The Best New TV Shows Of Winter 2018
THE CHI
The Chi (Showtime)
Premieres Sunday, Jan. 7 at 10/9c
WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: Emmy-winning writer Lena Waithe (Master of None) paints a kaleidoscopic portrait of Chicago's South Side, where we meet young professionals, street hustlers and schoolkids — but everything changes in an instant when unforeseen tragedy strikes.
WHY WE LIKE IT: It's vividly lensed by director Rick Famuyiwa (Dope), Waithe weaves a fascinating tapestry of colorful characters, and star Jason Mitchell — so great as Eazy-E in Straight Outta Compton — gets a much-deserved showcase as aspiring chef Brandon. The pilot is a slow burn, but it builds to a knockout finish.
best new shows 2018 waco
Waco (Paramount Network fka Spike TV)
Premieres Wednesday, Jan. 24 at 10/9c
WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: The six-part event series chronicles the infamous 1993 standoff between federal law enforcement and the Branch Davidian religious cult, led by charismatic leader David Koresh (FNL's Taylor Kitsch).
WHY WE LIKE IT: Waco reinvigorates an old news story with genuine tension and thorny moral issues of religious freedom and government overreach. Kitsch disappears into the role of Koresh, humanizing the notorious cult leader by letting us see his tender heart and clear-eyed faith, and Michael Shannon (The Shape of Water) is riveting, too, as lead FBI negotiator Gary Noesner.
best new shows 2018 corporate
Corporate (Comedy Central)
Premieres Wednesday, Jan. 17 at 10/9c
WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: Two low-level drones (co-creators Jake Weisman and Matt Ingebretson) at a sinister multinational conglomerate try not to get fired while their superiors squeeze every last ounce of productivity out of them. But at least there's birthday cake sometimes.
WHY WE LIKE IT: Picture The Office set in a dark alternate universe where every employee is suicidal and the CEO might actually be Satan, and you'll get a sense of Corporate's pitch-black, surreal tone. (Episode titles include "The PowerPoint of Death.") If you've ever worked in a cubicle, get ready to nod sadly in recognition.
best-new shows 2018-grown-ish
grown-ish (Freeform)
Premieres Wednesday, Jan. 3 at 8/7c (with back-to-back episodes)
WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: This spinoff of ABC's black-ish sends the Johnsons' oldest daughter (Yara Shahidi as Zoey) to TV's trusty California University, where she'll learn as much about herself as she will about the world around her — assuming she can survive life with her new roommate.
WHY WE LIKE IT: Much more than the Different World to black-ish's Cosby Show, this quirky comedy offers a fresh look at college life in 2018, featuring with a diverse cast of complex characters with curious backstories that are woven together by a consistently fresh voice not heard often enough on television.
best new shows 2018 resident
The Resident (Fox)
Previews Sunday, Jan. 21 at 10/9c (after NFC Championship), then Mondays at 9 pm (starting Jan. 22)
WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: The questionable side of medicine is exposed in an Atlanta-set hospital, where a new intern (Halt and Catch Fire's Manish Dayal) learns about the often ugly reality of being a doctor via his challenging supervisor (The Good Wife's Matt Czuchry).
WHY WE LIKE IT: The medical drama is likely to make you even more scared of hospitals – Bruce Greenwood's Chief of Surgery refuses to stop operating despite having a hand tremor! – but there's something to be said for its morally ambiguous approach to a tired genre.
Rise - Season Pilot
Rise (NBC)
Preview Tuesday, March 13 at 10/9c, then Tuesdays at 9 pm
WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: A beleaguered English teacher (How I Met Your Mother's Josh Radnor) inspires a whole town when he takes over the high school's drama department to stage a production of Spring Awakening.
WHY WE LIKE IT: After a strange medical procedural detour (with Pure Genius), Friday Night Lights boss Jason Katims is back to doing what he does best: beautifully exploring ordinary people striving for more. And much like FNL, Rise is full of promising – and musically talented! – young actors destined to become your new faves.
best new shows 2018 good girls
Good Girls (NBC)
Premieres Monday, Feb. 26 at 10/9c (following The Voice)
WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: A trio of desperate suburban moms — played by Christina Hendricks (Mad Men), Retta (Parks and Recreation) and Mae Whitman (Parenthood) — rob a grocery store and unwittingly become embroiled in a major crime ring.
WHY WE LIKE IT: Yes, the premise is all kinds of contrived, but the three leads have chemistry to spare. And there's a twist at the end of Episode 2 that suggests the series will back off the treacly drama and go all in on the farcical comedy.
best new shows 2018 la to vegas
LA to Vegas (Fox)
Premieres Tuesday, Jan. 2 at 9/8c
WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: The egocentric captain, exasperated crew and eclectic passengers of a weekend flight that travels [see title].
WHY WE LIKE IT: Adroitly captained by Dylan McDermott (in mustachioed buffoon mode), this workplace comedy is light as air and yet... oddly engaging. Kim Matula (UnREAL) keeps things somewhat grounded as fidgety flight attendant Ronnie, while Peter Stormare (Prison Break) and Olivia Macklin (The Young Pope) stand out among the passengers, playing a sketchy gambler and a stripper with a heart of, well, glitter. It's not great, but it's great fun. (And yes, Dermot Mulroney does show up, as McDermott's rival.)
best new shows 2018 electric dreams
Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams (Amazon)
Premieres Stateside on Friday, Jan. 12 (10 episodes)
WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: An anthology series in the vein of Black Mirror but (sometimes loosely) based on the titular sci-fi author's stories, Electric Dreams spins 10 tales starring Anna Paquin, Terrence Howard, Bryan Cranston, David Lyons, Steve Buscemi and others.
WHY WE LIKE IT: Since Black Mirror's short seasons (the latest dropped Dec. 29) barely whet our appetite, Electric Dreams makes for a perfect chaser. But more importantly, the Amazon anthology series more dabbles in hard-boiled sci-fi and not just the "Ugh, ironic!" perils of technology.
The Alienist
The Alienist (TNT)
Premieres Monday, Jan. 22 at 9/8c
WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: In this adaptation of the bestselling novel, Daniel Brühl (Rush) is Laszlo Kreizler, a criminal psychologist (aka "alienist") who enlists an illustrator (Luke Evans) and an NYPD secretary (Dakota Fanning) to investigate the murder of boy prostitutes in New York City circa 1896.
WHY WE LIKE IT: With Budapest doubling for old New York, The Alienist is steeped in a grungy atmosphere that, coupled with the rudimentary tools of the period, creates a creaky tension. Though the series is at times a bit too enamored with its prestige-y self, the gruesome mystery pulls you in.
best new shows 2018 ap-bio
A.P. Bio (NBC)
Previews Thursday, Feb. 1 at 9:30/8:30c, then settles into its post-Will & Grace time slot starting March 1 (after the Winter Olympics)
WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: Glenn Howerton (It's Always Sunny) plays an award-winning philosophy scholar who misses out on his dream job and reluctantly takes a gig teaching high school biology. King of Queens' Patton Oswalt plays the school principal, who repeatedly tries (and fails) to keep his newest hire in check.
WHY WE LIKE IT: It cleverly sets itself up for a long run by being more than just a gender-flipped Bad Teacher. Howerton's Jack isn't interested in lying to his boss about forgoing the curriculum, and makes clear to his students that this won't be one of those situations where they teach him how to become a better person. After addressing those tropes head-on, the show goes to some unexpectedly dark places, and is better than you'd expect as a result.
best new shows 2018 altered-carbonjpg
Altered Carbon (Netflix)
Premieres Friday, Feb. 2 (all 10 episodes)
WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: Takeshi Kovacs (played by The Killing's Joel Kinnaman) fights against a movement that will allow human consciousness to be transferred from body to body — in effect, creating immortality. When he is reanimated centuries after "dying," he learns that this type of longevity is now the standard. Oh, and he's gotta solve a murder, too.
WHY WE LIKE IT: Kinnaman plays a great mix of tortured/sarcastic. Renée Elise Goldsberry (One Life to Live) is perfectly cast as Takeshi's sometime love interest/rebellion leader/all-around badass Quellcrist Falconer. And with slick, gorgeously rendered special effects and fight sequences, the sci-fi drama just looks so damn cool.
best new shows 2018 versace
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (FX)
Premieres Wednesday, Jan. 17 at 10/9c
WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: The second installment of Ryan Murphy's FX anthology series— which last tackled the infamous trial of O.J. Simpson — focuses on the 1997 murder of fashion icon Gianni Versace, the events leading up to his untimely death, and the effect his loss had on his family, his empire and the world.
WHY WE LIKE IT: True to its subject, this show is about as decadent as television gets. Shot (to so speak) in Versace's actual Miami Beach mansion, this sumptuous drama is dripping with authenticity, bolstered by powerhouse performances from Emmy- and Oscar-winning actors, as well as a star-making — not to mention barely clothed — turn from Glee's Darren Criss, who eerily slips into the role of Versace's bespectacled killer.
Counterpart Season 1 2018
Counterpart (Starz)
Premieres Sunday, Jan. 21 at 8/7c
WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: It's best not to say too much, but J.K. Simmons stars as Howard Silk, a mere cog in a Berlin-based spy agency whose importance grows with his introduction to... The Other Side.
WHY WE LIKE IT: Fringe meets The Man in the High Castle? With Academy Award winner Simmons? What's not to like?
Black Lightning
Black Lightning (The CW)
Premieres Tuesday, Jan. 16 at 9/8c
WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: Cress Williams (Hart of Dixie) is Jefferson Pierce, a high school principal who years ago retired as Black Lightning, but is tempted to "Supersuit up!" anew when an old foe resurfaces.
WHY WE LIKE IT: Even on a network rife with vigilantes and powered people, Black Lightning is like no superhero show we've seen, weaving in family dynamics while taking the fight to urban environs and exploring the distinct tensions therein. (Seriously, the villain Tobias Whale is here to trigger you.) And as an older hero, there's a nice maturity to Jefferson's relationships with his ex-wife and their two daughters (one of whom might be harboring her own secret).