The new year means plenty of new shows to look forward to. Some will be coming soon while others will arrive later in the year, but from comedies to dramas to fun reality shows, here are the 13 new shows I’m most looking forward to in 2013. Want to add these shows to your very own watch-list? Download BuddyTV Guide for free for your phone.
#13 How to Live with Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life)
Premieres: Wednesday, April 3 at 9:30pm on ABC
Despite having the most ungainly title ever, this new sitcom stars Sarah Chalke (Scrubs and How I Met Your Mother) and Elizabeth Perkins (Weeds), a perfect mother-daughter comedy combo.
ABC
#12 Golden Boy
Premieres: Tuesday, February 26 at 10pm on CBS
This new drama about a cop who becomes the youngest police commissioner ever stars Chi McBride (Pushing Daisies and Theo James. It helps that James adds plenty of street cred since he was quite memorable as the ill-fated Turk Kamel Pamuk from the first season of Downton Abbey.
#11 Sam and Cat
Premieres: Sometime in 2013 on Nickelodeon
The newest series from Dan Schneider will take the best parts of iCarly and Victorious and smash them together to form a super show. There’s Jennette McCurdy as the surly, rebellious Sam Puckett from iCarly and Ariana Grande as the ethereal airhead Cat Valentine from Victorious. When you take the best parts of two different shows to form a spin-off, it can only be great.
#10 Vikings
Premieres: Sunday, March 3 at 10pm on History Channel
Following the massive success of Hatfields and McCoys, History Channel is breaking into the increasingly competitive scripted world with its first original drama. This period piece about the famous Norsemen stars Gabriel Byrne and True Blood star Alexander Skarsgard’s younger brother, Gustaf.
History
#9 Celebrity Diving
Premieres: Tuesday, March 19 at 8pm on ABC
FOX is trying to beat ABC to the punch with its own celebrity diving special starring JWoww and Antonio Sabato, Jr., but I’m holding out for ABC’s more legitimate series. For starters it has the only U.S. Olympic diver anyone has ever heard of (Greg Louganis) and 2012 Olympics gold medalist David Boudia, aka the first American male to win diving gold in 20 years. Those are some solid credentials.
#8 Masters of Sex
Premieres: Sometime in 2013 on Showtime
When you’re on a pay cable network like Showtime you can get away with more daring programming. So this show about two of the pioneers in the study of human sexuality is right up Showtime’s alley. With a cast led by Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan, who wouldn’t want to know more about sex?
Showtime
#7 King of the Nerds
Premieres: Thursday, January 17 at 10pm on TBS
Thanks to the massive success of The Big Bang Theory reruns, TBS is doubling down on nerd love with this reality competition that pits 11 oddballs against each other to see who’s the nerdiest of them all. What makes it truly special is that it’s hosted by two genuine nerd icons, Revenge of the Nerds stars Robert “Lewis Skolnick” Carradine and Curtis “Booger” Armstrong.
#6 Continuum
Premieres: Monday, January 14 at 8pm on Syfy
If you’re a time travel aficionado like I am, this Canadian import is for you. Kiera Cameron (Rachel Nichols) is a cop in 2077 targeting a group of terrorists trying to undo the corporation-controlled government. The terrorist group mounts a brilliant prison break by traveling back in time to 2012, but Kiera goes along with them and tries to hunt them down in the present to ensure her own future. The way the show straddles the present and future, and the inherent paradoxes, is wonderful.
Syfy
#5 The Americans
Premieres: Wednesday, January 30 at 10pm on FX
FX has a stunning track record when it comes to original dramas (even failures like Terriers were great), so my hopes are high for this period piece about KGB sleeper agents in America. It’s helmed by a terrific cast including Matthew Rhys (Brothers and Sisters) and Keri Russell (Felicity).
#4 Ray Donovan
Premieres: Sometime in 2013 on Showtime
This gritty drama about an L.A. fixer for the rich and powerful is a must-watch for its formidable cast led by Liev Schreiber and Jon Voigt.
Showtime
#3 Graceland
Premieres: Sometime in 2013 on USA
Any new show from the creator of USA’s wildly entertaining White Collar must be taken seriously. This drama about a group of undercover agents in a special FBI task force could be another hit for the network and it could be a breakout role for star Aaron Tveit, a Broadway alum who has starred in Gossip Girl and the recent film adaptation of Les Miserables.
USA
#2 Cult
Premieres: Tuesday, February 19 at 9pm on the CW
The CW is getting wonderfully meta with Cult. Prison Break’s Robert Knepper (the scene-stealing T-Bag) plays actor Roger Reeves, who plays cult leader Billy Grimm on the show within the show. That show has a devoted online following, and when murders start happening in real life that seem to mimic the ones from the show, a journalist (The Vampire Diaries star Matt Davis) and a PA (Jessica Lucas) team up to investigate. Since obsessive online TV fans have been growing on popularity in recent years, it only makes sense that they’d get their own show.
#1 The Following
Premieres: Monday, January 21 at 9pm on FOX
Kevin Bacon on a TV series is reason enough to watch. But this gripping thriller is so much more. Bacon plays a retired FBI agent called back when the notorious Poe-inspired serial killer he helped put away eight years ago breaks out of prison. This time the killer (played with devilish fun by James Purefoy) has created a large network of budding acolytes willing to help him continue his story of death. The result is the must-watch show of 2013, a fantastic cat and mouse game where we see the story from both sides, the investigators and the sociopaths they’re chasing.
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
