Looking for love this Valentine’s Day, but stuck at home due to the state of the world? Look no further than these eight binge-worthy series you’re guaranteed to fall for before spring. From boundary-pushing superhero series like Black Lightning to nostalgic reboots like Are You Afraid of the Dark? and Punky Brewster, this month has it all and then some. Arrowverse titles also make up another four of our 12 titles; you’ll want to watch episodes of Supergirl, Arrow, and more to prep for the series premiere of Superman & Lois. Read on to find out which Fresh titles should be on your binge list this month.
92%
Black Lightning
(The CW)
What it is: While he thought he had hung up his super suit and street-fighting days of yesteryear for good, Jefferson Pierce (now a school principal) brings his superpowered Black Lightning persona out of “retirement” as street gangs threaten his city.
Why you should watch it: If you’re a fan of the Greg Berlanti–led DC Comics universe on The CW, then you know what you’re in for here, and you’ll absolutely love Black Lightning. This series goes one step further than the usual fare, with its representation of black and LGBTQ superheroes on the small screen. Season 4 premieres Feb. 8 on The CW.
Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNOW, Google Play, Microsoft, Netflix, Vudu
Commitment: Approx. 30 hours (for the first 3 seasons)
- -
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
(Nickelodeon)
What it is: Nickelodeon rebooted its beloved ’90s kid horror series in 2019, and it now returns for a second six-part season with an all-new Midnight Society and monsters to match, lurking in the shadows.
Why you should watch it: If your immediate reaction to this anthological series’ titular question is a resounding “yes,” then you should probably change the channel. From showrunner JT Billings, the show follows a group of kids who call themselves the Midnight Society as they tell ghost stories around a campfire with increasingly horrific real-world consequences. Catch up on the first season of the reboot before the second season’s fresh horrors! Season 2, titled Are You Afraid of the Dark?: Curse of the Shadows, premieres Feb. 12 on Nickelodeon.
Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNOW, Google Play, Microsoft, Vudu
Commitment: Approx. 2 hours (for the first season of the reboot)
- -
Queen Sugar
(OWN)
What it is: After the unexpected death of their father, estranged siblings Ralph-Angel (a conman fresh out of prison), Nova Bordelon (a New Orleans–based journalist and activist), and Charley Bordelon (an upper-class Los Angeles mother to a teenage son) move to rural Louisiana to claim their inheritance: hundreds of acres of sugarcane farmland.
Why you should watch it: Queen Sugar is the result of women both behind and in front of the camera joining their powers: executive producer Oprah Winfrey; executive producer, director, and writer Ava DuVernay; stars Rutina Wesley and Dawn-Lyen Gardner; and other female directors for each episode of its four seasons. And their work isn’t the only stunning aspect of the series — sprawling locations under the Louisiana sun and timely discussions of racial prejudice, mass incarceration, juicy drama with characters you’ll love, and more make it a thought-provoking, must-watch. Season 5 premieres Feb. 16 on OWN.
Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNow, Google Play, Hulu, Microsoft, Vudu
Commitment: Approx. 55 hours (for the first four seasons)
- -
Good Trouble
(Freeform)
What it is: This spinoff from the long-running The Fosters from creators Bradley Bredeweg, Joanna Johnson, and Peter Paige follows Callie and Mariana all grown up and moving to the City of Angels to pursue life as young professionals, Callie as a law clerk and Mariana as a software engineer. Of course, misadventures and growing pains ensue.
Why you should watch it: Good Trouble has the same tenderness and drama we came to love on The Fosters, along with some incisive takes and comedic observations on Gen Z life in a new city. Season 3 premieres Feb. 17 on Freeform.
Where to watch it: Amazon, Google Play, Hulu
Commitment: Approx. 23 hours (for the first two seasons)
92%
For All Mankind
(Apple TV+)
What it is: This hour-long drama from creators Ronald D. Moore, Ben Nedivi, and Matt Wolpert is framed around one question: What if the USSR beat the United States to the moon in 1969? Setting the series on the path of that alternative timeline, For All Mankind establishes an aspirational world where the space race never stopped, where women and racial minorities are soon invited to join NASA’s efforts, and more.
Why you should watch it: While it may at first feel familiar to other space dramas of the past, over the course of 10 episodes, this Joel Kinnaman–led adventure-drama carves its own, exciting niche in the genre. Now that it seems to have found its footing by the end of season 1, we’re excited for what’s next. Season 2 premieres Feb. 19 on Apple TV+.
Where to watch: Apple TV+
Commitment: Approx. 9 hours (for the first season)
88%
Superman & Lois
(The CW)
What it is: Greg Berlanti and Todd Helbing are at it again as co-creators on Superman & Lois, a snapshot of domestic life for our favorite superhero and journalist as they’ve grown and settled down into marriage and kids. Of course, our central hero eats world-ending-baddies for breakfast, so expect more of that, too.
Why you should watch it: As we’ve seen time and again in The CW’s various DC Comics franchises, they’re at their best when leaning into the human character and real-world dramas of its heroes as much as they are the crime-fighting and world-saving. Superman & Lois is sure to deliver on that front, and Tyler Hoechlin’s take on the caped hero hasn’t steered us wrong yet. We’re recommending you catch up on his guest arcs on Supergirl before starting this one. And for those extra keen viewers, you can add in the crossover hours of Batwoman, The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, and Arrow for a total baker’s dozen of episodes. Superman & Lois premieres Feb. 23 on the CW.
Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNow, Google Play, Microsoft, Netflix, Vudu
Commitment: Approx. 9 hours for Hoechlin’s season 2, 4, and 5 guest arcs on Supergirl (episodes 2.1 “The Adventures of Supergirl,” 2.2 “The Last Children of Krypton,” 2.21 “Resist,” 2.22 “Nevertheless, She Persisted,” 4.9 “Elseworlds, Part 3,” and 5.9 “Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part One”) and appearances in Arrow (7.9 “Elseworlds, Part 2” and 8.8 “Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Four”), DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (5.1 “Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Five”), The Flash (5.9 “Elseworlds, Part 1” and “Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Three”), and Batwoman (1.9 “Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Two”)
92%
Snowfall
(FX)
What it is: Created by the late John Singleton, Eric Amadio, and Dave Andron (the latter of whom serves as showrunner), Snowfall tells an L.A. story like we’ve never seen by dramatizing the rise and breakout of the city’s first crack epidemic in 1984 and its greater impact on American culture at large.
Why you should watch it: As riveting as it is eye-opening, this street crime series pulls no punches in its portrayal of the drug trade and its implications in both micro and macro spheres. Startling performances from its ensemble of relative newcomers also bring us into a world that until now has been left off narrative television — and they keep a hold on us there. Season 4 premieres Feb. 24 on FX.
Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNow, Google Play, Hulu, Microsoft, Vudu
Commitment: Approx. 22 hours (for the first three seasons)
57%
Punky Brewster
(Peacock)
What it is: In the classic series, a young Punky Brewster (Soleil Moon Frye) finds refuge in a vacant apartment after being abandoned with her dog in a supermarket. The building’s manager Henry Warnimont (George Gaynes) befriends and eventually adopts her.
Why you should watch it: Twice Emmy-nominated in 1985 and ’86 for best children’s program, Punky Brewster is sure to hold some nostalgic real estate in the hearts of parents far and wide. Revisit the classic to get ready for the 10-episode revival, in which Frye again stars as Punky, who’s now an adult with kids of her own. (It worked for Fuller House, so why not here!?) The new series streams in full Feb. 25 on Peacock.
Where to watch: Peacock, Amazon
Commitment: Approx. 44 hours (for the original four seasons)
On an Apple device? Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Apple News.
For those on the ground, Comic-Con is all about out-cosplaying each other and getting up close, personal, and maybe a little sweaty, with their favorite artists, writers, actors, showrunners, toymakers, and more. For those outside of the San Diego bubble, it’s all about first-look clips and fresh-out-of-the-edit-suite new trailers. We’ll have them right here as they drop, with the newest trailers at the top.
Movies | TV
Rick Grimes is dead. Long live Rick Grimes. The Walking Dead is coming to the big screen and though this teaser doesn’t reveal much, it’s the first promo at all we’ve seen for it.
We’re getting the first full look of Chadwick Boseman’s police thriller 21 Bridges, which follows an embattled NYPD detective thrust into a citywide manhunt after uncovering a massive and unexpected conspiracy.
In theaters September 27, 2019.
Arnie’s back in action as Comic-Con hosts a new lengthy look at Terminator: Dark Fate, which will ignore every sequel after T2: Judgment Day. Linda Hamilton has long been known to be back as Sarah Connor, featuring prominently in the promo material thus far, but now it’s been confirmed that Edward Furlong is also back as not-so-young son John.
In theaters November 1, 2019.
Comic-Con is feeling the need! Tom Cruise made a surprise appearance in San Diego, reminiscing about making the original Top Gun in town and even across the street from the convention center 34 years ago. Cruise returns as Maverick who’s set to instruct Goose’s son (Miles Teller) into the open skies, in a movie he calls a love letter to aviation.
In theaters June 26, 2020.
The Askewniverse just got a little more crowded as Kevin Smith releases the first trailer for Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, where our two titular heroic heartthrobs smoke, fight, and pop culture reference their way to California to stop a Hollywood reboot of their comic book movie. Smith has lost none of his loquacity in recent years as evidenced not only by his burgeoning podcast empire, but the sheer amount of celebrities he’s convinced to show up for some R-rated cameos.
In theaters in 2019.
It’s 27 years after the events of the first It. The Losers Club has moved on and they’re all (penny)wiser from the experience, and not unlikely carrying a significant amount of trauma baggage. Bill Hader, Jessica Chastain, and James McAvoy are among the reformed adults Losers, who are called back to their always seemingly idyllic hometown to put an end to the trickster murder-clown once and for all.
In theaters in September 6, 2019.
Movies | TV
DC Universe gave fans a naughty look at Harley Quinn’s new animated series, with guest appearances by Aquaman, Batman, The Joker, Poison Ivy and more DC favorites.
Harley Quinn is coming soon to DC Universe.
In this full scene from The Magicians season 5, Julia Wicker (Stella Maeve) meets pig man Sir Effingham, who introduces a new quest for her.
Season 5 premieres in 2020 on Syfy.
Wynonna Earp promised “Everything you asked for” and shared a blooper reel.
Season 4 premieres in 2020 on Syfy.
The Flash introduced fans to Dr. Ramsey Rosso (Sendhil Ramamurth), aka Bloodwork. He doesn’t seem so bad. All he wants to do is prevent anyone from ever dying again. What could possibly go wrong?
Season 6 premieres October 8 at 8PM on The CW.
Supergirl gave fans a look at Kara (Melissa Benoist)’s new one-piece suit, and new cast members Julie Gonzalo and William Dey. This season, Supergirl’s new foe isn’t a villian. It’s addictive technology.
Season 5 premieres October 6 at 8PM on The CW.
Black Lightning also took a look back at the Pierce family joining forces as electric powered superheroes, ending with a tease as they’re recruited to fight the Markovian War in season 3.
Season 3 premieres October 21 at 9PM on The CW.
Arrow, the show that launched the Arrowverse on The CW, is coming to an end after its eighth season. They’re not revealing much about the big finale in this first look, which focuses more on a look back at the Arrowverse’s flagship series.
Season 8 premieres October 15 on The CW.
The final season of The Man in the High Castle begins this fall. The first scene shows Juliana (Alexa Davalos) waking up in a flower bed and stumbling across a seemingly good version of John Smith (Rufus Sewell), plus another unexpected reunion.
Season 4 pemieres November 15 on Amazon Prime.
Fans of the movie Snowpiercer have waited years to see TBS’s series adaptation, through different directors and showrunners and retooled pilots. Showrunner Graeme Mason and cast members Jennifer Connell, Daveed Diggs, Alison Wright, and Mickey Summer finally brought the first look to Comic-Con, which looks remarkably faithful to the film from tail to engine car.
Snowpiercer premieres next spring on TBS.
YouTube’s 100% fresh series Impulse returns for a second season as Henry (Maddie Hasson) tries to learn how to use her teleportation powers. If you need to catch up, YouTube is offering the whole first season free this summer.
Season 2 premieres this fall on YouTube Premium.
Peter joins Beavis and Butt-Head and Meg becomes anime in season 18 of Family Guy. Plus, the Griffins survive disasters of fire and water and Quagmire has a house full of cats. Giggity giggity meow meow!
Season 18 premieres September 29 on Fox.
Ever since Amazon saved The Expanse from cancellation at Syfy, fans have been waiting to find out when season 4 would appear on Prime. The Comic-Con trailer finally revealed that, as well as the Rocinante landing on the new planet Ilus. If that’s where season 4 begins, what’s in store for them on Ilus?
Season 4 premieres December 13 on Amazon Prime.
Shorter trailer for The Expanse season 4.
Season 4 premieres December 13 on Amazon Prime.
Trailer for Westworld: Season 3 () 73%
Ever since the hosts escaped the park, we’ve been waiting to see how they make it in the real world. HBO’s Comic-Con trailer gives us a peak, as well as a glimpse at Aaron Paul’s new character and perhaps a WWII era park. Also, Bernard (Jeffrey Wright) and The Man in Black (Ed Harris) aren’t gone yet either.
Westworld season 3 returns in 2020 on HBO.
It’s finally here! The trailer for Star Trek: Picard not only shows Patrick Stewart resuming his seat on the bridge, but Brent Spiner returns as Data (finally resolving the end of Star Trek: Nemesis), Borg actor Jonathan Del Arco is back, and even Voyager‘s Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) joins Jean-Luc Picard.
Star Trek: Picard beams onto CBS All Access in early 2020.
Coming up on season 2 of Disney’s Ducktales reboot are adventures in space and time, plus cameos from Donald and Gizmoduck!
Ducktales is now airing on Disney Channel.
The second season of History Channel’s Project Blue Book catches up to the Roswell landing, as Hynek (Aiden Gillen) doesn’t believe the official story about a weather balloon.
Project Blue Book season 2 returns this winter on History.
As we’re all learning what social media and apps like Face are doing with our data, Fox has a new event series about AI that really is trying to take over, including a device very similar to Alexa.
NeXt is coming in 2020 to Fox.
Can’t wait for Star Trek: Picard or season 3 of Star Trek: Discovery? Tide yourself over with more Star Trek: Short Treks. The trailer for six new shorts features Trek favorites Spock, Pike and Tribbles!
More Star Trek: Short Treks arrives this fall on CBS All Access.
HBO gave us a look at Damon Lindelof’s Watchmen series, starring Regina King, Jeremy Irons and Jean Smart, and showing us the world after the Alan Moore comic and Zack Snyder movie. Get a glimpse at some new masked vigilantes and some hints at where the surviving Dr. Manhattan is hiding in the new trailer.
Watchmen premieres this October on HBO.
The end is nigh for Preacher as Jesse (Dominic Cooper), Tulip (Ruth Negga) and Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun) try to stop the apocalypse while Hilter (Noah Taylor) plays both the piano and racquetball in Preacher‘s final season.
Season 4 premieres August 4 at 9PM on AMC.
Batman has gone missing. It’s up to one person – Bruce Wayne’s niece — to take up the mantle See the first, stylish full look at the new Batwoman show, starring Ruby Rose!
Season 1 premieres October 6, 2019 on CW.
Fantasy words collide in Carnival Row, starring Orlando Bloom as a bowler hatted gent who lives in a world of humans co-existing with wondrous creatures. There’s a clear heirachy, with homo spaiens at the top, which makes it all the more dangerous when Bloom’s character falls in love with a faerie, played by Cara Delevinge.
Season 1 premieres August 30, 2019 on Amazon.
Below we got the first look featurette on The Terror: Infamy. Now, here’s the trailer!
Season 2 returns August 12 on AMC.
The Gelfling are back to take down somre more Skeksis in this epic journey. Everything Netflix has put out for their Dark Crystal sequel series has been well-recieved, and this one looks no different.
Season 1 will premiere August 30, 2019 on Netflix.
Rick and Morty make a fashionably late return at this year’s Comic-Con with a clip featuring a new, wily alien called Glootie.
Season 4 will premiere November 2019 on Adult Swim.
The beloved open world RPG gets its deserved high-profile adaptation on Netflix, starring Henry Cavill as Geralt. At Comic-Con they revealed the first full look!
Season 1 will premiere 2019 on Netflix.
Hot off the 7-episode Season 2, the rainbow-powered looks to continue enrapturing younger fans while reminding adult viewers about the virtues of friendship and kindness.
Season 3 will premiere August 2, 2019 on Netflix.
Creepshow originally started as a horror film anthology series in the early ’80s – the first one was pretty great, the second not so much, and the third got a 0%. And that was about all we heard since for the Stephen King/George A. Romero joint. Now, Creepshow is back to spread its horror-comedy hijinks on Shudder. In keeping with the format, there will be two stories told per six episodes.
Season 1 premieres September 26, 2019 on Shudder.
The Reyes clan is back in the saddle for this Sons of Anarchy spinoff. Season 2 promises more brawls and gunplay, more gang intrigue, and the revelation that we’ll find out who killed Mama Reyes.
Season 2 will premiere September 13, 2019 on FX.
The showrunners announced that Season 7 of Agents will be the last. They’re currently in the tail end of Season 6, so this trailer gives a glimpse into the next three episodes.
Season 6 is currently airing on ABC.
They’ve tried adapting His Dark Materials before and it was not great. But HBO’s giving Philip Pullman’s anti-Narnia an expanded try, already committing to a second season just as they’re only initially dropping the first trailer at Comic-Con. James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson, Dafne Keen, and Lin-Manuel Miranda are among the stars.
Season 1 premieres Fall 2019 on HBO.
Tricia Helfer is joining the fourth season cast of Van Helsing as Dracula, leading the vampires’ rise through the world, while going up against Vanessa Van Helsing and her merry band of monster killers.
Season 4 returns Fall 2019 on Syfy.
The second season of the AMC horror anthology series aka The Terror: Infamy gets its first look which, unlike Season 1’s doomed 1840s sea expedition, is set in a Japanese-American community during World War II as they suffer a series of bizarre deaths. A young man may be the key in solving the mystery plaguing the cast, which includes George Takei.
Season 2 returns August 12 on AMC.
Black Lighting wound up its second season this week on The CW. And while the show is notable for its remarkable cast, led by Cress Williams, and a top-notch villain in the form of Marvin “Krondon” Jones III’s Tobias Whale, its storytelling can get a little odd.
Tobias ended up his own best enemy, for example, setting himself up for his biggest fall yet. The absolutely wonderful Lala (William Catlett) returned from the dead, but ultimately posed no threat. And the briefcase from season 1 may have led Tobias to the Masters of Disaster, but it never quite coalesced into more than a (admittedly cool) fight in the season finale.
Nonetheless, we still enjoy the show and tuned in every week to see some plot lines advance and others fall by the wayside. The season finale was no different with its seeming resolution to Tobias’ story, while setting up its next phase. Which means there are plenty of questions lingering as Black Lighting enters its long hiatus until next fall. Here are five of the questions the finale left us asking.
Just ahead of Black Lightning’s first season debut, executive producer Salim Akil suggested the story would slowly expose the real corruption in Freeland. So far, we’ve gone from The 100 gang as pushers of a metahuman street drug, the ASA as a government agency responsible for developing the drug after a history of experimenting with a vaccine to keep the predominately black populace docile, and the suggestion that a metahuman conflict has been brewing between the US and the Eastern European nation of Markovia for decades.
The country, which debuted in a 1983 Brave and the Bold issue, has strong ties to Black Lightning via the early ’80s Batman and the Outsiders comic book. Both Black Lighting and the prince of Markovia, an earth-bending hero known as Geo-Force, served on the team. The country’s political climate, which often veered toward an authoritarian bent, often became the focus of Outsiders missions. Most recently, the country was seen in the DC Universe series Young Justice: Outsiders as a hotbed of metahuman trafficking and experimentation. It is an interpretation which tracks with the Markovia teased so far on Black Lightning.
But is it possible Markovia’s ties in Freeland are deeper than we know? While The 100 deal in Greenlight, the ASA is not their supplier – Agent Odell (Bill Duke) is more interested in the kids from the original 1980s operation in the stasis pods – which means they are either cooking the drug themselves or getting it from a well-financed source. Considering the Markovian interest in collecting metas as weapons for a future war, they would certainly want to make sure as many underprivileged Freeland kids as possible become powered assets they can later co-opt.
Of course, that assumes Tobias was working the Markovian agents from both sides — he planed to sell the Masters of Disaster and the other Pod Kids on the dark web arms market — and not just making Greenlight himself. But considering the amount of connective tissue Black Lightning skips in regards to The 100’s operations and Tobias’s direct involvement in them, The Markovian Connection is a strong possibility.
It also tracks with Akil’s overall metaphor. Outside of the Pierce family, superpowers have been analogous with drug use. In the first season, the show made pretty strong allusions to the introduction of crack cocaine by the CIA in the 1980s. During the first year, it seemed the ASA would be more directly linked to The 100 and continue that allusion, but perhaps Akil’s greater point was always about a foreign power.
Then again, the executive producer’s personal problems — he allegedly engaged in a 10-year abusive relationship with actor Amber Dixon Brenner and stole her script; re-purposing it into the OWN series Love Is — may eventually prevent his Black Lightning plan from coming to fruition.
(Photo by Annette Brown/The CW)
During the final montage in the second season finale, the viewer can clearly see Khalil (Jordan Calloway) encased in one of the stasis pods back at the ASA bunker. In the scene, Odell looks at his prized Pod Kids with considerable interest. While it is clear he has a plan for Khalil, we wonder how long he waited before digging the poor kid out of the ground.
Since resurrection is a fairly easy thing on this show – just ask Lala – all that remains to be known is the timetable for Khalil’s return. As it happens, timelines area tricky thing on Black Lightning with large gaps in the story occurring constantly and new ideas paying off before they are really set-up (i.e. Lala’s quest for revenge). While the show locked itself into a pretty clear timeline for “The Book of Rebellion” across the winter break, everything following Khalil’s funeral happens across an imprecise span of weeks or months. Did Odell wait until he was sure Jennifer or Khalil’s mother wouldn’t be holding a vigil over the tombstone, or did he devise some late light grave robbing?
Another issue is the nature of resurrection itself. It took Lady Eve’s bizarre undertaker Lazarus (Michael Wright) almost a year to regenerate Lala from a clump of flesh. Presuming Odell is using a similar method – if not employing Lazarus outright – is Khalil fully healed and just in suspended animation or is there more work necessary to revive him? In fact, if Odell is using Lazaurs, will Khalil face the same sort of pain Lala endures every time he comes back?
(Photo by Carin Baer/The CW)
Since right around the time the show debuted, it has teased comic book fans with Grace Choi (Chantal Thuy). She made a few early appearances before Anissa’s (Nafessa Williams) journey to become Thunder dominated her part of season 1. In the second season, Grace’s absence – or, more to the point, Anissa’s neglect of her – became a story point and the two were once again taking tentative steps to becoming a couple.
Then, over a handful of scenes dispersed across the last few episodes of season 2, we learned “Grace Choi” was not her real name and that she is some sort of meta shapeshifter who can take on the form of her adoptive brother and some sort of creature. Also, she may have an interesting diet to maintain her abilities. But as the final two episodes focused on Tobias, Jennifer (China Anne McClain) and Lala, Grace received little more than a name check in “The Book of the Apocalypse.” It leaves us to wonder who or what she might really be.
Back in the comics, Grace was introduced in 2003 as an Amazon who joins a new Outsiders team and, eventually, begins a relationship with Thunder. But since she’s an Amazon in the comics, her powers include super-strength, endurance and an improved healing rate and is a far cry from the Grace evolving on screen. As it happens, her apparent real name – Shay Li Wylde – suggests a connection to the 1990s Outsiders character named Wylde. He was, to a coin a term, a “werebear” and much like Grace (we’re going to use her chosen name for herself), had limited control of his powers as well. Hopefully, the third season will focus more time on her secret and offer her the opportunity to become more than an occasional guest character.
(Photo by Bob Mahoney/The CW)
Watching Black Lightning and Lightning take down Tobias was a particularly satisfying moment of the program’s second season. But we’re already wondering how long it can last. Tobias is a slippery customer and subordinates are drawn to him – even if they should know better (R.I.P., Todd Green).
To us, it suggests Tobias will soon be running the ASA’s black site despite everything the watch commander told him in the closing moments of season 2. The Pit, more than anything else, looks like the sort of crucible Tobias Whale thrives in. It is just a question of time.
It is also a question of Tobias’s ill-defined abilities. While Dr. Jace (Jennifer Riker) created the serum which slowed his aging to a crawl, its side effects are not completely known. He seems to be bullet-proof and super strong, but it is unclear if these powers are derived from the serum – and therefore need a constant dosage to be maintained – or if they are inherent like Black Lightning’s abilities. If the latter, he will have no problem setting up a new empire from within the Pit. He may even find a new class of willing accomplices to throw at his arch enemy.
(Photo by Eliza Morse/The CW)
In the last moments of the finale, Odell deputizes Jeff, Jen, and Anissa into the ASA to fight the coming war against Markovia. Presumably, Freeland will be the battleground and the other surviving Pod Kids (and probably Khalil) will form a sort of ersatz Outsiders. Well, other Greg Berlanti–produced superhero shows on The CW would go that way, but Black Lighting eschews much of the Arrowverse’s rhyme and meter for its own storytelling style.
Nonetheless, it is clear the Pierces, now known to the ASA as metas, will have to deal with the agency in order to retain some modicum of their freedom. It is probably the very thing Odell believes will keep them in line. He used a similar tactic on Lynn (Christine Adams) throughout the second season. One imagines it will work for a time, even on Jennifer, but eventually Odell may find he needs more extreme measures; much in the same way he forced Wendy (Madison Bailey) into exerting much more of her abilities during a test.
Of course, the Lightning Family may still have one ace to play: Odell is seemingly unaware of Gambi (James Remar). He is still technically dead as he never found the culprits of the attempt on his life, which means the ASA may not have tabs on him. Assuming none of the Pierces addressed their man in the chair by name after Odell began spying on them, Gambi may prove vital to their escape from ASA control.
These are just a few of the things Black Lighting left us to ponder. There are other issues like the corruption Henderson (Damon Gupton) still faces within the Freeland PD. If working for the ASA takes up more of his time, Jeff may have to leave Garfield High behind again, imperiling its future. And then there’s Lala, whose living Hell may actually lead to some sort of redemption in the end. Black Lightning introduced a lot of interesting ideas – even if they are not always served well – and we can’t wait to see what becomes of them next year.
There’s a lot to binge up on going into this month — so let’s get right to it, shall we? Below, catch our roundup of 15 series boasting Certified Fresh seasons that are returning in October.
Why you should watch it: Few series can claim to have brought the situational comedy into the modern age, but with its fresh, incisive, and most of all hilarious take on contemporary life in New York city — while featuring a pair of gay men and their best girlfriends to match — Will & Grace is one of the series that did. The best episodes of last season prove a) why NBC revived this hit series and b) why it’s still essential viewing all these years later. Season 10 premieres Oct. 4.
Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNOW, Google Play, Hulu, Microsoft, Vudu
Commitment: Approx. 77 hours
Why you should watch it: We’ve seen plenty of naughty comedies in the past, but none of them excavate the triumphs and traumas of pubescent adolescence quite as fearlessly or uproariously as Big Mouth. Season 2 premieres in full October 5.
Where to watch: Netflix
Commitment: Approx. 5 hours
Why you should watch it: Fresh off Amazon’s Emmys-sweep with The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, now’s as good a time as ever to go back and discover some other standouts in the streaming service’s catalog. First thing we’d suggest is The Man in the High Castle. Epic and engrossing — not to mention timely — it takes viewers into an utterly foreign world that still hits a little too close to today’s political climate for comfort (the way that so many of TV’s very finest manage to do). Season 3 premieres October 5.
Where to watch: Amazon
Commitment: Approx. 20 hours
Why you should watch it: A refreshing take on Asian Americans for the small screen? Check. Well-earned laughs from a trio of talented young actors? Check. A heaping dose of ’90s nostalgia? Check. And the combined powers of the hilarious Park and Constance Wu (now of Crazy Rich Asians fame)? Check and check. Need we say more? Season 5 premieres October 5.
Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNOW, Google Play, Hulu, Microsoft, Vudu
Commitment: Approx. 22 hours
Why you should watch it: Doctor Who is making a case for being one of those timeless sci-fi properties that’s earned a devout following akin to Star Wars or Star Trek. The decades-spanning series always finds ways to one-up itself, and with Jodie Whittaker appearing as the first female Doctor this season, there’s never been a better time to jump aboard. Season 11 premieres October 7 — to get ready, we recommend you begin with the 2005 relaunch.
Where to watch: Amazon, Google Play, Microsoft, Vudu
Commitment: Approx. 90 hours
Why you should watch it: One of cable’s highest rated dramas returns with its season 9 premiere on October 7. Based on the comic book series by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard’s post-apocalyptic premise of zombies walking the Earth and ending mankind as we know it, the acclaimed series developed by creator Frank Darabont indulges in gore and “what if” fascinations. These are characters brought to life with bone-deep precision from a stable of some of TV’s greatest talents. You just never know when your favorite will bite the dust. (That’s admittedly part of the fun, too.)
Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNOW, Google Play, Microsoft, Netflix, Vudu
Commitment: Approx. 86 hours
Why you should watch it: If you’re a fan of the Greg Berlanti–led DC Comics universe on The CW, then you know what you’re in for here, and you’ll love Black Lightning. But this series goes one step further by being an awesome first of its kind, spotlighting not only black superheroes on the small screen, but LGBTQ ones, as well. Season 2 premieres on October 8.
Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNOW, Google Play, Microsoft, Netflix, Vudu
Commitment: Approx. 9.5 hours
Why you should watch it: You don’t gain an adoring following like that of The Flash without bringing edge-of-your-seat action and suspense, lovable characters and story arcs, and pitch-perfect performances week to week. Season 5 premieres October 8.
Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNOW, Google Play, Microsoft, Netflix, Vudu
Commitment: Approx. 66 hours
Why you should watch it: We’ll say it: Riverdale ranks among the best teen dramas to come out of The CW since Gossip Girl, and it deserves the viewership and brand ubiquity to match. It’s the classic Archie we know with a heaping of sex appeal and a dash of True Detective. What’s not to love? Season 3 premieres October 10.
Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNOW, Google Play, Microsoft, Netflix, Vudu
Commitment: Approx. 25.5 hours
Why you should watch it: Whatever you do, don’t be put off by the series’ title — even if you’ve got one! Starring as Rebecca, Rachel Bloom is a musical genius, concocting show-stopping comedic melodies inspired by the best of Broadway and Top 40 week after week. And as if the comedy’s song-and-dance wasn’t entertaining enough, it’s buoyed by excellent performances and tight, creative scripts that tackle everything from broken hearts to mental health. Last season got especially dark, and we love it all the more for continuing to break the mold. Season 4 premieres October 12.
Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNOW, Google Play, Microsoft, Netflix, Vudu
Commitment: Approx. 30 hours
Why you should watch it: It took until the second season for this DC Comics series to really nail down its tone with star Melissa Benoist and crew, but there’s no doubt that it now ranks as one of the most formidable hour-long outings in the superheroic comics-to-screen universe. Plus some behind-the-scenes trivia: Benoist is fresh off a Broadway run as Carole King in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. We love a multi-talented Supergirl! Season 4 premieres October 14.
Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNOW, Google Play, Microsoft, Netflix, Vudu
Commitment: Approx. 45 hours
Why you should watch it: Arrow is the series that first kickstarted the DC Comics universe for Berlanti and The CW, and for six seasons now, it hasn’t let up the fun. Season 7 premieres October 15.
Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNOW, Google Play, Microsoft, Netflix, Vudu
Commitment: Approx. 102 hours
Why you should watch it: Creator Kenya Barris is one of those writers who just goes there. Even in what some would call the confines of network TV — which, incidentally, has been seen pushing up against him this last year — he conjures stories in the sitcom structure that are resonant, timely, and fearless. Plus, they’ll make you laugh, too! Tracy Ellis Ross and Anderson are especially show-stealing. Season 5 premieres October 16.
Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNOW, Google Play, Hulu, Microsoft, Vudu
Commitment: Approx. 35 hours
Why you should watch it: As the first Marvel original series venture on Netflix, Daredevil had a lot buzz and high expectations to live up to. We’re glad to report that it did and then some. Certainly among the best-executed comic adaptations for TV to date, it’s gritty, character-driven, and entertaining. Watch the first two seasons followed by The Defenders season 1 before diving into Daredevil season 3, which premieres Oct. 19.
Where to watch: Netflix
Commitment: Approx. 34 hours
Why you should watch it: When Ray Donovan premiered on Showtime in 2013, it promised the arrival of an exciting new anti-hero. It’s since stayed true to that promise and hasn’t let up, bringing us into the hidden underbelly of Los Angelean elite and slowly unveiling the many layers of a complicated and troubled man. Season 6 premieres October 28.
Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNOW, Google Play, Hulu, Microsoft, Vudu
Commitment: Approx. 52 hours
The fall TV season is the biggest it has ever been, with more cable and streaming services than ever dropping new series to disrupt the big-five broadcast networks. Keeping track of what you want to watch is now more difficult than ever.
Rotten Tomatoes is here to help! We’ve organized the fall TV schedule for you day-by-day, so you can see what you have to choose from and what might conflict when new shows premiere. Start planning your appointment viewing now, then fire up those DVRs.
7 p.m.
X Factor UK: season 15, 8 p.m., AXS (premieres 9/2)
America's Funniest Home Videos: Season 29 ()
- -
7 p.m., ABC (premieres 9/30)
8 p.m.
()
Starz (premieres 9/16)
The Circus: Inside the Wildest Political Show on Earth: Season 3 ()
- -
Showtime (premieres 9/16)
9-1-1: Season 2 ()
100%
Fox (premieres 9/23)
60 Minutes: Season 51 ()
- -
CBS (premieres 9/30)
The Simpsons: Season 30 ()
- -
Fox (premieres 9/30)
Dancing With the Stars: Juniors: Season 1 ()
- -
ABC (premieres 10/7)
Supergirl: Season 4 ()
88%
The CW (premieres 10/14)
Outlander: Season 4 ()
88%
Starz (premieres 11/4)
8:30 p.m.
God Friended Me: Season 1 ()
59%
CBS (premieres 9/30)
Bob's Burgers: Season 9 ()
- -
Fox (premieres 9/30)
9 p.m.
Fear the Walking Dead: Season 4 ()
80%
AMC (ends 9/30)
Get Shorty: Season 2 ()
- -
Epix (ends 10/7)
America to Me: Season 1 ()
100%
Starz (ends 10/28)
The Deuce: Season 2 ()
99%
HBO (premieres 9/9)
Shameless: Season 9 ()
73%
Showtime (premieres 9/9)
The Last Ship: Season 5 ()
- -
TNT (premieres 9/9)
Poldark: Season 4 ()
81%
PBS (premieres 9/30)
Family Guy: Season 16 ()
100%
Fox (premieres 9/30)
The Walking Dead: Season 9 ()
89%
AMC (premieres 10/7)
Shark Tank: Season 10 ()
- -
ABC (premieres 107)
Madam Secretary: Season 5 ()
- -
CBS (premieres 10/7)
Charmed: Season 1 ()
71%
The CW (premieres 10/14)
Ray Donovan: Season 6 ()
60%
Showtime (premieres 10/28)
9:30 p.m.
Rel: Season 1 ()
44%
Fox (regular timeslot from 9/30, after sneak preview 9/9)
NCIS: Los Angeles: Season 10 ()
- -
CBS (premieres 9/30)
10 p.m.
Ballers: Season 4 ()
- -
HBO (ends 10/14)
Kidding: Season 1 ()
77%
Showtime (premieres 9/9)
You: Season 1 ()
94%
Lifetime (premieres 9/9)
Star Wars Resistance: Season 1 ()
93%
Disney (premieres 10/7)
The Alec Baldwin Show: Season 1 ()
0%
ABC (premieres 10/14)
Camping: Season 1 ()
27%
HBO (premieres 10/14)
Busy Tonight: Season 1 ()
- -
E! (premieres 10/28)
Escape at Dannemora: Season 1 ()
89%
Showtime (premieres 11/18)
10:30 p.m.
Insecure: Season 3 ()
92%
HBO (ends 9/30)
Streaming
Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, Netflix (premieres 10/28)
TBD
Doctor Who: Season 11 ()
90%
BBC America (premieres 10/7)
7 p.m.
Monday Night Football, ESPN (premieres 9/10)
8 p.m.
The Big Bang Theory: Season 12 ()
83%
CBS (premieres 9/24)
The Voice: Season 15 ()
- -
NBC (premieres 9/24)
The Resident: Season 2 ()
- -
Fox (premieres 9/24)
The Neighborhood: Season 1 ()
24%
CBS (Premieres 10/1)
Arrow: Season 7 ()
87%
The CW (premieres 10/15)
8:30 p.m.
Young Sheldon: Season 2 ()
- -
CBS (premieres 9/24)
Happy Together: Season 1 ()
53%
CBS (premieres 10/1)
9 p.m.
Better Call Saul: Season 4 ()
99%
AMC (ends 10/8)
Magnum P.I.: Season 1 ()
57%
CBS (premieres 9/24)
DC's Legends of Tomorrow: Season 4 ()
98%
The CW (premieres 10/22)
Mars: Season 2 ()
- -
National Geographic (premieres 11/12)
10 p.m.
Lodge 49: Season 1 ()
89%
AMC (ends 10/8)
X Company: Season 3 ()
- -
Ovation (ends 10/29)
Manifest: Season 1 ()
56%
NBC (premieres 9/24)
Bull: Season 3 ()
- -
CBS (premieres 9/24)
The Good Doctor: Season 2 ()
- -
ABC (premieres 9/24)
8 p.m.
Bachelor in Paradise: Season 5 ()
78%
ABC
The Great American Read: Season 1 ()
- -
PBS (premieres 9/11)
NCIS: Season 16 ()
- -
CBS (premieres 9/25)
The Gifted: Season 2 ()
83%
Fox (premieres 9/25)
The Flash: Season 5 ()
94%
The CW (premieres 10/9)
The Conners: Season 1 ()
93%
ABC (premieres 10/16)
(Photo by ABC/Robert Trachtenberg)
8:30 p.m.
The Kids Are All Right, ABC (premieres 10/16)
9 p.m.
FBI: Season 1 ()
63%
CBS (premieres 9/25)
This Is Us: Season 3 ()
94%
NBC (premieres 9/25)
Lethal Weapon: Season 3 ()
100%
Fox (premieres 9/25)
Black Lightning: Season 2 ()
91%
The CW (premieres 10/9)
black-ish: Season 5 ()
80%
ABC (premieres 10/16)
9:30 p.m.
Splitting Up Together: Season 2 ()
- -
ABC (premieres 10/16)
10 p.m.
Wrecked: Season 3 ()
- -
TBS (ends 10/9)
The Purge: Season 1 ()
42%
USA (ends 11/6)
Mayans M.C.: Season 1 ()
72%
FX (premieres 9/4)
The Purge: Season 1 ()
42%
USA Network (premieres 9/4)
NCIS: New Orleans: Season 5 ()
- -
CBS (premieres 9/25)
New Amsterdam: Season 1 ()
34%
NBC (premieres 9/25)
The Rookie: Season 1 ()
68%
ABC (premieres 10/16)
Loudermilk: Season 2 ()
- -
Audience (premieres 10/16)
10:30 p.m.
The Hunt for the Trump Tapes With Tom Arnold: Season 1 ()
20%
Viceland (premieres 9/18)
11 p.m
Mr Inbetween: Season 1 ()
90%
FX (premieres 9/25)
Streaming
Sorry For Your Loss: Season 1 ()
94%
Facebook Watch (premieres 9/18)
8 p.m.
The Goldbergs: Season 6 ()
- -
ABC (premieres 9/26)
Survivor ()
- -
: season 37, CBS (premieres 9/26)
Chicago Med: Season 4 ()
- -
NBC (premieres 9/26)
Empire: Season 5 ()
83%
Fox (premieres 9/26)
Riverdale: Season 3 ()
84%
The CW (premieres 10/10)
8:30 p.m.
American Housewife: Season 3 ()
- -
ABC (premieres 9/26)
9 p.m.
The Real Housewives of Dallas: Season 3 ()
- -
Bravo (ends 10/31)
Chicago Fire: Season 7 ()
- -
NBC (premieres 9/26)
Modern Family: Season 10 ()
- -
ABC (premieres 9/26)
Empire: Season 5 ()
83%
Fox (premieres 9/26)
SEAL Team: Season 2 ()
- -
CBS (premieres 10/3)
All American: Season 1 ()
92%
The CW (premieres 10/10)
Vikings: Season 5 ()
92%
History (premieres 11/28)
9:30 p.m.
The Cool Kids: Season 1 ()
75%
ABC (premieres 9/26)
10 p.m.
Mr. Mercedes: Season 2 ()
100%
Audience (ends 10/24)
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Season 13 ()
94%
FXX (premieres 9/5)
American Horror Story: Apocalypse ()
79%
FX (premieres 9/12)
Chicago P.D.: Season 6 ()
- -
NBC (premieres 9/26)
South Park: Season 22 ()
77%
Comedy Central (premieres 9/26)
A Million Little Things: Season 1 ()
53%
ABC (premieres 9/26)
Criminal Minds: Season 14 ()
- -
CBS (premieres 10/3)
Stan Against Evil: Season 3 ()
- -
IFC (premieres 10/31)
Clique: Season 1 ()
100%
Pop (premieres 11/7)
Streaming
Tell Me a Story: Season 1 ()
60%
CBS All Access (premieres 10/31)
7:30 p.m.
Thursday Night Football, Fox (premieres 9/27)
8 p.m.
Grey's Anatomy: Season 15 ()
100%
ABC (premieres 9/27)
Superstore: Season 4 ()
100%
NBC (premieres 10/4)
Man at Arms: Art of War, El Rey (premieres 10/4)
Supernatural: Season 14 ()
83%
The CW (premieres 10/11)
8:30 p.m.
The Good Place: Season 3 ()
98%
NBC (premieres 9/27 at 8 p.m., then regular time slot)
9 p.m.
()
NBC (premieres 10/4)
Mom: Season 6 ()
- -
CBS (premieres 9/27)
Station 19: Season 2 ()
- -
ABC (premieres 10/4)
Legacies: Season 1 ()
82%
The CW (premieres 10/25)
Baroness von Sketch Show: Season 3 ()
- -
IFC (premieres 11/8)
9:30 p.m.
Murphy Brown: Season 11 ()
45%
CBS (premieres 9/27)
I Feel Bad: Season 1 ()
31%
NBC (premieres 10/4)
10 p.m.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Season 20 ()
100%
NBC (starting 10/4 after early premiere on 9/27)
How to Get Away With Murder: Season 5 ()
86%
ABC (premieres 9/27)
S.W.A.T.: Season 2 ()
- -
CBS (premieres 9/27)
Streaming
I Love You, America With Sarah Silverman: Season 1 ()
93%
: new episodes, Hulu (premieres 9/6)
Snatch: Season 2 ()
- -
Crackle (premieres 9/13)
Orbital Redux, Alpha (premieres 9/27)
StartUp: Season 3 ()
- -
Crackle (premieres 11/1 after 10/22 preview on Amazon devices)
8 p.m.
Dancing With the Stars: Season 27 ()
- -
ABC (premieres 9/28)
MacGyver: Season 2 ()
- -
CBS (premieres 9/28)
Last Man Standing: Season 7 ()
58%
Fox (premieres 9/28)
Fresh Off the Boat: Season 5 ()
- -
ABC (premieres 10/5)
Blindspot: Season 4 ()
- -
NBC (premieres 10/12)
Dynasty: Season 2 ()
- -
The CW (premieres 10/12)
8:30 p.m.
The Cool Kids: Season 1 ()
65%
Fox (premieres 9/28)
Speechless: Season 3 ()
- -
ABC (premieres 10/5)
(Photo by Greg Gayne/The CW)
9 p.m.
()
Epix (ends 11/9)
Hawaii Five-0: Season 9 ()
- -
CBS (premieres 9/28)
Hell's Kitchen: Season 18 ()
- -
Fox (premieres 9/28)
Child Support: Season 2 ()
- -
ABC (premieres 10/5)
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: Season 4 ()
100%
The CW (premieres 10/12)
Shakespeare Uncovered: Season 3 ()
- -
PBS (premieres 10/12)
Midnight, Texas: Season 2 ()
- -
NBC (premieres 10/26)
10 p.m.
Wyeth, PBS (premieres 9/7)
Blue Bloods: Season 9 ()
- -
CBS (premieres 9/28)
Dateline NBC: Season 27 ()
- -
NBC (premieres 9/28)
Friday Streaming premieres
Marvel's Iron Fist: Season 2 ()
55%
Netflix (premieres 9/7)
Atypical: Season 2 ()
88%
Netflix (premieres 9/7)
The First: Season 1 ()
66%
Hulu (premieres 9/14)
BoJack Horseman: Season 5 ()
98%
Netflix (premieres 9/14)
Ingobernable: Season 2 ()
- -
Netflix (premieres 9/14)
American Vandal: Season 2 ()
98%
Netflix (premieres 9/14)
Norm Macdonald Has a Show: Season 1 ()
- -
Netflix (premieres 9/14)
Dragon Pilot, Netflix (premieres (9/21)
Hilda: Season 1 ()
100%
Netflix (premieres 9/21)
The Good Cop: Season 1 ()
50%
Netflix (premieres 9/21)
Maniac: Miniseries ()
84%
Netflix (premieres 9/21)
Pete the Cat: Season 1 ()
- -
Amazon (premieres 9/21)
Chef's Table: Season 5 ()
- -
Netflix (premieres 9/28)
()
Netflix (premieres 9/28)
()
Hulu (premieres 10/5)
Into the Dark: Season 1 ()
69%
Hulu (premieres 10/5)
The Haunting of Hill House: Miniseries ()
93%
Netflix (premieres 10/12)
The Romanoffs: Season 1 ()
49%
Amazon (premieres 10/12)
Light as Feathers (2018)
- -
Hulu (premieres 10/12)
Lore: Season 2 ()
- -
Amazon (premieres 10/19)
Marvel's Daredevil: Season 3 ()
97%
Netflix (premieres 10/19)
Castlevania: Season 2 ()
100%
Netflix (premieres 10/26)
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Part 1 ()
92%
Netflix (premieres 10/26)
House of Cards: Season 6 ()
65%
Netflix (premieres 11/2)
Homecoming: Season 1 ()
98%
Amazon (premieres 11/2)
The Kominsky Method: Season 1 ()
80%
Netflix (premieres 11/16)
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Netflix (premieres 11/16)
Marvel's Runaways: Season 2 ()
84%
Hulu (premieres 12/21)
8 p.m.
Crimetime Saturday, CBS (premieres 9/29)
9 p.m.
48 Hours: Season 31 ()
- -
CBS (premieres 9/29)
10 p.m.
Versailles: Season 3 ()
44%
Ovation (premieres 10/6)
11:30 p.m.
Saturday Night Live: Season 44 ()
70%
NBC (premiere TBD)
As the fall season approaches, much of the excitement in the realm of comic book television surrounds the Arrowverse crossover scheduled for December 9–11. This year, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow sits out the event as Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl unite to introduce Gotham City into their television multiverse and present the live-action debut of Batwoman (Ruby Rose). The character is also expected to join the CW roster in her own series next year. Oh, and if that were not enough, Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) will join the fun and new television Lois Lane will debut during the event.
And while it may seem that The CW dominates the comic book television landscape with seven shows based on comic book properties and an eighth on the way, there are a few other programs returning or debuting over the autumn months with great plans of their own. New characters, continuing story lines, and a few shake-ups will occur as comic book superheroes, survivors, and high schoolers return from their summer breaks. Let’s take a look at what the new fall season has in store for some of your favorite comic book TV shows.
Returns: September 7
What to Expect: Following the events of Marvel’s The Defenders, Danny Rand (Finn Jones) tries to live up to the promise he made to Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) by keeping the downtown gangs in check. With The Hand undone, the power vacuum threatens to rip the city apart. But Danny’s old friend Davos (Sacha Dhawan) has a different idea. Using his newly found powers and his alliance with Joy Meachum (Jessica Stroup), he plans to take the Immortal Iron Fist from Danny anyway he can. Meanwhile, Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick) questions her desire to stay in the fight while Misty Knight (Simone Missick) comes downtown chasing a case of her own. But everyone will have to face the various personalities of Typhoid Mary (Alice Eve), whose apparent alliance with Davos and Joy comes with a few unusual conditions.
Suggested Reading: The Immortal Iron Fist Vols. 1 & 2 by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, David Aja, Travel Foreman, Kano and Tonci Zonjic.
Returns: September 25
What To Expect: The Mutant Underground faces a complex future following the defections of mutants like Polaris (Emma Dumont) and Andy Strucker (Percy Hynes White) to the Hellfire Club. That group’s Inner Circle, led by Reeva Payge (Grace Byers), has no intention of maintaining the X-Men’s dream of peace between mutant and human, which means the Underground will be fighting a war on two fronts as the Purifiers renew their campaign against mutants. Meanwhile, Erg (Michael Luwoye) and the Morlocks make themselves known and a new company swoops in to take the place of Trask Industries as Agent Turner (Coby Bell) continues his crusade against mutant kind. Also, the mutant cure Reed Strucker (Stephen Moyer) received from his father is failing, meaning his long dormant powers are about to be revealed.
Suggested Reading: X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills by Chris Claremont and Brent Anderson.
Returns: October 7
What To Expect: A year-and-a-half after Negan’s (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) defeat, Rick Grimes’ (Andrew Lincoln) loose coalition of local communities continues to face challenges in the zombie-infested world. They also face the threat of the Whisperers, led by Alpha (Samantha Morton), and the impending departure of series star Lincoln as The Walking Dead finally says goodbye to Rick. But what his final moments will mean for Maggie (Lauren Cohan), Michonne (Danai Gurira), Carol (Melissa McBride), or Daryl (Norman Reedus) is anyone’s guess. Will one of them step up to lead the coalition or will they have to wait for Morgan (Lennie James) to return from his Fear The Walking Dead sojourn to provide the necessary wisdom and menace to rule over a post-Negan world? Well, it may not mean much to Maggie as Cohan is also departing the series — and people usually leave The Walking Dead as corpses.
Suggested Reading: The Walking Dead Vol. 24: Life and Death by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn.
Returns: October 9
What To Expect: Despite Barry (Grant Gustin) and Iris (Candace Patton) planning to wait awhile before having a child, their daughter Nora (Jessica Parker Kennedy) arrives from the future claiming she’s made a huge time-travel mistake — that definitely makes her Barry’s daughter. If a new generation of speedster wasn’t enough, Team Flash faces the new threat of Cicada (Chris Klein), a former beat cop turner serial killer of metas, and he might have his sights set on Cisco (Carlos Valdes). Meanwhile, Dr. Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker) searches for answers about Killer Frost, with her questions leading back to her difficult mother, Carla Tannhauser (Susan Walters) and her long absent father, Thomas Snow (Kyle Secor). And as has become Flash tradition, Tom Cavanagh will debut a new version of Harrison Wells, known as “Sherloque,” following Harry’s return to Earth-2 last season.
Suggested Reading: The Flash by Mark Waid Book Two by Mark Waid, M.D. Bright, Phil Hester, Greg Larocque, and Patch Zircher.
Returns: October 9
What To Expect: The battle for Freeland continues as Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams), his daughters Anissa (Nafessa Williams) and Jennifer (China Anne McClain), their mother Lynn (Christine Adams) and Gambi (James Remar) prepare for Tobias Whale’s (Marvin “Krondon” James III) next move. The team will also, presumably, deal with whatever long game the ASA is playing with its meta-human drug program and the Green Light victims it held in those cryogenic pods. Jordan Calloway, who played Jennifer’s almost-boyfriend Khalil last season, will return as a series regular. Changed into the meta-human Painkiller, he will also prove to be a continuing adversary for Team Lightning. Meanwhile, Jennifer will begin to see a therapist to help her adjust to meta-human life while Jefferson faces his replacement as principal of Garfield High. Anissa will also meet a “social media-savvy” love interest — though we’re still wondering why she stopped talking to Grace Choi (Chantal Thuy) after that night at the bar.
Suggested Reading: Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands by Tony Isabella and Clayton Henry
Returns: October 10
What To Expect: First up: the trial of Archie Andrews (KJ Apa) as Hiram Lodge (Mark Consuelos) attempts to exact his revenge on those meddling Riverdale High kids. The situation may lead to Archie and Veronica (Camila Mendes) breaking up again. Betty (Lili Reinhart) must confront her mother and sister’s interest in the cult-like Farm and its leader Edgar Everner, while Jughead (Cole Sprouse) awaits the return of his mother and his little sister Jelly Bean to Riverdale. Meanwhile, Kevin Keller (Casey Cott) and Josie McCoy (Ashleigh Murray) face a new reality as step-siblings when his father and her mother try to integrate them into one family unit under one roof. But it wouldn’t be Riverdale without a special stunt episode and the fall event comes early as episode four features a flashback episode in which Apa, Cott, Murray, Mendes, Reinhart, Sprouse, and the rest of the young cast play their characters’ parents in a Breakfast Club–inspired story that promises to reveal a long-buried secret. The Breakfast Club’s Anthony Michael Hall will guest star as 1980s Riverdale High Principal Featherhead.
Suggested Reading: Afterlife with Archie Vol. 1 by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Francesco Francavilla.
Returns: October 14
What To Expect: With the threat of Reign behind her, Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) faces a new threat in the form of Supergirl? Taking its cues from the Superman: Red Son graphic novel, season 4 will introduce a Russian doppelganger of Kara who has very clear plans for the United States and National City. Lynda Carter returns as President Olivia Marsdin, but her secret identity as a Durlan shapeshifter may soon become public knowledge as her vice president (Bruce Boxleitner) will become “an unlikely leader who steps up in a big way up when his country needs him most.” But that may play into the hands of Agent Liberty (Sam Witwer), a man using the anti-alien sentiment to his own advantage. Meanwhile, Brainiac 5 (Jesse Rath) continues to acclimate to the 21st century, Alex (Chyler Leigh) gets used to running the DEO, and J’onn (David Harewood) discovers who he is without the burden of command. Also, expect Lena (Katie McGrath) to learn Kara’s secret at some point, leading the two friends to become bitter enemies with James Olsen (Mehcad Brooks) stuck in the middle. Nicole Maines joins the series as Nia Nal, a CatCo employee with a dreamy power, as does April Parker Jones as Colonel Lauren Haley.
Suggested Reading: Superman: Red Son by Mark Millar, Dave Johnson and Kilian Plunkett.
Returns: October 15
What To Expect: After finally revealing himself as the Green Arrow, Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) finds himself behind bars at Slabside Maximum Security Prison, where old opponents like Bronze Tiger (Michael Jai White), Derek Sampson (Cody Runnels), and Brick (Vinnie Jones) eagerly await their chance for payback. Meanwhile, Team Arrow contends with Ricardo Diaz’s (Kirk Acevedo) latest recruits: The Longbow Hunters. Red Dart (Holly Elissa), Kodiak (Michael Jonsson), and Silencer (Miranda Edwards) are eager to assist Diaz in exacting his revenge on the remaining members of the team, which includes Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards), John Diggle (David Ramsey), Curtis Holt (Echo Kellum), Dinah Drake (Juliana Harkavy), and Rene Ramirez (Rick Gonzalez). Meanwhile, Black Siren (Katie Cassidy) continues her tough journey from villain to — well, less of a villain, really. But perhaps a returning Roy Harper (Colton Haynes) will be able to withstand Diaz and the Longbow Hunters while Ollie figures out a way to survive Slabside.
Suggested Reading: Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters by Mike Grell.
Returns: October 22
What To Expect: Because the Legends never do anything correctly, their defeat of the Time Demon Mallus has opened a door for mystical creatures to invade the timestream. It will be up to them and expert exorcist John Constantine (Matt Ryan) to put the genie back in the bottle – chances are, they will have also face a genie at some point while removing werewolves, ghosts, and other creatures from Earth-1’s often fractured history. But the stress of the situation may lead to a Legend “breaking bad.” Besides Ryan and season 3 guest stars Jes Macallan and Courtney Ford joining the cast on a permanent basis, Ramona Young will appear as Alaska Yu, a young woman in love with fantasy novels and the idea of becoming a superhero. Hopefully, the Legends will welcome her with open arms and not make superheroes look too bad in the process. Also, Nate Heywood (Nick Zano) will finally get to know his father (Tom Wilson) a little bit better and Maisie Richardson-Sellers trades in playing Amaya Jiwe for a new character named Charlie, one of those mystical fugitives plaguing the Legends this season.
Suggested Reading: Hellblazer Vol. 1 by Jamie Delano and John Ridgway.
(Photo by Diyah Pera/Netflix)
Debuts: October 26
What To Expect: Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka) is a not-so-average student at Greendale High. Half witch and half human, Sabrina must reconcile her dual heritage while facing supernatural threats to the town and typical high school drama, like starting something with Harvey Kinkle (Ross Lynch). But she must also contend with her protective aunts Zelda (Miranda Otto) and Hilda (Lucy Davis), her British cousin Ambrose (Chance Perdomo) high school rival Prudence (Tati Gabrielle), and nefarious school principal George Hawthorne (Bronson Pinchot). Luckily, she has her best friend Rosalind Walker (Jaz Sinclair) by her side and the compassionate ear of her mentor, Mary Wardell (Michelle Gomez).
Suggested Reading: The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Vol. 1 by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Robert Hack and Jack Morelli.
(Photo by Patrick Harbron/Netflix)
Returns: fall 2018
What To Expect: While the other Defenders presume Matt Murdoch perished in their final confrontation with the Hand, the Daredevil of Hell’s Kitchen survived an entire building toppling down upon him. Now, he finds himself in the care of a group of nuns. One of whom, Sister Maggie (Joanne Whalley), may be his long lost mother. Meanwhile, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) is itching to get out of prison and back into power. Oh, and he probably wants revenge on Matt — once Matt lets the world and dear friends like Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) and Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) know he’s still alive. Wilson Bethel and Jay Ali are also slated to appear. The latter will play socially awkward FBI Agent Ray Nadeem while many suspect the former will play Matt’s arch-nemesis Bullseye. Annabella Sciorra will also continue as mob boss Rosalie Carbone, the part she played in the closing episodes of Luke Cage‘s second season.
Suggested Reading: Daredevil: Born Again by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli
Debuts: fall 2018
What To Expect: When Dick Grayson (Brenton Thwaites) sets off as his own after a falling out with Batman, he will have to assemble a team of young heroes to help the emotionally distraught Raven (Teagan Croft). With Starfire (Anna Diop) and Beast Boy (Ryan Potter) joining the team, the new Titans will have to face the unpredictable vigilante team of Hawk and Dove (Alan Ritchson and Minka Kelly), the oddity of the Doom Patrol, and the dark secret of Raven’s past. Also, Dick will have to contend with a new partner (Lindsey Gort) at his day job at the police department and at least one appearance by bad boy Robin Jason Todd (Curran Walters). The series is the first original live-action scripted series that will launch on the upcoming DC Universe streaming service.
Suggested Reading: The New Teen Titans Vol. 1 by Marv Wolfman and George Perez.
Debuts: This fall
What To Expect: The daily series will provide “added depth” to announcements regarding the DC Universe service’s original series, its library of comics, and the burgeoning community. Each episode will feature a headlines segment; a single-topic segment like an in-depth interview or deep dive into an upcoming book, film, or series; and a panel discussion.
Suggested Reading: The DC Comics official website.
(Photo by Hulu)
Returns: December 21
What to Expect: The kids – Alex (Rhenzy Feliz), Molly (Allegra Acosta), Gert (Ariela Barer), Chase (Gregg Sulkin), Karolina (Virginia Gardner), and Nico (Lyrica Okano) – find escape from Los Angeles is much harder than they expected and discover sanctuary in a half-buried mansion somewhere in the hills. As they scavenge for food and look after one another, they must also confront a growing suspicion that one of them is still in contact with Pride leader Jonah (Julian McMahon). Meanwhile, their Prideful parents continue to look for their runaway children as Jonah moves on to the next stage in his plan.
Suggested Reading: Runaways Vol. 2: Teenage Wasteland by Brian K. Vaughn and Adrian Alphona.
(Photo by ABC/Kurt Iswarienkio; Freeform/Alfonso Bresciani; Cara Howe/Netflix; Richard Ducree/The CW; Katie Yu/The CW)
Sometimes the major heroes of television shows based on comic books just need some support. It can be in the form of a best friend, a worthy opponent, a character to carry a secondary plot or someone just to be there and literally tell the main character that they’re doing a great job. Characters can start out as the latter and emerge as fan favorites. They can also remain on the periphery of the frame, offering commentary or a key piece of info. And then there are also a few who are just criminally underutilized.
So let’s celebrate the characters who help make the heroes look good, be they guests, recurring parts, or reliable presences. Here are a few of the best supporting characters in 2018.
In some ways, it is a cheat to bring the superlative Carl Lumbly onto Supergirl as J’onn J’onzz’s (David Harewood) father M’yrrn. But as Lumbly defined the role of the Martian Manhunter on television – he voiced J’onn in the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited animated series – it was also fitting to bring that persona of dignity and gravitas to the part.
In doing so, it opened up M’yrnn to a wealth of new experiences and some of the best moments in Supergirl’s third season. His delight in discovering coffee, his karaoke night with the gang, and J’onn’s attempt to give them more of a family life by moving them both out of the DEO and into an apartment all revealed added and welcome dimensions for both characters. Sadly, Lumbly and M’yrnn were not to be permanent additions, as the writing team saw fit to almost immediately give the character a degenerative brain disease. But even as that story line continued to its inevitable conclusion, both performer and character embraced their scripted fate with dignity and a performance far beyond the material as written.
As opposed to his comic-book counterpart, it is easy to imagine the Herr Starr of AMC’s Preacher would like a quiet retirement. Despite being the most efficient and ruthless agent of The Grail, the strain it puts on him is easy to see even as he carries out its directives. It is also the underlying reason why he’d rather see Jesse (Dominic Cooper) become the Messiah over The Grail’s inbred scion Humperdoo (Tyson Ritter). Granted, any sane person would make that choice as well, even in the insane world of the show.
But for all his motivations and skills, the guy can’t catch a break and finds himself forever at Jesse’s heels, even when he should have the upperhand. That said, it seems he finally has a way to hold sway over Jesse thanks to a deal with Gran’ma Marie (Betty Buckley) and the ever-present carrot of Jesse’s Genesis-infused soul. Will he finally get everything he wants exactly how he wants it?
Well, if the show follows even just 10 percent of Starr’s story from the comics, it seems unlikely. Nonetheless, it makes Starr the best of the supporting foils on Preacher.
As the top lawman in Purgatory, Sheriff Nedly would like nothing more than to see the town resume its sleepy ways. But that’s really a front, as he has always known Purgatory and the surrounding Ghost River Triangle is a magnet for supernatural happenings. He does his best to keep the strange incidents Wynonna (Melanie Scrofano) and her friends get into from becoming public knowledge. And while initially standoffish with Black Badge Division agent Xavier Dolls (Shamier Anderson), he ultimately embraced his presence as another line of defense against the demonic forces in the region. He also proved to be an able mentor to Officer Nicole Haught (Katherine Barrell), a woman who, like Nedly, seems destined to tangle with the unexplained.
And yet, Nedly faces those horrors with a quip and that gruff, irritable manner we saw in the first season — even if he has become something of a teddy bear to the main cast. He faced down the widows of Sheriff Clootie by asking if they were Pokemon and had, perhaps, the best reaction to being glamored by vampires by dropping his irascible facade entirely and embracing an ascot. Nedly may not be a constant presence on the show, but he is definitely welcome whenever he appears.
(Photo by David Giesbrecht/Netflix)
Malcolm has come so far since his days as Killgrave’s (David Tennant) victim and Jessica’s (Krysten Ritter) junkie neighbor; in fact, this may even be the last time he will still be considered a “supporting character.”
While The Defenders and the early parts of Jessica Jones’ second season saw him dutifully fulfilling his self-appointed role as her sidekick, we soon saw Malcolm’s own innate detective skills and sense of justice leading him away from Jessica. In his spare time, he replaced his drug habit with a long string of hook-ups, leading to a one-night stand with Trish (Rachael Taylor) that both seemed to regret in the end.
And though moving away from Jessica as a truly supporting player, his emerging B-Plot highlighted one of Jessica’s big faults – her inability to embrace people – while defining him as one of the best characters in the second season. Sadly, his success meant he had to leave Alias Investigations entirely for a rival P.I. firm and stealing away Jessica’s best client, Jeri Hogarth (Carrie Anne Moss). Hopefully, it will work out for Malcolm and, just maybe, he and Jessica will mend things before too long.
(Photo by )
When Ashe was first announced as a new permanent member of the Legends team, the character was said to be something of a foil for the established characters. But when she finally debuted, she quickly went from criticizing the ne’er-do-wells’ habit of making situations worse to munching on kettle corn while watching them do it. But considering she came from a 2042 in which A.R.G.U.S. turned the United States into an anti-metahuman police state in which food was scarce, it makes absolute sense she would abuse the Waverider’s food replicator and collection of video games.
Though haunted by the death of her brother in 2041 and stand-offish with the team for the first few months, Zari finally embraced them as friends after spending an incalculable amount of time inside a time-loop which reset with the Waverider exploding. While still sarcastic and occasionally emotionally distant, Zari accepted the ship as home, aiding the team in fashioning a Beebo doll powerful enough to stop the demon Mallus.
And even though the treat to her life from Mallus was over, she choose to remain with the Legends. We’re definitely glad she did.
(Photo by Freeform/Alfonso Bresciani)
Making her presence felt in the second episode of Cloak & Dagger as an almost completely silent detective, O’Reilly quickly distinguished herself as an upstanding officer of the law. With a keen eye for detection — she knew almost instantly that Tandy Bowen’s (Olivia Holt) first stabbing was in self-defense — and a true sense of justice — she chaffed after being told she could not pursue Tandy’s case any further — she quickly became Tandy and Tyrone Johnson’s (Aubrey Joseph) only real support; in fact, she was more supportive of the two than they were of each other.
When neither the light-wielding Tandy nor the darkness-controlling Tyrone could turn to their parents, she became the go-to adult. But as viewers saw, her willingness to bend some laws for a greater good or even do a line of coke for pleasure and business suggests she is more than just a good cop, making her a rough balance of the Johnsons’ tendency toward precise order and Melissa Bowen’s (Andrea Roth) love affair with chaos. Created by Bill Mantlo in the first issue of Cloak & Dagger in 1985, O’Reilly was always a supporting character for the duo. Including after she died and became something else – a change in status seemingly teased in the closing moments of the show’s first season.
For some, The Walking Dead never quite worked because Morgan was missing for so long. Debuting in the first episode as a distraught man readying himself to shoot his zombified wife’s corpse, James made a staggering impression in what was his only appearance until a single episode in season 3. The character remained alive in the story via a walky-talky and Rick’s (Andrew Lincoln) constant attempts to give him some clue of where his group was headed.
But when the pair finally reunited in season 5, Morgan was a changed man. His journey to Alexandria was not an easy one, and it saw his strength collapse into profound grief over the loss of his family and a willingness to kill anyone who got in his way. Eventually, he met a man who helped him recover some of his humanity. After which, he choose to find Rick.
Despite learning a way of peace, events since joining Rick’s group have led him back to violence. Still suffering from PTSD, the control Morgan thought he had wavered in the face of the world Rick and other groups were building. Consequently, he began to kill again and later suffered hallucinations of some of his victims. When last seen, Morgan appeared ready to leave the group and heal.
Now, on Fear the Walking Dead, Morgan is maintaining his wish to be alone while healing, even if he’s coming to understand that isolation is just not practical. To those he encounters, he’s something of a soothsayer, but it may just be a matter of time before Morgan resumes the way of violence.
(Photo by Dean Buscher/The CW)
If there is one character on Riverdale who genuinely remains in the support category, it’s Kevin Keller. While presented as important part of the gang – he is Betty’s (Lili Reinhart) confidant – he is not one of the main four and often finds himself either aiding Betty or offering quippy commentary on the events of the week while passing through the halls of Riverdale High. Early in the second season, the Black Hood story line dovetailed with Kevin’s penchant for cruising, but it was dropped before anything truly meaningful could come of it, and that’s despite Kevin’s decision to come out to his father.
Nonetheless, Kevin is always around to back up the gang or literally set the stage with his production of Carrie: The Musical. And his continued presence as a supporting player may be rewarded in the third season as he and Josie (Ashleigh Murray) – another underutilized character – find themselves living under one roof when their parents decide they should become a family. Hopefully, it will lead to more of a presence for Kevin (and Josie) going forward.
After all these years, it is difficult to remember a time when Mack was an agent of a rival version of S.H.I.E.L.D., looking to steal Nick Fury’s Toolbox from Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg). But as the show looked back on itself during season 5, Mack’s original status on the show underscores where he is now – the resident healthy skeptic. Even after traveling through time, experiencing another life in a computer and becoming possessed by the Spirit of Vengeance, Mack is always the first to call shenanigans on any new ridiculous threat or tech the team encounters.
But even as a plant, Mack endeared himself quickly by becoming Fitz’s (Iain De Caestecker) interpreter while he recovered from brain trauma and an indispensable part of Coulson’s core team when the two S.H.I.E.L.D.s merged late in the second season. Not that it’s been easy for him. He’s tried to quit multiple times and always ends up with more responsibilities as a consequence. He also carries the memory of a child he lost in real life and in that computer simulation, and his relationship with Yo-Yo (Natalia Cordova-Buckley) has hit one of its roughest patches going into the sixth season. Through it all, Mack perseveres, though. Sometimes thanks to his faith — he’s also the only truly religious member of the team — and sometimes because he’s the guy holding the shotgun-axe.
Though Black Lightning is still a young series – its first season ran 13 episodes – it worked hard to get to places some of its CW brethren would reach far later in their runs. Consequently, the show opens with a team practically assembled already – the Pierce family; in fact, a threat to the family forces Jefferson (Cress Williams) into taking up his Black Lightning identity again.
But in the subsequent weeks, younger daughter Jennifer distinguished herself as a character to watch. While headstrong, she is not necessarily bratty. And in those times when her antics are the legitimate actions of a brat, she always finds a way to square things with Jefferson, her mother Lynn (Christine Adams) or older sister Anissa (Nafessa Williams). Despite being the odd one out in the family, the bond she felt for them was strong and always workable. And that’s before the onset of her powers.
Once her abilities emerged, and her family learned about them, Jennifer became one of the most intriguing characters on the show because she did not want them. Finally revealing that she wants “a normal life,” she took a key step toward maturity and defining who she will be even as it seems she has embraced her powers.
While much of the talk about Luke Cage’s second season centered on new villain John McIver — aka Bushmaster (Mustafa Shakir) — the show-stealing Mariah Dillard elevated the program in unexpected ways; for one, Bushmaster’s real conflict was with the former councilwoman and criminal mastermind. Luke (Mike Colter) just kept pushing his way into the crossfire. The character’s attempts to go legitimate underscored the legacy of her grandmother and the ugly truth about her daughter Tilda Johnson (Gabrielle Dennis), revealing the real theme of the season while also giving Mariah a layered relationship with Shades (Theo Rossi). As Bushmaster unraveled Mariah’s schemes and pushed her closer and closer to the Stokes legacy, so too did Mariah’s ability to maintain her composure and lie convincingly to those closest to her.
Add a legitimately award-worthy performance by Woodard and you get a stunningly complex look at a woman on the brink of getting everything she wanted, but failing to get it or the peace she was really looking to find. Even in her final acts, she chose to be vindictive instead of resolving her remaining grief with Luke or Tilda.
For those on the ground, Comic-Con is all about out-cosplaying each other and getting up close, personal, and maybe a little sweaty, with their favorite artists, writers, actors, showrunners, toymakers, and more. For those outside of the San Diego bubble, it’s all about first-look clips and fresh-out-of-the-edit-suite new trailers.
This year, Comic-Con watchers can expect to see the first trailer for M. Night Shyamalan’s Glass, which reunites Unbreakable’s Samuel L. Jackson’s Mr. Glass and Bruce Willis’s David Dunn, and expands the Shyamalan-iverse with the inclusion of James McAvoy’s multiple personalities from Split – it should drop on Friday. And there’s James Wan’s Aquaman trailer, which we already know he’s putting the finishing touches on; it will go live on Saturday. Across the four days of the Convention, you can also expect new footage from Doctor Who, giving us our fullest look yet at Jodie Whittaker’s first female doctor, as well as trailers and clips for a slew of other anticipated TV and movie titles. We’ll have them right here as they drop, with the newest trailers at the top.
Movies | TV
Comic-Con isn’t only about big studio movies. RZA released the trailer for Cut Throat City, the third movie he’s directed after The Man with the Iron Fists and Love Beats Rhymes (and an episode of Iron Fist). This drama tells the story of a group of 9th Ward residents in post Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, and has a mega ensemble cast including Shameik Moore, Wesley Snipes, T.I., Terrence Howard, Demetrius Shipp Jr., Denzel Whitaker, Keean Johnson, and Kat Graham.
In theaters in 2019.
The full trailer to James Wan‘s Aquaman movie already shows more of Atlantis than Aquaman (Jason Momoa)’s scenes in Justice League. Full of sea creatures and epic battles between undersea armies, Aquaman is set to be the action event of the Christmas season (and maybe another Fresh addition to the DCEU?!). There’s plenty of focus on Arthur’s childhood training, and Mera (Amber Heard) gets the most badass moments of the trailer. Check out our full breakdown of the Aquaman trailer.
In theaters December 21.
The trailer for Shazam! focuses on the kids, which makes it even better when Billy Batson (Asher Angel) turns into Shazam (Zachary Levi). Levi nails the childlike discovering of super powers. We also glimpse that Superman and Batman exist in this world.
In theaters April, 2019.
The full trailer for Godzilla: King of the Monsters gives us a look at all those other creatures over which Godzilla reigns. But are the real monsters the humans? Vera Farmiga has a plan to unleash the monsters to combat the apocalyptic scenarios also glimpsed in this trailer. Millie Bobbie Brown, Kyle Chandler, Charles Dance and Thomas Middleditch also get screen time.
In theaters May 2019.
Johnny Depp‘s blonde mohawk wins the trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindewald. Also see Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) get his Riddikulus spell on and get closer with Dumbledore (Jude Law).
In theaters November 16.
Ever since 2000’s Unbreakable, M. Night Shyamalan fans have been asking him when he’s going to make a sequel. They got their answer at the very end of his 2017 film Split. Now, we finally get to see Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson and James McAvoy in the same room for the culmination of what’s become a trilogy, and Sarah Paulson is the doctor trying to disprove their powers (good luck, Doc).
In theaters January, 2019
See Millie Bobby Brown attempt to reach “Monarch” (no relation to Dr. Venture) over the radio with some unpleasant results in the sneak peek for Godzilla: King of the Monsters. At the 36-second mark, you can see a camera and operator behind Brown; perplexing error or secret hidden viral puzzle for perceptive viewers to solve? You be the judge. A full trailer is expected to drop next week, and maybe there we’ll get a look of the incredible scaly hulk and the kaiju battle royale Warner Bros. is promising.
In theaters May 31, 2019
The trailer for Sam Levinson’s bonkers Sundance smash was expected to be revealed at the movie’s Thursday panel, which will feature the Russo Brothers, who acquired the movie after it played in Park City. In the anarchic spirit of the movie itself, though, the distributors defied expectations and released it a few days prior to the start of Comic-Con.
In theaters September 21, 2018
Movies | TV
It’s going to be so hard to say goodbye to Adventure Time. At least the fans at Comic-Con got to say it in person to the creators and voices of the show. In return, Cartoon Network showed them a scene from the series finale.
Series finale September 3 on Cartoon Network.
Are you already having Steven Universe withdrawal after season five ended July 6? well, hold out a little longer because you’re getting a whole Steven Universe movie. See the teaser, premiered at Comic-Con, above.
Coming soon to Cartoon Network.
Supernatural has got to be the longest running live-action series presenting at Comic-Con. Only the animated Simpsons and Family Guy can top it. So Supernatural has released a four minute recap of the first 13 seasons to tease the upcoming 14th this fall on The CW.
Season 14 returns October 11 on The CW.
Be sure to wait ’til the end of this Riverdale season 2 recap for a sneak peak of what’s to come in season 3. They keep it appropriately mysterious, but you see the gang get to frolic a little in the lake and ride in Archie (KJ Apa)’s hot rod before Betty (Lili Reinhart) discovers an ominous ceremony for infant twins.
Season 3 returns October 10 on The CW.
The first trailer for Roswell, New Mexico gives fans of the original Roswell a look at the new Max (Nathan Parsons) and Liz (Jeanine Mason), the roles originally played by Jason Behr and Shiri Appleby. Also get a peek at the alien cocoons and the famous moment when Max uses his alien powers to save Liz’s life.
Coming to The CW in 2019.
If you stayed for the credits in The First Purge this summer, you got to see the first teaser for The Purge TV series. Now the first trailer with footage from the show reveals all the different activities you may see on purge night. Of course there is the expected violence, but some other groups have different ideas on how to practice the purge.
Coming to USA September 4.
Barry (Grant Gustin) and Iris (Candice Patton) get a visit from their future daughter Nora (Jessica Parker Kennedy) in the season 5 trailer for The Flash. Time travel paradoxes abound and Barry refers to the classic one caused by Marty McFly in Back to the Future. In the panel, the show also announced Chris Klein joining the fifth season as the villain Cicada.
Season 5 returns on The CW October 9.
A brief minute of season 3 footage for The Man in the High Castle really leans into the multiple worlds, and some of our favorite characters are only alive in one of them. Can they come together without letting the Reich loose on both worlds?
Season 3 returns to Amazon Prime October 5.
The Simpsons creator Matt Groening brings his overbite aesthetic to the medieval princess genre in Disenchantment. If you couldn’t tell by his irreverent take on the headstrong, independent princess riff with the sassy voice of Abbi Jacobson, the trailer is set to a Renaissance faire cover of “Rebel Rebel.”
Premieres on Netflix August 17.
Season 4 of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow finds the Legends enjoying a brief moment of victory before John Constantine (Matt Ryan) returns with more bad news. A unicorn at Woodstock, Paul Revere and more time travel and fantastic creatures are in the above trailer. Also look for Back to the Future‘s Tom Wilson as Nate (Nick Zano)’s father Nick and Ramona Young joining the cast.
Season 4 returns on The CW October 22.
The season 4 trailer for Supergirl reveals Agent Liberty (Sam Witwer) leveling some very harsh (and sadly familiar) accusations against our visitors from outer space. Fortunately, Kara (Melissa Benoist) is ready to fight for her and their place on Earth, and looks like she’ll have a new costume to help. At the Supergirl panel, the show also announced TV’s first trans superhero. Nicole Maines will play Nia Nal, aka Dreamer.
Season 4 returns on The CW on its new night Sunday, October 14.
The trailer for season 7 of Arrow begins with Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) in prison, but that doesn’t stop him from working out like a beast. With no vigilantes in Star City for five months, who’s going to stop The Longbow Hunters, led by Ricardo Diaz (Kirk Acevedo) from exacting revenge on Oliver and his team?
Season 7 returns on The CW on October 15.
Well, The Magicians didn’t have any season 4 footage to show Comic-Con just yet, but they made a fun behind the scenes video. You won’t learn much about the next season, but you’ll see the cast goof off include Hale Appleman acting weird and Olivia Taylor Dudley in a panic.
Season 4 returns to Syfy in 2019.
Looks like Joe and Anthony Russo still found time between directing Marvel movies to produce the new TV show Deadly Class for Syfy. Based on the Image graphic novel, Deadly Class is about a group of students in 1987 San Francisco learning martial arts. Take a look at their killer moves in the trailer above.
Coming to Syfy in 2019
The season 2 trailer shows some all new missions for the crew of The Orville. New planets, new aliens including a first contact or two, Captain Mercer (Seth MacFarlane) in trouble, Grayson (Adrianne Palicki) trying to get Bortus (Peter Macon) to have some fun and Alara (Halston Sage) visiting home.
Season 2 premieres on Fox December 30.
There’s a lot of science fiction at Comic-Con. How about a little actual science? Neil deGrasse Tyson is back for a new round of the documentary phenomenon Cosmos.
Coming to Fox in 2019.
Comic-Con fans got their first look at the next generation of vampires, werewolves and witches in The CW’s Vampire Diaries spinoff Legacies. Now you can see them in the first Legacies trailer too. Hope Mikaelson (Danielle Rose Russell) leads a class of descendants from monsters struggling to be good, and she outlines the rules they follow to do so. See all the new Legacies faces, plus one familiar one in Alaric Saltzman (Matthew Davis) in the trailer.
Premieres on The CW October 25.
The trailer for season 2 of The Gifted shows us Reeva Payge (Grace Byers) and introduces her plans for the Age of Mutants. She’s got Polaris (Emma Dumont), who is now nine months pregnant, and shown giving birth near the end of the trailer. Meanwhile the Struckers and the Mutant Underground seem more torn apart than ever.
Season 2 returns on Fox September 25.
Wait for the end of this CW DC Arrowverse Heroes and Villains trailer for a preview of the 2018 crossover. Batwoman is coming to television and it looks like Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) in particular isn’t so sure she can be trusted. The CW shows pulled off “Crisis on Earth X” so we can’t wait to see how all four shows (including The Flash, Arrow and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow) handle Batwoman.
The Batwoman crossover comes to the CW in December.
Family Guy showed four minutes of new footage from its upcoming 17th season. Always skewering pop culture both new and old, the Griffin family made digs on Stranger Things, Basic Instinct, Oksana Baiul and even Seth MacFarlane‘s own live-action show The Orville. Plus a musical number by an evil grape trying to choke Stewie to death.
Season 17 premieres on Fox September 30.
Netflix gave Comic-Con fans a peek at the new world from the team behind Avatar: The Last Airbender. Avatar writers Aaron Ehasz and Giancarlo Volpe, along with Justin Richmond of the Uncharted games, present a brand new world of knights, creatures and magic.
Coming to Netflix September 14.
Season 3 of Stan Against Evil promises more evil. In this 90 second trailer, that evil comes in the forms of vampires, devils, demons, twins, giant monsters and… puppets?
Season 3 premieres Wednesday, October 31.
The trailer for season 3 of Adult Swim’s hit anime series FLCL: Progressive captures all the teen angst of being a 17-year-old girl, along with all the action and kaiju of anime.
Season 3 premieres on Adult Swim September 8.
The Venture Bros. season 7 is almost here and now you can get a peak of nearly a minute and a half of the new season. The trailer starts all serious, until Monarch and Gary show up. Then it’s the Venture Bros. you know and love.
Season 7 premiers on Adult Swim August 5.
Highlights from season 1 of Krypton got fans excited about season 2. When you’ve already got Braniac, Doomsday, and General Zod, season 2 promises to be even more exciting Kryptonian history. The Krypton panel announced Lobo would appear in the second season.
Season 2 returns on Syfy in 2019.
The Simpsons‘ “Treehouse of Horror “Halloween episodes have been an annual tradition, even when they air after October 31. At Comic-Con, Fox released a preview of this season’s horror spoof “Intrusion of the Pod-y Switchers.” Fan-favorite supporting characters get turned into Invasion of the Body Snatchers pod people, including Lenny, Carl, a background Disco Stu, and Comic Book Guy complaining right up to the end.
“Treehouse of Horror XXIX” airs September 30 on Fox.
Get ready for season 2 of Black Lightning with this five-minute recap of the first season’s highlights. Then, get extra excited by watching the Black Lightning cast surprise fans at Rotten Tomatoes’ event, Your Opinion Sucks.
Season 2 returns on The CW October 9.
The trailer for the second half of Preacher‘s third season was as bizarre and tantalizing as anyone who knows the show would predict, and included a look at Australian actor Noah Taylor as a fast-food–working Hitler. The fast food chain is the series’ take on Subway, as the sandwich giant had refused to give the show’s creators permission to user their name. That decision prompted Executive Producer Seth Rogen to note some of the brand’s previous spokespeople and ask, “Where do you draw the line, Subway?”
Preacher is currently airing on AMC on Sundays at 10pm/9pm Central.
The Tick stars Peter Serafinowicz and Griffin Newman gave fans a tour of the set full of goofy Tick-style humor, including Serafinowicz showing off his new Tick costume and Newman previewing a new season 2 character.
Season 2 returns to Amazon Prime in 2019.
When Syfy cancelled The Expanse after its third season, the fans rallied and Amazon decided to pick up the show for a fourth season. The cast and creators of The Expanse took the opportunity to thank their fans in a video as they get to work making perhaps their biggest season yet.
The Expanse comes to Amazon Prime in 2019.
Our first look at Amazon’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s book shows Gaiman at work on the set, with actors Jon Hamm, Michael Sheen and David Tennant. But at the panel they found the voice of God. Who could sound more almighty than Oscar-winner Frances McDormand?
Coming to Amazon Prime in 2019.
Amazon’s docudrama Lore tells the true stories behind the scariest myths and monsters. They’ve got more stories for season 2, some from the podcast that inspired the show and other subjects the show is tackling for the first time.
Season 2 returns to Amazon Prime October 19.
Julia Roberts is coming to television. This minute long teaser simply introduces her, but Homecoming stars Roberts as a caseworker for veterans transitioning back to civilian life. She’s trying to start over but the Department of Defense starts asking questions. With Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail directing, you can bet there’s more beneath the surface of this psychological thriller.
Premieres on Amazon Prime November 2.
Season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery promises more Trek lore introduced into the prequel series. The series’ tragic Captain Pike (Anson Mount) appears on the bridge, and Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) makes a discovery about Mr. Spock. Plus listen to Tig Notaro’s first comic relief one-liner at the end of this trailer.
Season 2 returns on CBS All Access in 2019.
Netflix’s hit reboot of the ’80s classic Voltron gave fans a first look at the Legendary Defenders’ attempts to return to Earth. But is it the same Earth they remember? Set to the haunting tune of Dexter French & Darius Behdad & Huckley Ware’s “Far Beyond,” the 90 second spot shows there’s no shortage of action in and out of the lions.
Season 7 returns August 10 on Netflix.
The team behind Vikings dropped a trailer for the return of the battle-happy epic series, and if the crowd reaction was anything to go by it’s going to please fans. It was also revealed that the show would be returning for the second half of its fifth seson this November on History.
Season 5 returns November 28 on History
The most watched series on TV released its season 9 trailer at Comic-Con on Friday. Get some time in with Rick (Andrew Lincoln) before his final season.
Season 9 premieres October 7 on AMC
Young Justice: Outsiders picks up after season 2 of Young Justice, with a mission to take down a metahuman trafficking ring. The Comic-Con trailer released Friday shows highlights from the original series before introducing the new show.
Premiering on DC Universe in 2018.
The zombie apocalypse continues, naturally, as season 4’s strange bedfellows learn more about each other. Catch up with Lennie James, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Colman Domingo, Danay Garcia, Garret Dillahunt, Maggie Grace, and Jenna Elfman before the return of Fear the Walking Dead with the series’ new Comic-Con trailer, which was released on Friday.
Season 4 returns August 12 on AMC
Netflix gave fans a first short look at the second season of Iron Fist at Comic-Con on Thursday, and revealed that the series will return to the streaming service on September 7. The teaser does not show much beyond some gritty-looking close-quarters combat, but some promising revelations were made at the panel, including that Alice Eve will join the show as villain Typhoid Mary. The series will also introduce the vigilante group Daughters of the Dragon, which was founded by Colleen Wing and Misty Knight, and which first appeared in Marvel comics in the late 1970s.
Season 2 premieres September 7 on Netflix
National Geographic returns to Mars in a season 2 trailer released Thursday. The series imagines a human attempt to colonize the Red Planet, including physical hardships and political mechanizations that threaten the effort. Commentary from real space experts — including Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye, and Elon Musk — illuminates the fictional account.
Season 2 premieres November 12 on National Geographic
Brothers Raph, Leo, Donnie, and Mikey emerge from the sewers and tap into undiscovered ninja powers in fall animated series Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The new voice cast includes Omar Miller, Ben Schwartz, Josh Brener, Brandon Mychal Smith, Kat Graham, and Eric Bauza.
Season 1 premieres September 17 on Nickelodeon
Draco Malfoy reunites with Nymphadora Tonks for a YouTube Original series coming this fall. Harry Potter film franchise veterans Tom Felton and Natalia Tena star in a sci-fi thriller that sees a group of space travelers abandoned and fighting for survival. The 10-episode series is from director Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evils) and the producers of The Crown and Outlander.
Series premieres this fall on YouTube Premium
Leave it to Star Wars to break the Internet on the first official day of Comic-Con. During a 10th anniversary celebration of The Clone Wars, Dave Filoni announced that it would be returning with 12 new episodes on Disney’s own streaming service. The show originally ran for five seasons after its 2008 broadcast, and while there have been one-off episodes in the years since, many plot threads remain unfinished. Until now.
More details at starwars.com
“All of this is new to me,” says Jodie Whittaker’s 13th Doctor early in the teaser trailer for the new series, which dropped during the Doctor Who panel at Comic-Con on Thursday. She continues: “New faces, new worlds, new times…” The trailer is light on any big plot details, but does convey an epic tone, gives fans a good glimpse at new characters, and ends with some trademark Doc humor.
Series premieres later in the year on BBC America
There are precious few Walkers in this trailer for the upcoming season, which will be Andrew Lincoln’s last as Rick Grimes. Instead, this early look at the ninth season of AMC’s unstoppable zombie show focuses on the human drama. Rules are about to be made and, we suspect, about to be broken.
Season 9 premieres August 20 on AMC
This very short teaser is light on detail, but heavy on menace. Enough menace we suspect to keep fans tied over until the mid-season return in August.
Season 4 returns August 12 on AMC
Mayans MC, from Kurt Sutter and Elgin James, is the next chapter in the Sons of Anarchy saga. In a post–Jax Teller world, prospect EZ Reyes (JD Pardo) is fresh out of prison and a prospect in the Mayans M.C. charter on the Cali/Mexi border. Now, EZ must carve out his new identity in a town where he was once the golden boy with the American Dream in his grasp. The series also stars Clayton Cardenas, Edward James Olmos, Sarah Bolger, Michael Irby, Carla Baratta, Antonio Jaramillo, Raoul Max Trujillo, Richard Cabral and Danny Pino. Recurring stars include Emilio Rivera, Frankie Loyal, Joseph Lucero, Vincent Rocco Vargas, Maurice Compte, Gino Vento, Tony Plana and Ada Maris.
Series premieres September 4 on FX
Bob Odenkirk returns for season 4 of Better Call Saul on AMC. Jimmy McGill is on a job hunt in season 4, having had his license to practice law suspended. Jonathan Banks, Rhea Seehorn, and Giancarlo Esposito co-star.
Season 4 premieres August 6 on AMC
DC Universe fired up Con-goers with a rich activation in support of the opening of pre-orders for the subscription streaming service ($74.99/year or, at launch, $7.99/month). The highlight of its presentation, however, is the new trailer for Titans, a gritty take on the Teen Titans franchise that stars Brenton Thwaites as Dick Grayson (aka Robin) and Teagan Croft as Rachel Roth (aka Raven), a girl possessed of a strange darkness. The two get embroiled in a conspiracy that could unleash hell on Earth.
Series premieres on DC Universe in fall 2018
Want to let people know what you thought of the newest trailers at Comic-Con? Want to see what others thought? Be sure to check out Rotten Tomatoes’ own live event during Comic-Con, Your Opinion Sucks. It’s the ultimate fans vs. critics face off – they’ll take sides on new trailers, as well as movies and TV we love, and love to hate – and you can watch it live in San Diego or on video at Rotten Tomatoes.
