Spring is just around the corner and people are itching to get outside. But after you do that yard work, go on that hike or have that BBQ you’ve been longing for, it’s time to come inside and relax. Unwind from your long day by watching some new TV shows. Home Designers, chefs, supernatural abilities, aliens, space, political kidnappings, new Muppets, coming of age, saving the human race – these are just some of the topics you will find within the twenty-nine new TV programs coming in the Spring of 2014. Read on to learn what all the new spring TV programs are all about. There’s sure to be something for everyone.
24 Hours on Earth (BBCA)
Tuesdays @ 9:00pm, Series Premiere March 11
Animals and plants use the 24-hour day cycle in their every days lives just as humans do. Find out how on “24 Hours on Earth.”
American Dream Builders (NBC)
Sundays @ 8:00pm, Series Premiere March 23
Twelve contestants consisting of designers and home builders will divide into 2 teams to compete in weekly redesign projects. Each week one team member is eliminated until the final 2 standing will go head-to-head for the chance to put their design into a Southern California home. Designer Nate Berkus will host as well as judge. Other judges include Eddie George, a former NFL player turned landscape architect, and Monica Pederson, an interior design expert.
Beat Bobby Flay (FOOD)
Thursdays @ 10:00pm, Series Premiere March 6; preview March 3
Industry chefs would love the opportunity to face off against the popular Iron Chef, Bobby Flay. But only one of them will get the opportunity as they have to face each other first in a cook-off and be judged by Bobby’s friends and chef-colleagues to determine who will earn the rights to face the master. The last man or woman standing will have a slight advantage in the final as they get to pick the final dish to be prepared.
Believe (NBC)
Sundays @ 9:00pm, Series Premiere March 16; preview March 10 @ 10:00pm
Bo (Johnny Sequoyah) was born with extraordinary abilities – telekinesis, levitation, the ability to control nature and see the future. Fast forward 10 years where Bo is learning how to control her abilities. And like anyone with extraordinary abilities, there are bad guys trying to kidnap her and make her do their bidding. Because of that, she now has a protector named Milton Winter (Delroy Lindo). Milton employs Tate (Jake McLaughlin), an ex-con who was wrongfully put on death row. The trio must move from city to city to stay one step ahead of the bad guys leaving each city changed forever upon their departure. Also starring in “Believe” are Jamie Chung, Arian Moayed, and Kyle MacLachlan.
Black Box (ABC)
Thursdays @ 10:00pm, Series Premiere April 24
The brain is still a medical mystery even to the experts. Doctors call it the black box. Bipolar neurologist Dr. Catherine Black works to unravel this mystery at The Cube, a state-of-the-art neurological center in New York City. Dr. Black will diagnose and treat patients with rare conditions as viewers watch. “The Black Box” also stars Vanessa Redgrave as Catherine’s psychiatrist, Dr. Helen Hartramph; David Ajala as Will, a restaurateur; Ditch Davey as Dr. Ian Bickman, co-worker and neurosurgeon; Terry Kinney as Dr. Owen Morely, the medical director of The Cube; and David Chisum as Joshua Black, her brother.
Chrisley Knows Best (USA)
Tuesdays @ 10:00pm, Series Premiere March 11
Todd Chrisley is a self-made multi-millionaire living in Atlanta, Georgia with his wife and children. They have everything money can buy. Chrisley runs his family like he runs his business, with an iron fist and keeping track of where every penny goes.
Celebrities Undercover (OXY)
Tuesdays @ 10:30pm, Series Premiere March 18
Celebrities take on a new identity using prosthetic makeup in order to go undercover to find out what friends and fans really think of them. I say careful what you do, you may not like what you hear.
Close Encounters (SCI)
Tuesdays @ 10:00pm, Series Premiere March 4
Countless unexplained sightings from around the globe are reported each year. Many are documented and investigated. Most of them are “solved” when the “UFO” in question is documented as a strange weather pattern, a flight pattern, or even someone’s extraordinary imagination. But some still remain unsolved and remain unexplainable. These are the ones considered Close Encounters.
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (FOX)
Sundays @ 9:00pm, Series Premiere March 9
“Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey” is meant to take up where Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos: A Personal Voyage” left off. Writer and executive producer Ann Druyan, who teamed with Sagan on the first Cosmos, has teamed up with Seth MacFarlane for this 13-part series that will be hosted by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.
Crisis (NBC)
Sundays @ 10:00pm, Series Premiere March 16
When you put the children of powerful people all together on the same bus, it makes it really easy for kidnappers to nab them all at once and hold them hostage creating a national crisis. How far will these powerful Washington, D.C. parents go to get their child back? “Crisis” stars Gillian Anderson, Dermot Mulroney, Lance Gross, Rachael Taylor, James Lafferty, Max Martini, Halston Sage, Stevie Lynn Jones, Max Schneider, Michael Beach, and Joshua Erenberg.
Faking It (MTV)
Tuesdays @ 10:30pm, Series Premiere April 22
Two best friends, Karma and Amy (Katie Stevens and Rita Volk) want to be in with the popular crowd, but just don’t have what it takes. When they are mistakenly labeled as lesbians, their popularity soars and the girls go with it. “Faking it” also stars Michael Willett, Gregg Sulkin, and Bailey Buntain.
Fargo (FX) Tuesdays @ 10:00pm, Series Premiere April 15 This 10-episode limited series true crime story stars Billy Bob Thornton as Lorne Malvo, a manipulative man who sets a small time insurance salesman on a destructive path.
Friends with Better Lives (CBS)
Mondays @ 8:30pm, Series Premiere April 7
Six friends are all thinking the same thing – “My friend has a better life than I do.” Jules (Brookyn Decker) is on cloud nine after announcing her engagement with Lowell (Rick Donald) which leaves Kate (Zoe Lister-Jones), a successful career woman, the last single female friend. Will (James Van Der Beek) is also single via a recent divorce and living up the bachelor lifestyle while secretly pining for his ex-wife. Last but not least is Andi & Bobby (Majandra Delfino & Kevin Connolly) the happily married couple with a toddler and a bun in the oven, who, at times, wish for their care-free days.
House of Food (MTV)
Mondays @ 10:00pm, Series Premiere March 31
A group of aspiring chefs with no culinary training will live together in L.A. and compete for an apprenticeship. The contestants will learn together as they are led by 3 of the country’s best chefs.
Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge (SYFY)
Tuesdays @ 10:00pm, Series Premiere March 25
Ten aspiring creature creators compete for a prize worth up to $100,000 plus an opportunity to work at Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. All they have to do is out-imagine the next guy and be able to build mechanical characters in order to bring inanimate objects to life. Serving as mentors on the series will be animatronics master John Criswell, world-renowned designer Peter Brooke, mechanization and fabrication, and artistic specialist Julie Zobel. Working alongside the creature creators they will be available for consultation and hands-on assistance. The creative challenges in the series will show the process behind creature building, from conceptual design to sculpting, mechanization and fabrication. Each episode will end with on-set performances of the creative life-like creations. The creature creators will be tasked to create everything from hand puppets to large-scale theatrical creatures that can master the balance between realism and fantasy. Judging the whimsical beasts will be lead judge Brian Henson, Chairman of the Jim Henson Company and the Creature Shop. Additional judges include Creature Fabricator Beth Hathaway, credited with her works on Edward Scissorhands, Jurassic Park and The Walking Dead, and Creature Designer Kirk R. Thatcher who has worked on Return of the Jedi, Gremlins and E.T. Gigi Edgley will host.
Living Alaska (HGTV)
Sundays @ 7:00pm, Series Premiere March 23
Is there someone out there who will really watch couples search for a home in Alaska? If so, this is the show for you.
Online Dating Rituals of the American Male (BRAVO)
Thursdays @ 10:00pm, Series Premiere March 9 If you want to watch guys troll for a date on the internet then this is for you.
Penny Dreadful (SHO)
Sundays @ 10:00pm, Series Premiere May 11
This series has taken some of literature’s frightening characters and put them all together on the same stage with Victorian London serving as the backdrop. Anything can happen when Dorian Gray, Dracula, and Dr. Frankenstein are loose in the city.
Resurrection (ABC)
Sundays @ 9:00pm, Series Premiere March 9
In a rice paddy in rural China an 8-year-old American boy wakes up with no idea how he got there or where he came from. After a while, he remembers his name is Jacob (Landon Gimenez) and he is from Arcadia. J. Martin Bellamy (Omar Epps), an immigration agent, takes Jacob to his home in Arcadia. There they find Henry & Lucille Langston (Kurtwood Smith & Frances Fisher), an elderly couple whose son, Jacob, died over 30 years ago. But even though they have aged, 8-year-old Jacob still recognizes them as being his parents. Sheriff Fred Langston (Matt Craven) steps in to try to help solve the mystery of who this boy really is. Sheriff Langston’s wife, Barbara, also died over 30 years ago while trying to save Jacob’s life. Jacob insists he is the same boy that supposedly died and begins to reveal secrets about his death that only he could know. Maggie Langston, (Devin Kelly) Fred’s daughter, begins to investigate Jacob’s claims and quickly discovers he is telling the truth. So what happened to Jacob 30 years ago? Will more dead people begin showing up in Arcadia?
Silicon Valley (HBO)
Sundays @ 10:30pm, Series Premiere April 6
Silicon Valley is a gold rush of modern technology but can the people that are successful there handle it?
Sirens (USA)
Thursdays @ 10:00pm, Series Premiere March 6
Follow three guys deemed as some of Chicago’s best EMT’s. Hank and Johnny (Kevin Daniels & Michael Mosely) are best friends and EMT partners while Brian (Kevin Bigley) is the new guy who still lives with his parents. Theresa (Jessica McNamee) is with the Chicago PD who still has a thing for Johnny even though they aren’t officially a couple any longer. I have to admit I was disappointed when I learned that “Sirens” is about EMT’s and not a new sci-fi type series. Oh, well.
Southern Charm (BRAVO)
Mondays @ 10:00pm, Series Premiere March 3
In Charleston, South Carolina, there is a tight-knit posh society in which some are descendents of Senators, Vice Presidents and “new” money. “Southern Charm” follows six single people, Craig Conover, Cameran Eubanks, Jenna King, Thomas Ravenel, Shepard “Shep” Rose, and Whitney Sudler-Smith, all of whom are suffering from “Peter Pan Syndrome,” none of them want to grow up and settle down. But there’s a fine line between balancing a career, living the high life, and keeping the family name unmarred.
Surviving Jack (FOX)
Thursdays @ 8:30pm, Series Premiere March 27
In the 1990’s, after putting her career on hold for 15 years or so to raise her son, Joanne (Rachael Harris) has decided to go to law school leaving her husband Jack (Christopher Meloni) in the full-time parent role. Jack is an oncologist and ex-military who tells it like it is. His previous idea of parenting was to come home late, eat the chicken, yell at the kids, and go to bed. Their teenage son, Frankie (Connor Buckley), grew 10″ over the summer, threw a no-hitter, is starting high school, and is beginning to attract girls but he just wants to be invisible. Now Jack has to learn to be a dad and guide his son through the trials of being a teenager, all without the help of Google. “Surviving Jack” is based on the autobiographical book, “I Suck at Girls” by Justin Halpern.
The 100 (CW)
Wednesdays @ 9:00pm, Series Premiere March 19
Nuclear Armageddon destroyed civilization on Earth 97 years ago. Four hundred inhabitants of the 12 international space stations were the only human survivors. Three generations have been born in space; their numbers are now up to 4,000. Even though the 12 space stations have been linked together to form their Ark of survival, resources are running low. To ensure humanities future, extreme measures are being taken by the leaders of the Ark including population control and corporal punishment. Part of the population control means taking drastic measures such as secretly exiling 100 juvenile prisoners to Earth to be used a guinea pigs to determine whether or not Earth’s surface is habitable or not. This will be the first time in nearly a century that man has set foot on Earth. Among the 100 exiles are Wells (Eli Goree), son of the Ark’s Chancellor; the daredevil Finn (Thomas McDonnell); the brother/sister duo Bellamy and Octavia (Bob Morley & Marie Avgeropoulos), whose illegal sibling status has always led them to flaunt the rules; and Clarke (Eliza Taylor), the bright teenage daughter of the Ark’s chief medical officer. Unbeknownst to them about the situation with the exiled young people, the leaders of the Ark – Chancellor Jaha (Isaiah Washington), his second in command, Kane (Henry Ian Cusick), and Abby (Paige Turco), Clarke’s widowed mother continue to make the difficult decisions on the Ark concerning the continued existence of the human race. Meanwhile, the 100 are on what is essentially an alien planet to them that is both magical and deadly. They must find a way to overcome their differences and come together to ensure the survival of the human race and themselves. Also starring in “The 100” are Kelly Hu as Cece, Christopher Larkin as Monty, and Devon Bostick as Jasper. “The 100” is based on the upcoming book series by Kass Morgan.
The Real History of Science Fiction (BBCA)
Saturdays @ 10:00pm, Series Premiere April 19
Each episode of this 4-part docu-series will take a look at one of the basic themes that make up science fiction – space exploration, aliens, time travel, artificial intelligence and robots – and its impact on literature, television, and cinema. Some of the greatest pioneers of the genre will be featured including Star Wars, Doctor Who, the Terminator and H.G. Well’s War of the Worlds.
Those Who Kill (A&E) Mondays @ 10:00pm, Series Premiere March 3
Catherine Jensen (Sevigny) is a newly appointed homicide detective searching for serial killers and her brother who mysteriously disappeared. Thomas Schaeffer (James D’Arcy) is a forensic psychologist who adds Catherine in her investigations.
Triptank (COMEDY CENTRAL)
Wednesdays @ 10:30pm, Series Premiere April 2
Watch unfiltered animated shorts made by inventive comedians including, but not limited to, Larry David, Wayne Brady, Kumail Nanjiani, and Zach Galafianakis.
Turn (AMC)
Sundays @ 9:00pm, Series Premiere April 6
The untold story of America’s first spy ring.
Years of Living Dangerously (SHO)
Sundays @ 10:00pm, Series Premiere April 6
Labeled as a groundbreaking documentary, “Years of Living Dangerously” explores the human impact of climate change. First-hand reports are provided from those affected by, and seeking solutions for, disasters such as Hurricane Sandy and the drought in the Middle East.
For more TV premieres check out my Yahoo! Voices home page here.
* * * *
Sources linked in show titles. DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein.
