *