The new CW series The Flash will debut on October 7 at 8 PM.
After witnessing his mother’s murder, and his father wrongly accused, Barry Allen (series lead Grant Gustin) is taken in by Detective West and his family. As Allen enters adulthood, he becomes a brilliant, yet socially awkward, forensic scientist for the Central City Police Department, whose obsession with his tragic past causes him to become an outcast among his peers.
Allen tries to uncover the truth about his mother’s murder and clear his father’s name, which leads him to Harrison Wells’ particle accelerator. When the accelerator causes an explosion, Allen is struck by lightning, and enters a coma for nine months. When he wakes up, he learns he has the ability to move at superhuman speeds, though he is not the only metahuman created in the wake of the explosion.
As the violence related to metahuman criminals escalates, though still keeping the promise of finding out why his mother murdered, Allen vows using his gift of speed to protect Central City with the help from a few close friends and associates who share his secrets.
The cast includes Candice Patton, Rick Cosnett, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes, Tom Cavanagh and Jesse L. Martin.
On October 1, the new thriller Stalker will debut on CBS at 10 PM.
Maggie Q (Nikita) and Dylan McDermott (Hostages and American Horror Story) star in this psychological thriller about detectives who investigate stalking incidents, including voyeurism, cyber harassment and romantic fixation for the Threat Assessment Unit of the LAPD.
Detective Jack Larsen (McDermott) is a recent transfer to the Unit from New York City’s homicide division, whose confidence, strong personality and questionable behavior has landed him in trouble before – but whose past behavior may also prove valuable in his new job.
His boss, Lt. Beth Davis (Maggie Q), is strong, focused and an expert in the field, driven by her traumatic personal experience as a victim.
With the rest of their team, young but eager Det. Ben Caldwell (Victor Rasuk from How to Make It in America) and deceptively smart Det. Janice Lawrence (Mariana Klaveno from True Blood and Devious Maids) , Larsen and Davis assess the threat level of cases and respond before the stalking and intimidation spirals out of control, all while trying to keep their personal obsessions at bay.
NOTE: This show has some very disturbing scenes. Parental discretion is advised.
The Starz series Outlander, based on the best-selling novel by Diana Gabaldon, debuted back on August 9 and over the course of the past 7 weeks has captured the hearts of TV viewers with its tale of Claire Beauchamp (series lead Caitriona Balfe), a World War II nurse in 1945, who – after touching the standing stones in Inverness in the Scottish Highlands – travels through time to 1743 where she encounters the clan McKenzie and meets young Jamie McTavish (Fraser) [series lead Sam Heughan].
Those seven episodes have found Claire adapt, as best she can, to her new surroundings – albeit forced upon her by the Laird and War Chief of the clan (series regulars Gary Lewis and Graham McTavish, respectively) – by becoming the Healer of Castle Leoch, the home of the clan.
She has become friends with Castle Leoch’s housekeeper Mrs. Fitz (recurring guest star Annette Badland) and local village woman and wife of the procurator fiscal (basically the village’s attorney/judge) Geillis Duncan (series regular Lotte Verbeek); and, to an extent, even young Laoghaire MacKenzie (recurring guest star Nell Hudson), a 16-year girl (and granddaughter of Mrs. Fitz), who has a crush on Jamie.
Unfortunately, she has several uncomfortable encounters with Captain Jonathan “Black Jack” Randall, a direct descendant of her husband Frank Randall (the dual role played by series regular Tobias Menzies), which leads Dougal to arranging a marriage between Claire and Jamie in order to save her life from the sadistic bastard, who was the cause behind the horrible wounds on Jamie’s back (two floggings within a week subjected on the young lad several years earlier).
This past Saturday’s episode, entitled “The Wedding“, was one of the most anticipated moments out of the small screen adaptation of the book and did not disappoint. And, with the mid-season finale, entitled “Both Sides Now“, only a few days away – set to air on Starz on Saturday, September 27, the anticipation for what will happen is great.
Fans can take heart that even though the series will be going on a break, it will not be for too long, as 8 more episodes of its debut season will air on Starz in early 2015, continuing on with the remainder of the story of Claire, Jamie and the clan McKenzie.
And, even better news is that Starz decided early on that the show will have a second season, following the second book in the Gabaldon “Outlander” series entitled “Dragonfly in Autumn“.
Don’t miss out on the mid-season finale this Saturday at 9 PM on Starz.
On September 25, the new Shonda Rhimes drama How to Get Away With Murder will debut at 10 PM on ABC.
The brilliant, charismatic and seductive Professor Annalise Keating (Viola Davis from The Help) gets entangled with four law students from her class, “How to Get Away with Murder”. Little do the students know that they will have to apply what they learned to real life.
The cast includes Aja Naomi King (Emily Owens, M.D.), Jack Falahee (Twisted), Katie Findlay (The Killing), Tom Verica (American Dream), Liza Weil (Gilmore Girls and Scandal), Charlie Weber (Buffy, the Vampire Slayer), Billy Brown (Hostages and Sons of Anarchy), Matt McGorry (Orange is the New Black), Latino star Karla Souza (Instructions Not Included) and Alfred Enoch (the Harry Potter franchise).
Last week the Paley Center for Media held their 10th Annual PaleyFest Fall Preview Parties, featuring screenings and panels for ABC, NBC and FOX as well as spotlighting the new MTV series Faking It.
The following are pictures by staff photographer Dominick Dusseault from all four events:
On September 23, NCIS: New Orleans will debut on CBS at 9 PM.
The spin-off series is about the local field office that investigates criminal cases affecting military personnel in the Big Easy. Leading the team is Special Agent Dwayne Pride (Scott Bakula from Quantum Leap), aka “King,” a native of NOLA who is driven by his need to do what is right. Working with Pride is Special Agent Christopher LaSalle (Lucas Black from The Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift), who plays hard but works harder; and Special Agent Meredith “Merri” Brody (Zoe McLellan from Dirty Sexy Money), a charismatic and tough interrogator who transferred from the Great Lakes office in search of a fresh start. Supporting them is coroner Dr. Loretta Wade (CCH Pounder from Warehouse 13), who is as eccentric as she is smart.
The new FOX drama Gotham will debut on September 22 at 8 PM.
This series takes a look at the early years of Commissioner Gordon when he was just Detective James Gordon (Ben McKenzie from Southland and The O.C.) – on the job for only two weeks.
The cast includes Erin Richard (Open Grave) as Barbara Kean, Gordon’s fiancée; Donal Logue (Terriers and Vikings) as Harvey Bullock, Gordon’s partner; David Mazouz (Touch) as young Bruce Wayne; Jada Pinkett Smith (The Matrix franchise) as gang boss Fish Mooney; newcomer Camren Bicondova as Selina Kyle (the future Catwoman); Robin Lord Taylor (The Walking Dead) as Oswald Cobblepot (soon to be The Penguin) and Sean Pertwee (Elementary) as Wayne butler Alfred Pennyworth.
On September 22, the new fall drama Scorpion will debut on CBS at 9 PM.
This new series is inspired by a true story about eccentric genius Walter O’Brien (Elyes Gabel from Body of Proof) and his team of brilliant misfits who comprise the last line of defense against complex, high-tech threats of the modern age. As Homeland Security’s new think tank, O’Brien’s “Scorpion” team includes Toby Curtis (Eddie Kaye Thomas of American Pie franchise), an expert behaviorist who can read anyone; Happy Quinn (Jadyn Wong from Being Erica), a mechanical prodigy; and Sylvester Dodd (Ari Stidham from Huge), a statistics guru. Pooling their extensive technological knowledge to solve mind-boggling predicaments amazes federal agent Cabe Gallo (Robert Patrick from The Unit), who shares a harrowing history with O’Brien. However, while this socially awkward group is comfortable with each other’s humor and quirks, life outside their circle confounds them, so they rely on Paige Dineen (Katharine McPhee from Smash), who has a young, gifted son, to translate the world for them. At last, these nerdy masterminds have found the perfect job: a place where they can apply their exceptional brainpower to solve the nation’s crises, while also helping each other learn how to fit in.
The new ABC drama Forever will air a special sneak preview on September 22 at 10 PM.
Doctor Henry Morgan (Ioan Gruffudd from Ringer and the Fantastic Four franchise), New York City’s star medical examiner, has a secret. He doesn’t just study the dead to solve criminal cases, he does it to solve the mystery that has eluded him for 200 years – the answer to his own inexplicable immortality.
The cast includes Alana de la Garza (Law & Order), Joel David Moore (Bones) and veteran actor Judd Hirsch (Taxi).
The new drama Madam Secretary will debut on September 21 at 8 PM on CBS.
Téa Leoni stars as Elizabeth McCord, the shrewd, determined, newly appointed Secretary of State who drives international diplomacy, battles office politics and circumvents protocol as she negotiates global and domestic issues, both at the White House and at home. A college professor and a brilliant former CIA analyst who left for ethical reasons, Elizabeth returns to public life at the request of the President following the suspicious death of her predecessor. The President values her apolitical leanings, her deep knowledge of the Middle East, her flair for languages and her ability to not just think outside the box, but to not even acknowledge there is a box.
The cast includes Bebe Neuwirth (Cheers), Tim Daly (Private Practice) and Zeljko Ivanek (Revolution).
NOTE: CBS will air a “doubleheader” of Madam Secretary at 8 PM and then again at 10 PM. East Coast viewers should check their local listings for exact airtimes though.
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