San Diego Comic-Con has begun, and a pair of our writers got a chance to check out three of next season’s hottest new shows.
Each year Warner Bros. TV brings next season’s new shows to Preview Night at Comic-Con. This year most of the shows are set to premiere in the mid-season, which is unfortunate. After seeing the first episodes of Riverdale, Powerless, and Time After Time, our curiosity is definitely peaked!
‘Riverdale’
Kristen Kranz
When you think about seeing the world of Archie, Betty and Veronica come to life, you definitely don’t picture all that you get in the CW’s new spring show, Riverdale. While it has a long way to go to have me completely hooked, I am definitely interested in checking out the series when it premieres in the spring of 2017.
The triangle you expect from Veronica, Betty, and Archie is definitely there, but with so much else going on, it’s hardly the focus of the show. Whatever interpersonal drama the kids have cooking in the romance department is overshadowed by the mysterious death of Jason Blossom, a boy who has caused more than his fair share of turmoil before his untimely demise.
Hopefully Riverdale will prove to be more than just another CW teen soap, as we’ve been huge fans of the direction the network has been moving with its programming over the last few years.
Jen Lamoureux
I’ll be honest, going into Riverdale I had no idea what to expect. It’s a story about the kids from the Archie comics — what could they possible do with that? Well, I can say I definitely need to see more. I’m sure it will be a show I love, because the pilot definitely caught my interest.
Riverdale seems like a peaceful little town filled with every stereotype you could want. There’s the conflicted jock who wants to be a musician, the good girl in love with her best friend, the outsider who does the voiceover for the story, the new girl who the jock starts to fall for, and the mean girl. There is also a large cast of adults who seem to have their own issues, including a teacher who may have gone a little too far with a student.
The plot follows Veronica’s arrival in Riverdale and her new friendship with Betty and Archie. The pilot features the three, but the bigger plotline is about the Blossom twins. The episode opens with Jason Blossom’s death which seems like an accident, but by the end of the episode it’s revealed that Jason was murdered and plenty of people had a reason to want him dead.
‘Powerless’
Kristen Kranz
Powerless promises a comic book show without all the trappings of a comic book show. It’s a fun, new way to think about superheroes and the worlds they live in. It has a superhero or two, but no superhumans adapting to their powers, no secret identities to keep secret, and no supervillains to fight on a weekly basis. It’s about what it’s like for normal humans in a world where superheroes do more than save the world. Sometimes, they wreck it.
Vanessa Hudgens and Alan Tudyk star, and perfectly balance each other out. For every horrific human trait that Tudyk’s Del demonstrates, Hudgens’ Emily Locke has the perfect countermeasure. They square off more than once in the pilot, and they will leave you ready for more. Those two are surrounded by a supporting cast that steals the spotlight in more ways than one
I will definitely be checking Powerless out when it hits NBC this fall.
Jen Lamoureux
Powerless is a comic book show with a plain human being the hero, and her terrible boss being the villain. While Powerless does have the occasional superhero popping up, the focus is on Emily Locke, played by Vanessa Hudgens, an insurance worker who fulfills claims for those who are hurt when the superheroes do battle and leave the city in shambles.
Emily was taught by her mentor how to make people feel better when fulfilling their claims, but after his untimely death by falling debris from the latest superhero battle, Emily is faced with a new challenge, Del. Alan Tudyk is the perfect horrible boss. Son of the owner of the company, he has zero actual power except to make Emily’s life miserable in the most ridiculous ways. The supporting cast is filled with quirky characters and the plot feels new and fun.
Powerless is a great story about an ordinary woman being a hero to the people around her and dealing with the consequences of superheroes.
‘Time After Time’
Kristen Kranz
If there is one show I am hyped to check out when it debuts next spring, it’s Time After Time. Even before I laid eyes on the pilot, seeing names like Kevin Williamson, Freddie Stroma, and Josh Bowman all attached to a project with such a fresh and fun premise seemed like a no brainer. I have adored many of Williamson’s projects over the years and Time After Time is no different.
The moment Bowman’s Jack the Ripper and Stroma’s H.G. Wells step foot out of their time and into ours, the magic of this show truly comes to life. I can’t wait to see all the twists and turns ahead, especially after a relative of Wells’ shows up in the last moments of the episode and throws a huge wrench into an already complicated situation.
This show just promises to be a fun way for network TV to play around with time travel, and I, for one, am happy to see them joining the fray.
Jen Lamoureux
Time After Time is one of the shows I was most excited to see on Preview Night. It has everything you could want; time travel, historical figures like H.G. Wells and Jack the Ripper, and a a few twists that will leave you wanting more immediately.
Freddie Stroma and Josh Bowman play friends H.G. Wells and John Stevenson a.k.a. Jack the Ripper. Stevenson is about to be caught when he steals Wells’ time machine and heads to 2016. Wells, who has always been more cautious, follows him. Stevenson is adaptable and manages the new world with ease. Wells is more of an idealist and can’t quite believe his machine worked. The difference between the two characters in the new world makes the show more entertaining and shows the distinct differences in these two men.
Time After Time was a lot of fun to watch. The casting is great and the pilot leaves you wanting more.