Gothic classics and anti-heroes populate new TV offerings

Superheroes, Gothic classics rebooted and possibly the next Breaking Bad await television viewers on local free-to-air and cable channels in the coming months.

Some, such as crime drama The Blacklist and British comedian Stephen Merchant's brand of cringe-comedy Hello Ladies, are already showing here. With the fall season of TV under way in the United States, more fresh offerings will be making their way to Singapore.

Having conquered the big screen, Marvel Comics sets its sights on the small screen. Movies featuring its stable of superheroes such as Iron Man, Captain America and Thor have earned, roughly, a few bazillion dollars. And naturally, Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been hotly anticipated.

The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division has been featured in the movies with Samuel L. Jackson playing top agent Nick Fury. While the focus of the series is on agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), the door is open for cameo appearances from Jackson or maybe even a superhero or two.

There is also the fairy-tale spin-off Once Upon A Time In Wonderland coming our way, suggesting that the fantasy genre is doing well. Fantasy mixed with supernatural elements is also thriving with new adaptations Dracula and Sleepy Hollow.

Interestingly enough, 19th-century literary works seem to be having a bit of a moment on TV. Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures In Wonderland (1865), Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897) and Washington Irving's The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow (1820) have all inspired new imaginings for the goggle box.

With Walter White from the acclaimed crime drama Breaking Bad (2008-2013) laid to rest, there are plenty of contenders for the next big anti-hero.

The Blacklist with James Spader

Enter a new crop of gritty crime and cop dramas with moral ambiguity splashed all over them, and complicated leading men, including The Blacklist with James Spader, Ray Donovan with Liev Schreiber, Low Winter Sun with Mark Strong, True Detective with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson and local vigilante drama Zero Calling with Pierre Png.

If all that moral ambiguity and supernatural broodiness is getting you down, you can always turn to this trio of comedies for a pick-me-up.

Tune in to Trophy Wife, about a recently married woman dealing with a complicated family set-up. And there are Getting On, an American remake of the British medical comedy of the same name, and local offering Rules Of Tham, a sitcom twist on the Big Brother surveillance premise.

bchan@sph.com.sg

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