From the Upfronts

This week was the Upfronts, a yearly event where networks announce new shows coming to the small screen in a bid to woo audiences and advertisers. I'm most excited about ABC's Resurrection:

Something else will be returning…#Resurrection will officially come back for Season 2! pic.twitter.com/XmNkYwbc5l

— Resurrection (@Resurrection) May 9, 2014

But there's a few other shows that have piqued my interest.

Secrets and Lies This show is of interest to me because it's going to be filmed in Wilmington (aka Wilmywood), a place I'm hopefully going to get in work in soon. The trailer for the pilot looks intriguing and I'll certainly watch the pilot at the least. (source: NC Film News)

Flash I came late to the Arrow train; actually, I never got on, and only caught the first season on Netflix later. But I very much enjoyed it (even if I'm waiting to stream the second season when it goes on Netflix rather than try to keep up with it). This spinoff series about the DC Comics hero looks promising; I may actually brave the pilot rather wait for the stream. (source: Tor)

Gotham DC Comics continues its small screen assault with this prequel to Batman. While misgivings about such a show are understandable (Batman without Batman?), the trailer looks great, especially if they avoid the temptation to rush things and instead allow these iconic characters to develop organically outside the shadow of the Nolan trilogy. Following a young Officer Gordon as he struggles to come to terms with the city he will eventually protect, while mentoring an untutored Bruce Wayne, may not please all, but has plenty of potential. (source: Blastr)

Ascension It's been far too long since we had a real, honest-to-goodness spaceship on televsion, so I was hopeful when I first heard rumblings about the SyFy channel getting back to its roots with a scripted space show. The trailer and premise for this series was released this week, and it not only looks good, but is unique in its choice to focus on a multigenerational ship launched at the dawn of the "space age." I probably won't see it until its made available online, but I look forward to this show's development. (source: Blastr)

Galavant Here's a confession: I tried to watch a few episodes of Once Upon a Time after it came out, but couldn't get into it. The soap opera hijinks and excessive angst just pushed me the wrong way. Galavant looks to attract the same crowd, and there's a certain similar aesthetic. But then you have a king burst in to song with lyrics like "I want to shoot him with a crossbow, I want to stab him in the eye," against a melody penned by none other than the legendary Alan Menken (who composed Disney classics like Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast), and you realize this show is more akin to Spamalot or Once Upon a Mattress. It's crazy and insane, and doesn't pretend otherwise. If nothing else, it should have a great theme song. (source: Wired)

Honorable Mentions I've been told that Agents of SHIELD got much better toward the end, so I'll probably stream the first season some time during the summer and decide for myself if the second season is worth my time. Of much greater interest to me is the show's prequel set to come to ABC this winter, Agent Carter, about the titular agent's escapades after World War II. It's a chance to have a major scifi/superhero drama headed by a strong female character who doesn't walk around in the equivalent of her underwear to save the day, so I'm excited.

The other midseason show with potential is Mission Control on NBC, which is billed as a workplace comedy about a young woman working in the early years of NASA. While the idea sounds good on paper, Will Ferrell's role as an executive producer and the focus on romantic entanglements have me cautious about whether this series will be more than just another sitcom.

What shows are you looking forward to in the year to come?