The Carrie Diaries
This year’s biggest shows are going into hibernation for a little while, as America gets prepared to welcome in a whole new batch of TV shows to their screens this January.
We’ve picked out the best and the brightest new hopes for the networks and given you the low down on what you can expect come premiere night.
The Carrie Diaries – The CW
The rumours surrounding a Sex In The City prequel have been kicking around ever since the main show finished in 2004, but only now is it becoming a reality.
Partially based off the book of the same name, the series is set to show us how Carrie became, well, Carrie Bradshaw, fashionista and columnist.
Starring AnnaSophia Robb as our favourite clothes horse, ex-Doctor Who companion Freema Agyeman along for company, the show will be a retro infused slice of all things Carrie, but we’ll have to see if it will be the perfect accompaniment to the main series.
Bates Motel – A&E
When it’s announced that Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore are coming to a TV drama, anticipation is going to be high. When you find out that it’s going to be in a prequel to the classic Alfred Hitchcock horror movie Psycho, then the pressure really starts to build.
Thankfully no relation to the terrible TV movie of the late 80s, Bates Motel will tell the history behind Hitchcock’s most famous villain.
Continuum – SyFy
Previously only available in Canada and the UK, America finally gets a hold of the time travelling cop show that set airings records when it first aired in its native snowy north.
Starring Hollywood star Rachel Nichols, the show sees her play Kiera, a no-nonsense cop from the year 2077 who finds herself teleported back to our time as she tries to chase down a terrorist cell that travels back to escape punishment.
The show’s real strengths are the balancing act it pulls off with the sci-fi, police procedural and character drama elements, making Continuum a really intriguing and unique cocktail.
Make sure you read our interview with Rachel right here.
The Following – FOX
Kevin Bacon may now be flogging phones and claiming he’s the centre of the universe, but FOX getting him on their channel is a massive deal.
Taking his first leading role on TV in years, Bacon plays FBI agent Ryan Hardy, who’s pulled back into the field to catch serial killer Joe Carroll after he escapes from death row. Not only that, but Carroll has been using the internet to create a cult of killers, who must now be stopped by Hardy.
While creator Kevin Williamson might be better known for making Dawson’s Creek and The Vampire Diaries, The Following sees him unleash his darker side, as it may just be one of the most terrifying and gruesome shows on American network TV.
Bacon’s given amazing back-up in the form of the always brilliant James Purefoy as the deranged killer, and with Kevin Williamson behind the wheel, we have massively bright hopes that we’re going to be scared witless by this pitch black horror-drama.
Red Widow – ABC
We love ourselves some Radha Mitchell, so seeing her come to TV is a welcome sight. Seeing her having to take on her husband’s role in a crime syndicate to protect her family sounds like a good time to us.
Based on the 2010 Dutch drama Penoza, and coming from the mind of Dexter producer and Twilight screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg, this drama looks to be the highlight of ABC’s new fleets of drama coming through this January. Which probably means the rating will be pants and it’ll get cancelled inside of a year like Last Resort did.
Deception – NBC
Deception sees Detective Joanna Locasto investigating the mysterious death of her old friend by infiltrating her wealthy family and trying to uncover the dark secrets that lead to the early demise of socialite Vivian Bowers.
A show constantly twisting and turning, Deception looks like one of the real highlights of the new clutch of American TV shows hitting the air Stateside next month and could be the perfect cure for our post Gossip Girl blues.
While we can only wait and see if these shows live up to their potential, hopefully one or two will stick around long enough to become our new TV addiction.
FemaleFirst Cameron Smith