ON THE SMALL SCREEN

By Jenny Peters

FOR THE PEOPLE
ABC
When Shonda Rhimes decides to dive into the world of American federal criminal prosecution, she doesn’t fool around. With For the People, she joins series creator (and Scandal story editor) Paul William Davies to create the newest TV crime thriller. Set in the Southern District of New York—where in real life, prosecutor Rudy Giuliani made his name by taking down Ivan Boesky and Michael Milken—For the People follows the careers of a group of new lawyers trying to learn the ropes in one of the most important courts in America. Jasmin Savoy Brown takes the leading role, with an ethnically diverse group of colleagues along for the ride, including Weam Keesh, Ben Shenkman and Vonde Curtis-Hall.

INSTINCT
CBS
Alan Cumming (The Good Wife) plays an ex-CIA agent whose life is turned upside down when an NYPD homicide detective recruits him to help take down a serial killer. Normally a college professor in his new life, the lure of the chase pulls him into a new life, one that he never expected. Cumming’s supporting cast includes Bojana Novakovic, who is best known for her role in Shameless and John Mainieri, who both play the cops that convince him to use his spy talents to bring down the criminals that terrorize New York City.

STATION 19
ABC
Shonda Rhimes is basically taking over ABC Television, and that’s a pretty good thing. The creator of Scandal, Grey’s Anatomy and How to Get Away with Murder has two new shows hitting the airwaves in March, both under the umbrella of her Shondaland production company. Station 19 is the brainchild of Paris Barclay (the creative Emmy-winning producer-director behind Sons of Anarchy) and follows the lives of a group of Seattle firefighters. The actors in this emotional, action-packed show are not exactly household names—Jaina Lee Ortiz, Jason George, Grey Damon—but they are familiar faces who may just become a part of television history if Shonda Rhimes has yet another hit on her hands.

THE MECHANISM (O MECANISMO)
Netflix
Crime returns to Netflix with the next project from Brazilian writer-director-producer Jose Padilha, the creator of Narcos. The Mechanism is another action-packed thriller, this time tackling the truth-based story of corruption at the highest levels of Brazilian government. It’s a thrilling drama that pits an ex-police deputy against the criminal mastermind who has created an incredibly lucrative and incredibly devious scheme to steal millions from the Brazilian people. Selton Mello and Carol Abras play the investigators determined to stop him; Enrique Diaz stars as the ingenious criminal.

THE TERROR
AMC
Return to the days of sailing ships in this historical series set in 1847. Ciaran Hinds (from Game of Thrones) and Jared Harris (Mad Men) portray Royal Navy officers assigned to find a way to navigate the Arctic’s Northwest Passage, but what they discover in those frozen waters are horrors that strike terror into the men aboard ship. History buffs and horror fans alike will find thrills and chills as this series helmed by famed director Ridley Scott.

TRUST
FX
The story of the 1973 kidnapping of John Paul Getty III, the grandson of J. Paul Getty, one of the wealthiest men on the planet, was a headline-grabbing event that evolved into a sordid tale of callous disregard for family. As the billionaire oil magnate dragged his feet in a reluctance to pay the Italian Mafiosos who were torturing his grandson, the Getty family began to unravel. This chilling 10-episode series stars Donald Sutherland as Getty, Harris Dickinson as his grandson and two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank as the distraught mother of the teenage victim.

KRYPTON
SyFy
Krypton heads off into space to Superman’s home planet, to a time long before the Man of Steel arrived on Earth. In fact, this science-fiction action-adventure series follows not Superman, but his grandfather Seg-El, as the planet is plunged into the turmoil that eventually leads to its final destruction. Cameron Cuffe takes the lead role, while Georgina Campbell, Ian McElhinney and Ann Ogbomo also have key parts in this DC Comics vision of the beginnings of the saga. Watch for Shaun Sipos as Adam Strange, for he’s an Earthling who is on his way to Krypton, thus paving the way for Superman’s journey much later to Earth.

HARD SUN
Hulu
It’s sometime in the near future as Hard Sun begins, a time when the planet is stressed to the point of permanent extinction. Starring Jim Sturgess and Agyness Deyn as detectives trying to keep control of the knowledge that the world is on its last days; however, knowing that truth is part of the danger they face. Created by Neil Cross, whose series Luther is one of the best things to come out of Britain in years, Hard Sun is filled with violence, fear and many mysterious questions. This makes it perfect for a popcorn-filled night of binge watching.