More Teen Drama on MTV's Happyland

From the network that brought you Awkward and Faking It, you can now catch a new series Happyland.  On September 30th, MTV's new series brings you more teenage antics and drama. 

"Happyland” is a soapy teen dramedy exploring the underbelly of one of the country's most popular theme parks, going behind the scenes to reveal the not so magical reality of the park workers. The series centers on Lucy (Bianca Santos), the cynical teenage daughter of idealistic park princess mom, Elena (Camille Guaty). Having grown up in a world of manufactured happiness her whole life, Lucy wants to get out and experience something real. When Ian (Shane Harper), the new park owner's son, arrives and sweeps her off her feet, Lucy is left wondering if fairy tale endings do exist after all. But when a scandalous secret turns her life upside down, she learns Happyland is far from a walk in the park.

Is it an expose on Disney World and all related parties?  No, it is nothing quite so serious.  Just some simply fun from a network that finally learned how to how to create teen dramas without everyone being a vampire or witch (or werewolf - sorry Teen Wolf).  

A Very Busy Week Ahead

Okay, the fall TV season will really start to rip this week.  Set your DVR and prepare for the onslaught.  Here are a few new and returning shows you may want to check out:

New Shows

-- Gotham, Fox, September 22:  The prequel to Batman with all the fiends in their youth.  With all the super hero shows hitting the screens, this is the one you will not want to miss.  Visit this trailer if you are not sure.  

-- Scorpion, CBS, September 22:  This band of misfits assists the Department of Homeland Security with its computer defenses.  Not the most original storyline, but it seems to play into the fears of many today (particularly if you shop at Target or Home Depot).

-- Forever, ABC, September 22 & 23:   A NYC medical examiner is immortal and is trying to solve a 200 year old mystery.  Don't all doctors think they are immortal?

Returning Shows

-- Sleepy Hollow, Fox, September 22:  Yes, it sounded silly the first time, and maybe still does.  But it is a fun battle between colonial characters and the powers of Hell, with the modern day caught in between.  Scary and fun, and worth your time. 

-- The Blacklist, NBC, September 22:  James Spader returns as the diabolical Raymond "Red" Reddington continuing to offer up the "bad guys" to the FBI.  Or at lease offering them up to Agent Elizabeth "Liz" Keen, with whom he has an unknown relationship.  Good intrigue and top acting.  And Mr. Spader is at the top of his game here. 

-- Faking It, MTV, September 23:  If you are looking for something a little light - no super heroes or headless horsemen - then spend some time with these high school kids in Texas who are still trying to figure out their place in all of it.  Like MTV's Awkward (which also returns this week after a short hiatus), it reminds you of how tough high school can be. 

-- Modern Family, ABC, September 24: With the wedding behind us, what does the Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker clan have in store for America?  Whatever it is, it will be well-written, witty, and weepy - just what the doctor (though not immortal) ordered at the end of a long day.

Update: As of the end of October, Gotham and Scorpion have full season orders and Forever had three new episodes added. 

Healthy Humor: Red Band Society

What do you get when you combine kids and a hospital? Well, it could be a tear-jerker drama like The Fault is in Our Stars or and over-the-top comedy like Patch Adams. 

Fox is trying its hand on Wednesday (September 16th) with its new show called Red Band Society. Narrated by a 12 year-old coma patient (I know, this is sounding dreary), it follows the adventures of mostly teenage patients in an LA hospital as they face life decisions as well as life end decisions. 

Dave Annable plays Dr. Jack McAndrew, the pediatric surgeon overseeing the wars. Last time I saw Annable he was a screwed up guy in his early 20s taking medical classes on the series Brothers and Sisters. I guess he did well. I will ignore his role on 666 Park Avenue, as I presume he has.

Forbes magazine gave it a thumbs up, saying:

At times the pilot does dive into fantastical territory, but since the first thing we’re presented with is the constant voice over of a patient that’s in a coma, those fantastical elements are forgivable and reasonable within context. The characters are so dynamic that it really doesn’t matter how outlandish the pilot gets at times because as long as we’re watching these characters do something, it’s interesting. That’s television at its finest.

I think I will watch an episode or two to see how it goes. 

Revisiting the Roosevelts

You can watch the first episode of Ken's Burns' The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, tomorrow night (September 14) on PBS.  This 7-night, 14-hour series covers the stories of Theodore, Franklin, and Eleanor Roosevelt.  The PBS website is loaded with photos, videos, maps, and more educational information that can help you to understand the lives of these fascinating Americans.  

The series covers the Roosevelts from the birth of Theodore's in 1858 to Eleanor's death in 1962."  The website notes:

Over the course of those years, Theodore would become the 26th President of the United States and his beloved niece, Eleanor, would marry his fifth cousin, Franklin, who became the 32nd President of the United States. Together, these three individuals not only redefined the relationship Americans had with their government and with each other, but also redefined the role of the United States within the wider world.

The series encompasses the history the Roosevelts helped to shape: the creation of National Parks, the digging of the Panama Canal, the passage of innovative New Deal programs, the defeat of Hitler, and the postwar struggles for civil rights at home and human rights abroad. It is also an intimate human story about love, betrayal, family loyalty, personal courage and the conquest of fear.

You cannot go wrong with a Ken Burns series.  Mr. Burns is a modern day national treasure helping all of us to understand our nation's past.  And his perspective helps us to understand what we have gained and lost.  In responding a question from the Wall Street Journal, after the paper asked if the Roosevelts would make it in politics today, he said:

I don't think they could get elected today. Eleanor is not attractive enough. Franklin Roosevelt is, of course, confined to a wheelchair, enough said. And Theodore Roosevelt is too hot for the cool medium of television. He would have had his Howard Dean moment very early on and [been] dismissed before he got out of the Iowa caucuses. 

Someone says that as a young boy, T.R. would have been given Ritalin and become an accountant. And that's sad. 

Sad indeed. 

Season 10 of Supernatural is Around the Corner

The CW series Supernatural does not return for its 10th season until October 7, but the network is creating plenty of buzz by playing up the cliff hanger at the end of last season.  You may not recall, but Dean Winchester (played by Jensen Ackles) became a demon at the very end.  And it appears Dean may be having a little bit of fun with his new role.  Check out this trailer for next season.  I am not sure what is more scary - Dean being the King of Hell's sidekick, his imitation of Jack Nicholson from The Shining, or his karaoke singing. 

In a July interview with Zap2it, Supernatural's executive producer Jeremy Carver had a few words to say about demonic Dean:

This is the first time that we're going to see Dean as a demon. It's not a demon possessing Dean, it's still Dean's soul, but just twisted. In that way, every decision made is Dean's. So as dark or as evil or whatnot that Demon Dean might be or what you might expect him to be, there's still Dean there. There's a self-awareness. Let me put it this way: Dean is not unaware of the thing that he's become. 

Of course, let's not forget that Dean sent quite some time in Hell as one of the tormentors of souls, so he has a little bit of experience with all things demonic.  After his brother Sam (played by Jared Padalecki) serving as a host for an angel in past episodes, it only makes sense that Dean would have his own moment, be it a little darker.  It should be fun.

Do We Need Z Nation?

Are you prepared for another zombie series? I'm not a fan of the gore in The Walking Dead, though I thought the film World War Z had some merit until it went off the tracks at the end.  

Tomorrow night (September 12) SyFy will air the new 13-episode series Z Nation. So what should we expect? Well, this story starts three years after the "zombie apocalypse" and deals with a ragtag group of survivors as they attempt to bring a survivor from the East Coast to the West Coast in the hopes of developing a cure. Yes, it sounds like Revolution and similar post-disaster shows, but that's the basic story.  

I may try it out, but I am not too hopeful. This genre has been played out over the years and we are only left with new ways to make the dead more offensive. Maybe a bit of comedy thrown in would help. 

My standard for any zombie series is Britain's In The Flesh (shown on BBC America) which took a different path by making the story about reintegration of zombies back into society and the resulting difficulties. If Z Nation can come close to the British series it may be worthwhile.

Haven: Coming to a Small Town Near You

Season five of SyFy's Haven returns tomorrow night (September 11).  You can expect all of your favorite characters - Audrey, Nathan, and Duke - to be up to new adventures in the small town of Haven, Maine.  And expect plenty of "troubles."  You do wonder why people continue to live in a town hit by fire, earthquakes, meteorites and more on a regular basis.  It is not like this place is under a dome (another Stephen King vehicle, I might add)!  And if you want to catch up on previous events, click the "Extras" on the Haven page for highlights of the last four seasons. 

Who the Heck is James Corden?

I will miss Craig Ferguson when he leaves the CBS's Late Late Show later this year.  We are unlikely to see dancing horses, the "awkward pause," and his sidekick skeleton friend Geoff on the television screen ever again.  And it seems CBS is keen to replace Scottish-American Ferguson with another UK talent, this one being James Corden.  But I have to admit that I cannot remember having seen Corden in any program, unlike Ferguson who was the much loved boss in The Drew Carey Show. 

CBS claims Corden is "the ultimate multi-hyphenate – a writer, creator and performer who is loved and respected in every medium he touches, including theater, comedy, music, film and television. James is already a big star in the UK and he’s wowed American audiences on Broadway; we’re very excited to introduce his considerable and very unique talents to our network television audience on a daily basis.”

But I am not familiar with his television credits, from the British sitcom Gavin & Stacey to the The Wrong Mans.  Here is a clip with him from a trailer for The Wrong Mans.  In the clip he does not know what HULU is, which works well since we do not know who he is.  A good match.  All I can say is that CBS probably did well avoiding another SNL alum and keeping the show different.  The variety on these evening variety shows has been sketchy, with Arsenio Hall trying to break into the slot but not being able to do so.  And why is it women hosts control the afternoon and men the evenings?  Very odd.  Anyway, I hope we get a good show with Mr. Cordon.  He has very big (and odd) shoes to fill.

A to Z Arrives in October

I just watched the pilot of the new NBC romantic comedy A to Z and was surprised that it had some appeal even though it walks and talks like most of this genre.  The pilot is available to all at the NBC site (and you can go here as well for the trailer and more).  Here is the general set-up:

Andrew Lofland, while a guy's guy, has always been a secret romantic... not above crooning to Celine Dion while driving to work, with dreams of finding "the one." He imagines her to be just like that shimmering beauty he spotted that night in that silver dress at that concert two years ago. Zelda Vasco is a no-nonsense lawyer who has strong feelings about being her own person and prefers the control of online dating. However, when a computer glitch sends her a total mismatch, she's asked to come in for an interview at Wallflower Online Dating, the agency where Andrew works. 

Andrew and Zelda meet for the first time and despite their differences, sparks fly. She thinks it's chance. He thinks it's fate. After all, he's convinced she's the shimmering girl in the silver dress. Is it true love forever or just a detour in destiny?

The summary goes on (and on), but you get the point.  The pilot reminded me somewhat of the movie 500 Days of Summer.  However, maybe the key number here is 26.  The show likes to play with the alphabet, with A representing the first theme (I will let you be surprised).  The question is whether the cuteness of this couple will die long before we hit Z.  Such as L for "lame" and M for "melodramatic." 

The most interesting piece is probably using Ben Feldman as Andrew.  If you recall, he played Michael Ginsberg in Mad Men and had a little bit of trouble getting the attention of women until the bitter end.  And then the attention was all encompassing as he was led away to a padded cell.  Let's just hope he does not go the way of Van Gogh in this series. The new series officially starts on October 2.

Third Set of Amazon Pilots You Can Rate

Amazon has released a third set of pilot shows before it has even started showing the winners from the second competition.  You may remember that the series Alpha House and Betas came out of the first competition.  Season two of Alpha House, a Gary Trudeau creation, should be released next month, whereas Betas was not renewed.  And in terms of the second batch, the new series Transparent with Jeffrey Tambor will be coming to Amazon September 26 (here is a trailer).  The rest will follow shortly after that.

So what do we have for the third set of pilot?  We have three comedies and two dramas.  You can view and rate all of them at the Amazon Pilot Season site.  Here is a quick summary of each:

-- Really (half hour comedy): A funny, honest, behind-the-curtain look at the psychological and emotional complexities of marriage and the charged dynamics of a tight-knit group of friends grasping on to what's left of their youth.

-- Red Oaks (half hour comedy):  A coming-of-age comedy set in the "go-go" 80s about a college student enjoying a last hurrah before summer comes to an end--and the future begins.

-- The Cosmopolitans (half hour comedy):  A dramatic comedy about a group of young American expats in Paris searching for love and friendship and an ocean of distance from their past.

-- Hand of God (one hour drama):  A psychological drama about a morally-corrupt judge who suffers a breakdown and believes God is compelling him onto a path of vigilante justice.

-- Hysteria (one hour drama):  An investigative thriller about a haunted young doctor who is summoned back to her hometown to investigate an epidemic that may be linked to social media - and her own tragic past

I was impressed with the last two pilot seasons, and the star power on this latest set is also a great start.  Amazon is showing it can compete with the adults.  This is good for all of us.  We just need a few more hours in the day to watch all of this.