Queen of the South: A New Series on USA

A new series will debuting this week on the USA Network. Queen of the South tells a powerful story of Teresa Mendoza, a woman who is forced to run and seek refuge in America after her drug-dealing boyfriend is unexpectedly murdered in Mexico. In the process, she teams with an unlikely figure from her past to bring down the leader of the very drug trafficking ring that has her on the run.

Alice Braga ("City of God") stars as Teresa, this original series is based on the global best selling novel "La Reina Del Sur," by internationally-acclaimed author Arturo Perez-Reverte. This literary page-turner also was one of the most popular series of all time for USA's sister network, Telemundo.

Also staring, Veronnica Falcon ("Besos de Azucar") as Camila Vargas, Justina Machado ("Six Feet Under") as Brenda Parra, Peter Gadiot ("Tut") as James Valdez, Hemky Madera ("Weeds") as Pote Galvez and Gerardo Taracena ("Apocalypto") as Cesar "Batman" Guemes. Guest stars includes Joaquim de Almeida ("Our Brand is Crisis"), Jon Ecker ("Narcos") and James Martinez ("Breaking Bad").

The drama is executive produced by David T. Friendly ("Little Miss Sunshine" & "Courage Under Fire"), along with M.A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller ("The Final Girls"). Scott Roseenbaum ("Gang Related") will serve as showrunner. The pilot was written by Fortin and Miller, directed by Charlotte Sieling and executive produced by Pancho Mansfield ("Damien").

From the trailer the series looks like a female version of Scarface just a bit. But will there be a fall for this character? Who knows. The series looks really good and with what the trailer shows, could be summer's best show yet.

Here's the trailer

"Queen of the South" debuts Thursday, June 23 as 10/9c on USA Network.

The CW Releases Fall Premiere Dates

On Friday, The CW become the third broadcasting network this week to announce it's Fall TV premiere plan and seems they're starting off quick.

The Flash is first out of the gate on Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 8/7c, leading into the launh of the new dramaedy No Tomorrow. With the post-Flash time slot, it doesn't guarantee No Tomorrow a generous sampling as the network will air an encore the pilot after the Season 2 premiere of Supergirl on Oct. 10 (which bumps the returns of Jane the Virgin to Oct. 17th).

The CW's new Vampire Diaries/Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Friday combo, menawhile, rounds out the network's fall rollout on Oct. 21.

All in all here's what The CW's premiere dates look like.

Tuesday, Oct. 4
8pm The Flash
9pm No Tomorrow

Wednesday, Oct. 5
8pm Arrow
9pm Frequency

Thursday, Oct. 6
8pm iHeartRadio Music Festival Night 1

Friday, Oct. 7
8pm iHeartRadio Music Festival Night 2

Monday, Oct. 10
8pm Supergirl
9pm No Tomorrow (special encore)

Thursday, Oct. 13
8pm DC's Legends of Tomorrow
9pm Supernatural

Monday, Oct. 17
9pm Jane the Virgin

Friday, Oct. 21
8pm The Vampire Diaries
9pm Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Shows on tap for mid-season: Return shows: The Originals, iZombie, The 100 and Reign. As well as new entry Reiverdale.

Fox's Releases Fall Schedule

On Wednesday, Fox announces their Fall schedule for the 2016-2017 TV season. It's reviled that the network will kick off the season the week of Sept. 19 with a one-two punch Monday night with Gotham and Lucifer.

For Fox's biggest hit, Empire, will kick off it's third season Wednesday, Sept. 21. It follows the premiere of Lethal Weapon.

The network's press release included the following spoiler about Season 3: "Lucious sets his sights on a new streaming service and Cookie purses a new romantic interest."

As it's been reported previously, the buzzed new baseball drama, Pitch, will now debut this fall, Thursday, Sept. 22. It's pushed the final season of Bones to early 2017.



Here's the Fox's Fall Schedule

Monday, Sept 19
8pm Gotham
9pm Lucifer

Tuesday, Sept. 20
8pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine
8:30pm New Girl
9pm Scream Queens

Wednesday, Sept. 21
8pm Lethal Weapon
9pm Empire

Thursday, Sept. 22
8pm Rosewood
9pm Pitch

Friday, Sept. 23
8pm Hell's Kitchen
9pm The Exorcist

Sunday, Sept. 25
7:30pm Bob's Burgers
8pm The Simpsons
8:30pm Son of Zron
9pm Family Guy
9;30pm The Last Man on Earth

Here's shows set for mid-season: Bones, 24: Legacy, Prison Break, Sleepy Hollow, as well as new dramas as Shots Fired and APB and rookie comedies Making History and The Mick.

Victoria | First Look | ITV

Jenna Coleman returns in a new role as Queen Victoria. The former Doctor Who actress is in this eight part mini series that will debut on PBS in 2017 on Sunday, the same time slot that Downton Abby occupied for the last six years.

This mini-series follows the early life of Queen Victoria, from her accession to the throne at the age of 18 through to her courtship and marriage to Prince Albert. It stars Coleman, Tom Hughes, Eve Myles, Tommy Knight and Rufus Sewell. The series was created by Daisy Goodwin.


Here's a first look teaser from ITV.

NBC Announces Fall Schedule

On Wednesday, NBC has become the first broadcasting network to announce their Fall TV premiere dates, for which will kick off on Sept. 14 with Blindspot's Season 2 opener following the America's Got Talent finale. Chicago Fire will in the meantime will be bring up the rear as they won't launch their Fifth season until mid-October.

Also to note, the new Kristen Bell/Ted Danson comedy, The Good Place, is getting a very good spot to air a sneak preview after The Voice's Season 11 premiere before moving to it's regular Thursday home. While the new buzzy drama This is Us will start off airing Tuesday at 10, after The Voice, before moving it's regular time 9pm.

Here's NBC Fall Schedule:

Thursday, Sept. 8th
8:30pm Sunday Night Football

Sunday, Sept. 11
8:30pm Sunday Night Football (time slot premiere)

Wednesday, Sept. 14th
8pm America's Got Talent season finale (two hour)
10pm Blindspot

Monday, Sept. 19th
8pm The Voice
10pm The Good Place (preview two episodes)

Tuesday, Sept. 20th
8pm The Voice
10pm This Is Us

Wednesday, Sept. 21st
8pm Blindspot (time slot premiere)
9pm Law & Order SVU
10pm Chicago PD

Thursday, Sept. 22nd
8pm Superstore
8:30pm The Good Place (time slot premiere)
9pm Chicago Med
10pm The Blacklist

Friday, Sept. 23
8pm Caught On Camera with Nick Cannon
9pm Dateline

Monday, Oct. 3
10pm Timeless

Tuesday, Oct. 11
9pm This Is Us (time slot premiere)
10pm Chicago Fire

Here are shows that are tap for midseason or later: The Blacklist: Redemption, The Carmichael Show, Celebrity Apprentice, Chicago Justice, Emerald City, Great News, Marlon, Midnight Texas, Powerless, Shades of Blue, Taken and Trail & Error.

I think that Grimm will get the late October premiere like they always get before Halloween.

Aquarius Returns

David Duchovny returns this Thursday in last summer's hit show with a two hour, commercial free movie premiere event.

If you haven't seen Aquarius, the series takes place in America in the 1960s that's was a land of tumult and transformation.

Around the country institutions were rocked by protests both violent and peaceful, assassinations became an all-too common occurrence and each day brought a new headline that spoke to the painful process that the country was going through: revolution. No city felt this pain more than Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Police Department Det. Sam Hodiak (David Duchovny, "The X-Files" and "Californication") had served his country in the Pacific Theater during World War II, and now protects his city in the late 60's. When an old flame tells him that her daughter Emma Karn (Emma Dumont, "Salvation") has gone missing, he jumps to action . His search leads him to find Emma living with a group of hippies led by a dirty, slight but violent figure named Charlie Manson (Gethin Anthony, "Game of Thrones"). As he digs deeper to try and pull her out, Hodiak's suit and tie worldview is attacked by the same peace-and-love mantra that is challenging institution across America.

Hodiak enlists the help of undercover vice Officer Brian Shafe (Grey Damon, "True Blood" and "Friday Night Lights"). A Vietnam veteran, Shafe has seen war in a much different light than Hodiak. Even though Shafe is a rookie, he has things to teach Hodiak, such as the bran new Miranda Rights, that are indicative of an emerging style of policing that doesn't turn a blind eye to abuses of power.

As Hodiak and Shafe become further entwined with Manson, and as the country slides deeper into its metamorphosis, the world Hodiak knows begins to disappear before his eyes. This same shifting landscape emboldens Manson to thrust his perverted philosophies upon the world. When the doors of the music industry are closed to him, however, Mason seeks a different way to broadcast his apocalyptic message that will end with one of the most infamous homicides in America history, the Tate-LaBiance murders.

The two men are on a crashing course that will ultimately lead to the gruesome, bloody end of the hippie era and leave America shaken, and once again, changed.

Ringing with the unparalleled music of the era, "Aquarius" is a sprawling work of historical fiction with nuanced characters whose actions in a time of national transformation.

From writer John McNamara ("Trumbo" and "The Magicians") serves as executive producer with Marty Adelstein ("Prison Break"), Becky Clements ("Last Man Standing"), David Duchovny and Melanie Greene, "Aquarius" is a production of Tomorrow Studios.

Season one was the introduction of the characters and how they met, now Season two will be the beginning of Charlie Manson as his name will be known to others. This series does show some really gritty scenes on network television since Hannibal.

In ways, Duchovny performance is nothing but fantastic, with humor and dramatic side. There are times I see Mulder in some scenes but that doesn't really take away the show itself that also shows how Charlie Manson rises but also how America was changing.

If you haven't seen season one, don't worry as season one is streaming on Netflix right now. Also you can catch episodes on NBC.com. 

Here's a promo for Season Two:

You can catch the two hour commercial free movie premiere of Aquarius this Thursday at 9/8c on NBC.

Life Changes: The Night Shift: "The Thing with Feathers"

In part two of this two part episode, lives will change for better or for worst.

We picked off right where the previous episode left off, we see Drew on the floor and as he moves we see blood on his gloved up hands. But not to worry he wasn't shot, but the General was and he soon is taken into the other room as Jennings tells Drew to help him.

Meanwhile, as TC and Jordan pick up the missing kid and tries to get him back to the hospital. With the winds being dangerous for the chopper to go, Jordan performs a chest tube that turned out to be successful and soon the chopper moves.

Scott is waiting for the kid and takes him to the OR, but before that the mother had complications as she was a bit panicky of the news of her son. TC comes in during surgery later on and there seems to be an infection. The only way for the kid to fight the infection is for a blood transfusion, but the parents aren't his parents, adopted parents.

TC later talks to the mother, alone and she tells him a story that came to a surprising twist. Her husband and her stole the kid at the mall. That left TC upset but soon find the parents but won't get on time for transfusion. That lead up to the umbilical cord from the kid, which he found and was on it's way to the hospital.

Jordan has her hands full with a patient and teaching Shannon. When an patient who comes in with nothing wrong with him, but somehow keeps going into cardiac arrest,  Jordan figures out that a fracture in the neck has caused his thyroid issues. But not only did Jordan help the patient, but help him and his daughter become close again.

And as Kenny tries to help Topher get in shape (ha! that was something!), he gets news from Gwen that she got accepted to Georgetown University but she has to leave the next day. Seems like these two are another broken up couple.

As for Drew and Jennings, they helped the brother and his sister and his nephew to escape from the compound. After what had happen, their Captain is not to pleased but he also thought it was a good thing (he gives the high and low of the situation). For the two's punishment, Drew is relieved from duty, even thought he had three months to go. That leads Jennings to stay for another three months as she was about to go home in nine days.

At the end, TC and Topher go for a run, which was fun seeing TC shirtless and Topher wearing running outfit. Jordan and Shannon have breakfast and talk about how Jordan will help her stay calm while Shannon will help Jordan with her outside life and would you know it that the paramedic shows up with his friend and the four have breakfast together...shots.

I enjoyed this episode very much. It picked up quickly and never lost interest at all. Shannon and Jordan have a good intern-doctor chemistry. It had such a good twist, that had me hating her but also feel bad for her too (I know I'm a softy).

It's gonna be awhile for TC and Jordan to get things going I think. Will they get back together, I hope but this could be a break. I couldn't get enough of Paul and his big head attitude towards the nurses and doctors in the ER.

Overall, I give this episode a 8.5/10.

You can catch The Night Shift Wednesday nights at 10/9c on NBC.