We know, we know, you don’t think you should be binge-watching a newly-discovered TV series because you didn’t want to suffer from the post-series depression. Well, tough luck, because a number of network shows that have already made their glorious TV debut in the previous years are being renewed and they will once again take over your life in 2015.
It’s exciting to see some of our favourite shows return to TV but some of the long-running ones will come to its finale. The long journey we’ve been through with these TV series will finally come to an end soon and we are not quite sure how we will get over it. Sure, it is a good time to be alive but let’s be honest, how many of you are ready for the ending of your favourite TV shows? Exactly.
Without further ado, check out the TV series that will make their triumphant return this year in the list below:
1. Parks & Recreation Final Season (Season 7)
- Premiere Date: 13th Jan 2015
- Cast: Amy Poehler, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Chris Pratt, Aubrey Plaza, Adam Scott, Jim O’Heir, Retta, Rob Lowe
The 7th season of “Parks and Recreation” is going to be one heartbreaking season as the series is going to bid farewell to its loyal fan base. The American comedy series follows the life of Leslie Knope, a mid-level bureaucrat who works in the parks department of Pawnee, a fictional town in Indiana. The series often breaks the Fourth Wall by talking to the viewers and this is because the series was filmed using a single-camera, mockumentary style.
Although the first season received mixed reviews from viewers, the subsequent seasons received critical acclaim after a re-approach to its format and tone. The series also reached a “cult status” through its major characters including Nick Offerman’s Ron Swanson, Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope, Aubrey Plaza‘s April Ludgate, and so on. A number of guest stars such as Paul Rudd and Ben Schwartz have been featured in the show and they often appear in multiple episodes.
The series was named the number 1 TV series by TIME in 2012 and has gone on to receive several awards and nominations. The final season of “Parks and Recreation” will consist of 13 episodes and it is scheduled to air on the NBC television network from 13th Jan 2015 onwards.
2. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Season 10)
- Premiere Date: 17th Jan 2015
- Cast: Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, Rob McElhenney, Kaitlin Olson, Danny DeVito
Some may have described that January is a dumping ground for the worst movies but that doesn’t mean we will be running out of things to watch as the 10th season of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” will return to TV on 14th Jan 2015. Created and developed by Rob McElhenney and Glenn Howerton, the long-running sitcom stars McElhenney, Howerton, Charlie Day, Kaitlin Olson, Danny DeVito as a group of self-centred friends who runs an Irish bar in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Calling themselves “The Gang”, the members of the group often find themselves in everyday issues and they would do anything for personal gain, vengeance, or simply entertainment. All of them display a number of unethical behaviour including dishonesty, egotism, selfishness, greed, pettiness, ignorance, and laziness. However, most viewers enjoy watching the show as some of them can relate to the given situations in the series. Viewers also find hilarity in how the characters address the issues.
From the ninth season onwards, the series moved to FX’s new network FXX. The series has been renewed for 3 seasons, with the 10th season debuting on 14th Jan 2015.
3. House of Cards (Season 3)
- Premiere Date: 27th Feb 2015
- Cast: Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright
Kevin Spacey’s outstanding performance in American political drama TV series “House of Cards” has not only impressed the TV critics, but also many other TV fans who have seen BBC’s original adaptation of Michael Dobbs’ novel of the same name. It is the first original online-only web TV series to receive major Emmy nominations as the first season of “House of Cards” has received 9 Primetime Emmy Award nominations while the second season received 13 Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
Set in the present-day Washington DC, the story revolves around Frank Underwood (played by Kevin Spacey), a power-hungry Democrat from South Carolina’s fifth congressional district. After being passed over for appointment as Secretary of State, Underwood begins an elaborate plan with his loyal wife, Claire Underwood (played by Robin Wright), to get himself into a position of power. In the series, Spacey displays the ruthless pragmatism and manipulation of a Democrat who would do bad things for greater good.
Developed and produced by Beau Willimon, the show has been renewed for the third season and it will be released on 27th Feb 2015.
4. Bates Motel (Season 3)
- Premiere Date: March 2015
- Cast: Vera Farmiga, Freddie Highmore, Max Thieriot
Just like “House of Cards”, “Bates Motel” is a dark and twisted TV series that keeps its loyal fan base coming back for more through its brilliant script and cast. The American drama thriller TV series is developed by Carlton Cuse, Kerry Ehrin, and Anthony Cipriano, and produced by Universal Television for the cable network A&E. Set as a prequel to 1996’s “Psycho”, the series is made in a modern setting and it follows the life of the young Norman Bates (played by Freddie Highmore) who starts his new life with his mother, Norma Bates (Vera Farmiga) in a small motel after the death of his father.
However, both of them soon discover that the town is not as idyllic as it seems, especially after their life in the town are intercepted by Norma’s estranged son, Dylan Bates (played by Max Thieriot). A series of events eventually led them to discover more dangerous secrets about themselves. As opposed to the original novel, the series set its story in a fictional town called White Pine Bay, Oregon. “Bates Motel” received mostly positive reviews and earned various award nominations.
The series has been renewed for the third season and it will consist of 10 episodes.
5. Game of Thrones (Season 5)
- Premiere Date: April 2015
- Cast: Lena Headey, Kit Harrington, Emily Clarke, Peter Dinklage, Maisie Williams
“Game of Thrones“, the highly-anticipated fantasy drama TV series is returning to HBO with a major makeover, especially after how things ended in Season 4. The plot in the fifth season will be adapted from the fourth and fifth novels of George R. R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire”s series. Viewers will get to see Arya Stark’s (played by Massie Williams) new look, since she underwent a major transformation to stay unrecognisable in the free city of Braavos.
However, the most exciting part of the series is how it is going to present the new storyline with new cast members at various new locations. The new cast members were announced at the SDCC last year and they are set to portray the Martell family, a group of fearsome warriors from Dorne (all related to the recently departed Red Viper). 5 new veteran directors (with each directing 2 episodes of the series respectively) have been enlisted for the show. It was revealed that this season will present the city of Volantis and include some flashbacks, which they had previously avoided.
The premiere date for the fifth season of the series has yet to be announced but it is confirmed to be shown in April 2015.
6. Orange is the New Black (Season 3)
- Premiere Date: Mid-2015
- Cast: Taylor Schilling, Michael Harney, Kate Mulgrew, Natasha Lyonne, Jason Biggs, Uzo Aduba, Danielle Brooks, Samira Wiley, Dascha Polanco
One of the most successful Netflix’s original series goes to “Orange is the New Black”, a comedy-drama series that charm its fans through Piper Kerman’s memoir of the same name. Created by Jenji Kohan, the series is produced by Tilted Productions in association with Lionsgate Television. The series received 12 Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
Inspired by Kerman’s memoir, the series revolves around Piper Chapman (played by Taylor Schilling), a bisexual woman living in New York City who spends 15 months in a women’s federal prison for smuggling a suitcase full of drug money across the international border. In prison, she becomes reunited with her former drug-dealing girlfriend, Alex Vause (played by Laura Prepon). The offense occurs 10 years prior to the start of the series, and in that time Piper moves on to a quiet, law-abiding life among New York’s upper middle class. In prison, Piper is reunited with Alex (who named Piper in her trial resulting in her arrest), and they re-examine their relationship and deal with their fellow prisoners.
The series has been renewed for a third season and it is set to be released by mid-2015.
7. Orphan Black (Season 3)
- Premiere Date: 18th April 2015
- Cast: Tatiana Maslany, Dylan Bruce, Jordan Gavaris
Created by screenwriter Graeme Manson and director John Fawcett, “Orphan Black” is a Canadian sci-fi TV series that revolves around Sarah Manning, a woman with several clones. From con artist to scientist to soccer mom, actress Tatiana Maslany has impressed both viewers and critics for her multiple roles in the series. The series allows the viewers to take a look at the possible consequences of human cloning, especially on its moral and ethical implications.
Produced by Temple Street Productions in association with BBC America and Bell Media’s Space, the series was renewed for a third season and it is set to be premiered on 18th April 2015. In the third season of “Orphan Black”, Manning will face off against new clones, including the male clones of Project Castor. The upcoming season will also determine the bond with her sister and their origin story.
8. Mad Men (Season 7, Part 2)
- Premiere Date: Spring 2015
- Cast: Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, January Jones, Christina Hendricks, Aaron Staton
“Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner is finally going to put an end to the American period drama television series as the show will air the second part of its final season this Spring. Produced by Lionsgate Television, the seventh and final season of “Mad Men” has been split into 2 parts and each part will consist of 7 episodes. The series revolves around the life of Don Draper (played by Jon Hamm), the founding partner of an advertising agency called “Sterling Cooper Dapper Pryce”. The series focuses on the businesses of the advertising agency and depicts parts of American society and culture of the 60s by highlighting issues such as cigarette smoking, drinking, sexism, feminism, adultery, homophobia, antisemitism, and racism.
Don Draper’s real identity remains a mystery throughout the season as he was revealed to have stolen the identity of a dead officer during the Korean War. Weiner described that the series is a science fiction in the past as “Mad Men” uses the past to discuss issues that concern us today. From visual style to costume design to historical authenticity, “Mad Men” has received widespread critical acclaim and ranked as one of the greatest dramas of all time and the best-written TV series of all time by TV Guide and the Writers Guild of America respectively.
The second part of the final season of “Mad Men” is scheduled to air in 2015 and perhaps it will finally reveal Don Draper’s real identity and his fate by the end of the series.
9. True Detective (Season 2)
- Premiere Date: Summer 2015
- Cast: Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn, Rachel McAdams, Taylor Kitsch, Kelly Reilly
If there’s TV series that you need to start watching now, it’s “True Detective“. Why, you ask? Because the second season of the show will return to HBO this summer with a whole new storyline and cast members, including Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn, and Rachel McAdams. Created and written by Nic Pizzolatto, the first season of the American TV crime drama series follows Louisiana State Police detective duo, Rust Cohle (played by Matthew McConaughey) and Martin Hart (played by Woody Harrelson) who revisits a bizarre homicide cast they worked on in 1995. The format and the narrative tone of the series earned them various awards and nominations as the series uses multiple timelines to trace their hunt for a serial killer in Louisiana across 17 years.
In fact, all the episodes in Season 1 are directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, with McConaughey and Harrelson as executive producers. However, for the second season of “True Detectives”, PIzzolatto shifts the setting to California with a trio of cops assigned to solve a murder case of a corrupt city official. The second season is a highly anticipated season as “The Notebook” star Rachel McAdams has joined the series for an unspecified leading role, which may give the series a chance to stretch its gender equality,
“True Detective” Season 2 is scheduled to air in summer 2015.
10. Fargo (Season 2)
- Premiere Date: TBA
- Cast: Jeffrey Donovan, Rachel Keller, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Nick Offerman (Unconfirmed)
Similar to “True Detective”, “Fargo” is an American crime drama TV series that follows an anthology format with different storyline and different cast of characters in different eras. With a hint of dark comedy in the series, “Fargo” met with considerable acclaim for its outstanding storyline and directing style. The cast in the first season of the series including Billy Bob Thornton, Allison Tolman, Colin Hanks, and Martin Freeman have all received various prestigious award nominations for their actings.
Created and written by Noah Hawley, the series is loosely inspired by the Coen brothers’ film of the same name in 1996. For the second season of “Fargo”, Hawley told Entertainment Weekly that he has sets its storyline “in earlier time period (1979) and even more rural setting (Luverne, Minn)”. The upcoming season will now follow a pair of humble married couple, Peggy and Ed Blomquist (played by Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons respectively) who find themselves caught in an escalating war between a local crime gang and a major Mob syndicate. “Parks and Recreation” star Nick Offerman will appear in the series for an unspecified role, alongside Jeffrey Donovan and Rachel Keller.
The premiere date for the second season of “True Detective” has not been announced yet.
11. The Strain (Season 2)
- Premiere Date: Summer 2015
- Cast: Corey Stoll, David Bradley, Mía Maestro
Corey Stoll is set to be the main antagonist in Marvel‘s upcoming superhero film “Ant-Man“. However, he will first return as Dr. Ephraim Goodweather, the head of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Canary Team in New York City through the second season of FX TV series “The Strain”. Created by Guillermo del Toro (“The Book of Life“, “Pan’s Labyrinth”, “Crimson Peak“), Chuck Hogan and Carlton Cuse, the American horror drama TV series is based on a novel trilogy of the same name. The series follows Dr. Ephraim Goodweather and his team, who are called upon to investigate a mysterious viral outbreak of an ancient, evil strain of vampirism. With an assembly of everyday New Yorkers including a survivor of the Holocaust named Abraham Setrakian, the team must find a way to stop the contagion before it is too late.
The first season of the series consist of 13 episodes, with its pilot episode “Night Zero” being the most watched series premiere on FX. Season 2 is bringing a lot of anticipation for the viewers, especially after the death and destruction in the sixth episode of season 1. Crazier things will happen in the 2nd season but will mankind survive from the evil strain? That’s for us to find out in season 2. The production for the 13-episode second season has already begun in November 2014 and thus far, the writing and the performance are well executed on the series.
12. Under the Dome (Season 3)
- Premiere Date: Mid-2015
- Cast: Mike Vogel, Rachelle Lefevre, Alexander Koch
Based on the science fiction novel of the same name by Stephen King, “Under the Dome” is an American sci-fi drama TV series developed by Brian K. Vaughan (who later exited the series before season 2) on CBS. Stephen King, who is also known for being the master of horror serve as executive producer of the show aslongside Vaughan, Neal Baer, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, Jack Bender, Steven Spielberg, and Stacey Snider.
The series sets its story in Maine town, a small fictional town that is being trapped inside a dome by an invisible and mysterious force field in the United States. The dome is indestructible and it has cut them off from the outside world, leaving them with limited resources to survive. While the outside world including the military forces, the government, and the media tries to break it down, the trapped townsfolk attempts to figure out the purpose of the dome, its origin, and how it will go away.
“Under the Dome” has been renewed by CBS for a 3rd season and it is expected to air in mid-2015.
13. The Knick (Season 2)
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- Premiere Date: TBA
- Cast: Clive Owen, André Holland, Jeremy Bobb
Set in New York City in 1990, “The Knick” is an emotional period drama TV series that takes a look at the professional and personal lives of Dr. John W. Thackery (played by Clive Owen) and the surgery staff at a fictionalised version of Knickerbocker Hospital during the early part of the 20th century. In the series, a Harvard-educated, European-trained black surgeon (played by André Holland) also attempts to fight for respect within the the all-white populated hospital of a racially-charged city.
Unlike most medical dramas, the series details the medical history of how the hospital staff must first overcome limitations of the then-current medical understanding and practice in hopes of lowering mortality rates. Clive Owen’s character is said to be based on a historical figure, Dr. William Stewart Halsted while Holland’s character is based on Daniel Hale Williams. Throughout Halsted’s professional life, he is addicted to cocaine and morphine but he is a passionate surgeon with ambition for medical discovery and his reputation among his peers. Director Steven Soderbergh perfectly crafted the series, giving viewers more insight into the medical history.
“The Knick” has been renewed by Cinemax for a 10-episode second season.
14. Hannibal (Season 3)
- Premiere Date: TBA
- Cast: Mads Mikkelsen, Hugh Dancy, Gillian Anderson, Tao Okamoto, Joe Anderson
If you can’t beat him, join him. NBC’s “Hannibal” escapes the fortune of being cancelled as the show will continue to bend viewers’ minds in the upcoming season 3. After the brutal ending in the seconnd season, the third season will follow Dr. Hannibal Lecter (played by Mads Mikkelsen), who is on the run with his psychiatrist, Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier (played by Gillian Anderson). The story in the third season will be adapted from Thomas Harris’ novel “Red Dragon”, followed by “The Silence of the Lambs” in Season 4.
Creator Bryan Fuller and executive producer Martha De Laurentis stated during a Comic-Con presentation that they will attempt to introduce Clarice Starling, a famed character in 1996’s “The Silence of the Lambs”. However, they also stated they will do their own version of the character if they can’t obtain the rights to use the character of Clarice Starling from MGM Studios. Various other characters will be introduced in Season 3, including Comandante Pazzi, Lady Murasaki, Dr. Cordell, and Francis Dollarhide. It was also previously announced that Tao Okamoto will star in the series as Chiyo, Lady Murasaki’s attendant while Michael Pitt has exited the series.
Raul Esparza’s Dr. Frederick Chilton will make a special guest appearance in Season 3, alongside Eddie Izzard’s Abel Gideon who will be back via flashback. The premiere date for “Hannibal” Season 3 has yet to be announced but the team was spotted (spoiler alert) shooting the episodes in Italy.
15. How To Get Away with Murder (Season 1, remaining 6 episodes)
- Premiere Date: January 29, 2015
- Cast: Viola Davis, Billy Brown, Alfred Enoch, Jack Falahee, Katie Findlay, Aja Naomi King, Matt McGorry, Karla Souza, Charlie Weber, Liza Weil
“How To Get Away with Murder” has become one of our favourite TV shows since the series premiered last year. The series has an interesting premise as Annalise Keating (played by Viola Davis) is a criminal law professor who assembles a group of ambitious law students from her class to work at her firm but all of them become involved in a twisted murder plot of her husband, Sam Keating. The series follows a flashback format, which features a build-up leading to the murder of her husband by her students.
Produced by Shonda Rhimes, the first season of the series series consist of 15 episodes and the first half of the season was concluded on 20th Nov 2014. The remaining 6 episodes will begin broadcasting on 29th Jan 2015.