Upcoming TV Series?

[JCoatsworth]

Hi everybody!

As always, there are a number of interesting TV shows coming up. I just realized that I have never 'anticipated' the release of a TV series before. But this years it's different. I can't wait for the series Westworld.
It's based on the 1973 film Westworld by Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park, ER) which I love, and there are so many interesting things one can do with the premise. It's co-produced by JJ Abrams (Person of Interest, Lost) and written and directed by Jonathan Nolan (The Dark Knight, Interstellar), and starring Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris and Jeffrey Wright.

What is everybody else looking forward to? Any TV series that interest you?

 

[Skanky Vamp]

Westworld could be really interesting.. or a total mess. Each season they could explore a different 'world' and then have all the 'worlds' come together for a big finale. Would give you the ability to tell independent one season stories within any given milieu but then still with an interwoven theme. Similar to True Detective.

 

[white avenger]

Hi everybody!

As always, there are a number of interesting TV shows coming up. I just realized that I have never 'anticipated' the release of a TV series before. But this years it's different. I can't wait for the series Westworld.
It's based on the 1973 film Westworld by Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park, ER) which I love, and there are so many interesting things one can do with the premise. It's co-produced by JJ Abrams (Person of Interest, Lost) and written and directed by Jonathan Nolan (The Dark Knight, Interstellar), and starring Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris and Jeffrey Wright.

I remember the movie, mainly because Yul Brenner more or less reprises his role as Chris, the lead gunfighter in "The Magnificent Seven," one of the greatest westerns of all time. It will be interesting to see how they manage to make a series out of that without becoming simply a high tech "Fantasy Island."

 

[Skanky Vamp]

without becoming simply a high tech "Fantasy Island."

Damn. I never thought of that. That kinda scares me.

 

[Fuffy Baith]

Never heard of it, but it sounds like an interesting premise and it has some good names behind it, so maybe it will work. I do like Anthony Hopkins. Nothing that I'm anticipating anymore. Agent Carter is already out.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

I am hopelessly optimistic for Better Call Saul and iZombie. But more realistically Bloodline and American Crime would get my vote.

 

[Blaze]

No new shows that I'm anticipating for me. But plenty of returning shows that should be out in the summer. Orphan Black, OITNB, Hannibal, GoT, Faking it.

 

[JCoatsworth]

Westworld could be really interesting.. or a total mess. Each season they could explore a different 'world' and then have all the 'worlds' come together for a big finale. Would give you the ability to tell independent one season stories within any given milieu but then still with an interwoven theme. Similar to True Detective.

I think they'll be able to handle it pretty well. It's an HBO series, like Breaking Bad and True Detective, so the writers will have a lot of creative freedom. Personally, I don't really want to see much of the other "worlds". Westworld is enough, in my opinion.

It will be interesting to see how they manage to make a series out of that without becoming simply a high tech "Fantasy Island."

I doubt it. They're pretty secretive, but apparently, they'll on a lot of things that the film could only briefly touch on. I don't think the main focus will lie on guests acting out their fantasies, but rather on how the robots start becoming aware and the dangers of artificial intelligence.
I read a very interesting interview, but I can't seem to find it anymore 🙁

 

[Mr Trick]

Tonight one of my favourite current shows The Good Wife started its sixth season here in the UK. The last couple of seasons have been a bit rocky compared with the first three, but it remains one of sharpest and most enjoyable shows on tv. Tonights opener was great with a number of new storyline directions to set up the season ahead. On a side note Sarah Steel appeared again as Eli's daughter. The show's guest stars are some of the best things about it. Steel is really underrated and I like the look of her character so hope to see more of her throughout the season.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

I think they'll be able to handle it pretty well. It's an HBO series

Yeah well.. that just means it will be canceled early. I have really bad experiences with HBO and shows that I like. Hopefully Westworld can be done on the cheap. Deadwood, Carnivale, Rome, John from Cincinnati. There are more but those are the first ones that spring to mind. The fact it's on HBO and not AMC (like breaking bad and walking dead) actually makes me more apprehensive.

But you did mention True Detective, which was an 8 (or 10) episode season. Wonder if it will be a short season like that. They could afford to spend more on each episode if it were.

 

[JCoatsworth]

Yeah well.. that just means it will be canceled early. I have really bad experiences with HBO and shows that I like. Hopefully Westworld can be done on the cheap. Deadwood, Carnivale, Rome, John from Cincinnati. There are more but those are the first ones that spring to mind. The fact it's on HBO and not AMC (like breaking bad and walking dead) actually makes me more apprehensive.

Oh, I thought Breaking Bad was HBO as well. Anyway, I like that HBO gives the writers a lot of freedom, which is something this series certainly needs. I hope they don't cancel it early, like you said, and if they do, I hope they make sure that the series gets a worthy finale.

But you did mention True Detective, which was an 8 (or 10) episode season. Wonder if it will be a short season like that. They could afford to spend more on each episode if it were.

Personally, I'd rather have a 10 episode season that focuses on the story than a 22 episode season with lots of fillers and unnecessary subplots. 
Here's the interview I was talking about. Just in case anybody is interested:
http://www.ew.com/article/2015/01/23/jonathan-nolan-westworld

 

[Skanky Vamp]

Personally, I'd rather have a 10 episode season that focuses on the story than a 22 episode season with lots of fillers and unnecessary subplots.

Completely agree! Tell a tight, cohesive, GOOD story, where every episode matters. 
There are parts of that article that scare me:
"there’s this larger world that he barely has time to explore."
"you get to kind of dance in the little spaces that were left unexplored"
"in a TV series, you can really take a novelistic approach and explore characters that you wouldn’t ordinarily see"

I just dont want the robots to end up being 'real people'.. they should not have lives and go on dates. We should not get to know them on a personal level. I worry about that larger world that they are going to explore.

 

[JCoatsworth]

There are parts of that article that scare me:
"there’s this larger world that he barely has time to explore."
"you get to kind of dance in the little spaces that were left unexplored"
"in a TV series, you can really take a novelistic approach and explore characters that you wouldn’t ordinarily see"

I just dont want the robots to end up being 'real people'.. they should not have lives and go on dates. We should not get to know them on a personal level. I worry about that larger world that they are going to explore.

That's not at all how I interpreted this. I don't know if you have seen the film or if you have read any of Michael Crichton's novels, but I think a series is exactly the right format for Crichton's stories. Westworld was written directly for the screen, but Crichton always does an incredibly amount of research for his projects, so what I think they mean in this article is that there are a lot of interesting aspects of this world that the film only briefly addressed.
A good example for this kind of thing is Jurassic Park, which is based on Michael Crichton's novel. There are a lot of interesting plot points that just couldn't be addressed in the film version. And, although Westworld is not based on a novel, there are a lot of things in the film that can be explored. For example, in the film they only very briefly explain why the robots go out of control, and we don't really get to know any of the park's staff. We also only follow our main character. There were lots of other people at the park, we don't really know what happened to them.

 

[white avenger]

And, although Westworld is not based on a novel, there are a lot of things in the film that can be explored. For example, in the film they only very briefly explain why the robots go out of control, and we don't really get to know any of the park's staff. We also only follow our main character. There were lots of other people at the park, we don't really know what happened to them.

Plus the whole "robots malfunctioning and starting to kill people" made a good one shot movie, you can't base an entire series, even one with only 10 episodes per season, on that single plot device. For example, maybe there's someone intentionally MAKING the robots become killers, and the story would be about the Westworld Security team trying to catch them. That could be drawn out for awhile and not get boring.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

maybe there's someone intentionally MAKING the robots become killers, and the story would be about the Westworld Security team trying to catch them. That could be drawn out for awhile and not get boring.

I dunno.. that sounds kinda boring already. Like it's done before. The premise of the show is supposed to be AI gaining the I. Which, to me, sounds like it's Dollhouse with robots verses dolls, and again, seen it before. But we shall see. I know that Almost Human show that he did was supposed to be 'great' and it didn't last. Again, I am cautiously optimistic. Or optimistically pessimistic.

 

[white avenger]

"Almost Human" was pretty good, but I wouldn't call it great. It's a police show, set a few years into the future, with a detective whose partner is a robot who is programed to have emotions, It's still available on some of the web sites if you look for it, but I don't think HULU has it anymore.

Hopefully, "Weatworld " will manage to stay interesting and at least somewhat original.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

Hopefully, "Weatworld " will manage to stay interesting and at least somewhat original.

But see, that's why I think the Wire worked so well.. because each season it reinvented itself. The basis of the show was prosaic, but its how it handled the material that made it great. One season, one storyline. New season, new story- but all interconnected. That's why I mentioned the other 'worlds.' But I would be perfectly happy if it turns into Dollhouse done right. I just dont really want anything resembling a cop procedural type. Ala Sleepy Hollow, Gotham, Grimm etc

I dunno. I just hope it doesnt suck as it's a good cast. But that doesn't mean anything either.

 

[Mr Trick]

Speaking of HBO and coacelled shows I have just started watching the Laura Dern/Mike White project Enlighted. Its really good so far. Dern is a great actress and just perfect for this kind of broad comedy/drama. The observational humor is very good too. Sadly, that was pulled after the second season. Odd that a channel funded by subscriptions and interested in maturer content would be so trigger happy.

 

[white avenger]

iZombie- It's gotta be the most original concept for a TV series in decades, or it'll be a total disaster.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IZombie_(TV_series)

"Olivia “Liv” Moore was a rosy-cheeked, disciplined, over-achieving medical resident who had her life path completely mapped out, until the night she attended a party that unexpectedly turned into a zombie feeding frenzy. Afterward, she became part zombie. She currently works at a coroner's office to give her access to the brains she must eat to survive. A side effect of her new diet is the ability to absorb the memories of the deceased, which helps her solve homicides."

A "part zombie" who eats brains in the morgue and solves crimes. If this isn't a comedy, it really should be.

 

[Mr Trick]

iZombie- It's gotta be the most original concept for a TV series in decades, or it'll be a total disaster.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IZombie_(TV_series)

"Olivia “Liv” Moore was a rosy-cheeked, disciplined, over-achieving medical resident who had her life path completely mapped out, until the night she attended a party that unexpectedly turned into a zombie feeding frenzy. Afterward, she became part zombie. She currently works at a coroner's office to give her access to the brains she must eat to survive. A side effect of her new diet is the ability to absorb the memories of the deceased, which helps her solve homicides."

A "part zombie" who eats brains in the morgue and solves crimes. If this isn't a comedy, it really should be.

Interesting idea. I tend to think that the whole Zombie thing has been done to death. I actually prefer human dramas with dark twists to them. This could go either way as both of you have hinted.