The year ahead in American TV

We’ve already looked back, with our list of the top 10 American TV shows surveying the best that US TV had to offer throughout 2010 (which I hope we can all agree has been a high-quality year for television). It’s now time to look forward to what we can expect from the new year. Already, 2011 is looking like a year that should be full of great entertainment from across the pond on our TV screens.

Possibly the most exciting upcoming prospect is the launch of a new channel to showcase the best of American cable television, Sky Atlantic. I have to admit that I was unsure of how well this would work at first, particularly because many viewers are hesitant to join a subscription service. However, with the schedule now announced, I really wouldn’t be surprised if people flock to Sky. The channel will appear on February 1st, and highlights will include Prohibition-era drama Boardwalk Empire (starring Steve Buscemi and from Martin Scorsese & Terrence Winter), post-Katrina drama Treme (set in New Orleans) and family cop drama Blue Bloods (starring Tom Selleck and Donnie Wahlberg). Furthermore, Sky Atlantic will also show Battlestar Galactica, Weeds (from season 4), Entourage and Six Feet Under, with intriguing new medieval fantasy Game of Thrones arriving in April and a new season of Mad Men coming in August.

Thankfully we won’t have to wait until February for new TV shows though. Family superhero drama No Ordinary Family will begin on Watch (with a double-bill starting at 9pm) this coming Tuesday, new Matt LeBlanc comedy Episodes (BBC2) will start on Monday at 10pm and the continuation of Caprica’s first and only season (after a huge hiatus) should begin at some point this month too. There’s a lot of programming worth looking forward to from February onwards, with new cop dramas, such as the rebooted Hawaii Five-0 (starring Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan) and The Chicago Code (starring Jennifer Beals and from The Shield creator Shawn Ryan) due to start during the month (both will be on Sky1). The six-part prequel to Spartacus: Blood and Sand (titled Spartacus: Gods of the Arena) will also be airing on Sky1 in February, with cheerleading show Hellcats (MTV - February) and comedy Bored to Death (Sky Atlantic - March) also being added to the schedules.

There are returning shows to be excited for too. Personally, I can hardly wait to see more Fringe as season 3 will be continuing soon. Recently though, The Good Wife returned for its second season and Glee (also beginning its second season) will return to E4 on Monday at 9pm. Many favourites, including Modern Family, Nikita, Chuck, The Vampire Diaries, Lie to Me, True Blood and Supernatural will also be returning shortly. (Most air-dates are unconfirmed, but you can speculate quite accurately based on last year - for instance, it’s likely that Cougar Town’s second season will begin in March and that 30 Rock will be back in February.)

Really, though, this is just a preview of what there is to expect in 2011. Some older critically acclaimed shows will be re-airing, with FX currently showing Breaking Bad from the beginning on Wednesdays and re-runs of Arrested Development (February, FX) and The Wire (March, FX) also being shown. Later in the year we can look forward to the fifth seasons of Dexter (FX) and Mad Men (Sky Atlantic) and many much-anticipated new pilots including J.J Abrams’ Alcatraz and Brannon Barga’s Terra Nova possibly reaching us here. For reality TV fans, American Idol (which is probably the only reality show I care about and enjoy watching) will be returning soon and the Americans will be attempting their own version of The X Factor in September (both will air here on ITV2). All in all, it seems like the distribution of television from the US is only getting better and 2011 looks like it’ll be just as exciting a year for American television as 2010 was.

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