In Synth With Each Other

A brief run down of some of the other shows I've recently seen.

Daredevil: I've watched quite a lot of this show since the last time I've blogged about it and things certainly got so much more interesting. The flashbacks/backstories for Stick, Fisk and Matt and Foggy's friendship have been all fantastic to watch with Fisk emerging as a wonderfully complex villain as Matt's mission to take him down has rightly intensified over the last few episodes. I also liked that we went down a darker path with Karen (whose determination to do the right thing has been noble and reckless). I definitely can't wait to see where the remaining two episodes will go with this series.

Humans: A brilliant end to the first and thankfully given the cliffhanger with Niska, it's a good job that Channel 4 and AMC renewed the show for a second series. It was nice to see the Synths all come together, to have Voss/Beatrice kind of help them out and even to see the Hawkins progress as a family unit and individual characters. It's a bit of a shame we lost George in the penultimate episode but perhaps not that shocking though. It will be interesting to see what another batch of episodes will provide next year for the Synths though.

Marvel's Agent Carter: I'm not going to lie - I really like this show but I am also not really addicted to it. It might a consequence of not watching it back in January when it first aired or just generally preferring Agents Of SHIELD but either way while things are moving along rather nicely (a female assassin after Peggy, Howard occasionally popping up, any scenes with Jarvis or Daniel) - including Peggy's double life getting exposed, it's just not exciting me as much as I thought it would. The show is still a lot of fun though.

True Detective: Well, that was a bit of an anticlimax, wasn't it? I didn't hate the second season as much as others did, but undeniably at times I did find myself drifting away from it. I hated Paul's death and everything about his storyline ultimately sucked while the main conspiracy plot despite some efforts never really caught on for me. I did like Ray and Antigone for the remainder of the run but even they weren't enough to ignite the remaining episodes of the season. Hopefully the third season (assuming there is one) can recapture the stronger elements of the first year.

- Netflix have renewed Sense8 for a second season.
- Lauren Ambrose, Robbie Amell, Annabeth Gish and Vik Sahay will also be in episodes of The X Files.
- Anne Hathaway is heading to television for an adaptation of The Ambassador's Wife.
- Matt Cohen has bagged a recurring role as Levi for How To Get Away With Murder as has Famke Jannsen.
- Britney Spears will be appearing in an episode of Jane The Virgin.
- CBS are developing a Facebook inspired comedy.
- Syfy have cancelled Haven after five seasons.
- Rosario Dawson will be taking her Daredevil into Jessica Jones.
- Shannon Esper will recur in the fourth season of Orange Is The New Black.
- Chris Brochu has joined the cast of Shameless for it's sixth season.

The Masked Vigilante

A look at some of the shows I've been watching over the last few weeks.

Daredevil: Having watched both recents seasons of Orange Is The New Black and Sense8 prior to this, I decided to go and check it out and while I don't think it's the most amazing superhero show yet (think Arrow/The Flash still have that down) but the potential is definitely. Charlie Cox is perfect as the upcoming Daredevil (we so need to see that costume) and I'm loving the subtle menace of Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk while the supporting characters of Foggy, Karen and Claire work particularly well too. Some of the mobster stuff though is a bit boring though.

Humans: This show has been consistently amazing throughout it's first season and the penultimate not only reunited all of the Synths together but we finally found out the connection that Voss had with them and it certainly packed a punch as did the cliffhanger leading into the finale. This series has been an absolute triumph for Channel 4 and while the Hawkins were initially hard to connect with as a family, the last few episodes made me start to care for them as much as Mia and company. I really hope a second series is imminent.

Marvel's Agent Carter: I'm enjoying this series quite but not more than Agents Of SHIELD (is that controversial to say?). Airing it during the summer when there hasn't been as much on was probably a wise move for FOXUK. The banter between Peggy and Jarvis is certainly a highlight of each episode as are the Alias style missions leading to the bigger conspiracy plot. I also like the continued but not too forced references to Captain America as well and as per usual, Hayley Atwell continues to deliver.

Orange Is The New Black: Season 3 has not been the show's strongest season but it still has been a hugely enjoyable one though. While Caputo and Aleida didn't get the most engaging of flashbacks, at least Daya finally gave birth, Piper got revenge on Stella (who stole from her), Alex's fate was left rather unknown and the brilliance of Doggett and Big Boo's friendship shone through. The finale itself was a good way of ending the series but for negatives, Sophia's storyline disappointed me and I don't like the idea of a Healy/Red romance for next season.

True Detective: We're heading towards the end of the season and a part of me is wondering if this show has become a victim of it's own success? Season 1 wasn't particularly straight forward television but it managed to bewitch viewers in a way that I don't think the second season has done. I'm also not sure if having a time jump midseason was particularly needed as well but at least it's helped to slightly advance things with Ray, Ani, Paul and Frank even if the main plot is struggling to engage. Hopefully the last two episodes will bring the season to a satisfying close.

- MTV have renewed Scream for a second season. A UK broadcaster has yet to pick up the series.
- Banshee will end after four seasons. The last one will air in 2016.
- Michael Chiklis will be a regular in the second season of Gotham.
- Sense8's chances of renewal are optimistic but nothing has been confirmed yet.
- Katie McGrath will be in a Canadian eight part horror series called Slasher.
- Ed Sheeran has bagged a recurring role in upcoming series, The Bastard Executioner.
- Chris Browning has been cast as Reactron for Supergirl.
- Queen Latifah and Mary J. Blige have joined NBC's The Wiz.
- Andrew Howard will be playing an agent in Agents Of SHIELD.
- Riley Smith will play a band's frontman in the next season of Nashville.

The Business Of Selling Used Stuff

A catch up on recently watched shows.

Humans: This has been an excellent summer series and quite easily the best original drama that Channel 4 have commissioned this year. Five episodes in and things are progressing beautifully with Voss being revealed as a Synth (did not see that coming), Niska hiding out at George's and learning more about her origins and both Leo and Matilda trying to help Anita remember her past as Mia. I'm still not that invested in Joe and Laura's marital woes (or Pete's for that matter either) but other than that, this show deserves a second season.

Marvel's Agent Carter: Just like Empire, I did wonder what took so long for this show to get a UK home (Irish viewers, RTE2 from July 25th) and I also wonder if the show might not have lived up to the hype but watching the first episode, it more than did. Hayley Atwell is absolutely terrific as Peggy Carter once again and the partnership with her and James D'Arcy's Jarvis is going to be a blast to watch throughout the series. Some of the commentary on sexism in the work place was far from subtle and while there was a moment or two that riffed off Alias a little, this show already has me watching to keep with it.

Orange Is The New Black: Season 3 has not been the show's best season but some of the backstories have been great though. Both Norma and Leanne in particular got some surprising ones while Alex's current paranoia for her safety has done a lot to derail her relationship with Piper (along with Stella's growing influence on the latter too) but the flashbacks to Tiffany's past and her current situation with an abusive guard though was pretty shocking along with SoSo's increasing isolation. The rivalry with Gloria and Sophia though has been a source of tedium, even if it's finally given the latter more to do.

Selfie: I was a little harsh the last time I talked about this. This time, while I'm not particularly sad that this show was cancelled months, the last few episodes have been better. In fact I actually really enjoyed the fifth episode where Henry and Eliza were at their boss's home for a retreat and again, the chemistry that Karen Gillan and John Cho have is infectious. The writing still isn't great at times but has improved slightly since that awful pilot episode.

True Detective: Okay, I'm going to say it out loud - the main story is boring the crap out of me and I honestly am starting not to care who killed Casper or why. On the plus side, I am enjoying the dynamic between Ray and Ani a lot while Frank has mostly been an interesting gangster. Paul's story on the other hand is polarising. On one hand, Taylor Kitsch is doing an amazing job with the self loathing character but on the other hand, it feels massively dates. More importantly with four episodes left to go, the main story would want to pick pretty fast though.

- Fans of Kingdom will be pleased with the development for Nick Jonas's character in it's upcoming second season.
- Kelly Rowland will be playing the mother of Lucious in flashbacks for the Season 2 premiere of Empire. Marisa Tomei will also be appearing in the show and E4 will air the new season close to US transmission.
- Peter Krause has replaced Damon Dayoub in Shonda Rhimes's upcoming series, The Catch.
- Michelle Dockery has been cast in the lead for upcoming TNT drama, Good Behaviour.
- Both Aquarius and Hannibal's remaining episodes have been pushed to Saturdays by NBC.
- Isaac Hempstead Wright will reprise his role as Bran Stark for Season 6 of Game Of Thrones.
- The Vampire Diaries will be adding a lesbian vampire couple for it's upcoming seventh season.
- Amy Manson, Elliot Knight, Joann Metra, Luke Garrigan and Andrew Jenkins will be playing Merida, Merlin, Guinevere, King Arthur and Percival respectively in the fifth season of Once Upon A Time.
- MTV have renewed Scream for a second season and Teen Wolf for a sixth one.
- Cornelius Smith Jr will be a regular in the upcoming fifth season of Scandal.

The Selfie Culture

With some shows yet to return and others I'm doing more extensive reviews for, here's another look at some of the other series I'm watching at the moment.

Humans: For US viewers, they got the first episodes of this on AMC but on Channel 4 for UK and Irish viewers, we're nearing the halfway point and it's picking up rather nicely. While I still don't greatly like Laura or Matilda as characters, I do like that through their own methods, both are attempting to learn more about Anita and Synths going off script in general. I'm also liking the more volatile Niska, the continued partnership of Max and Leo as well as George doing his best to keep Odi while having to tolerate the rather strict Vera. Some things don't quite work though - mainly the sour faced detective and his personal life but overall, the series has continued to impress so far.

Orange Is The New Black: With the usual Netflix binging of sorts, I've now watched as far as episode six of the third season. At this point, I've seen Piper and Alex reconnect, Red use her charms on Healy to get her kitchen back, Nikki get transferred to another prison, an interesting aptitude test scene as well as backstories for Big Boo, Flaca and Chang and of course, the rather brief introduction of Stella. I'll admit this season isn't as great as the previous two have been but it's still making for some rather enjoyable television nonetheless.

Selfie: This show might have been dropped after thirteen episodes courtesy of ABC, but it found a home for Irish viewers on RTE2 this month. Now I love Karen Gillan as much as the next person and while her and John Cho have an excellent rapport in the series, it's not a surprise this show got cancelled. Not only was the premise somewhat restrictive for a long term sitcom but a lot of the writing in the first two episodes alone is genuinely horrible I'm afraid. No matter how good Gillan/Cho are with each other, neither of them can elevate the pure dreck of this show. I've heard from some people that the show gets better and there's at least one episode where Gillan gets to showcase her vocal talents but I'm not sure I want to continue to watch to find out really.

True Detective: I enjoyed the first season of this show quite a lot, though at times the Breaking Bad style hype it generated was a little tiresome. On the plus side, the complete cast/location/story change for the show's second season so far has worked. I've only seen the first episode but already I'm enjoying Rachel McAdams hard bitten Ani and Taylor Kitsch's sheriff, Paul while both Colin Farrell and Vince Vaughn (especially the latter) have been a pleasant surprise too. Unlike the first season, I think there's going to be less supernatural/occult elements to it but with a striking new theme tune, great cast and a nice sense of California Noir, I'll be sticking with this.

- Charisma Carpenter and Roger Bart will be playing the parents of Ariana Grande's character in Scream Queens.
- Emma Roberts will be returning for the last few episodes of American Horror Story: Hotel.
- Hannibal has been cancelled by NBC after three seasons.
- John Barrowman will be back as Malcolm Merlyn for Arrow's fourth season.
- Contrary to recent rumours there won't be a Hawkgirl TV series. The character however will be a regular on Legends Of Tomorrow though.
- Aisha Tyler has joined Criminal Minds for it's 11th season.
- Penny Dreadful has been renewed for a third season of nine episodes.
- Sinqua Walls is returning as Lancelot for Once Upon A Time's fifth season.
- Aquarius has been renewed for a second season.
- Chris Rock will play an inmate as well as a person from Lucious' past in the second season of Empire.

Walk Of Atonement

Summer television is a little slow but with some shows ending, others have started up to fill the void though.

Game Of Thrones: I think it's safe to say that while the fifth season has not been the show's best season, it has definitely been as discussion worthy and controversial as the previous four have been though. Cersei's downfall was something that had been coming for a long time and it only made sense that her attempts of getting rid of Margaery would also backfire on her. The much talked about walk of shame scene was dealt with pretty well and it'll be interesting to see how she'll come back from that next season. Also interesting will be to see if Jon will be a part of the next season considering what happened to him here along with the various cliffhangers surrounding Daenerys, Sansa/Theon, Arya. This might not have been the show's strongest but it was still an interesting ten weeks nonetheless.

Humans: The remake of the popular Swedish sci-fi drama has finally aired on Channel 4 (soon for AMC viewers) and things got off to an interesting start with the Synths proving to be both helpful and potentially dangerous in equal measures. Most of the first episode focused on the eerie Anita and Laura being openly suspicious of her while we also saw a rather touching father/son relationship between widower George and his broken Synth Odi - something I hope we get more in later episodes as well. The subplot with Leo and his Synth Max was a nice way of setting up the wider storyline too. All in all, let's hope this show doesn't end up having the same fate that Utopia did not so long ago.

Orange Is The New Black: It's been an interesting week (or so) for Netflix what with both Sense8 and the return of this show and both have been great to catch up with. Granted, I've only seen the first two episodes of both shows current seasons and keeping with Litchfield, things are as crazy as ever. I loved the opening episode focusing on various Mother's Day flashbacks (even Healey was awarded one) and the focus on Bennett in the second episode when Alex wasn't learning of Piper's role in her current predicament was also good. Along with the unlikely friendship with Big Boo and Doggett, this is a great start to the third season.

Scandal: SkyLiving caught up in relative time to air the final episode of this show's current season and in some ways, it felt like a bit of a clearing of the decks. B613 seems to be effectively done with now that Rowan's in jail as Eli (very clever that), Jake stepped aside so that Olivia and Fitz could get closer and both Mellie and Cyrus got booted out the White House as well for good measure. Now whether or not all of these things stick when the show returns in September, I don't know but it would be nice to see some of them stick so the show can properly move forward though.

- Sean Maguire and Rebecca Mader have been upgraded to regulars for Once Upon A Time's fifth season. Casting calls are also being made for Merlin, Arthur and Guinevere too.
- Supergirl will now air on October 26th. The Pilot will also air at Comic Con next month as well.
- Rumours are circulating that The X Files will be doing a sequel to a popular story when it comes back in January.
- Barry will get a new love interest for Season 2 of The Flash.
- Andrew Gower will be one of many several new actors viewers can expect to see in the second season of Outlander.
- Empire will have a recurring female rapper to be mentored by Jamal.
- Fame is getting a reboot on Lifetime.
- Cristine Rose will be reprising her role as Angela Petrelli in Heroes: Reborn.
- Homer and Marge will split up and Sideshow Bob will get to kill Bart in The Simpsons.
- Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman are considering a reboot of Queer As Folk US.

First Look: Channel 4/AMC's Humans

And the trend of US and UK co-productions continues as AMC and Channel 4 have banded together to produce their own version of hit Swedish sci-fi drama, Humans.

The eight part series set in suburban London, Humans takes place in a parallel present where the latest must-have gadget for any busy family is a Synth – a highly developed, artificially intelligent servant eerily similar to its living counterpart. Fresh Meat actress, Gemma Chan plays Anita, one of a group of rogue synthetics bought for drifting couple Joe and  Laura Hawkins (Tom Goodman-Hill and Katherine Parkinson) with Merlin actor Colin Morgan takes on the role of Leo, a man with his Synth Max (Ivanno Jeremiah), are desperately searching for someone from Leo's past.

Other plot strands include widower George Millican (William Hurt) has formed a close relationship with his out-of-date Synth, Odi (Will Tudor), whom he treats more like a son than a piece of machinery. When Odi begins to malfunction, the National Health Service forcefully upgrades him with a new stern elder-care model named Vera (Rebecca Front) and George must hide the bond he has with Odi or risk forfeiting him to the authorities.

I'll admit to never seeing the original and I'm hoping a station over here will air it at some point but this looks absolutely fantastic. A slew of impressive actors, an interesting commentary on man versus technology and with one of the best promotional campaigns I've seen in ages, I really hope Humans is a total success for both Channel 4 and AMC.

Promotional Pictures/Trailers/Press Releases: http://www.spoilertv.com/search/label/Humans

Humans airs Sundays 9pm on Channel 4 from June 14th and AMC from June 28th respectively.