Winter Pre-Gaming (The Six Most Exciting Winter Prospects)

Into the cold light of the 2016 television era.

 2015 has come and gone, but while one of the greatest years in television history may be gone, 2016 is already shaping up to have a lot of exciting content. In the winter, though only a few exciting continuous shows are coming back, several new series are debuting on the best channels, bringing with them a mountain of anticipation as to how they'll be exactly. Will they be intriguing like newcomer The Man in the High Castle or a disappointment like The Bastard Executioner?

Following the anticipation of new content, there's also a plethora of new channels and networks getting into the business of high quality programming. ABC is trying their hand at a biographical miniseries Madoff, starring Richard Dreyfuss as the titular Bernie Mafoff, while Hulu is making an effort to grab attention with several new shows and miniseries coming in the winter season.

Finally, we'll be following up with old favorites, from Better Call Saul to Always Sunny, hopefully continuing their trend of great TV from 2015. Where will this new year lead us exactly? In just a few short months, we'll have a better idea.



6. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 11 (FXX)

Still sunny after 11 years.
Sunny has been an interesting show to follow over the last eleven years. When it started, there was almost nothing funnier on TV, every episode from season 1 to season 6 being pure gold. Though it fell off in the middle years, season 7 and 8 being especially lackluster, as of season 9, the show has been on an upswing. Now, though not the comedic standard that it once was, Sunny has re-captured my attention and being on the road to being the longest running live action sitcom of all time, brings quite a bit of intrigue into just how well the writing is holding up after ten years of ideas have been exhausted. With episode titles already released, it seems we're in for more of the gang's craziness, from going to hell to an episode called "Being Frank," which I can only hope will be a Being John Malkovitch spoof. Whatever the case, if the show is amazing or just a fun half hour week to week, I'll be around to enjoy it.

5. The Walking Dead Season 6B (AMC)

Will we have redemption?
The Walking Dead had a truly disappointing first half of season six. Characters were underutilized, the stakes seemed lowered, and the writing got rather repetitive, making the viewers sit through nameless Alexandrians tell us about how "Rick is right" every other second of the half-season. However, as is custom for TWD, after a crappy half-season, the follow-up is usually redemption. Though this trend isn't always right, we're going to hope that it continues with season 6B. Rick and his gang are facing down a new enemy now: someone even more battle-hardened and cruel than The Governor, or any other baddie our protagonists had to overcome. His name is Negan, and though I haven't read the comics, he's apparently one bad motherfucker, as Jules Winfield would say. This is by no means assurance that the upcoming episodes will be any good, but without a central villain aside from the dynamic between Rick and the Alexandrians, the writers felt confused in what to do. At the very least, this provides a direction for the story to pursue in the new year. Let's hope it works. 




4. Survivor Season 32 (CBS)

Survivor: What Kaoh go Rong?
Survivor just aired one of its strongest ever seasons, meaning that hype for the greatest reality TV show of all time is at a high. However, as we've seen with every followup to a great season, whatever follows is usually frowned upon a bit. With the previews showing a plethora of med-evacs and quits coming up in season 32, I'm a little bit nervous about what the next season of all newbies, using a recycled theme, could bring about. I'll never judge the season before it airs, and in retrospect, Vanuatu and Nicaragua, the follow-ups to former all-star seasons, have their merits (namely Chris Daugherty's epic gameplay,) but a spark is certainly lost. I'm always excited for Survivor, but I just hope it can keep up the momentum built in recent months. The tiny Asian gay man on the Beauty tribe is a good start to getting me excited, though.



3. 11.22.63 (Hulu)
01.03.16 this article was published.
Though I don't write much about books on this blog, I'll say right now, I'm an enormous fan of Stephen King. The Dark Tower remains my favorite written work of all time, and if HBO ever decided to make a series out of it, I may go crazy with excitement. For now though, the miniseries version of 11.22.63. on Hulu is enough to wet my Stephen King whistle (phrasing.) Adaptations of King's work are very random, however. We've seen amazing pieces come out, such as Frank Darabont's The Shawshank Redemption or John Carpenter's excellent Christine adaptation, but at the same time, shows like Under the Dome scare me as to what this adaptation could be. The truth is, the source material is so good that I have no doubt what emerges will be great, but it really remains to be seen. As a King fan, a TV fan, and a fan of networks getting into the business of great television, I'm rooting for Hulu to find success here.







2. Vinyl Season 1 (HBO)
The Wolf of 1970's Rock

Vinyl has been a series I've had my eye on since it was called "Upcoming Martin Scorsese Rock N Roll Project" on IMDb. Now that it's finally coming to fruition, helmed by the masterful director himself along with the great Terrence Winter, excitement is building up. These two have collaborated before on The Wolf of Wall Street, a movie that I didn't particularly love, but both men have such exceptional filmography that I can't help but be hyped up for their series. Vinyl will follow Bobby Cannavale's lead, a record company executive as he experiences the culture, the sights, and most importantly, the sounds of the 1970's rock and roll scene. I don't know exactly what will fill the episode to episode plot, aside from copious amounts of drugs and craziness, but under the guidance of such masterful creators, I expect a series to lead HBO into the future.

1. Better Call Saul Season 2 (AMC)

 What began as something I took as a joke quickly blossomed into the best new series of 2015. Now, with the God of TV, Vince Gilligan, and his right hand man, Peter Gould, Better Call Saul comes into its second season. Anticipation is huge for this one. And, unless all of Breaking Bad and the first installment of Better Call Saul was a fluke, the new episodes are primed for greatness. With Bob Odenkirk reprising his role as Saul Goodman/Jimmy McGill and Jonathan Banks coming back as the great Mike Ehrmantraut, both new and old characters will captivate the Albuquerque based drama once again. In the first season, we saw the beginning of the transformation from Jimmy into Saul, much like we began the transition from Walter into Heisenberg. In season two, it'll be interested to see if Jimmy ever truly "breaks bad" or if he is just willing to bend the law more than break it. Slippin' Jimmy is back in action, and as of February, we'll know just how bad he is.

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