I do enjoy that the loglines HBO provided for Avenue 5 and The Outsider are succinct and to the point while the one for The New Pope was like seven paragraphs.
Freeform
Party of Five
The series follows the five Acosta children as they navigate daily struggles after their parents are deported back to Mexico. Until they find a way to get their parents back in the country, these five kids will have to find a way to make it on their own.
Starring: Brandon Larracuente, Emily Tosta, Niko Guardado, Elle Paris Legaspi, Bruno Bichir, Fernanda Urrejola
Quick Impressions: As other networks have sort of abandoned the family drama, I’m glad Freeform is picking up the slack. This seems like it will be hard to watch for the first couple of episodes but ultimately worth it. I never watched the original show but this reboot is created and run by the same creators. I’m curious to see if this works.
Premieres January 8th
Everything’s Gonna Be Okay
The series follows Nicholas, a neurotic twenty-something-year-old visiting his dad and teenage half-sisters, one of whom is on the autism spectrum. When Nicholas’ trip is extended due to his father’s untimely death, the siblings are left to cope with not only a devastating loss, but also the realization that Nicholas is the one who will have to rise to the occasion, move in, and hold it all together.
Starring: Josh Thomas, Kayla Cromer, Maeve Press, Adam Faison
Premieres January 16th
HBO
The Outsider
Based on Stephen King’s bestselling novel of the same name, the show begins with a seemingly straightforward investigation into the gruesome murder of a young boy. But when an insidious supernatural force edges its way into the case, it leads a seasoned cop and an unorthodox investigator to question everything they believe in.
Starring: Ben Mendelsohn, Cynthia Erivo, Jason Bateman, Bill Camp, Mare Winningham, Paddy Considine, Julianne Nicholson, Yul Vázquez, Jeremy Bobb, Marc Menchaca, Hettienne Park, Michael Esper, Derek Cecil, Max Beesley
Premieres January 12th
The New Pope
The series picks up where The Young Pope left off, with Lenny Belardo, known as Pope Pius XIII, in a coma. Following an unpredictable and mysterious turn of events, Secretary of State Voiello succeeds in having Sir John Brannox, a charming and sophisticated moderate English aristocrat, placed on the papal throne, adopting the name John Paul III. The new pope seems ideal, but he conceals secrets and has a certain fragility, and Voiello immediately understands that it will not be easy to replace the charismatic Pius XIII. Hanging between life and death, Lenny Belardo has become a Saint, with thousands now idolizing him, fueling the contrast between fundamentalisms. Meanwhile, the Church is under attack from external threats and scandals striking the symbols of Christianity and risking irreversibly devastating the hierarchies. As always, however, in the Vatican, nothing is what it seems. Good and evil proceed arm-in-arm towards history, and to reach the showdown, we must wait for the events to take their course.
Starring: John Malkovich, Jude Law, Silvio Orlando, Javier Cámara, Cécile de France, Ludivine Sagnier, J. David Hinze, Sharon Stone, Marilyn Manson, Mark Ivanir, Maurizio Lombardi, Antonio Petrocelli, Henry Goodman, Ulrich Thomsen, Massimo Ghini, Yuliya Snigir
Premieres January 13th
Avenue 5
Set 40 years in the future, Avenue 5 follows the captain and crew of a luxury space cruise ship as they navigate disgruntled passengers and unexpected events after experiencing technical difficulties onboard.
Starring: Hugh Laurie, Suzy Nakamura, Rebecca Front, Zach Woods, Josh Gad, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Lenora Crichlow, Ethan Phillips, Himesh Patel
Quick Impressions: Woo! New Iannucci show! And just in time because I’ve run all my Death of Stalin gifs into the ground.
Premieres January 19th
PBS
Sanditon
An eight-part period-drama adaptation of Jane Austen’s final novel, written only months before her death in 1817. The story follows Charlotte Heywood as she moves to the quiet fishing village of Sanditon for a fresh start, only to meet Sidney Parker, a charming man who has ambitions to turn the tranquil seaside residence into a luxury resort.
Starring: Rose Williams, Theo James, Kate Ashfield, Crystal Clarke, Turlough Convery, Jack Fox, Kris Marshall
Quick Impressions: The interesting thing about Sanditon is that Jane Austen never finished it. So whoever adapts it (in this case, Andrew Davies who wrote the Colin Firth Pride and Prejudice), gets to create their own ending.
*whispers*
I would have Charlotte Heywood turn out to be Cthulhu.
Premieres January 12th
Vienna Blood
In 1900s Vienna, a hotbed of philosophy, science and art, a student of Sigmund Freud and an Austrian detective team up to solve some of the most mysterious and deadly cases in early 1900s Vienna.
Starring: Matthew Beard, Jürgen Maurer, Luise von Finckh, Jessica de Gouw, Amelia Bullmore, Conleth Hill, Charlene McKenna, Oliver Stokowski, Raphael von Bargen, Simon Hatzl, Josef Ellers, Harald Windisch
Premieres January 19th
Comedy Central
Awkwafina is Nora From Queens
Raised by her Dad and Grandma alongside her cousin, Nora Lin leans on her family as she navigates life and young adulthood in outer borough-NYC.
Starring: Awkwafina, BD Wong, Lori Tann Chinn, Bowen Yang
Premieres January 22nd
Paramount
68 Whiskey
Army medics are deployed to a base in Afghanistan nicknamed “The Orphanage”; together, they endure a dangerous world that leads to self-destructive appetites, outrageous behavior, intense camaraderie and, occasionally, a profound sense of purpose.
Starring: Sam Keeley, Gage Golightly, Cristina Rodlo, Jeremy Tardy, Nicholas Coombe, Derek Theler, Beth Riesgraf, Lamont Thompson
Premieres January 15th
Bravo
Spy Games
Inspired by the World War II government program known as Station S, where civilians were recruited to a remote estate and trained to be spies, 10 daring individuals from all walks of life and from all over the country will put their physical and mental strength to the test to see if they have what it takes to master the art of espionage. Pushed to their limits by tests and challenges designed by three “Assessors”, the competitors will not only live together, but they will also be tasked with gathering intel on their fellow players. The winning contestant will go home with $100,000.
Starring: Mia Kang, Douglas Laux, Evy Poumpouras, Erroll Southers
Quick Impressions: I saw an ad during Project Runway and one of the trainers was bragging about how he broke laws in every single country during his spy days which…feels like something you shouldn’t say on television?
Premieres January 20th