FOX was first to start the midseason TV shows with the comedy “I Hate My Teenage Daughter” last week.
The show, revolving around single mothers, Annie and Nikki (Jaime Pressly and Katie Finneran respectively) with bratty teen daughters, wasn’t great and the ratings were even worse, so the freshman show hasn’t even been given a timeslot in the new year.
The jokes fell flat and the plot was relatively boring. Luckily, here are other midseason TV shows that viewers might find much more watchable.
Like any musical television show, “Smash” on NBC has the potential to be a huge success or a massive flop. With names like Steven Spielberg, Anjelica Houston, Debra Messing, and “American Idol” alum Katharine McPhee attached, it’s fairly likely that “Smash” will in fact be a smash hit.
“Smash” is a drama about the making of a Broadway musical about Marilyn Monroe. McPhee sparkles in the trailer as Karen Cartwright, a struggling actress vying for the part of Marilyn. She is pitted against a more experienced actress (Megan Hilty) and the producers struggle over whether to go for the talent, McPhee, or the name recognition, Hilty.
The show will feature an original song every week, written by Tony and Grammy award winning composers Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. “Smash” won’t start until February 6 on NBC, but you can go to nbc.com to see sneak peeks and even a music video of McPhee covering Christina Aguilera’s song “Beautiful.”
“Awake” is another show that looks pretty amazing and stars Jason Issacs (Harry Potter’s Lucius Malfoy) as a man who gets into a fatal car accident with his wife and son.
He wakes to find his son dead, but his wife alive. Then he goes to sleep and awakens in a world where his wife is the one who died and his son is alive. He goes back and forth between the two realities every time he goes to sleep and has no idea which, if either, is real. He is a detective on different cases in each reality, but some things bleed into both realities, helping him to solve cases.
The concept is reminiscent of Inception but seems a little less perplexing. “Awake” will air on NBC this spring.
Napoleon Dynamite gave us many things: Jon Heder, ligers, “Vote for Pedro” shirts. We can now add a cartoon to that list. Napoleon Dynamite’s quirky adventures will continue in January in animated form on FOX.
The network brought back the entire original cast to do the voices as well as the original writers to script the series. The show definitely has the same tone as the movie, so if you’re a Napoleon Dynamite fan, this is definitely a show to watch. It premieres January 15 at 8:30 pm on FOX.
“Are You There, Chelsea?” is based on the best-selling book “Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea” by comedian Chelsea Handler. The series is loosely based on her life and stars Laura Prepon (“That 70’s Show”) as Handler, while Handler herself plays her sister, Sloane.
Prepon’s character works in a bar and the series chronicles how alcohol affects her life. Of course, as anyone who read Handler’s books knows, Handler’s tales of alcohol-fueled mishaps are usually less cautionary and more hilarious.
It’s a series worth tuning in for, as long as you don’t mind Handler’s crude sense of humor. The series premiere is January 11 at 8:30 pm.
“Alcatraz” is the latest project from J.J. Abrams (“Lost,” “Alias,” “Person of Interest”). With Abrams you can always guarantee that you’ll get a good mystery. The infamous federal prison, Alcatraz, was closed in the 1960’s. Supposedly, the inmates were all transferred, but they never were. They all mysteriously disappeared and are now reappearing in present day in San Francisco.
Fifty years have passed but none of them are a day older. More importantly, they are still some of the most dangerous criminals you’ll ever find, and this new chance at life will not reform them. It’s up to a police detective, Rebecca Madsen (Sarah Jones from “Sons of Anarchy”) and an Alcatraz expert, Diego Soto (Jorge Garcia of “Lost”) to figure out how the criminals ended up here, why they are here, and who is behind this.
“Alcatraz” will have a two-hour premiere on FOX January 16 at 8:00 pm.
PHOTO COURTESY of nerdlocker.com
