This Week in TV:
Transparent season 2 trailer; ABC adapting Unfollow; Shameless season 6 Trailer; Johnny Knoxville producing Hawaiian Dick; HBO releases a new Vinyl trailer; Jason Momoa to star in Frontier; 11.22.63 gets a teaser trailer; and Kurt Sutter cancels The Bastard Executioner.
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Amazon has released the trailer for the upcoming second season of Transparent.
The second season sees Maura moving forward with her transition, though she's not entirely certain she's ready to undergo gender reassignment surgery. Amazon released the official synopsis for the upcoming season:
"Now out of the closet, Maura discovers the hardest part of her transition is still ahead, and faces some tough, personal decisions about her future. As their secrets surface, the Pfeffermans stumble but persevere, moving closer toward their authentic selves.
The series stars Jeffrey Tambor as Maura Pfefferman, alongside Gaby Hoffman, Amy Landecker, and Jay Duplass as the Pfefferman children. The series, created by Jill Soloway, enjoyed a fantastic debut last year, taking home five Emmy awards along with two Golden Globes.
Transparent Season 2 debuts on Amazon on December 11th, 2015.
Source: Amazon
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ABC is adapting the recently launched Vertigo series Unfollow for television.
The series was created Rob Williams and Michael Dowling and boasts a strong premise. In the world of Unfollow, a dying billionaire announces through the social media platform he created that he will be giving away his fortune. 140 people are chosen at random to split the fortune evenly. It seems like a dream come true for these lucky users, until one of them turns up dead. Suddenly, there are 139 suspects in the crime -- as well as potential next victims.
Williams described his inspiration for the series to THR:
"I felt that Twitter and social media had a very zeitgeist-y story to tell. Something that felt very now. This is a strange moment in time, I think, where the Internet has become a new frontier and we're establishing limitations and dangers. I wanted to encapsulate that in a story that dealt with Twitter culture - people have followers, cults of personality, ruthlessness of ambition... we're all very much still in the food chain, day to day. Technology hasn't diminished that. It's just given it a different appearance."
The adaptation is being written and produced by Michael Narducci (The Originals) and has received a script commitment from ABC.
Source: THR
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Showtime released the official trailer for the sixth season of Shameless.
The series centers on Frank Gallagher (William H. Macy), the patriarch of the Gallagher family who moves back home to the dismay of his daughter Fiona (Emmy Rossum), the de facto leader of the dysfunctional family. The season picks up a few months after the season 5 finale and will (hopefully) address the questions of Deb's pregnancy, Lip's affair with his teacher and more.
Season 6 will also introduce Twin Peaks alum Sherilyn Fenn as a recurring guest star. She plays Queen, a character who had an affair with Frank when they were both 16 that produced a now-adult daughter.
Shameless season 6 premieres on January 10th, 2016.
Source: Showtime
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NBC is developing a series based on the Hawaiian Dick comics, produced by Johnny Knoxville.
Hawaiian Dick was created by B. Clay Moore and Steven Griffin and released as a set of three miniseries from Image Comics. The books center on Byrd, an alcoholic former detective living in a 1950s Noir-inspired Hawaii. Byrd is forced to move to Hawaii after a tragic incident on the mainland and makes money as a private investigator, often dealing with cases tinged by the supernatural.
Film rights to Hawaiian Dick were sold to New Line Cinema back in 2004, a project in which Knoxville was attached to star. Knoxville has not been confirmed as an actor in the series, serving only as producer at this point. The television adaptation is being written by Paul Lovett and David Elliot, the team behind G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
Source: Deadline
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HBO has released a new trailer for their upcoming rock & roll drama Vinyl.
Vinyl promises a gritty look at the music industry, focusing on the head of American Century Records as he struggles to keep his label afloat in 1970s New York. Check out the series' official synopsis:
"A ride through the sex- and drug-addled music business at the dawn of punk, disco, and hip-hop, the show is seen through the eyes of a record label president, Richie Finestra, played by Bobby Cannavale, who is trying to save his company and his soul without destroying everyone in his path."
The long-gestating series comes from executive producers Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger, with Scorsese directing the pilot episode. A previous trailer indicated that the series would be launching in January 2016, but it has since been pulled and the release date pushed back.
Vinyl premiers on HBO on February 14th, 2016.
Source: HBO
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Jason Momoa (Aquaman) is attached to star in the upcoming Netflix series Frontier.
Frontier is a six-episode period drama set in Northern America toward the end of the 18th century. The series is built around the fur trade during that time and the struggle to control the wealth and power of the industry. The project promises drama alongside violence, as the traders often solve their problems with a hatchet and the tension between the Native tribes and Europeans sees both sides on the brink of a massive conflict.
San Andreas director Brad Peyton is attached to helm the series as well as produce. Joining him as a producer is Jeff Fiersen, who is also producing Peyton's upcoming Rampage adaptation.
Frontier comes to Netflix sometime in 2016.
Source: Variety
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Hulu has released a new teaser for the upcoming event miniseries 11.22.63.
The eight-part series stars James Franco as high school English teacher Jake Epping, who travels back in time to prevent the John F. Kennedy assassination. Based on the bestselling Stephen King novel of the same name, the series promises to be a science fiction-tinged historical thriller and Hulu's most high-profile original offering to date.
The series was written by Friday Night Lights veteran Bridget Carpenter, who will also serve as an executive producer on the series. Joining her in the role of producer are Bryan Burk (Almost Human) and Star Wars: Episode VII director J.J. Abrams.
11.22.63 premieres on President's Day, February 15th, 2016.
Source: Hulu
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Kurt Sutter has cancelled his FX series The Bastard Executioner, announcing the decision in an ad taken out in THR.
The 14th century period drama wrapped up season 1 on November 17th, 2015. Unfortunately, the series' viewership dropped by more than half within its first six weeks of airing and couldn't break two million viewers by the end. Sutter made the decision to pull the plug himself rather than be cancelled by the network and FX agreed to the decision.
Sutter said the following about his decision:
"It's fantastic to get a good review [or] an award, but at the end of the day the only thing that matters, really, is numbers. I'm not the guy sitting in my ivory tower spitting shit out and not caring if anyone is watching... I don't want to write something that nobody's F***ing watching."
Despite the disappointing turn for The Bastard Executioner, Sutter is already working on several new projects. One of these projects is the upcoming Sons of Anarchy Mayans spinoff, which he will be executive producing.
Source: THR