There are always plenty of things to look forward to when we ring in a new year, and new television series aren’t exactly low on the list. There’s quite a variety of new shows already scheduled for the roster in 2016, and so television enthusiasts will have plenty to choose from in the quest to replace any clunkers from fall premiere season that just aren’t worth watching anymore or have even already been cancelled.
Networks large and small have new series set to debut, ranging from The CW to TBS to HBO. Of course, some of these shows look better than others. Below we've compiled a look at ten of the new series by premiere date to hit the small screen in 2016 that we’re most excited about. For a look at when all of the other shows are set to return to the airwaves, check out our list of midseason premiere dates here.
Colony, USA
Carlton Cuse of Lost and The Strain fame will be bringing another sci fi series to television with Colony on USA. Colony will follow a family struggling to survive an occupation by a strange military force working to do the bidding of a race of alien invaders. Josh Holloway of Lost and Sarah Wayne Callies of The Walking Dead star as parents who lost track of a child during the alien arrival event and must try to recover him without getting themselves and their other children killed in the process. There looks to be plenty of action for Holloway and some post-apocalyptic domestic drama for Sarah Wayne Callies, and Colony should be a thrill ride.
Colony premieres on January 14 at 10 p.m. ET on USA.
Billions, Showtime
Billions stars Paul Giamatti as Chuck Rhoades, a lawyer who likes to go after hedge fund billionaires. Chuck may have met his match in Damian Lewis’ Bobby Axelrod. Chuck is ambitious enough to chase down evidence against Bobby when a suspect trading pattern links back to him, and Bobby is arrogant enough to believe that he can outmaneuver Chuck and the government at every turn. Giamatti and Lewis should be killer as nemeses, and Billions is definitely going to be one to watch.
Billions premieres on January 18 at 10 p.m. ET on Showtime.
Baskets, FX
Honestly, it almost doesn’t matter what Baskets is going to be about. A sitcom co-created by Louis C.K. and Zach Galifianakis and starring Galifianakis is guaranteed to be hilarious no matter what. As it happens, however, the premise looks pretty hysterical as well. Galifianakis plays Chip Baskets, a man whose pursuit of his dream to become a respected clown lands him a job at a local rodeo after a stint at a prestigious Parisian clown school doesn’t work out. It’s kind of a bizarre way to start off a series, but if anybody could pull it off, it would be Louis C.K. and Zach Galifianakis.
Baskets premieres on January 21 at 10 p.m. ET on FX.
DC's Legends Of Tomorrow, The CW
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow will be capitalizing on the successes of DC superhero series Arrow and The Flash on The CW by snagging some of the most memorable characters from both shows to spin off into a time-traveling team-up adventure. The cast of comic heroes will feature characters with superpowers as well as characters with crazy awesome skills. With Arthur Darvill of Doctor Who fame returning to a world of time travel as Rip Hunter, Legends of Tomorrow looks like it will be more than exciting enough to stand on its own in The CW’s DC universe.
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow will premiere on January 21 at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.
The X-Files, Fox
The X-Files isn’t technically premiering so much as returning to television in 2016, but considering that the show has been off the air for over a decade, the miniseries event can definitely be counted as a new show. The miniseries will be bringing back David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as Fox Mulder and Dana Scully as well as other key characters from the original. A lot will have to be different for Mulder and Scully as they find themselves returning to their investigations into the paranormal, but another outing for The X-Files has been in the works for such a long time that we have to believe that it will be as great as the original was in its prime.
The X-Files returns to television on Sunday, January 24 at 8 p.m. ET on Fox before moving to its regular Monday time slot at 8 p.m.
Lucifer, Fox
Frankly, Lucifer looks like it could be really good or really bad. Fox has had some degree of success with Gotham as a procedural with a comic flare, but a procedural following the devil on vacation from Hell as he assists the LAPD with investigations is pretty outlandish. Still, Tom Ellis appears delightfully devious as Lucifer Morningstar, and it’s hard not to be excited about such a bizarre series. DC has had more success than failure in its TV adaptations lately, so it should at least be interesting to see if Lucifer can find a niche a la Gotham or end up going the way of Constantine.
Lucifer premieres on January 25 at 9 p.m. ET on Fox.
American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson, FX
American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson has all the ingredients for a pretty fantastic series. Coming from Ryan Murphy of American Horror Story acclaim, the true crime drama has a star-studded cast ranging from David Schwimmer to John Travolta to Cuba Gooding Jr. as O. J. Simpson himself. The series will focus on the sensational trial from a behind-the-scenes legal perspective, and it looks like viewers already knowing the verdict won’t stop the show from being pretty damn suspenseful.
American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson premieres on February 2 at 10 p.m. ET on FX.
Full Frontal With Samantha Bee, TBS
One of the funniest correspondents on The Daily Show in Jon Stewart’s era was definitely Samantha Bee, and so news that she’d be getting her own show on TBS didn’t come as a huge shock. With the premiere of Full Frontal With Samantha Bee, Bee will become the only female late-night host on regular television. Full Frontal will be weekly rather than daily, but it should be fun to see how Bee handles the spotlight all to herself.
Full Frontal With Samantha Bee debuts on February 8 on TBS.
Vinyl, HBO
Vinyl will follow the efforts of record label president Richie Finestra in his efforts to save his company in a 1970s music scene consumed by drugs and sex. Thanks to director Martin Scorsese and rock star Mick Jagger as executive producers, Vinyl is certain to be stylishly cinematic with an intimate look at the music biz in the 70s. Bobby Cannavale will play Richie Finestra. All in all, Vinyl should be a high-octane series to get the adrenaline pumping and feet tapping.
Vinyl premieres on February 14 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
Fuller House, Netflix
The only thing that could be better than vegging out for a marathon of old sitcom classic episodes is vegging out for a marathon of new sitcom episodes, and Netflix’s upcoming release of all thirteen episodes of Fuller House at once should be a real treat for fans of Full House. With most of the original cast back for a premise very similar to that of the original show, there may well be an influx of millennials calling off work for nostalgia sickness after a bingewatch.
Fuller House premieres on February 26 on Netflix.
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