Blindspot

Its that time of year again where I get to journey over to each studio and screen almost all the upcoming TV Shows for the 2015/2016 Season. Here I will give you the first look at what I have screened and what to look out for on your TV, Computer, Mobile Device, etc. This year I'm going to mix it up a bit and reveal a show a day in the order of screening.

My first visit was to the Warner Brother lot, early Monday May 10th where we were presented with the high octane thriller Blindspot.

Blindspot

Image from NBC Universal and Warner Brother International Television

From Warner Brothers come a very original and thrilling procedural FBI drama with some likeness taken from the movie Momento (however you don't have to watch it backwards).

The opening scene is set in New York City's Times Square where a security guard clears out a busy crowd near an unidentified bag. The bomb squad is dispatched to examine it, only to find inside an unidentified woman with no memory and covered in freshly inked tattoos from her neck down.

FBI Agent Kurt Weller is assigned to the case because of his link to Jane Doe, being that his name is tattoo'd on her back. This is the first piece in a complex puzzle which he and his team is tasked to figure out the meaning of each drawing, which uncovers a web of conspiracy that might change the world as they know it.

Airing on NBC, Monday's at 10pm

Jaimie Alexander (Thor) stars in the new NBC drama about a woman with amnesia - and a mysterious array of tattoos all across her body.

Stay tuned for my next review, Lucifer.

Steven Soderbergh's The Knick - REVIEW

The Knick

Airing next week on Cinemax and HBO Canada on Friday August 8th is Steven Soderbergh's The Knick. Already ordered for a second season, this series shows a lot of promise. I was fortunate enough to have already screened the first two episodes. 

The series centres around Dr. John W. Thackery (played by Clive Owen), a genius surgeon at the turn of the century (1900) and the staff of New York's Knickerbocker Hospital. To put this into some context, the hospital just got electricity and almost everyone on the operating table dies. 

This series is raw and gritty. The surgeries are very graphic, but everyone character has a very deep backstory and a personal struggle in a world that is corrupt and dark.

I don't want to give too much away, but Soderbergh's stylistic direction just works and this is definitely worth the watch!

Subscribe to the Cinemax YouTube: http://itsh.bo/10r1tmj The new original series, The Knick, starring Clive Owen, premieres Friday, August 8th at 10PM/9C. Connect with The Knick: The Knick on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AtTheKnick The Knick on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AtTheKnick The Knick on Tumblr: attheknick.com The Knick Official Site: http://itsh.bo/HPPXB4 MAX GO: http://itsh.bo/10qx3k5 It's HBO.

LA Screenings Part IV - FOX

While this year FOX didn't have any shows for September, they did have a strong lineup for mid season.

Backstrom

Forget everything you know about Dwight Schrute from the office, because Rainn Wilson is able to easily convince the audience immediately that he is Detective Everett Backstrom. Hart Hanson, who is also the executive producer of Bones, has created a show that fills the gap of House. Backstroke is an overweight, offensive detective who is engaged in a constant struggle with his demons and social struggles, but at the end of the day he is a genius criminologist.

From the creator of BONES, comedic crime procedural BACKSTROM centers on an unhealthy, offensive, irascible -- albeit brilliant -- detective (Rainn Wilson) who is brought back from exile to run the Portland Police Bureau's Special Crimes Unit (S.C.U.).

Empire

Lee Daniels (Precious, Monsters Ball) has created a fun gritty musical drama in the world of hip hop. With music produced by Timbaland and starring Terrance Howard its just hard to get this wrong. Its gritty when it needs to be, but not over the top. The music really does push this show and give it the emotion it deserves. 

Terrance Howard plays a hip hop mogul Lucious Lyon with three sons in the family business. One is a gritty rapper, one a business man acting as his number two and a third son, musically included and gay plays the son that Lucious wished he never had. The story centres around the fact that the label is about to go public on the stock market and Lucious has just been diagnosed with ALS. He now struggles to figure out which son will inherit the Empire! Each son must show his worth to compete for the number on spot. 

Welcome to EMPIRE, a sexy and powerful new drama about the head of a music empire (Terrence Howard) whose three sons and ex-wife all battle for his throne. Set to an original soundtrack written and produced by hip-hop hitmaker Timbaland.

The Last Man on Earth

Starring Will Forte from Saturday Night Live fame. Will plays the last man on earth. Enough said. Not much has been revealed about this strange comedy other than the premise of two of the last people on earth must come together to rebuild despite their differences.

Phil Miller (Will Forte) was once just an average guy who loved his family and hated his job at the bank -- now he's humanity's last hope. Will he ever find another person alive on the planet? Would hoping that she is a female be asking too much?

Fresh Off The Boat

This story follows a Taiwanese family as they try to integrated into their new community in Orlando, Florida in the 90s being the only Asian family in the neighborhood. With ignorance all around them, this comedy provides a fresh outlook on the ignorance of a society when faced with something different. 

ABC's new fall comedy, based on Chef Eddie Huang's memoir, focuses on the son of Chinese immigrants trying to fit in after his family moves to Orlando.