Ligers, ghost criminals, stuffed pets, and quick fashion are coming your way this January. Grab your boxing gloves and your remote because next month is going to be an interesting one television-wise as many shows make their premieres.
Fox is premiering two new series in January with rather famous settings. “Alcatraz,” premiering Jan. 16, is the cure for those suffering from “Lost” withdrawal. Coming from the same producers as “Lost,” the show follows Detective Rebecca Madsen (Sarah Jones) on the case of several murders where she finds fingerprints of an Alcatraz inmate who died decades earlier. Madsen enlists the help of Alcatraz enthusiast Dr. Diego Soto (Jorge Garcia.) Soto’s face might appear familiar due to the fact that he played Hurley in “Lost.” This show will definitely be enjoyed by the mystery, sci-fi, or “Lost” lovers.
Prepare your tots, knowledge of ligers, and llamas because the second show premiering is an animated version of “Napoleon Dynamite.” Fox is bringing back the original cast of the hit film to voice their characters. Other stars like Jennifer Coolidge will also be added to the lineup. The show appears to be as funny as the original movie and holds much potential to be a hit itself. The two part premier will be showing on Jan. 15.
MTV is premiering yet another reality television show, “Caged,” that attempts to get deeper than the average reality television show. “Caged” focuses on a group of recent high school graduates living in Louisiana and takes viewers into the secret lives of amateur MMA fighters. Based off of the summary on MTV.com, the series appears to have too much going on. Viewers are going to have to deal with the cast’s teenage life problems and coming of age stories as well as the MMA fighting that gets thrown into the mix. MTV is probably trying to make reality coming of age stories seem more interesting by adding MMA fighting but it just seems a bit random. “Caged” will premiere on Jan. 9 on MTV.
The CW is coming forth with another fashion-based reality series called “Remodeled” which will focus on Paul Fisher. Fisher, a modeling industry veteran, plans on helping to make-over many small modeling agencies so he can control the industry from the inside. The show appears to be following yet another control freak that is constantly yelling at people who are not doing their jobs as efficiently as he deems that they should be. This premieres on CW on Jan. 17.
Continuing with the fashion parade, Lifetime is premiering a new designer competition show called “24 Hour Catwalk.” Hosted by British TV host, Alexa Chung, each episode consists of four designers who must compete in small challenges. The final two contestants then produce a runway show in less than 24 hours. This show is a mix of “Project Runway” and “Cupcake Wars” and will premiere on Jan. 10.
Leave it to Animal Planet to create the weird shows. “American Stuffers,” premiering Jan. 5, follows the company Xtreme Taxidermy that specializes in stuffing pets. The show will follow the company as it meets with grieving families and stuffs their dead pets. There’s nothing like keeping Fido next to the fireplace forever, right?
With the varied plots of these new shows, January will be filled with many hits or misses. “Alcatraz” is definitely a must-see and I’d recommend starting with the premiere instead of later on in the season if the show turns out anything like “Lost.” “Napoleon Dynamite” is also another series that viewers should definitely give a chance. The animated spin-off will probably become popular and you don’t want to miss out on all the jokes. Shows like “24 Hour Catwalk” and “Caged” are too unoriginal and bland sounding to hold out in the minds of viewers and will probably canceled after an episode or two. As for “American Stuffers” and “Remodeled” which have potential to become popular, time can only tell.
Chioma Iheoma is an A&E editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com