Best New TV Shows Of Winter 2016

Premieres Monday, Feb. 15

WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: Based on Stephen King's novel of the same name, the event series stars James Franco as Jake Epping, a run-of-the-mill English teacher who is tasked with traveling through time to stop JFK's assassination.

WHY WE LIKE IT: Put those Under the Dome-instilled fears behind you. Not only does Franco lead a tremendous cast, but the collaboration of King and J.J. Abrams allows for a captivating, thought-provoking adaptation that honors its source material.

Premieres Wednesday, Jan. 6 at 10/9c (Watch it now)

WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: In the brand new Season 2 story, Connor Jessup stars as a teen who was raped by another boy at a party – or was he? As the "framing" of the event commences, Jessup's character — as well as the elite private school's administrators and students —come under scrutiny, revealing economic disparities, hidden secrets and racial divisions.

WHY WE LIKE IT: The sensitive subject matter could have easily been mismanaged, but the drama tackles both sides of the situation with brutal honesty. The performances are superb, especially from Jessup and Lili Taylor (as his concerned mom), but Felicity Huffman (as the school's Dean) and Regina King deserve props for daring to broach "unlikable" territory.

Premieres Tuesday, Feb. 2, at 10/9c

WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: True to its title, Ryan Murphy's latest project — based on Jeffrey Toobin's book — dramatizes the events following the 1994 murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, including the arrest and "Trial of the Century" of former NFL star O.J. Simpson. The massive cast includes Cuba Gooding Jr., Sarah Paulson, John Travolta, Courtney B. Vance, David Schwimmer and Connie Britton.

WHY WE LIKE IT: The 10-episode season highlights everything we love about Murphy's past work (deep characterization, excellent performances, heightened suspense) without some of the stuff we won't miss (winding storytelling, superfluous storylines). Plus, Travolta as Simpson lawyer Robert Shapiro is really something to see.

Premieres Thursday, Jan. 7 at 9:30/83:30c

WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: Jane Lynch fills the title role as Amy, a brassy, outspoken stranger who claims to be the "guardian angel" of Maggie Lawson's mild-mannered Allison. Kevin Pollak and Kyle Bornheimer co-star as Allison's father and brother.

WHY WE LIKE IT: Because Lynch is in quippy Season 1-Sue Sylvester mode. Because Lawson is utterly charming, and funny in her own right as a out-there Amy's disbelieving foil. Because Bornheimer perhaps has never had so well a realized role.

Premieres Thursday, Jan. 21 at 10/9c

WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: Zach Galifianakis is Chip Baskets, an aspiring clown who trained (albeit not-so-successfully) in France. Returning to the States with a glam-but-greedy green card wife, he labors to bring the funny while earning little money at a rodeo.

WHY WE LIKE IT: How funny is a sad-sack clown? That question is at the heart of this quirky comedy, which delivers a nicely modulated Galifianakis while stand-up comic Martha Kelly steals scenes as a sorrowful insurance peddler. Still on the fence? What if we told you that Galifianakis also plays Chip's twee twin, Dale? And that Louie Anderson plays Chip's mother?!

Premieres Sunday, Jan. 17 at 10/9c

WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: Brace for a battle between two heavyweights — both in terms of characters (a cocky hedge-fund king and a savvy U.S. Attorney) and the actors who play 'em (Emmy winners Damian Lewis and Paul Giamatti). Do not tune in if you can't handle abundant expletives.

WHY WE LIKE IT: With the subprime mortgage crisis still fresh in our minds, the time is ripe for a drama that explores the high-temptation world of Wall Street. The fact that Malin Akerman and Maggie Siff round out the cast as Lewis and Giamatti's respective (and equally treacherous) spouses has us wondering if Billions might shake up the 2016 Emmy race.

Premieres Thursday, March 24 at 10/9c

WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: The Killing's Mireille Enos stars as a fraud investigator who discovers she's being scammed by her own fiancé (Peter Krause). As the latest addition to ABC's #TGIT/Shondaland lineup, you can expect the case-of-the-week format to be interspersed with a twisty, overarching arc.

WHY WE LIKE IT: While the show has undergone major changes since being ordered to series — creator Jennifer Schurr departed, while series regulars Damon Dayoub and Bethany Joy Lenz were replaced by Krause and Sonya Walger— it's hard to fathom ABC scheduling a stinker in the plum post-Scandal slot. We've yet to see the end result of the rejiggering, but we're counting down the days 'til the pilot hits our mailbox.

Four episodes release Saturday, Jan. 23

WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: Working on the premise that the only way to get at the truth is to ask a ton of questions, comedian Chelsea Handler's funny, four-part documentary poses uncomfortable queries — about marriage, Silicon Valley, drugs and racism — then plunges the former Chelsea Lately host into situations where she's forced to challenge her own beliefs on the subject at hand.

WHY WE LIKE IT: Handler, as always, is absolutely unconcerned with being polite or PC — if the feature-length documentaries offer even a smidgen of insight couched within her trademark deadpan humor, consider us intrigued.

Premieres Thursday, Jan. 14 at 10/9c

WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: Carlton Cuse's newest series stars Josh Holloway and Sarah Wayne Callies as a couple fighting for their family and their community in a Los Angeles occupied by "foreign intruders." Peter Jacobson co-stars.

WHY WE LIKE IT: Anything that reunites two members of Team Lost (Cuse and Holloway), involves a creepily mysterious presence (why won't anyone just say they're extra terrestrials? Is it because they're not?!) and puts its leads in a moral quandary (is saving a son worth working for the overlords?) is a(lien)-OK in our book. Plus, the effects just look so cool.

Premiere date TBA

WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: A portion of Atlanta's urban sprawl is quarantined after a deadly virus surfaces. David Gyasi's police captain tries to keep peace within the cordon sanitaire, where his cop buddy (Chris Wood) and girlfriend are trapped. What was supposed to be a short isolation period, however, takes a turn for the worse.

WHY WE LIKE IT: Not for the faint of heart, the Julie Plec-produced series is bloody, intense and unflinching in its portrayal of the virus' damage and the difficult choices that must be made. While that may turn off some viewers, we found the action immensely gripping, with well-drawn characters you instantly care about. Also, a hot-headed Wood in a police uniform doesn't hurt.

Premieres Wednesday, March 2 at 10/9c

WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: Gary Sinise (CSI: NY) is Jack Garrett, head of the FBI's International Response Unit, a specialized division that solves crimes perpetrated against U.S. citizens abroad. Alana De La Garza (Forever), Daniel Henney, Tyler James Williams and Annie Funke round out the team.

WHY WE LIKE IT: Whereas Criminal Minds teaches you about the killer psyche, here you also get a weekly travelogue, rife with tidbits about individual cultures' laws and mores. Plus, with De La Garza as the team linguist, it will be fun to see what language they throw at her each episode. (That said, you might never travel again.)

Premieres Thursday, Jan. 21 at 8/7c

WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: Time Master Rip Hunter enlists a bevy of Arrow and Flash characters — Sara Lance/White Canary, Ray Palmer/The Atom, Captain Cold and Heat Wave included— to trek across the ages in hopes of intercepting that insidious immortal, Vandal Savage.

WHY WE LIKE IT: As detailed in our review, once the table-setting is done, there is tremendous fun to be had as this unlikely hero/villain mash-up is thrust into assorted eras to clash with various baddies — as well as each other.

Premieres Thursday, March 3 at 9/8c

WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: A presumed-dead boy (The Killing's Liam James) returns home to his family more than a decade after he disappeared – but is he actually the child they lost? As he acclimates to being back, one member of the clan is particularly suspicious of his identity.

WHY WE LIKE IT: While there is not a single weak link in the cast – Joan freakin' Allen plays the shell-shocked mother, who is now an ambitious local politician! – it's the against-type casting of Andrew McCarthy as the ostracized man who was falsely imprisoned for the boy's death that really intrigues. Add in a fascinating mystery, and you've got the makings of an addictive drama.

Premieres Monday, Jan. 25 at 9/8c

WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: Bored and unhappy as the Lord of Hell, Lucifer Morningstar trades his underworld throne for the streets of Los Angeles, where he helps the LAPD punish criminals.

WHY WE LIKE IT: Tom Ellis (Rush) rises to the occasion of playing the devil himself, bringing both swagger and playfulness — with a dash of complexity — to the title role. And while Ellis does the heavy lifting, Lauren German, Lesley-Ann Brandt and Kevin Alejandro make up part of a rather enjoyable ensemble.

Premieres Wednesday, Feb. 3 at 8/7c

WHAT IT'S ABOUT: Richard Dreyfuss and Blythe Danner star in this two-night retelling of the greatest financial fraud in U.S. history. (A refresher: Famed investment advisor Bernie Madoff admitted to fabricating nearly $65 billion in gains before being sentenced to 150 years in prison.)

WHY WE LIKE IT: A true American horror story, the promise of a behind-the-scenes look at Madoff's infamous Ponzi scheme would be enough to attract our eyeballs; a series of inspired performances from the TV movie's acclaimed cast is merely the icing on the cake.

Premieres Monday, Jan. 25 at 10/9c (Watch it now)

WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: Based on Lev Grossman's book of the same name, the fantasy drama centers around an isolated grad student (played by Jason Ralph) who finds out his latent magic skills have landed him a spot at Brakebills University for Magical Pedagogy.

WHY WE LIKE IT: Already being dubbed "Harry Potter for adults," the drama is darker and scarier than anything that happened at Hogwarts. And if the striking villain in the premiere is anything to judge by, the series – from Supernatural's Sera Gamble and Aquarius' John McNamara – will have truly unique, memorable visuals that will haunt our nightmares.

Premieres Thursday, Jan. 7 at 10/9c

WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: Jennifer Lopez tackles her first major TV role in 20 years, as a Brooklyn detective who's busted in an FBI sting and forced to serve as a confidential informant against her ethically compromised unit. She winds up caught between a boss (Ray Liotta) obsessed with identifying his crew's rat and a handler (Warren Kole) who's increasingly obsessed with her

WHY WE LIKE IT: Lopez has made most of her noise in recent years with musical trashsterpieces like "Booty" and "I Luh Ya Papi." But the actress who earned a Golden Globe nod for Selena — and who deserved Oscar buzz for Out of Sight — will try to get her acting groove back with a little help from veteran auteur Barry Levinson (Rain Man, And Justice for All), who directed the first two episodes.

Premieres Tuesday, Jan. 12 at 9/8c

WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: Shortly after turning 18, Clary Fray (Katherine McNamara) learns that she's a Shadowhunter, a part-angel warrior destined to protect our world from demons, vampires and other nefarious nighttime creatures. In addition to inviting romance and danger, this revelation also kicks off a journey of discovery about her twisted family history.

WHY WE LIKE IT: A marked improvement from the forgettable 2013 film adaptation of Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments novels, Shadowhunters offers an exciting story and a refreshingly diverse crop of characters — complimented by spot-on casting — all of which sets it apart from the myriad other supernatural teen dramas already populating the airwaves.

Premieres Tuesday, Jan. 5 at 10/9c

WHAT IT'S ABOUT: In a post-apocalyptic reality, a part-elf warrior (Carrie Diaries' Austin Butler) must defend a young woman chosen to revive the magical Ellcrys tree, the only thing that protects their world from an impending demonic hoard.

WHY WE LIKE IT: Easily MTV's most ambitious project to date, this adaptation of Terry Brooks' popular fantasy novels — directed by Iron Man's Jon Favreau — offers an immersive new world in which we can't help but get lost. The stakes are high, the action is electrifying and every shot is more breathtaking than the last.

Premieres Wednesday, Jan. 13 at 11/10c

WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: Six elementary school teachers — played by members of the Chicago-based comedy troupe The Katydids — try to mold young minds, despite the fact that their own lives are a mess.

WHY WE LIKE IT: "Successful career woman with messy personal life" has been done before, but the comedy's six leading ladies have a rare and terrific chemistry that supersedes the trope. Edgy and relatable, it's the perfect complement to sophomore series Younger.