15. “Hap & Leonard”
Synopsis: A white draft dodger and a gay, black Vietnam vet solve crimes for a P.I. in East Texas in the 1980s.
What You Need To Know: 2014’s taut, stylish crime thriller “Cold In July” wasn’t a huge hit, but it was well liked by those who did see it, which clearly included those at SundanceTV, as they’ve hired Nick Damici and Jim Mickle, who co-wrote, and Mickle’s case directed, the earlier film, to adapt a series of novels by the same author, Joe R. Lansdale. This 6-part first season looks as if it could fill the smart-ass Southern crime hole left in our hearts by the end of “Justified,” if all goes well, and Mickle & co have certainly cast it to the nines: James Purefoy plays Hap, while Michael K. Williams gets a great role as Leonard, with Christina Hendricks, Bill Sage and Jimmi Simpson among the cast too. There’s always the risk that this disappoints, as Sundance’s good-on-paper “Red Road” did, but we have our fingers firmly crossed for it.
Airdate: Sometime in March.
14. “The Young Pope”
Synopsis: The story of Lenny Belardo, a youthful Cardinal who becomes the youngest pope in history, Pius XIII.
What You Need To Know: A few years ago, Ridley Scott directed aShowtime pilot called “The Vatican” starring Kyle Chandler that ultimately didn’t move forward, depriving us of the chance to see some machinations within the Roman Catholic Church on the small screen. Fortunately for anyone wanting to scratch that itch, 2016 brings “The Young Pope,” from Oscar-winner Paolo Sorrentino. His “Youth” might have been disappointing last year, but “Il Divo” and “The Great Beauty” mean we’ll always be interested in what Sorrentino does, and this HBO/Sky Atlantic/Canal+ co-production is certainly interesting, particularly as it seems to step away from the excess of his last few pictures to a more serious-minded examination of religion and faith. Jude Law, in his first TV role as a star, takes the title role, with Diane Keaton as a nun, James Cromwell, Scott Shepherd, Cécile de France and Ludivine Sagnier among the cast too.
Airdate: None announced yet, but it could end up in the “Show Me A Hero” late-summer miniseries slot.
13. “Vice Principals”
Synopsis: Comedy set in a high school, centering on the ambitious, plotting vice principals who run the place.
What You Need To Know: “Eastbound & Down’ has already passed into comedy lore — a near faultless run from 2009 to 2013, even succeeding when it returned for a fourth season having apparently ended after the third. We’ve been keenly waiting to see what creators Jody Hill and Danny McBridewould do next, and the result should arrive later this year with “Vice Principals,” a high-school-set comedy. Making the central characters educators should go some way to giving McBride a chance to show a different side to his persona from ‘Eastbound,’ and he’s got a hugely talented co-lead this time around: the great Walton Goggins, hot off “The Hateful Eight” co-stars, while Busy Phillips, Shea Whigham, Dale Dickey and R.J. Cyler co-star, and Will Ferrell and Bill Murray are expected to cameo. With all that and David Gordon Green directing episodes again, it’s no wonder that HBO have already picked up 18 episodes (likely to be spread over two or even three seasons).
Airdate: Nothing firm, but we’d bet this replaces “The Brink” and is paired up with “Ballers” in the early summer.
12. “Preacher”
Synopsis: A conflicted preacher in a Texas town is possessed by a powerful supernatural force, and sets out on a trip with his hitwoman ex-girlfriend and an Irish vampire, to find God who has gone missing.
What You Need To Know: People have been trying to bring Garth Ennis’ “Preacher,” one of the most acclaimed comic books ever, to the screen for nearly two decades. Kevin Smith was working on a movie in the 1990s,Mark Steven Johnson developed a HBO series in the 2000s (bullet dodged…) and Sam Mendes was going to direct a few years back. In the end, it’s Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg who’ve managed the feat: they developed the show with “Breaking Bad” writer Sam Catlin, and saw it picked up by AMC, who’ve had a mega-success with another gory graphic novel adaptation with “The Walking Dead.” This is likely to be far more controversial thanks to its religious themes, but Rogen and Goldberg (who also directed the pilot) seem like a perfect fit for the puerile-yet-smart material, and from the looks of the trailer, they’ve pulled it off. The cast is fun too: Dominic Cooper in the lead role, and rising thesps Ruth Negga(“Criminal Justice”) and Joseph Gilgun (“This Is England”) co-starring.
Airdate: Apparently aiming for the middle of the year.
11. “Billions”
Synopsis: A prosecutor tries to bring down a powerful and wealthy hedge funder.
What You Need To Know: With “The Wolf Of Wall Street” a huge hit a few years back, and “The Big Short” going great guns at the box office right now, it seems like an excellent time for a big cable drama to tackle the world of Wall Street. And it certainly has the right people involved: the show was created by “Too Big To Fail” author Andrew Ross Sorkin, and Brian Koppelmanand David Levien, writers of “Rounders,” among many others. And if you’re going to build your show around a head-to-head battle between two titans, you could do a lot worse than casting Paul Giamatti as the dogged attorney, and Damian Lewis (returning to Showtime after his success on “Homeland”) as the banker. The supporting cast is stellar too, stacked with the MVPs from plenty of other successful shows — “Sons Of Anarchy” starMaggie Siff, “Daredevil” vet Toby Leonard Moore, “Breaking Bad”’sDavid Costabile, and Malin Akerman. The first episode is online already, and looks pretty compelling — hopefully the rest is just as good.
Airdate: The first episode is now available on Showtime, and show kicks off in full on January 17th.
