MID-SEASON FORM
The reports of Peak TV’s death have been greatly exaggerated. In 2015, FX president John Landgraf coined the term Peak TV, suggesting we’d seen as big an influx of scripted TV shows as we ever would experience. But according to FX Research, 455 scripted o
EMERALD CITY (NBC, JAN. 6)
Director Tarsem Singh reimagines The Wizard of Oz, which, after a touch-and-go development phase, is finally ready to air. Now 20, Dorothy Gale (Adria Arjona) is swept up in a tornado and lands in a kingdom ruled by The Wizard (Vincent D’Onofrio), who has outlawed magic. What’s more, there’s a disaster looming. Toto, we’re not in … well, you know the rest.
PURE (CBC, JAN. 9)
Newly elected Mennonite pastor Noah Funk (Ryan Robbins) is hell-bent on clearing out the drug traffickers in his community, but he gets sucked into the operation when a Mob leader threatens his family. Noah then decides to secretly gather evidence to take down the organization. Peter Outerbridge, AJ Buckley and Rosie Perez also star.
WORKIN’ MOMS (CBC, JAN. 10)
Catherine Reitman is the creator and star of this comedy centred on four women who are trying to balance love, careers and parenthood. Dani Kind, Juno Rinaldi and Jessalyn Wanlim round out the quartet.
VICTORIA (PBS, JAN. 15)
PBS is airing Victoria in the time slot vacated by Downton Abbey, so you know the U.S. public broadcaster has royal expectations for it. Jenna Coleman (Doctor Who) stars as the young Queen Victoria in this period
drama under the Masterpiece banner. The eight-part series follows Victoria from the time she becomes queen at age 18 through to her marriage to Prince Albert.
CARDINAL (CTV, JAN. 25)
Cardinal takes flight! Cardinal is perched on the precipice of success! Take your pick of puns, but this homegrown series based on Giles Blunt’s award-winning John Cardinal novels has a lot going for it. Billy Campbell plays the lead detective who’s hunting down a serial killer in a small northern Ontario town. Karine Vanasse also stars as Cardinal’s new partner.
MARY KILLS PEOPLE (GLOBAL, JAN. 25)
Well, you can’t fault the title for being ambiguous. This six-part Canadian offering stars Caroline Dhavernas as a single mom and ER doctor who illegally assists patients who want to die on their own terms.
RIVERDALE (THE CW, JAN. 26)
The lead character in the Archie Comics may be 75 years old, but in this TV adaptation he’s as fresh-faced and adorably brooding as any other CW character. Riverdale takes a subversive twist on Archie and his friends, focusing on the darkness beneath a wholesome small town facade. It stars K.J. Apa as Archie, Cole Sprouse as Jughead, Camila Mendes as Veronica and Lili Reinhart as Betty.
TRAINING DAY (CBS, CTV, FEB. 2)
Yup, it’s a TV show based on a popular film. Shocking! This one reimagines the 2001 movie starring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke, and is set 15 years later in the guts of modern-day Los Angeles. Bill Paxton takes on Washington’s role as the crooked veteran detective, and Justin Cornwell takes Hawke’s role as his idealistic young partner.
POWERLESS (NBC, FEB. 2)
It’s the first comedy series set in the DC Comics universe. Emily Locke (Vanessa Hudgens) lands her dream job with Wayne Security, but the superheroes, baddies and regular ol’ folks who live in the city it serves are constantly fighting.
SUPERIOR DONUTS (CBS, FEB. 2)
Easily winning the tastiest title award, Superior Donuts stars Judd Hirsch as the owner of a Chicago doughnut shop and Jermaine Fowler as his employee. Superior’s superior cast also includes Katey Sagal, David Koechner and Maz Jobrani. It moves to its regular time slot on Feb. 6.
24: LEGACY (FOX, CITY, FEB. 5)
The clock starts ticking once again with this 24 spinoff, centred on war hero Eric Carter (Corey Hawkins) who returns to the U.S., bringing trouble along with him. Miranda Otto plays Rebecca Ingram, the former head of a revived Counter Terrorist Unit. Fox really, really wants you to watch 24: Legacy — the network is giving the premiere a juicy post-Super Bowl time-slot. The show moves to its regular time slot on Feb. 6.
BELLEVUE (CBC, FEB. 20)
Bellevue stars Anna Paquin as a cop who doesn’t fit in with her community. Things get even more touchy when a transgender teen goes missing. Allen Leech and Shawn Doyle co-star.
THE BLACKLIST: REDEMPTION (NBC, GLOBAL, FEB. 23)
This spinoff of The Blacklist revolves around Susan Scott (Scottie) Hargrave, the president of a private military company who leads teams of corporate operatives. Ryan Eggold pops up as Tom Keen, a character from the original series.
TAKEN (NBC, FEB. 27)
Based on the Taken trilogy of films headlined by Liam Neeson, this series is a prequel to the first movie. Clive Standen plays a young version of the steely jawed Bryan Mills, who’s faced with a personal tragedy and is bent on revenge. Jennifer Beals co-stars.
CHICAGO JUSTICE (NBC, GLOBAL, MARCH 5)
Oh, the spinoffs Chicago Fire hath wrought! This one, the fourth in the franchise, is a legal drama that follows prosecutors and investigators in the Windy City. Carl Weathers, Philip Winchester, Jon Seda, Monica Barbaro and Joelle Carter bolster the cast.