[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he autumn TV season is shaping up to be the loser this year, in an inversion of the usual annual scheduling template. The largely mediocre new shows premiering in the US will depend on returning hits to save face following an Olympic high, rather than offering a welcome jolt of energy after the summer lull, perhaps evidence of the effects of the recession finally hitting our screens.
The most ambitious new show is easily Revolution. Following the current fashion for dystopia, Revolution aims to expose our society’s dependence on technology (and get in plenty of not-so-subtle power struggle metaphors) by setting the story in a world recently bereft of electricity. The series’ strength is its creative team: heavyweight producer J.J. Abrams is accompanied by Iron Man director Jon Favreau and creator Eric Kripke, best known for cult hit Supernatural. As the latest attempt to find a new Lost, it remains to be seen whether US execs have yet to realise the integral role of strong character writing in making even the flashiest of shows a long term success. However, with Kripke’s deft hand for family dynamics to ground Abrams’ sense of scope, the show has all the ingredients of a high-concept hit.
Things are more secure on the side of returning dramas, most notably for Homeland, easily last season’s strongest debut. Much of the show’s success was due to its hold-no-punches story philosophy and here’s hoping the writers continue to provide material worthy of Claire Danes and Damien Lewis’s compelling performances. Even more reliable but perhaps less exciting is Boardwalk Empire’s third season. While regularly turning out quality television, Martin Scorsese’s period drama has yet to provide anything truly remarkable in the vein of former HBO crime hits The Sopranos or The Wire.
Curtain calls rather than debuts will probably make the most impact this year. Two shows looking to fill a serial-killer shaped hole in the schedule once Dexter bows out in spring (after seven years of righteous slaughter) are Hannibal and The Following. Both scheduled for midseason, the former is produced by Pushing Daisies’ Bryan Fuller and stars Bond villain Mads Mikkelsen as the eponymous cannibal before he was famous, and the latter Kevin Bacon – hopefully doing something more interesting than playing the usual flawed but heroic FBI agent.
Following the current fashion for dystopia, revolution, easily the most ambitious show of the autumn season, aims to expose our society’s dependence on technology
Those with lighter viewing tastes won’t be so spoiled for choice following final calls for 30 Rock and possibly Community this season, with the future of The Office also uncertain. Of the host of new sitcoms ordered to fill the vacuum, the most intriguing is The New Normal from Glee showrunner Ryan Murphy. Centred on a gay couple and their surrogate, Murphy’s personal investment in the issues at hand could be in danger of tipping the show away from funny, in a favour of preachy sarcasm. More familiar comic territory comes in the form of Moone Boy, currently airing on Sky1. Written by and starring home-grown comedy star Chris O’ Dowd, the series relies heavily on his own recollections of his childhood in Boyle, and is directed by Father Ted’s Declan Lowney.
A far cry from 80s Roscommon is Downton Abbey’s third season which features the return of the Crawleys’ Irish revolutionary chauffeur turned son-in-law along with a whole host of other variably disreputable characters. Melodrama will ensue. For those who require a (relatively) more realistic account of British history (and for whom the latest crop of Doctor Who episodes prove not too concentrated a dose of British national identity) Sky1 docudrama The British continues Thursdays at 9pm with interviews from the likes of Russell Brand, Helen Mirren and Anthony Horowitz.
