ABC
Results of the Annual Upfront Presentations
Last week the annual upfront presentations were made to the advertisers in New York by the major networks where they announced their official fall schedules, including the renewals, pick-ups and cancellations for each network. With those announcements made, I wanted to take some time to review all the changes that are to come in the fall.
First, here is the list of all of the dramas from the 2013-2014 TV season that were cancelled (listed alphabetically by each network):
ABC:
Betrayal
Killer Women
Lucky 7
Mind Games
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland
The Assets
CBS:
Hostages
Intelligence
FOX:
Almost Human
Rake
NBC:
Believe
Crisis
Dracula
Ironside
Revolution
The CW:
Star-Crossed
The Carrie Diaries
The Tomorrow People
Then there are all of the dramas that will be coming back for another season this coming fall:
ABC:
Castle
Grey’s Anatomy
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Nashville
Once Upon a Time
Resurrection
Revenge
Scandal
CBS:
Blue Bloods
Criminal Minds
CSI
Elementary
Hawaii Five-0
NCIS
NCIS: Los Angeles
Person of Interest
The Good Wife
The Mentalist
FOX:
Bones
Glee (Final Season)
Sleepy Hollow
The Following
NBC:
Chicago Fire
Chicago PD
Grimm
Hannibal
Law & Order: SVU
Parenthood
The Blacklist
The CW:
Arrow
Beauty And the Beast
Hart of Dixie
Reign
Supernatural
The 100
The Originals
The Vampire Diaries
Lastly, the following long list includes all of the new dramas that were picked up by the major networks, featuring a brief description of each, a list of the cast members and the time slot for which each show will air.
FALL DRAMAS (in alphabetical order by series name):
Constantine
John Constantine is an occult specialist, who is armed with a ferocious knowledge of the dark arts and a wickedly naughty wit; but when the daughter of one of his oldest friends is targeted by demons, he will step into the fray to protect her at any cost. The cast includes Matt Ryan (Criminal Minds), Lucy Griffiths (True Blood and Robin Hood) and Harold Perrineau (Lost).
Time Slot: Fridays at 10 PM on NBC
Forever: Ioan Gruffudd (Ringer and the Fantastic Four franchise) will star as Dr. Henry Morgan, New York City’s star medical examiner, who has a secret. He can solve impossible criminal cases, but not his own inexplicable immortality. The cast includes Alana De La Garza from Law & Order and veteran actor Judd Hirsch.
Time Slot: Tuesdays at 10 PM on ABC.
Gotham
This series takes a look at James Gordon when he was still a rookie detective on the Gotham City police force when he meets a young Bruce Wayne after the tragic murder of his parents and a cast of characters who go on to eventually become Catwoman, The Penguin, The Riddler, Two-Face, Poison Ivy and The Joker. The cast includes Ben McKenzie (Southland), Donal Logue (Terriers and Vikings), Jada Pinkett Smith (The Matrix franchise), David Mazouz (Touch) and Sean Pertwee (Elementary and Dog Soldiers).
Time Slot: Mondays at 8 PM on FOX.
Gracepoint
This is the Americanized version of the BBC series Broadchurch about the police investigation in a small California seaside town surrounding the death of pre-teen boy. The cast includes David Tennant (Doctor Who and the star of Broadchurch), Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad), veteran actor Nick Nolte, Michael Pena (Shooter and End of Watch) and Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook).
Time Slot: Thursdays at 9 PM on FOX
How To Get Away With Murder: Viola Davis (The Help) plays Annalise Keating, a brilliant, charismatic and seductive professor who gets entangled with four of her law students. The cast includes Aja Naomi King (Emily Owens, MD), Billy Brown (Hostages), Jack Falahee (Twisted), Katie Findlay (The Carrie Diaries), Liza Weil (Gilmore Girls and Scandal), Charlie Weber (Buffy, the Vampire Slayer) and Tom Verica (American Dreams).
Time Slot: Thursdays at 10 PM on ABC
Jane the Virgin
Twentysomething Jane Villanueva was convinced of two things throughout her life by her very conservative grandmother: telenovelas are the highest form of entertainment and women must protect their virginity at all costs. But when she is accidently inseminated during a routine medical check-up, ending up pregnant in the process, Jane’s life is about to be very different than what she planned. The cast includes Gina Rodriguez (The Bold and the Beautiful), Justin Baldoni (Single Ladies and Everwood), Brett Bier (Ravenswood), Yael Grobglas (Reign) and Ivonne Coll (Switched at Birth).
Time Slot: Mondays at 9 PM on The CW
Madam Secretary
Elizabeth McCord is a former CIA analyst who left the agency for ethical reasons, but is brought back into the government as the new Secretary of State. The cast includes Téa Leoni (The Naked Truth and Fun with Dick and Jane), Bebe Neuwirth (Frasier), Geoffrey Arend (Body of Proof) and Tim Daly (Private Practice).
Time Slot: Sundays at 8 PM on CBS
NCIS: New Orleans
Another spin-off series that will focus on the local field office that investigates criminal cases affecting military personnel in the Big Easy. The cast includes Scott Bakula (Quantum Leap), CCH Pounder (Warehouse 13), Zoe McLellan (Dirty Sexy Money) and Lucas Black (Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift.
Time Slot: Tuesdays at 9 PM on CBS
Red Band Society
This drama takes a look at the lives of a group of teenagers living in a hospital that serves as their high school, boarding school and summer camp all rolled into one. A place where they fall in love and make friendships that last a lifetime and the doctors and nurses who tend to them. The cast includes Oscar winner Octavia Spencer (The Help), Dave Annable (Brothers & Sisters), Wilson Cruz (My So-Called Life) and Thomas Ian Nicholas (American Pie franchise).
Time Slot: Wednesdays at 9 PM on FOX
Scorpion
Walter O’Brien (Elyes Gable from Body of Proof) is a young but eccentric genius who with his team of brilliant misfits comprise the last line of defense against complex high-tech threats of the modern age. The cast includes Robert Patrick (The Unit), Katharine McPhee (Smash) and Eddie Kaye Thomas (American Pie franchise).
Time Slot: Mondays at 9 PM on CBS
Stalker
This is a psychological thriller about detectives who investigate stalking incidents, including voyeurism, cyber harassment and romantic fixation for the Threat Assessment Unit of the Los Angeles Police Department. The cast includes Maggie Q (Nikita), Dylan McDemott (American Horror Story) and Mariana Klaveno (True Blood and Devious Maids).
Time Slot: Wednesdays at 10 PM on CBS
State of Affairs
Charleston “Charlie” Tucker is one of the CIA’s top analysts, who assembles the President’s Daily Briefings, a list of the most vital security issues facing the nation every day. Charlie walks a political minefield while having a personal relationship with POTUS because she was once engaged to the President’s son, who was killed during a terrorist attack. The cast includes Katherine Heigl (Grey’s Anatomy), Alfre Woodard (Desperate Housewives), Leslie Odom, Jr. (Smash and Person of Interest) and Adam Kaufman (Without a Trace).
Time Slot: Mondays at 10 PM on NBC (starting November 17)
The Flash
After a devastating explosion that causes a freak storm, Barry Allen is struck by lightning, awakening nine months later with the power of speed, turning him into The Flash, a “meta-human” who uses his obsession with science and his job as a CSI investigator, to protect the innocent. The cast includes Grant Gustin (Glee and Arrow), Danielle Panabaker (Necessary Roughness), Tom Cavanagh (Ed), Jesse L. Martin (Law & Order) and Rick Cosnett (The Vampire Diaries).
Time Slot: Tuesdays at 8 PM on The CW
The Mysteries of Laura
Laura Diamond is a brilliant NYPD homicide detective who balances her job with a crazy family life that includes two unruly twin boys and a soon-to-be ex-husband who just can’t get his act together let alone sign the divorce papers. The cast includes Debra Messing (Will & Grace), Josh Lucas (The Firm and Sweet Home Alabama), Laz Alonso (Breakout Kings) and Janina Gavankar (Arrow and True Blood).
Time Slot: Wednesdays at 8 PM on NBC.
MID-SEASON DRAMAS (in alphabetical order by series name):
Allegiance – This NBC drama is about an idealist CIA analyst who learns a shocking secret about his close-knit, affluent family: They are actually covert Russian spies.
American Crime – This ABC drama looks at a fatal home invasion attack and the racial divides between the victims and the presumed perpetuators.
Aquarius – This NBC period piece drama will star David Duchovny (Californication and The X-Files) as a Los Angeles police Sergeant who looks into the disappearance of a daughter of a respected lawyer.
Backstrom – This FOX drama focuses on offensive, irascible, unhealthy but brilliant detective Everett Backstrom.
Battle Creek – The CBS drama about two mismatched cops that will star Josh Duhamel (Las Vegas and Transformers franchise) and Dean Winters (Law & Order: SVU and 30 Rock).
CSI: Cyber – The CBS spin-off that will star Patricia Arquette (Medium) as the head of the Cyber Crime Division of the FBI.
Emerald City – The NBC drama that will take a different look at Dorothy Gale and the land of Oz.
Empire – This FOX drama focuses on former street thug turned CEO of Empire Entertainment Lucious Lyon, a man diagnosed with a fatal disease that will take his live in a matter of three years and his pursuit to find and groom his replacement.
Heroes: Reborn – The NBC reboot of the breakout series that will reconnect with the basic elements of the show’s successful first season where ordinary people wake up to the fact they have extraordinary abilities.
Hieroglyph – The FOX drama that will be set in the world of ancient Egypt, centering around a master thief who is plucked from prison by the Pharaoh to track down a dangerous scroll.
iZombie – The CW introduces you to Liv, a one-time very much alive medical resident who ends up as one of the undead after attending a party that unexpectedly turned into a zombie feeding frenzy.
Marvel’s Agent Carter – This ABC series will follow Peggy Carter in 1946 as she is marginalized at work when the men begin returning home from fighting abroad all the while working for the covert Strategic Scientific Reserve and dealing with the loss of the love of her life: Steve Rogers.
Odyssey – The NBC drama that explores what happens when three strangers – a female soldier (Anna Friel from Pushing Daisies), a corporate lawyer (Peter Facinelli from Nurse Jackie) and a political activist (Jake Robinson from The Carrie Diaries) – lives unexpectedly collide.
Secrets and Lies – This ABC drama focuses on what happens to a seemingly Good Samaritan who becomes a murder suspect when he discovers the body of his neighbor’s young son in the woods near their small town.
The Messengers – This new drama from The CW focuses on what happens to four strangers who are affected by a mysterious object that plummets to Earth, exploding in a blinding light, sending a shock wave that briefly stops their hearts. When they awaken, they discover they have powers they cannot believe.
The Whispers – This ABC drama looks into what happens when children are unwittingly helping an unseen enemy that could potentially be aliens invading Earth.
Wayward Pines – This FOX thriller focuses on a perfect American town that is anything but perfect. Think Twin Peaks on crack.
There you have it, all the details on the cancelled, returning and new dramas for the 2014-2015 TV season. Based on the above lists, what dramas are you looking forward to seeing this coming TV season?
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