What’s the hot new thing on television?
Well, spooky definitely is in. Fans of “American Horror Story” can testify to that. “The Walking Dead” and “Game of Thrones” both feature zombies in one form or another, and Showtime just kicked of its new supernatural series, “Penny Dreadful.” Don’t forget, too, that A&E just wrapped up the Hitchcock-inspired second season of “Bates Motel.”
But guess what else seems to be the new “it” topic on TV? It’s near and dear to my heart. Yes, it’s the superhero.
We all know that when it comes to a summer blockbuster movie, a big-name superhero will sell tickets. DC Comics, Marvel, a relative unknown, something original — it doesn’t really matter.
But equally exciting heroes on the small screen? You bet your black cape.
We’re about to experience superhero overload. ABC has renewed its “The Avengers”-inspired series, “Agents of SHIELD,” for a second season and will deliver a one-two punch in the new TV season by debuting a “Captain America” spinoff, “Agent Carter.” Set in the 1940s, “Agent Carter” will revolve around Peggy Carter and Tony Stark’s father soon after Cap’s disappearance. You remember — he was frozen for a while.
And speaking of spinoffs, you know I’m a fan of the CW’s “Arrow,” based on DC’s Green Arrow. It, too, will branch off into “The Flash,” a series about a super-fast superhero.
NBC is marrying comic books with spooky with its upcoming “Constantine” series, and — oh my gosh — even “Heroes,” which totally got cancelled, is being resurrected. No kidding!
In the midst of all the geeky fun, I’ve picked one upcoming series to spotlight this week. It’s called … wait for it … “Gotham,” which will be on Fox.
“Gotham” is planned as a Batman prequel, if you will. The main character here is a young Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie). Don’t call him commissioner, though, because in the series, he’ll be just a detective, paired up with Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue).
One of their first cases is the shooting deaths of the parents of 10-year-old Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz). Wow!
The series will unveil younger versions of Catwoman (Carmen Bicondova) and the Riddler (Cory Michael Smith), and even have Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Taylor), the man who becomes the Penguin.
Obviously, I’m a little interested here, but I’ll tell you what has really sold me: the cast! McKenzie was brilliant on “Southland,” and I’m so pleased that he’ll be a cop again. Also — surprise — we have Jada Pinkett-Smith as sexy crime lord Fish Mooney.
I didn’t see that one coming, but I think I’ll be a fan!