TV reminder: 12 premieres to look out for in March

There are so many super awesome cool amazing premieres falling on the schedule this month! Jump after the break to preview 12 you shouldn’t miss.

THE LAST MAN ON EARTH /Sunday, March 1, 9pm, FOX

Will Forte (SNL) stars as Phil Miller, the last man on earth, in this very different kind of half-hour sitcom. The series pilot finds Phil in Tucson, Arizona and anything is up for grabs. If you were the last surviving person on the planet, what would you do? It’s a risky concept for a network comedy, that’s for sure. But with Forte as a compelling star and The LEGO Movie and 21/22 Jump Street directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller on board as creators and executive producers, the show has a golden pedigree backing it. The buzz meter is off the charts with this one, and you’d be remiss to miss out. The big question remains: Is Phil Miller (a combination of Lord & Miller’s names!) indeed the only human left? January Jones (Mad Men) and Kristen Schaal (Flight of the Concords) are also attached as stars, but they may just appear in flashbacks. Or maybe not!

Preview The Last Man on Earth here.

Scheduling note: FOX is airing the first two episodes back-to-back on 3/1 starting at 9pm, and then the show will fall into its regular Sundays-at-9 timeslot the following week.

SECRETS & LIES /Sunday, March 1, 9pm, ABC

Ryan Phillippe and Juliette Lewis topline ABC’s latest drama about with the tagline, “Did he, or didn’t he?” A quick synopsis: Ben Crawford is about to go from Good Samaritan to murder suspect, after he discovers the body of his neighbor’s young son in the woods. As Detective Andrea Cornell digs for the truth, the secrets and lies of this town come to the surface and no one is above suspicion. It will run 10 episodes, and I’ve heard that the central mystery will be answered by season’s end. In fact, if the series gets renewed for a second go-around, Phillippe’s character may be phased out and Lewis’ detective will return to solve a new crime. But again, this all remains up in the air until we find out how this thing concludes.

Preview Secrets & Lies here.

Scheduling note: ABC is airing the first two episodes back-to-back on 3/1 starting at 9pm, and then the show will fall into its regular Sundays-at-9 timeslot the following week.

AMERICAN CRIME /Thursday, March 5, 10pm, ABC

From filmmaker John Ridley, the writer of last year’s acclaimed movie 12 Years a Slave, comes a cinematic drama starring a raw Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives), Timothy Hutton, and  W. Earl Brown. All over the news are reports about a young couple in Modesto, California, who were attacked in their home. The case sends shock waves into the community stirring up tensions across racial lines in this gritty drama.

Preview American Crime here.

DIG /Thursday, March 5, 10pm, USA

What happens when Homeland executive producer Gideon Raff and Heroes creator Tim Kring get together? Dig. The new action-adventure conspiracy theory drama starring Jason Isaacs (Awake) and Anne Heche (Hung) sounds like it takes the most compelling aspects of The Da Vinci Code and National Treasure to make a fun TV series that wastes no time falling down the rabbit whole to unravel mind-blowing mysteries. Here’s a taste of what’s in store:

When Peter Connelly, an FBI agent recently stationed in Jerusalem, begins investigating the murder of a young American, he realizes that he has uncovered an ancient international conspiracy that threatens to change the course of human history. Certain that the dangerous prophecy is nearing fruition, Peter must race against the clock to unravel its mystery. From a remote farm in Norway, to an enigmatic compound in New Mexico, to the serpentine tunnels of Jerusalem, this immersive, fast-paced adventure will take viewers on a quest for a truth that will shake the world’s beliefs to its very core. 

Smart producers, a talented cast. And on top of all that, Dig will look fantastic since it was shot on location in contemporary Jerusalem, Croatia, and New Mexico. Are you a historical conspiracy junkie? This one’s for you.

Preview Dig here.

UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT /Friday, March 6, Netflix

This new sitcom starring The Office‘s Ellie Kemper and from the minds of 30 Rock producers Tina Fey and Robert Carlock was originally slated to premiere on NBC. Then the Peacock network decided to sell it to streaming giant Netflix with a 2-season order. So now you can look forward to binging the quirky and upbeat comedy later this month.

[Kemper stars] as a woman who is rescued from a doomsday cult and starts life over as a nanny for an Upper East Side socialite in New York City. Armed with just a backpack, light-up sneakers and a couple way-past-due library books, she takes on a world she didn’t think even existed anymore.

See? It’s quirky and weird and you have to watch the trailer (see the link below) to really get what they’re going for here. UKS also stars Jane Krakowski (30 Rock) and Tituss Burgess.

Preview Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt here.

THE RETURNED /Monday, March 9, 10pm, A&E

Carlton Cuse (LostBates Motel) has a new drama set to unfold and it’s an adaptation of the French series Les Revenants. Translation: The Returned. Read the following synopsis and see if it rings any bells…

[The Returned] focuses on a small town that is turned upside down when several local people, who have been long presumed dead suddenly reappear, bringing with them both positive and detrimental consequences.

Sounds a heckuva lot like ABC’s Resurrection, no? Well, according the Cuse, he and his writing staff made sure not to watch a single episode of the ABC drama so as not to inadvertently step on its toes. Additionally, Cuse assures fans of the French series that his American version of the show will deviate from its source and things will play out much differently in time. This question lingers: Can U.S. viewers sustain two shows about the dead coming back to life and dealing with the consequences (three if you count The Walking Dead!)? Here’s the case I’ll make: if anyone can get it done, it’s the man who brought us The Island, the Dharma Initiative, and The Others.

Preview The Returned here.

POWERS /Tuesday, March 10, PlayStation Network

The anticipated series adaptation of Brian Michael Bendis’ graphic novel Powers comes to Sony’s PlayStation Network this month. Powers, the first original live-action series for PSN, follows detectives Christian Walker (District 9‘s Sharlto Copley) and Deena Pilgrim (Susan Heyward) who are assigned to investigate cases involving people with superhuman abilities, referred to as Powers.

Sony’s handling its release a bit differently than competitor Netflix usually does it. The first three episodes of the 10-episode season will debut 3/1 for all to see, so long as you have a PlayStation device to watch it on (PS3, PS4, PS Vita). Don’t have one at the moment? The pilot will stream for free here on that day, too. If you want to watch the rest, you’ll have to sign up for Sony’s PlayStation Plus subscription-based service. Natch!

Preview Powers here.

BLOODLINE /Friday, March 20, Netflix

There’s no slowing down for hit series maker Netflix. Following major successes like House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, the streaming giant is unveiling two new series this month: aforementioned sitcom Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and new drama Bloodline. Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights) stars alongside Ben Mendelsohn, Linda Cardellini, Sam Shepard, and Sissy Spacek in the drama about secrets, lies, and deception (no, not those secrets & lies!).

Preview Bloodline here.

WEIRD LONERS /Tuesday, March 31, 9pm, FOX

King of Queens creator Michael J. Weithorn is back with a new sitcom starring Zachary Knighton (Happy Endings), Becki Newton (The Goodwin Games), Nate Torrence (Hello Ladies), and Meera Rohit Kumbhani.

The 6-episode single-cam comedy is about “four relationship-phobic, quasi-underdog 30-somethings who are unexpectedly thrust into one another’s lives, forming unlikely bonds in a Queens, NY, townhouse.” It’s being touted as an “unromantic comedy” and with a fun cast like this I think it’s definitely worth a try. Unfortunately a video preview does not exist yet, so you’ll have to do with the debut season’s key art above.

Returning series premiering this month:

THE FOLLOWING returns for its third season Monday, March 2 at 9pm on FOX. With Joe Carroll (James Purefoy) locked up behind bars again, a new nemesis creeps into Ryan Hardy’s (Kevin Bacon) life in the form of Theo, played by Michael Ealy (Almost Human). And of course Mike Weston and (Shawn Ashmore) and Max Hardy (Jessica Stroup) return to help Ryan deal with new demons. Preview the new season here.

BATES MOTEL returns for its third season Monday, March 9 at 9pm on A&E. Norman is pretty much headed for full psycho this year, as he just discovered his ability to juggle two egos at once (Norman and Norma) in his screwed up head. Things are only going to get more twisted the closer we reach the Norman we know in Hitchcock’s 1960 classic. Revolution‘s Tracy Spiridakos joins the castPreview the new season here.

COMMUNITY returns for its coveted sixth (!) season Tuesday, March 17 at Yahoo Screen. Though the sprawling study group is looking a little sparse without Chevy Chase, Donald Glover, and Yvette Nicole Brown these days, Paget Brewster (Criminal Minds) and Keith David (The Cape) have been enlisted to fatten up the cast. Now that the show is longer airing on network TV, Dan Harman will surely have some fun with the looser restrictions. As a long-time fan of the cult comedy, I cannot wait for Greendale’s triumphant comeback. Preview the new season hereUpdate (3/3): The trailer has arrived!

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