NEW YEAR USHERS IN NEW SHOWS
Drew Barrymore, Dwayne Johnson among the main attractions coming to the small screen in 2019
With the season of weepy movies and competitive home decorating behind us, TV outlets are about to bring back our favorite series and launch a few new ones. Here are a dozen premieres on the way in the coming weeks:
“THE MASKED SINGER,” FOX, JAN. 2: In this competition series hosted by Nick Cannon, celebrities in disguise perform songs for a panel of judges made up of Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy, Nicole Scherzinger and Robin Thicke, with the winner then unmasked.
“THE TITAN GAMES,” NBC, JAN. 3: Executive producer and host Dwayne Johnson continues to motivate audiences to reach their true potential in this 10-episode athletic competition, which tests not only the physical prowess of contestants in headto-head challenges, but also lets them prove their mental and emotional mettle. At stake is a grand prize of $100,000.
“AMERICA’S GOT TALENT: THE CHAMPIONS,” NBC, JAN. 7: This new iteration of the popular competition series brings together the best talent from the international “Got Talent” franchises to share their talents and vie in an Olympics-style event. Terry Crews is the host alongside regular “AGT” judges Simon Cowell, Mel B, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel.
“SCHOOLED,” ABC, JAN. 9: Set at William Penn Academy in the 1990s, this spinoff of “The Goldbergs” revolves around members of the school staff including such familiar faces as Principal Glascott (Tim Meadows), Coach Mellor (Bryan Callen) and Barry Goldberg’s old flame Lainey Lewis (AJ Michalka), the new music teacher. Brett Dier co-stars.
“FAM,” CBS, JAN. 10: After years on “The Vampire Diaries,” Nina Dobrev switches gears to comedy for her role as Clem, happy with a college professor fiance (Tone Bell) and his approving parents. When her loosecannon half-sister Shannon (Odessa Adlon) unexpectedly shows up, however, Clem invites her to move in.
“THE PASSAGE,” FOX, JAN. 14: Based on Justin Cronin’s best-selling trilogy, this thriller series focuses on a secret medical facility where scientists are experimenting with a dangerous virus that could lead to the cure for all disease but also has the potential to wipe out all human life. Saniyya Sidney and Mark-Paul Gosselaar star.
“ROSWELL, NEW MEXICO,” THE CW, JAN. 15: A young woman (Jeanine Mason, “Grey’s Anatomy”) moves back in with her father in the title town following a professional setback and reconnects with her high-school crush (Nathan Parsons, “The Originals”), only to discover he’s an extraterrestrial — and there are others like him — in this reboot of the 1999-2002 teen drama “Roswell.
“BLACK MONDAY,” SHOWTIME, JAN. 20: This scathing new comedy series wrings laughter out of bleak events as it revisits Oct. 19, 1987, when Wall Street suffered the worst stock market crash in its history. At its core, the show is a chronicle of how a brash group of outsiders wound up tanking the world’s largest financial system after taking on the blue-blood members of this old-boys club. Don Cheadle, Andrew Rannells and Regina Hall head the solid ensemble.
“THE WORLD’S BEST,” CBS, FEB. 3: From executive producers Mark Burnett (“Survivor”) and Mike Darnell (“American Idol”) comes this talent competition series that sees performers from all genres and areas of the world vying before a panel of experts and judges made up of James Corden, Drew Barrymore, RuPaul Charles and Faith Hill.
“PROVEN INNOCENT,” FOX, FEB. 15: In this new legal drama set inside a scrappy Chicago law firm, Madeline Scott (Rachelle Lefevre) and her team work tirelessly on behalf of innocents who were wrongfully convicted. Their work feels unusually personal for Madeline, who along with her brother (Riley Smith) was found guilty as a teenager in a sensational murder trial. Kelsey Grammer and Vincent Kartheiser co-star.
“THE ENEMY WITHIN,” NBC, FEB. 25: Jennifer Carpenter (“Dexter’’) returns to series TV as Erica Shepherd, who was a brilliant CIA operative before she did something that got her sentenced to life in prison. Much against his better judgment, FBI Agent Will Keaton (Morris Chestnut) is forced to rely on Erica to help him track down a deadly and elusive criminal she knows all too well.
“WHISKEY CAVALIER,” ABC, FEB. 27: Fan favorites Scott Foley (“Scandal”) and Lauren Cohan (“The Walking Dead”) team up in this promising action-driven dramedy as FBI super-agent Will Chase — whose codename gives this series its title — who is assigned to work with tough-as-nails CIA operative Francesca “Frankie” Trowbridge (Cohan). Together they lead a staff of gifted yet distinctly flawed spies who keep blurring personal and professional boundaries.