UPCOMING PREMIERES

The midseason has been quite a disappointment so far, there's only one gem plus two somewhat watchable shows  in the pile of new TV series. What''s ahead doesn't excite me either; anyway, here's a summary of what's coming.

Netflix's own series House of Cards, featuring Kevin Spacey, Kate Mara, Sandrine Holt and Robin Wright premieres today, February 1st. It's a political drama about Frank Underwood, a ruthless Republican Democrat in Washington plotting against the president. I don't believe it's going to be better than Boss, but who knows.



Monday Mornings, a medical drama created by David E. Kelley (The Practice, Ally McBeal), premieres on Monday (obviously), February 4, on TNT. I don't think I'll watch it, I doubt there's any angle to the usual blood, death and "we're saving lives here" sort of thing.



Conspiracy lovers might find Zero Hour (released on February 14) interesting, although to me the trailer seems a little (?) dull. The series was created by Paul Scheuring (Prison Break), Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Dan McDermott and it features Scott Michael Foster, Addison Timlin and Anthony Edwards. The plot doesn't strike as original, man's wife is abducted, so he has to decrypt a treasure map to save her and humanity (bleugh).



The first episode of Cult airs on February 19 on CW. Investigative journalist Jeff Sefton (Matt Davis, “The Vampire Diaries”) has learned to live with his younger brother Nate’s relentless string of obsessions, especially his latest rant that a hit TV show intends to harm him. However, when his brother mysteriously disappears, Jeff takes Nate’s paranoia seriously, and in the process uncovers the dark underworld of the TV show “Cult” and its rabid fans. Okay.



Golden Boy (debuts on February 26 on CBS) is about how a young cop managed to become a police commissioner in no time and what was the price he paid for this. Frankly, it's hard to imagine why would anyone want to watch that. Underachievers must resent this.



I already wrote about Red Widow and its premiere date is practically a month away (March 3). It's about a woman who gets deeply involved with organized crime after her husband is murdered in front of her eyes.