On May 30, a new adaptation of the legendary book Roots will debut simultaneously on A&E, Lifetime and the History Channel at 9 PM.
The four-night, eight-hour event series recounts the journey of one family and their will to survive and ultimately carry on their legacy despite hardship.
The cast includes Anika Noni Rose, Anna Paquin, Derek Luke, Forest Whitaker, James Purefoy, Jonathan Rhys Myers, Lane Garrison, Matthew Goode, Mekhi Phifer, Erica Tazel, Emayatzy Corinealdi and introducing Malachi Kirby.
The original Starz movie The Dresser will debut on May 30 at 9 PM.
Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Anthony Hopkins star together in the story of one fateful night, backstage in a small regional theatre during World War II as a troupe of touring actors stages a production of Shakespeare’s King Lear.
The debut of the new drama Preacher will air on AMC at 10 PM on May 22.
Based on Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s popular ’90’s comic book franchise of the same name, this 10-episode series is a supernatural, twisted and darkly comedic drama that follows a West Texas preacher named Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper), who is inhabited by a mysterious entity that causes him to develop a highly unusual power.
The cast includes Ruth Negga (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Lucy Griffiths (Robin Hood) and Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen).
The following is the proposed ABC line-up for the new fall 2016-2017 TV season:
Monday:
8 PM – Dancing with the Stars
10 PM – Conviction (NEW)
Conviction is about lawyer and former First Daughter Hayes Morrison (Hayley Atwell from Marvel’s Agent Carter) who is about to accept a job offered from her sexy nemesis, NY District Attorney Wayne Wallis (Eddie Cahill from CSI: NY), to avoid jail time for cocaine possession and avoid hurting her mother’s Senate campaign. Working with his team at the new Conviction Integrity Unit will let her use her brilliant mind to turn over cases, where there is credible suspicion of wrongful conviction, and give her a chance to turn things around with her high-powered political family. The cast includes Shawn Ashmore (The Following and X-Men franchise), Merrin Dungey (Alias), Emily Kinney (The Walking Dead), Manny Montana (Graceland) and Daniel di Tomasso (Witches of East End).
Tuesday:
8 PM – The Middle (New Day and Time)
8:30 PM – American Housewife (NEW)
9 PM – Fresh Off the Boat (New Time)
9:30 PM – The Real O’Neals (New Time)
10 PM – Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (New Time)
Wednesday:
8 PM – The Goldbergs (New Time)
8:30 PM – Speechless – NEW)
9 PM – Modern Family
9:30 PM – black-ish
10 PM – Designated Survivor (NEW)
Designated Survivor is a conspiracy thriller about Tom Kirkman (Kiefer Sutherland), a lower-level cabinet member who unexpectedly becomes president after a devastating attack on Washington. He will struggle to prevent the country and his own family from falling into chaos, as he is thrust into one of the most difficult presidencies in history. The cast includes Natascha McElhone (Californication), Maggie Q (Nikita and Divergent franchise), Kal Penn (Harold & Kumar franchise), Adan Canto (The Following, Blood & Oil and Second Chance), Italia Ricci (Chasing Life and Supergirl) and Tanner Buchanan (The Fosters).
Thursday:
8 PM – Grey’s Anatomy
9 PM – Notorious (NEW)
10 PM – How to Get Away with Murder
Notorious is inspired by the true-life stories of famed criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos and cable news producer Wendy Walker, who serve as executive producers. The series is a provocative look at the unique, sexy and dangerous interplay of criminal law and the media. The cast includes Piper Perabo (Covert Affairs), Daniel Sunjata (Graceland), Sepideh Moafi (Black Box), Ryan Guzman (Heroes Reborn), Kevin Zegers (Gracepoint), J. August Richards (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D) and Aimee Teegarden (Friday Night Lights).
Friday:
8 PM – Last man Standing
8:30 PM – Dr. Ken
9 PM – Shark Tank
10 PM – 20/20
Saturday:
8 PM – Saturday Night Football
Sunday:
7 PM – America’s Funniest Home Videos
8 PM – Once Upon a Time
9 PM – Secrets and Lies
10 PM – Quantico
NOTE: The Catch will also return, but it is not on the schedule right now. Scandal will be back around mid-season (or thereabouts) due to Kerry Washington’s pregnancy.
The new dramas that will debut later in the season include:
Still Star-Crossed (based on the book by Melinda Taub) is a period drama that picks up where the famous story of Romeo and Juliet ends, charting the treachery, palace intrigue and ill-fated romances of the Montagues and Capulets in the wake of the young lovers’ tragic fate. The cast includes Wade Briggs (Home and Away), Anthony Head (Merlin and Buffy), Zuleikha Robinson (Lost), Sterling Sulieman (Pretty Little Liars), Torrance Coombs (Reign) and Grant Bowler (Defiance).
Time After Time delivers a fantastical cat and mouse adventure through time when famed science fiction writer H.G. Wells is transported to modern day Manhattan in pursuit of Jack the Ripper. Once H.G. arrives in New York City, he finds a world he never thought possible and a young woman who captivates him. The cast includes Freddie Stroma (UnREAL), Josh Bowman (Revenge), Genesis Rodriguez (Big Hero 6) and Regina Taylor (Dig).
The following are the limited series and/or special event series that will air during the new TV season:
American Crime will return for a third season with Regina King reprising her role that will feature a new crime committed in a different setting, as told through the eyes of those affected.
When We Rise chronicles the real-life personal and political struggles, setbacks and triumphs of a diverse family of LGBT men and women who helped pioneer one of the last legs of the U.S. Civil Rights movement from its turbulent infancy in the 20th century to the once unfathomable successes of today. The cast includes Guy Pearce (Iron Man 3), Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds) and Rachel Griffiths (Brothers & Sisters).
Dirty Dancing, based on the original feature film, will be a three-hour musical event adaptation of the 1987 romantic drama and instant music classic. The cast includes Abigail Breslin (Scream Queens), Debra Messing (Will & Grace), Bruce Greenwood (Star Trek and National Treasure 2), Nicole Scherzinger (The X-Factor), Sarah Hyland (Modern Family), Katey Sagal (Sons of Anarchy) and Billy Dee Williams (Star Wars).
On May 21, the HBO film All The Way will debut at 8 PM.
Lyndon B. Johnson (Bryan Cranston from Breaking Bad) becomes the President of the United States in the chaotic aftermath of JFK’s assassination and spends his first year in office to quickly pass the Civil Rights Act.
Anthony Mackie (Captain America franchise) will star as Martin Luther King, Jr., Bradley Whitford (The West Wing) as Hubert Humphrey, Melissa Leo (The Fighter) as Lady Bird Johnson and Stephen Root (No Country For Old Men) as J. Edgar Hoover.
The cast also includes Joe Morton (Scandal) and Frank Langella (The Americans).
The new Hallmark Channel movie Date With Love will debut on May 21 at 9 PM.
When a small-town boy’s video “promposal” to a star goes viral, it scores him a date to prom with his celebrity crush. But when the star begins to fall for the boy’s teacher, things get complicated.
The film stars Shenae Grimes-Beech (90210), Andrew Walker (the Hallmark movies Dashing Through the Snow, A Bride for Christmas and Bridal Wave) and Bailee Madison (Good Witch).
Lethal Weapon – The series, based on the box office franchise, follows iconic cop duo Martin Riggs (Clayne Crawford from Rectify) and Roger Murtaugh (Damon Wayans, Sr. from My Wife and Kids), as they work a crime-ridden beat in modern-day Los Angeles. The cast includes Jordana Brewster (Dallas and Fast & Furious franchise), Kevin Rahm (Desperate Housewives and Madam Secretary) and Keesha Sharp (Are We There Yet?).
Thursday:
8 PM – Rosewood (New Night)
9 PM – Bones (New Time)
Friday:
8 PM – Hell’s Kitchen
9 PM – The Exorcist (NEW)
The Exorcist – The show, based on what is regarded as the greatest horror movie ever made, returns as a contemporary psychological thriller following two very different priests tackling one family’s case of terrifying demonic possession. The cast will include Geena Davis, Alfonso Herrera (Sense8) and Ben Daniels (Flesh and Bone).
Saturday:
7 PM – Fox Sports Saturday: College Football
Sunday:
7 PM – NFL on FOX
7:30 PM – The OT/ Bob’s Burgers
8 PM – The Simpsons
8:30 PM – The Son of Zorn (NEW)
9 PM – Family Guy
9:30 PM – The Last Man on Earth
Here are the new dramas that will debut in 2017:
24: Legacy (Mondays at 8 PM) – The series will chronicle the adrenaline-fueled race against the clock to stop a devastating terrorist attack on United States soil. Six months ago in Yemen, an elite squad of U.S. Army Rangers, led by Sergeant Eric Carter (Corey Hawkins from Straight Outta Compton), killed terrorist leader Sheik Ibrahim Bin-Khalid. In the aftermath, Bin-Khalid’s followers declared a fatwah against Carter, his squad and their families, forcing them into federal witness protection. The cast includes Miranda Otto (Homeland), Jimmy Smits (NYPD Blue), Teddy Sears (The Flash), Anna Diop (The Messenger) and Sheila Vand (State of Affairs).
APB (Mondays at 9 PM) – This series is about the over-extended and under-funded Chicago Police Department as it spirals out of control. Enter billionaire engineer Gideon Reeves (Justin Kirk from Weeds), who puts up millions of his own money, making an unprecedented deal to take over the troubled 13th District – and reboot it as a private police force: better, faster and smarter than anything seen before. The cast includes Natalie Martinez (Under the Dome and Kingdom), Ernie Hudson (The Crow), Taylor Handley (The O.C.), Caitlin Stasey (Reign) and Eric Winter (Witches of East End).
Pitch (Tuesdays at 9 PM) – The series tells the dramatic and inspirational story of a young pitcher Ginny Baker (Kyle Bunbury from Under the Dome and Twister), who is vaulted into instant fame when she’s called up by the San Diego Padres to make her Major League debut. The cast includes Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Franklin & Bash), Ali Larter (Legends and Heroes), Mark Consuelos (All My Children) and Dan Lauria (The Wonder Years).
Shots Fired (Wednesdays at 8 PM) – The 10-hour event series takes an explosive look at the criminal justice system. When an African-American police officer kills an unarmed white college student, a small town in North Carolina is turned upside-down. Before the town has a chance to grapple with this tragedy, the neglected murder of an African-American teen is brought to light, re-opening wounds that threaten to tear the town apart. The cast includes Sanaa Lathan (The Perfect Guy), Stephan James (Race and Selma), Helen Hunt, Richard Dreyfuss, Stephen Moyer (True Blood), Will Patton (Falling Skies) and Tristan Wilds (90210).
Star (Wednesdays at 9 PM) – The series focuses on three talented singers (newcomers Jude Demorest, Ryan Destiny and Brittany O’Grady), desperate for a new start and with ambitions of stardom, as they navigate the cut-throat music business on their road to success.
Prison Break (Thursdays at 9 PM) – This event is about what happens when clues surface that suggest a previously thought-to-be-dead Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) may be alive reunite to engineer the series’ biggest escape ever. Returning cast members also include Amaury Nolasco, Robert Knepper, Rockmond Dunbar and Paul Adelstein. They will be joined by Mark Feuerstein (Royal Pains) and Rick Yune (Marco Polo).
NOTE: Sleepy Hollow will return in 2017 on Friday nights at 9 PM.
The following is the proposed NBC line-up for the new fall 2016-2017 TV season:
Monday:
8 PM – The Voice
10 PM – Timeless (NEW)
Timeless is an action-adventure series in which a mysterious criminal steals a secret state-of-the-art time machine, intent on destroying America as we know it by changing the past. Our only hope is an unexpected team: a scientist, soldier and history professor who must use the machine’s prototype to travel back in time to critical events. While they must make every effort not to affect the past themselves, they must also stay one step ahead of this dangerous fugitive. Can this handpicked team uncover the mystery behind it all and end his destruction before it’s too late? The cast includes Abigail Spencer (Suits), Matt Lanter (90210 and Star-Crossed), Goran Visnjic (ER) and Sakina Jaffrey (Sleepy Hollow).
Tuesday:
8 PM – The Voice
9 PM – This Is Us
10 PM – Chicago Fire
This Is Us follows a unique ensemble whose paths cross and their life stories intertwine in curious ways. We find several of them share the same birthday, and so much more than anyone would expect. The cast includes Mandy Moore (A Walk to Remember), Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes and Gilmore Girls), Justin Hartley (Smallville and Revenge) and Sterling K. Brown (The People V. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story and Army Wives).
Wednesday:
8 PM – Blindspot (New Night and Time)
9 PM – Law & Order: SVU
10 PM – Chicago P.D.
Thursday:
8 PM – Superstore
8:30 PM – The Good Place (NEW)
9 PM – Chicago Med
10 PM – The Blacklist (New Time)
Friday:
8 PM – Caught on Camera with Nick Cannon
9 PM – Grimm
10 PM – Dateline NBC
Saturday:
8 PM – Saturday Dateline Mysteries
10 PM – Saturday Night Live (Encores)
Sunday:
7 PM – Football Night in America
8:20 PM – NBC’s Sunday Night Football
NOTE: Shades of Blue will also return, but it has not on the schedule right now.
The new dramas that will debut later in the season include:
The Blacklist: Redemption – This spin-off series will focus on undercover operative Tom Keen who joins forces with Susan “Scottie” Hargrave (Famke Janssen), the brilliant and cunning chief of Grey Matters, a covert mercenary organization that solves problems governments don’t dare touch. While on the hunt for Liz’s attacker, Tom secretly discovered that Scottie is actually his biological mother. Now, as they team up to employ their unique skills and resources in a dangerous world of deadly criminals, Tom begins his own covert mission to find out more about his shadowy past. The cast will include Edi Gathegi and Tawny Cypress.
Chicago Justice – The latest installment will focus on the State’s Attorney’s dedicated team of prosecutors and investigators navigate heated city politics and controversy head-on while fearlessly pursuing justice. As they take on the city’s high stakes and often media-frenzied cases, they must balance public opinion, power struggles within the system and their unwavering passion for the law. It all starts with a gut-wrenching case when one of Chicago’s finest is shot in the line of duty. The cast includes Philip Winchester (Strike Back and The Player), Carl Weathers (Colony), Nazneen Contractor (Heroes Reborn and Covert Affairs) and Joelle Carter (Justified).
Emerald City – In the blink of a tornado’s eye, 20-year-old Dorothy Gale (newcomer Adria Arjona from Person of Interest) and a K9 police dog are swept into a world far removed from our own – a mystical land of competing realms, lethal warriors, dark magic and a bloody battle for supremacy. Vincent D’Onofrio (Daredevil) will play the Wizard and other cast members include Isabel Lucas (Home and Away) and Oliver Jackson-Cohen (Dracula and Mr. Selfridge).
Midnight, Texas – Based on the hit book series from author Charlaine Harris (True Blood) comes a journey into a remote Texas town where no one is who they seem. From vampires and witches to psychics and hit men, Midnight is a mysterious safe haven for those who are different. As the town members fight off outside pressures from rowdy biker gangs, ever-suspicious cops and their own dangerous pasts, they band together and form a strong and unlikely family. The cast includes François Arnaud (The Borgias and Blindspot), Dylan Bruce (Orphan Black and Heroes Reborn), Arielle Kebbel (The Vampire Diaries), Sarah Ramos (Parenthood), Peter Mensah (Sleepy Hollow) and Yul Vazquez (The Lottery).
Taken – This series will follow the origin story of younger, hungrier former Green Beret Bryan Mills (Clive Standen from Vikings) [from the box office franchise that stars Liam Neeson] as he deals with a personal tragedy that shakes his world. As he fights to overcome the incident and exact revenge, Mills is pulled into a career as a deadly CIA operative, a job that awakens his very particular, and very dangerous, set of skills. The cast includes Jennifer Beals (Proof), Michael Irby (The Unit), Gaius Charles (Friday Night Lights and Grey’s Anatomy) and Monique Gabriela Curnen (The Following).
The new UP Channel movie The Game of Love will debut on May 15 at 7 PM.
Jake Cornell (Lochlyn Munro), third-generation owner of the Seattle Cougars basketball team, has devoted his entire life to his work, though he is still very attracted to his charming, smart, and unavailable ex-wife Frankie (Heather Locklear). Frankie has a weakness though – an undeniable attraction and connection to the infuriating man she’s divorced, not once, but twice.
Now that they are no longer together, Jake and Frankie, along with their two adult children Barton (Tom Stevens) and Alexandria (Emily Tennant), disagree on the future of the team. Jake’s about to lose the one thing he loves the most – the Seattle Cougars – to the other love of his life, Frankie. Sparks fly as Frankie takes over the front office. Will the team that drove them apart actually end up being the thing that brings them together for good?
On May 15, the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries original movie Karen Kingsbury’s A Time to Dance will air at 9 PM.
The film tells the story of Abby (Jennie Garth) and John (Dan Payne) Reynolds, a married couple who have been together since their days as high school sweethearts – when John was a football hero and Abby dreamed of becoming a writer. Now in their forties, Abby is a restaurant critic for a local newspaper and John is a football coach at their son’s high school.
Though their seemingly perfect marriage is the envy of their peers, the truth is that they have fallen out of love, and plan to announce their impending divorce during their daughter Nicole’s upcoming college break. But John and Abby’s plan takes a turn when an elated Nicole surprises them with an announcement that she has gotten engaged. Not wanting to put a damper on Nicole’s cherished event, John and Abby agree to wait until after her wedding to tell her about their divorce. With the clock ticking and John and Abby helping Nicole prepare for her wedding day, they may have one last chance to again find their love.
Rueben's Ramblings 