10. “Love”
Synopsis: Comedy following the relationship between a sweet, hapless, nerdy guy and a beautiful, free-spirited woman.
What You Need To Know: Though he was a key figure in helping to get “Girls” made, and has regularly written, directed or produced episodes ofLena Dunham’s HBO show, Judd Apatow hasn’t created a TV series since “Undeclared” fourteen years ago, but that changes with this new show, developed in collaboration with real-life couple Paul Rust and Lesley Arfin. In fact, it’s already Apatow’s most successful show — neither “Undeclared” nor “Freaks & Geeks” made it past season one, but Netflixpicked up “Love” for two seasons straight off the bat, which certainly seems like a vote of confidence. The show’s billed as a contemporary, authentic take on the rom-com, with Rust playing a version of himself, and “Community” and “Girls” standout Gillian Jacobs as his better half (Australian comicClaudia O’Doherty and veteran Dave ‘Gruber’ Allen are also in the cast). The biggest question is, after Netflix’s own “Master Of None” brought a more diverse perspective to the rom-com genre, will an Apatow show seem old-fashioned in comparison?
Airdate: February 19th
9. “The OA”
Synopsis: Tightly, tightly under wraps.
What You Need To Know: There aren’t that many shows we’d put in our top 10 without basically knowing anything about the logline, but given that “The OA” comes from Zal Batmanglij and Brit Marling, we have no problem doing it. Their first collaboration — terrific, rich, low-budget, sci-fi-tinged cult drama “The Sound Of My Voice” — was one of the most striking debuts of recent years (famously, it premiered at Sundance the same year that Marling also co-wrote and starred in another genre-y indie, “Another Earth”), and follow-up “The East” was rather underrated. Netflix won a bidding war for this show (produced by Brad Pitt’s Plan B company), which Batmanglj and Marling will write together, he will direct and she will star in. Word’s been quiet on this for a while, but it’s gearing up for production, so hopefully we’ll learn more soon.
Airdate: It’s not shot yet, but “Jessica Jones” didn’t get underway until a few months into last year, so we’d expect this around a similar time, in the last few months of 2016.
8. “Roadies”
Synopsis: A comedy-drama revolving around the lives of the makeshift family that work behind-the-scenes on a rock and roll tour.
What You Need To Know: Cameron Crowe’s had a rough run of it with his last few years; “We Bought A Zoo” was a modest hit but got middling reviews compared to the director’s best, while “Elizabethtown” and “Aloha” were brutally received by critics and audiences. But “Roadies,” his first TV series (not counting a short-lived “Fast Times At Ridgemont High” TV show based on his book) sniffs strongly of comeback material. It’s produced by man-of-the-moment J.J. Abrams, it marks a return to the same kind of setting as arguably Crowe’s finest hour, “Almost Famous,” and it’s co-produced and showrun by “My So-Called Life” creator Winnie Holzman. There’s a fine collection of actors, too: Carla Gugino, Imogen Poots, Rafe Spall, Luke Wilson, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Luis Guzmánand rapper/actor Machine Gun Kelly. The teaser trailer is promising, and though “Aloha” looked promising on paper, we’ve got a good feeling about this one.
Airdate: Coming to Showtime in the summer.
7. “Westworld”
Synopsis: The story of the guests, inhabitants and creators of Westworld, a wild west theme park using state of the art robot technology to give its clients everything they ever dreamt of.
What You Need To Know: Whatever the pay-cable version of a summer blockbuster is — that’s “Westworld.” Based on Michael Crichton’s sci-fi novel (which itself spawned a successful movie in the ’70s), this J.J. Abrams-produced HBO show is co-created (with his partner, Lisa Joy), and has a pilot directed by Jonathan Nolan, co-writer of “The Prestige,” “The Dark Knight” and “Interstellar,” and creator of “Person Of Interest.” Teasers suggest a midpoint of “Jurassic Park,” “Ex Machina” and “Deadwood.” And the cast is spectacular — Anthony Hopkins, Evan Rachel Wood, James Marsden, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, Rodrigo Santoro, Ben Barnes, Jimmi Simpson, “Creed” star Tessa Thompson, “The Duke Of Burgundy”’s Sidse Babett Knudsen, Clifton Collins Jr and, stepping into Yul Brynner’s shoes, Ed Harris. It’s clearly HBO’s attempt for a new genre-flecked monster to fill the vacuum that “Game Of Thrones” will leave in a few years, and though it’s taken a little while (it’ll be almost two years, and a few recastings, since the pilot was shot), it shows every chance of being exactly that.
Airdate: Our bet is it’ll step into the big Sunday slot once “Game Of Thrones” wraps up in the summer, where “True Detective” aired last year.
6. “The Girlfriend Experience”
Synopsis: A Chicago law student starved for cash is introduced to the world of ‘transactional relationships’ — being a high-class escort, essentially.
What You Need To Know: Steven Soderbergh’s first foray into TV couldn’t have gone much better: “The Knick” is a phenomenal piece of filmmaking, taking one of television’s best casts and reinventing the period drama AND the medical drama at the same time. He seems to be stepping away from that show for now, but he’s got other small-screen irons in the fire, the first of which is this show based on his 2009 Sasha Grey-starrer. Unlike “The Knick,” Soderbergh isn’t directing, just producing, but he’s put the show in very good hands: “Clean, Shaven” and “Keane” director Lodge Kerrigan, and “Sun Don’t Shine” helmer and all-around indie queen Amy Seimetz are between them, writing and directing the whole thing. Soderbergh’s influence extends to the casting too, seemingly: Riley Keough, who appeared in “Magic Mike” before going on to impress in “Mad Max: Fury Road,” has the lead role. She’ll be joined by Paul Sparks (Mickey Doyle in “Boardwalk Empire”) and Mary-Lynn Rajskub (“24”), and the teaser suggests a show that could even improve on the movie.
Airdate: No date announced yet, but we’re expecting it sooner rather than later.
