The TV Set: 2013 - The Year That Will Be

It's one of those times of the year when US networks announce lots of new shows. Around this time of the year the new shows are slotted in to replace all the flop shows pulled off air during American winter scheduling. But as usual all the cable networks throw in some fresh programming as well. Here's the stuff that caught The TV Set's attention - for better or worse.

TOP OF THE LAKE
Dir: Jane Campion; Cast: Elisabeth Moss, Holly Hunter, David Wenham
Hunter and Campion reteam (The Piano) in NZ for what looks like a gritty police drama where Moss can shake her nice-girl Peggy image by wearing jeans instead of Mad Men pencil skirts. UKTV look like expressing from US where it starts March 18.

DECEPTION
Exec Producer: Liz Heldens; Cast: Meagan Good, Tate Donovan
Thanks to the success of the truly pathetic Revenge (y'know, the prime time soap 'proper critics' consider a 'guilty pleasure'), the search is on for a replicant hit. Giving Deception a lead on Revenge is that creator Heldens is hot off Friday Night Lights. On the downside, she worked on the revamp of Bionic Woman before that.

THE JOE SCHMO SHOW
With the appearance of reality spoof Burning Love (with Kristen Bell and Carla Gallo), US mennel (men's channel) Spike has felt the need to bring back its own reality spoof from the early noughties. The show's original creators went on to write and produce Zombieland, so there may be something in this.

1600 PENN
Dir: Jason Winer; Cast: Jenna Elfman, Bill Pullman
Remeber That's My Bush! from the South Park boys back in 2001? Well, this is another South Park-related White House sit-com (creator Jos Gad starred in The Book Of Mormons - created by South Park's Trey Parker and Matt Stone team). Disappointingly, it doesn't look as crude as Bush! but director Winer does work on the wonderfully ammoral Don't Trust The B**** In Apartment 23 (they've officially ditched the 'Bitch').

BANSHEE
Exec Producer: Alan Ball; Cast: Anthony Starr, Ben Cross
Ball bails from True Blood now that it is truly unwatchable and creates what looks like a by-numbers made-for-cable thriller (a little bit of Sons Of Anarchy, a little bit of Justified, a little bit of True Blood). How long before he screws this up?

THE CARRIE DIARIES
Exec Producer: Miguel Arteta; Cast: AnnaSophia Robb, Freema Agyeman
What's not to hate about this? A Sex And The City prequel, starring the worst ever Doctor Who companion (Agyeman). But then there's Arteta... Youth In Revolt, Freaks And Geeks, Star Maps. Surely his one episode of American Horror Story can't undo all this good work. Fox8 are expressing from January 14.

LEGIT
Exec Producer: Jim Jefferies; Cast: Jim Jefferies, DJ Qualls
Aus comedian Jefferies is more appreciated overseas than back home. Over there, he's considered the new Louis CK. Over here, he's not considered. But the idea of him and Qualls (Supernatural) together is enough to have us contemplating that thing people do to get a look at US TV shows before they screen here...

NEWSREADERS
Exec Producer: Rob Corddry; Cast: Mather Zickel, Ray Wise
If you are familiar with Corddry's work on Adult Swim's Childrens Hospital then you know to expect juvenile slapstick - they way it should be (can't wait to see Corddry as a zombie in the upcoming film Warm Bodies). It features former Twin Peaks' Papa Palmer too - so what more do you want?

THE FOLLOWING
Exec Producer: Kevin Williamson; Cast: Kevin Bacon, James Purefoy
The Kevs, hey! If Williamson's name doesn't get you excited then you are reading the wrong TV blog. Williamson = Dawson + Vampire Diaries (and let's not forget Teaching Mrs Tingle). And Bacon's most recent TV work included Robot Chicken and Bored To Death. Kev x 2 + serial killers = Worth giving a chance.

WILD THINGS WITH DOMINIC MONAGHAN
Get the feeling there's a Lord Of The Rings/Lost nerd working at the OLN network who greenlit this one?

THE AMERICANS
Exec Producer: Graham Yost; Cast: Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys
Felicity!! Everyone, it's Felicity!! Russell is back where she belongs - Mission Impossible 3 proved she was made for the smaller screen. And here she is with Yost, the man who got Timothy Olyphant back in a cowboy hat (Justified). It has something to do with KGB agents impersonating Americans.

DO NO HARM
Exec Producer: David Schulner; Cast: Steven Pasquale, Alana De La Gaza
Schulner is a hack (remember The Event?). This is a new take on Jekyll And Hyde (as if the last Jekyll from the UK wasn't bad enough - it had the new Bionic Woman in it). But hey, let's be open-minded.

HOUSE OF CARDS
Exec Producer: David Fincher; Cast: Kevin Spacey
Oh look at how the big screen names come crawling now that TV is hip again. Yeah well, Mr Fincher, we TV viewers don't tolerate schlock like The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Bring your A-game.

ZERO HOUR
Exec Producer: Paul Scheuring; Cast: Anthony Edwards
"Conspiracy drama" from Scheuring, the guy responsible for Prison Break. May we suggest you go check out Edwards' wonderful '88 apocalypse film Miracle Mile instead.

CULT
Exec Producer: Rockne S O'Bannon; Cast: Jessica Lucas
When we read this sentence, "fans re-enacting their fave scenes from cult TV shows" we got ten shades of excited. But then it turned out that it's a "drama" where police investigate crimes that could be the result of " fans re-enacting...". Sigh, we'd prefer to see the reality concept.

OUT THERE
Exec Producer: Ryan Quincey; Voice Cast: Fred Armisen, Megan Mullally
This cartoon from the former South Park director also features the voice of Freaks And Geeks' Linda Cardellini and Futuarma's John DiMaggio. That's all we need.

RED WIDOW
Exec Producer: Melissa Rosenberg; Cast: Rhada Mitchell
This US remake of a hit Dutch organised crime drama has been sitting on the shelf for some time. But Rosenberg wrote Dexter during its golden years and Mitchell's projects are usually worth a look.

BATES MOTEL
Exec Producer: Anthony Cipriano; Cast: Freddie Highmore, Vera Farigma
Can you guess what this one's about? Yep, newbie-ish Cipriano has been allowed into the Psycho franchise - for a prequel. And lil Charlie Bucket (Highmore) gets to play Norman Bates - add Highmore to the list of former child actors destined for breakdown.

DEFIANCE
Exec Producer: Rockne S O'Bannon; Cast: Grant Bowler, Julie Benz
The cast is enough to warrant attention but it's for the Syfy network and they haven't really got it right yet (except for competitve horror make-up show Face Off). But the odds are that they have to get it right sooner or later - we're betting on later.