Now that 2013 is officially here and the holidays are over, it is time to look forward to getting back to our favorite shows and to checking out the new crop of midseason replacement shows.
Leading the pack of potential hit midseason replacement shows is the Kevin Bacon vehicle “The Following” on FOX. This show hits on January 21, 2013 and stars the aforementioned Bacon as an FBI agent on the trail of a serial killer who uses technology to communicate with other serial killers and followers/fans to create a cult of dangerous people willing to do anything he instructs them to do.
Bacon is known for choosing good projects and the show was created by Kevin Williamson who is most famous for the movies “Scream” and “I Know What You Did Last Summer.” This one could be a tense, impressive thrill ride.
ABC will try to tap into fans of movies/books like “National Treasure” and “The DaVinci Code” with “Zero Hour” a show about a man who has spent 20 years editing a conspiracy theory magazine only to find himself pulled into the mother of all actual conspiracies. It airs on February 14, 2013. “Zero Hour” is written by “Prison Break” scribe Paul Scheuring. It could be good, campy fun or it could be terrible.
Another highly anticipated show is “Hannibal” which has not gotten an exact air date, but is said to air its pilot this month. “Hannibal” is about the rise of Dr. Hannibal Lecter of “Silence of the Lambs” fame. This show, based on characters created by author Thomas Harris, follows Lecter in events before “Silence of the Lambs” takes place. Hugh Dancy has been cast as Will Graham the FBI profiler chasing Lecter, Lawrence Fishburne has been cast as Dr. Jack Crawford and Mads Mikkelsen will play Lecter. Notable actors such as Gillian Anderson, Leslie Bibb, Scott Thompson and Caroline Dhavernas all have signed on to appear in season 1 of the show. NBC must feel very good about this show because it was given a full 13 episode order right from the start.
Showtime will see the return of its hits “Shameless,” “House of Lies,” and “Californication” this month as well. Fox singing powerhouse “American Idol” also returns this month with new judges Nicki Minaj, Mariah Carey and Keith Urban.
With all this star power on the screen, January 2013 could be a fun month with some quality television in it. I look for “Hannibal” and “The Following” to be among the most talked about midseason replacements and I think they are likely the two new shows that have the best chance of finding a big audience.
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