It’s the new year, which means the winter breaks for TV shows are coming to an end, and the mid-season shows are starting up. Here’s a quick rundown on what new science fiction and fantasy shows will be premiering in the US this mid-season. For a reminder of which shows started back in the fall, be sure to check out our post from last fall.
Transformers: Prime – February 18 – After being delayed multiple times, the second season recently premiered. Picking up right after the season 1 cliffhanger, the new season hit the ground running. In the finale, Optimus Prime defeated Unicron using the Matrix of Leadership. This came at a terrible price, as Optimus lost all knowledge he gained when he became a Prime. Returned to his original Cybertronian identity and memories, he’s abducted by Megatron and convinced that he’s a Decepticon.
Awake – March 1 – When a police detective gets in a car accident, he finds himself split between two worlds. In one, his wife died in the accident. In the other, his son died. Whenever he falls asleep, he switches over to the other world. Soon he discovers the two worlds are linked somehow, as clues from cases in one world help him solve cases in the other.
Touch – March 22 – Kiefer Sutherland plays a single father to a mute boy. The child’s obsession with numbers turns out to be a manifestation of his ability to see or predict connections between seemingly-unrelated people.
Young Justice – March 3 – Not a new season, but a continuation of the first season. The show returns as part of Cartoon Network’s new DC Comics Cartoon block called DC Nation. Young Justice is a sort of teenaged Justice League, featuring sidekicks and other young superheroes from DC comics. This comic book action drama is heavily serialized, with the team’s characters developing and relationships growing over the course of the season so far.
Green Lantern: The Animated Series – March 3 – Bruce Timm (Justice League Unlimited, Batman: The Animated Series) returns to TV to direct a new DC Comics cartoon. The show follows Green Lantern Hal Jordan and his adventures in maintaining order in the universe. A new threat has risen, a Red Lantern Corps, which hints that the new series will be taking its cues from some of the Green Lantern comic book plots from recent years.
DC Nation – March 3 – Saturday morning cartoons return! Cartoon Network will be airing Young Justice and Green Lantern: TAS back to back, and in the ad breaks will be adding more DC Comics content. There will be animated shorts coming from a wide variety of animators. Aardman Animations (Wallace & Gromit) will be doing a variety of stop-motion animated films featuring DC’s superheroes (you can view a preview here). Lauren Faust (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends) will be contributing Super Best Friends Forever, which follows Supergirl, Batgirl, and Wonder Girl as they join together to fight crime. These shorts and many more will provide some entertaining variety during Saturday mornings this spring.
Game of Thrones – April 1 (No joke!) – While its premiere is still a month away, I had to include HBO’s blockbuster fantasy series. Season 2 will adapt the second book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, A Clash of Kings. The end of season 1 saw the tenuous peace of the Seven Kingdoms weakening and breaking in the wake of the death of King Robert. Season 2 promises to bring us politics and battles between the many powerful factions that previously had shaky alliances.