While the normal network TV season is from September through May, plenty of shows are held for the second half of the season to make their debuts. In some cases, these "midseason replacements" are filling the void of cancelled series, while other new and returning shows are simply being positioned to launch when it's deemed most advantageous.
The next few months see the return of alien Visitors, a U.S. Marshal by the name of Raylan and some very offbeat government officials in Pawnee, Indiana. It also will see the biggest show in America (hint: it's a music-based reality program) return without the benefit of one of its biggest assets, and a prequel series to Starz's breakout hit, Spartacus.
New series include a new primetime superhero, several US remakes of overseas hits and the producers of Prison Break and The Shield returning to the worlds of convicts and cops, respectively.
So check out our 2011 Midseason TV Preview! You'll find some of the most notable debuts listed on the following pages, followed by a rundown of the dates to look for a ton of series, including when you'll see new episodes of the shows whose seasons are already in progress.
Network: ABC
Airs: Tuesdays at 9pm ET/PT
Season Premiere: 1/04/11
ABC's remake/remodel of the 1980's NBC miniseries about maliciously benevolent aliens who hover over Earth, promising to cure humanity of all that ails it, kicks off its 10-episode second season with a bang - And a blood-red sky of vengeance and misery, of course. Battling beauties Erica Evans (Mitchell) and Anna (Baccarin) will be joined by OG V players Jane Badler (who returns as a re-imagined version of her original Diana) and Marc Singer (who's still a good guy, but will now have more high-ranking military stripes). The Mummy's Oded Fehr and The Shield's Jay Karnes will also be on hand to complicate Erica's secret life as an underground rebel. Season 1 was fun, but The Fifth Column resistance movement felt miniscule and unformed. It was basically, like, three people in a church eatin' three-bean casserole. Hopefully, even though there will be less episodes, this series will be able to find its stride in Season 2 and give us the global network of kick ass guerilla warfare we want to see.
Network: Cartoon Network
Airs: Fridays at 7pm ET/PT
Series Premiere: 1/7/11
Following a one-hour preview back in November, this new DC Comics-based animated series makes its "true" debut this month. Loosely based on the comic of the same name, Young Justice focuses on sidekicks like Robin, Kid Flash and Aqualad. Joined by the newly discovered Superboy, they become a covert squad under the watch of the Justice League, including Batman and Black Canary. While the teen superheroes are the stars, it looks like the entire DC universe are potential guest stars, in the first DC-centric show from animation powerhouse Greg Weisman (Gargoyles, The Spectacular Spider-Man).
Network: NBC
Airs: Mondays at 9pm ET/PT
Series Premiere: 1/9/11
While Heroes is no more, NBC hasn't given up on superhero stories. The Cape follows a cop, Vince Faraday, who is framed by a notorious criminal (True Blood's Frain) and presumed dead. Hoping to clear his name and be reunited with his family, Faraday takes on the identity of The Cape, a comic book superhero his son worships.
Assisting The Cape are an outlandish group of carnival performers, led by Keith David's Max Malini, along with a computer expert, Orwell, played by the ever-alluring Glau, who brings her considerable fanboy-friendly charm to the table. The question is whether The Cape can find the right tone to become something inviting and fun, or if it will simply feel goofy. Our first impressions have not been great, but we always want shows like this to prove their worth on network television, so let's all cross our fingers that this series can find its footing, both artistically and ratings-wise.
Network: FOX
Airs: Sundays at 8:30pm ET/PT
Series Premiere: 1/09/11
H. Jon Benjamin (Dr. Katz, Home Movies, Archer) might be the soothing Lorenzo Music of the modern era, but will the Adult Swim staple's voice make a good fit for FOX's titanic Sunday night of Animation Domination? Welcome to Bob's Burgers, a perpetually beleaguered greasy spoon that's always on the cusp of either being shut down, set on fire or infested. Benjamin plays Bob, a man with a simple dream: to serve burgers despite the bumbling efforts of his horribly inept children and mannish wife (John Roberts). Created by Loren Bouchard (Dr. Katz, Home Movies), Burgers combines an animated family series with a workplace comedy.
Network: Showtime
Airs: Sundays at 9pm ET/PT
Season Premiere: 1/9/11
When last we saw Hank Moody (Duchovny), he was being hauled off to jail in the wake of Mia's (Madeline Zima)return and a fight with her boyfriend. Besides finding out how Hank deals with his legal problems, we'll also hopefully quickly discover just how much Hank told Karen (McElhone) in last season's finale. Season 4 will feature several notable guest stars, including Carla Gugino as Hank's lawyer and Rob Lowe as a movie star interested in playing Hank - who shares some not so coincidental similarities to the "between projects," uber-bearded version of Brad Pitt.
Network: Showtime
Airs: Sundays at 9:30pm ET/PT
Series Premiere: 1/09/11
If you have fond recollections of the 1989 Kevin Bacon flick, The Big Picture, and how the piranhas of Hollywood tried to dumb down and commercialize a first-time writer/director's dream movie, then you'll love Showtime's new skewering of "the biz," Episodes. This time, however, it's an acclaimed British comedy that gets raped by Tinseltown, as married writers Sean and Beverly Lincoln's (Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig) beloved English comedy series, Liman's Boys, gets insultingly "adapted" for American audiences; transforming from an erudite comedy about the headmaster of a boarding school into a dim-witted comeback vehicle for Friends' Matt LeBlanc (playing himself, but with, assumedly, a larger dong – it's a plot point, you see). Created by David Crane (Friends) and Jeffrey Klarik (Mad About You), Episodes isn't exactly a fresh concept, but the infusion of dryly humorous British-isms with iconic the Captain "How You Doin'?" is always a welcome combination.
Network: Showtime
Airs: Sundays at 10pm ET/PT
Series Premiere: 1/9/11
Having spent his career doing terrific work playing a lot of "normal joe" types, Macy gets to cut loose in a big way in this remake of the UK series of the same name. Macy plays Frank Gallagher, the patriarch of a Chicago family who redefine dysfunctional, especially since Frank is a drunken mess with zero parenting skills, leaving it to oldest daughter Fiona (Rossum, reunited with her Dragonball Evolution costar Chatwin in a far better project) to actually raise her five siblings. Raunchy, funny and bold, Shameless allows producer John Wells (ER) to go much further with language and nudity than he would on network TV, following an eccentric group of characters that includes Cusack as potential love interest for Frank.
Continue to Page 2 for Parks and Rec's return, Spartacus's prequel, Olivia Munn: sitcom star and more.
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