After a long day at work, there is no better way to wind down the day than lying on your sofa/bed to watch TV. Furthermore, today’s generation is a generation of couch potatoes because there are just so many TV series or films to watch. And that’s not to say that we don’t get out there to socialise as and when necessary because we do. It’s just that when it comes to enjoying life at home, watching TV is just one of the many ways to let our minds rest from all the daily stress.
From “Gotham” to “Hannibal” to “The Flash“, this year has featured a number of TV series that received rave reviews and garnered a cult following greater than their popularity. Since 2014 is coming to an end soon, it’s time to look ahead to next year and keep a lookout for the upcoming TV series in 2015.
Check out the list below for what you should be watching in 2015 (we saved the best for the last):
1. Agent Carter
- Premiere date: January 6, 2015
- Cast: Hayley Atwell, Dominic Cooper
Marvel TV has teamed up with ABC network to create “Agent Carter” based on the Marvel One-Shot short film of the same name. The TV series follows the story of agent Peggy Carter (played by Hayley Atwell), who is now working as a British officer representing the Strategic Scientific Reserve after Steve Rogers/Captain America’s supposed death in World War II. As dull as her life would be, Peggy is later asked by the young Howard Stark (played by Dominic Cooper) to co-head his newly created S.H.I.E.L.D with Colonel Chester Phillips.
Written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the series is executive produced by Tara Butters, Michele Fazekas, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, Chris Dingess, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Alan Fine, Joe Quesada, Stan Lee, and Jeph Loeb.
2. Daredevil
- Premiere date: May 1, 2015
- Cast: Charlie Cox
Marvel is looking to rule both the cinematic and television universe as the studio has signed a multi-show deal with Netflix, allowing various superheroes to make their TV debut. “Daredevil” the handicapped superhero is the first in line to make his TV debut as the series is scheduled for release on May 1, 2015.
As compared to the 2003’s movie of the same name (starring Ben Affleck), Steven S. DeKnight stated that the series is “the exact opposite” of the film adaptation of Marvel’s “Daredevil”. Best known for executive producing Starz original series “Spartacus”, DeKnight stated that the content for Netflix’s “Daredevill” is going to be “a little grittier and edgier than Marvel has gone before”. However, the origin story remain unchanged as he added that they’re “not looking to push it to extreme violence or gratuitous nudity”. English actor Charlie Cox is set to star in the series as Matt Murdock, a lawyer by day who transforms into Daredevil to hunt criminals by night.
3. A.K.A. Jessica Jones
- Premiere date: 2015
- Cast: Krysten Ritter, Mike Colter
“A.K.A. Jessica Jones” is one of Netflix’s multi-show deal with Marvel. The premiere date for the 13-episode series is indefinite but it is slated for release in 2015. Marvel has confirmed that “Breaking Bad” actress Krysten Ritter will be playing Jessica Jones, a character that was first introduced by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos in the classic ALIAS comic series.
The TV series will revolve around Jones whose life changes after a tragic ending to her short-lived Super Hero stint. She rebuilds her personal life and career as a detective who gets pulled into cases involving people with extraordinary abilities in New York City.
4. The Last Man on Earth
- Premiere Date: March 1, 2015
- Cast: Will Forte, January Jones, Kristen Schaal, Mel Rodriguez, Cleopatra Coleman
2015 will not be short of comedy series as “The Lego Movie” and “22 Jump Street” directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have teamed up again for Fox’s upcming sitcom, “The Last Man On Earth”. SNL alum Will Forte is the programme creator for the futuristic comedy TV series and he is set to star in the series for the leading role, Phil Miller,
The story will revolve around the life and adventure of Phil Miller, who becomes the last human on Earth in the year 2022 after an unknown event that wipes out the entire population of Earth, including his family and the employees at the bank where he works. But is he the only human being on Earth? If he isn’t, who will he encounter when he searches the entire US for signs of living humans? That’s for us to find out when it’s out on TV.
5. American Gods
- Premiere Date: 2015
- Cast: TBA
The war between the Old gods of mythological roots and the New gods of America will be brought to life through Starz’s upcoming TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s best selling fantasy novel “American Gods”. Earlier in July, it was announced that Bryan Fuller, the programme creator of “Hannibal” TV series will be developing the “American Gods” TV series with Michael Green (of “Heroes” fame).
Neil Gaiman is heavily involved in the production of “American Gods” as both Fuller and Gaiman will script the pilot episode of the series. Craig Cegielski, Stefanie Berk, and Thom Beers are attached to executive produce the series together with Fuller. The series will revolve around Shadow Moon, a mysterious man who gets pulled into the war between the Old Gods and the New Gods. The cast members hasn’t been announced but fans are hoping to have Dwayne Johnson or “Game of Thrones” star Jason Momoa to play the leading role.
6. American Crime
- Premiere Date: March 5, 2015
- Cast: Felicity Huffman, Brent Anderson, David Hoflin
After the season finale of “Law & Order”, crime drama series fans can once again look forward to 2015 as another American anthology crime drama TV series will make its debut on ABC next year. Titled “American Crime“, the series was created by John Ridley, the screenwriter for Oscar-winning film “12 Years A Slave”. The series will follow the investigation and the subsequent trials surrounding the murder of a California vet.
Instead of being a series with a procedural cliche, the 11-part anthology series aims to deliver an emotional punch while focusing on race, class, and gender politics in the racially-charged murder. Felicity Huffman and Timothy Hutton have joined cast to play the victim’s parents in the series.
7. Sherlock Christmas special
- Premiere Date: 2015
- Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman
Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson will make their way back to 221 Baker Street in 2015 as the 2 have teamed up to appear in a Christmas special episode ahead of the Season 4 release. Despite Benedict Cumberbatch’s busy schedule, the detective drama series is now gearing up for its return through the Christmas special episode.
The plot details for the episode hasn’t been announced yet but Season 4 of the series is expected to hit BBC in 2016.
8. Cobalt (“The Walking Dead” Spin-Off)
- Premiere Date: TBA
- Cast: Cliff Curtis, Kim Dickens, Frank Dillane, Alycia Debnam-Carey
Following the success of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” and “Breaking Bad”, the cable channel continues to milk off the series by developing a spin-off for both series. “The Walking Dead” spin-off series is tentatively titled “Cobalt” and it will not feature any characters that have been introduced in its predecessor. However, the series will still set its story in the same zombie-infested universe.
Dave Erickson will serve as the showrunner of the series and pen the pilot script with Robert Kirkman. Gale Ann Hurd, and David Alpert, and Kirkman will executive produce the series. According to Deadline, the series revolves around a male divorced teacher, a female guidance counselor, and her 2 children; a son and a daughter. The characters of the spin-off series are described as follows (via TVLine):
- Sean Cabrera: A Latino male in his early 40s, Sean is a good man trying to do right by everyone in his life.
- Cody Cabrera: Sean’s whip-smart and rebellious teenage son. Known as the angriest kid in town.
- Nancy Tompkins: A thirtysomething single mom to two kids, Nancy looks like the girl next door, but there’s an edge to her.
- Nick Tompkins: Nancy’s screwed up teenage son. He’s too old to stay home, too scared to flee.
- Ashley Tompkins: Nancy’s mostly level-headed teenage daughter. Her ambition is in direct proportion to her older brother’s failures. She loves her mom but it’s time to get out of Dodge.
- Andrea Chapman: A somewhat wilted flower child, fortysomething Andrea – yep, another Andrea! – has retreated to the outskirts of the city to recover after a horrible marriage.
9. Better Call Saul (Breaking Bad Spin-Off)
- Premiere Date: Early 2015
- Cast: Bob Odenkirk, Rhea Seehorn, Patrick Fabian
Criminal lawyer Saul Goodman will make a triumphant return through AMC’s upcoming spin-off series for “Breaking Bad”. Set in 2002, the spin-off series is considered a prequel of “The Walking Dead” with Saul Goodman as the central character. Portrayed by Bob Odenkirk, Saul Goodman is often known as a comic relief due to his flashy suits and low-budget TV commercials.
Goodman was first introduced in the 2nd season of “Breaking Bad” as a criminal lawyer who was to represent Badger, a friend and dealer of Jesse Pinkman (played by Aaron Paul), when he was caught selling crystal meth. He later becomes a lawyer for Walter White (played by Bryan Cranston) to help him keep his drug money. Titled “Better Call Saul“, the spin-off series is slated for release in early 2015.
10. Damien
- Premiere Date: 2015
- Cast: Bradley James
All thanks to Lifetime, “The Omen”, the 1976 horror classic is getting another sequel in the form of a TV series. This time around, Damien Thorn is no longer the mysterious kid who may be the devil incarnate as he has now grown into an adult who becomes haunted by his past. But at the same time, he must come to terms with his true identity – that he is an Antichrist, the most feared man throughout the ages.
Titled “Damien”, Lifetime has ordered the 6-episode series to be helmed by Indian film director Shekhar Kapur (of “Elizabeth” fame). He is set to executive produce the first episode based on a screenplay written by Glen Mazzara of 44 Strong Productions. Mazzara will also executive produce the TV series with Pancho Mansfield and Ross Fineman of Fineman Entertainment. “Merlin” actor Bradley James has officially joined the series to play the leading role.
11. Heroes: Reborn
- Premiere Date: TBA
- Cast: TBA
Remember that time when “Heroes” was one of the most watched TV series before it went downhill due to the WGA strike? Well, NBC surprised its fans by announcing that the cancelled series will return as a 13-episode event miniseries in 2015. The original “Heroes” borrows the American comic books’ aesthetic style to tell the story of ordinary people who discover their superhuman abilities. The series focuses on how their superhuman abilities eventually led them to a series of events – including changing the world.
Tim Kring, the mastermind behind NBC’s “Heroes”, will return to develop the series with new cast members. So far, none of the cast members have been announced but NBC Entertainment President Jennifer Salke stated in a press release that they will not rule out the possibility of some of the show’s original cast members popping back in.
12. Westworld
- Premiere Date: TBA
- Cast: Sir Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Evan Rachel Wood, James Marsden, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, Miranda Otto, Rodrigo Santoro, Shannon Woodward, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Angela Sarafyan, Simon Quarterman
“Westworld” should top off the list of the highly-anticipated series in 2015 as the series features a stellar cast, from Sir Anthony Hopkins to Ed Harris to Evan Rachel Wood. In fact, the series will be created by Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan, who is also the brother of “Interstellar” director Christopher Nolan. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” director J.J. Abrams is set to executive produce the series alongside Nolan, Joy, Jerry Weintraub, and Bryan Burk.
Based on the 1973 film of the same name, the sci-fi thriller series will also be directed by Jonathan Nolan. The series tells the story of a futuristic amusement park called Westworld and it is described as “a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the future of sin”. “A Beautiful Mind” actor Ed Harris joined the cast for a key villain role, known only as the Man in Black.
Which TV series do you look forward to watching the most? Let us know in the comments box below!