“Red Band Society” (Fox): A diverse group of teenagers become unlikely allies and friends in this unconventional and, at times, comic high school drama, set in the pediatric wing of a hospital. This is one of the most ambitious and unorthodox shows in anyone’s development slate this year. It represents a completely inspired way into young soap, a comedic one-hour, a hospital show, and a (surrogate) family drama.
“Gotham” (Fox): An origin story of the great DC Comics Super-Villains and vigilantes, revealing an entirely new chapter that has never been told.
“State of Affairs” (NBC): Each day the president is faced with hundreds of life and death decisions, and to prioritize the biggest international crises facing the country, top CIA analyst – Charleston Tucker (Katherine Heigl, “Grey’s Anatomy”) – assembles the president’s Daily Briefing (PDB). This list of the most vital security issues facing the nation brings with it moral and political judgment calls for Charleston and her trusted group of brilliant analysts at the agency. Aside from the political minefields she has to walk, Charlie has a close personal relationship with the president (Alfre Woodard, “Desperate Housewives”) because she was once engaged to her son before a tragic terrorist attack took his life. Charlie survived that attack and is now determined to bring the perpetrators to justice. Navigating a complex personal life and a pressure-cooker profession is, of course, a challenge, and Charlie sometimes engages in boundary-pushing behavior to avoid facing her grief. But when the clock strikes 2 a.m., she is all about her job — protecting her nation, serving her president, and still trying to get to the bottom of her fiancé’s murder that will reveal itself as a shocking mystery.
“Allegiance” (NBC): Alex O’Connor, a young idealistic CIA analyst specializing in Russian affairs, learns a shocking secret. And his close-knit, affluent family is about to be split apart when its revealed that his parents, Mark (Scott Cohen, “Necessary Roughness”) and Katya (Hope Davis, “The Newsroom,” “In Treatment”) are covert Russian spies deactivated decades ago. But today the Kremlin has re-enlisted them into service as they plan a terrorist operation inside the U.S. border that will bring America to its knees. Years ago, Russian-born Katya was tasked by the KGB to recruit American businessman Mark O’Connor as a spy and the two fell in love. A deal was struck: As long as Katya remained an asset for Russia, and it was agreed that her services could be called on in the future, she would be allowed to marry Mark and move to America. After years in America building a happy life and without word from Moscow, they thought they had escaped. Now it seems that the new Mother Russia has one more mission — turning Alex into a spy. For these anguished parents, the choice is clear: Betray their country or risk their family.
“Marry Me” (NBC): Six years ago, Annie (Casey Wilson, “Happy Endings”) and Jake (Ken Marino, “Eastbound & Down”) bonded over their mutual love of nachos and they’ve been inseparable ever since. Now, after returning from a romantic two-week island vacation, Jake’s all set to pop the question. Before he can ask, though, Annie lets loose on Jake for his inability to commit. She was expecting him to “put a ring on it” in paradise and now Jake’s perfect proposal is ruined. Not wanting to spend the next 60 years talking about that mess of a proposal, Jake and Annie decide to hold off on the engagement until they can do it right. Yet if history tells us anything, it’s when we really want things to go right that they all tend to go wrong. The only thing we know for sure is these two are destined to be together whether they can get it together or not.
“Empire” (Fox): A unique family drama from Lee Daniels that’s set in the world of a hip-hop empire that will feature both original and current music.
“Mysteries of Laura” (NBC): Based on a Spanish format, this is a procedural drama with a sharp sense of humor following a quirky female homicide detective who juggles high-stakes crime as well as her ex-husband and devilish twin boys.
“Constantine” (NBC): Based on the “Hellblazer” graphic novels. David Goyer (Batman Begins) and Daniel Cerone (Dexter) bring to life one of DC Comics’ most popular characters, master of the occult John Constantine. Constantine is struggling with his faith as he is haunted by the sins of his past, but he is suddenly thrust into the role of defending humanity from the gathering forces of darkness.
“A to Z” (NBC): A whimsical romantic comedy set in the world of an online dating company that details the “A to Zs” of a relationship, from meeting to break-up. Our ensemble navigates the complicated world of modern dating and poses the question: Is there such a thing as destiny?
“Selfie” (ABC): Comedy inspired by “My Fair Lady” tells the story of a self-obsessed 20-something woman who is more concerned with “likes” than being liked. After suffering a very public and humiliating breakup, she becomes the subject of a viral video and suddenly has more social media “followers” than she ever imagined — but for all the wrong reasons. She enlists the help of a marketing expert at her company to help repair her tarnished image.
“Galavant” (ABC): The fairy-tale musical centers on handsome Prince Galavant and his quest for revenge against the king who stole his one true love.
“American Crime” (ABC): The personal lives of the players involved in a racially charged trial are examined as their worlds are turned upside-down.
“Forever” (ABC): Dr. Henry Morgan is New York City’s star medical examiner. But what no one knows is Henry studies the dead because he is immortal. With the help of detective Jo Martinez, we will peel back the layers of Henry’s colorful and long life through their cases.
“Black-Ish”: Andre ‘Dre’ Johnson (Anthony Anderson) has a great job, a beautiful wife, Rainbow (Tracee Ellis Ross), four kids, and a colonial home in the ‘burbs. But has success brought too much assimilation for this black family? With a little help from his dad (Laurence Fishburne), Dre sets out to establish a sense of cultural identity for his family that honors their past while embracing the future.
“Agent Carter” (ABC): “Marvel’s Agent Carter,” starring “Captain America’s” Hayley Atwell follows the story of Peggy Carter. It’s 1946, and peace has dealt Peggy Carter a serious blow as she finds herself marginalized when the men return home from fighting abroad. Working for the covert SSR (Strategic Scientific Reserve), Peggy must balance doing administrative work and going on secret missions for Howard Stark all while trying to navigate life as a single woman in America, in the wake of losing the love of her life – Steve Rogers. Inspired by the feature films “Captain America: The First Avenger” and “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” along with the short “Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter.”
“Manhattan Love Story” (ABC): Have you ever wondered what your date was thinking? This romantic comedy exposes the differences between men and women through the unfiltered thoughts, and often contradictory actions, of a new couple who have just begun dating.
“How to Get Away With Murder” (ABC): The brilliant, charismatic and seductive Professor Annalise Keating (Viola Davis) gets entangled with four law students from her class “How to Get Away with Murder.” Little do they know that they will have to apply what they learned to real life, in this masterful, sexy, suspense-driven legal thriller from Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers, executive producers of “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal.”
“The Whispers: (ABC): Aliens have invaded Earth by using our most unlikely resource to achieve world domination—our children. As the kids unwittingly help these unseen enemies, the clock counts down in this suspenseful race to save humanity.
“Secrets and Lies” (ABC): Based on an upcoming Australian series starring Martin Henderson, the drama centers on a patriarch who becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a young boy when he finds the body.
“Bad Judge” (NBC): Centers on a hard-living, sexually unapologetic woman (Kate Walsh) who plays with the law and whose life on the edge is constantly in balance, as she also happens to be a judge in the San Bernardino criminal court system.
“The McCarthys” (CBS): A loud, sports-crazed Boston family whose somewhat athletically challenged son, Ronny, is chosen by his father to be his assistant high school basketball coach, to the surprise of his more qualified siblings.
“NCIS: New Orleans” (CBS): The new “NCIS” franchise explores the local field office that investigates criminal cases affecting military personnel in the Big Easy, a city known for its music, entertainment and decadence.
“Madam Secretary” (CBS): Tea Leoni’s Elizabeth McCord is 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.
“Battle Creek” (CBS): From Vince Gilligan and David Shore, stars Josh Duhamel and Dean Winters play two mismatched law enforcement officers whose polar opposite views of the world and crime-solving breed frustration, disdain, humor and possibly a grudging respect as they team together to clean up the hardscrabble streets of Battle Creek, Mich.
“Scorpion” (CBS): Billed as a high-octane drama, eccentric genius Walter O’Brien (Elyes Gabel) and his team of brilliant misfits are the last line of defense against high-tech, complex threats of the modern age.
“Stalker” (CBS): Maggie Q and Dylan McDermott star in the psychological thriller about detectives who investigate stalking incidents -– including voyeurism, cyber harassment and romantic fixation -– for the Threat Assessment Unit of the LAPD.
“The Odd Couple” (CBS): Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon are a slob and a neat freak living together in the new take Neil Simon’s classic story.
“The Flash” (CW): Based upon characters published by DC Comics. Through a freak accident, scientist Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) is given the power of super speed, which transforms him into the Fastest Man Alive.
“Jane the Virgin” (CW): Adapted from the successful Venezuelan telenovela. A series of surprising and unforeseen events causes a hard-working, religious young Latina woman to be accidentally artificially inseminated.
“The Messengers” (CW): When a mysterious object crashes down to earth, a group of seemingly unconnected strangers die from the energy pulse, but then awaken to learn that they must prevent the Apocalypse.
“iZombie” (CW): A med student-turned-zombie takes a job in the coroner’s office to gain access to the brains she must reluctantly eat to maintain her humanity. But with each brain she consumes, she inherits the corpse’s memories. With the help of her medical examiner boss and a police detective, she solves homicide cases in order to quiet the disturbing voices in her head. Based on the characters created by Chris Roberson and Michael Allred, and published by DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint.
