Netflix Premiere Dates, Trailers, and Other… Oh My!
2016 is shaping up to be perhaps Netflix’s biggest year yet. At the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, California, the streaming content provider announced the premiere dates of additional seasons of several major, Emmy-nominated series. It also announced second seasons and spin-offs of on-going series as well as several new shows starring some of Hollywood’s biggest talent. Yes, HBO has Game of Thrones and Veep, but Netflix’s upcoming roster of dramatic, comedic, and kid-friendly programming will make them a huge force in the 2016 television awards season.
Here are the latest developments with the streamer’s stable of original programming.
Returning Series
- House of Cards returns on March 4 and released the following clever teaser which echoes to a significant event from its past.
- Orange is the New Black returns with a fourth season on June 17. Season Four follows a disappointing third season which flagged in awards attention. Here is the latest trailer.
- Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt premieres on April 15. A second season was guaranteed as Netflix picked up the series for two seasons when it bought Kimmy from NBC.
- Grace and Frankie‘s first season only saw significant awards attention for Lily Tomlin with a smattering of traction for Jane Fonda. It’s second season will premiere May 6. A third season is also in the works.
New Series
- Love comes from Judd Apatow and centers on a nice guy and wild girl as they navigate modern relationships. Here’s a new trailer:
- Flaked stars Will Arnett as a self-appointed guru in Venice, California. Co-created and executive produced by Arnett, Flaked will run eight episodes and premieres March 11.
- The Ranch is a comedy starring Ashton Kutcher, Danny Masterson, Sam Elliot, and Debra Winger (???). Kutcher plays a semi-pro football star who leaves a failed career to run the family ranch. The series premieres on April 1. How appropriate.
- Marseille is described as a “tale of power, corruption and redemption” and has the distinction of being Netflix’s first French language original series. It stars, naturally, Gerard Depardieu and premieres May 5.
- Stranger Things stars Winona Ryder in a supernatural drama. The 8-episode series sounds like a cross between Wayward Pines and Broadchurch as people search for a missing young boy. Secret experiments, supernatural forces, and a potentially possessed little girl somehow factor into the mystery. This premieres on July 15.
- The Get Down comes from Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge) and is a musical drama (drama with music, not specifically a musical) centering on the South Bronx in 1970s-era New York City. The series premieres six of thirteen episodes on August 12.
Kid’s Shows
- Lost & Found Music Studios is a live action series about teenage musicians finding their way and sound in the big world. For those with kids, it sounds an awful lot like Nickelodeon’s Fresh Beat Band to me. At any rate, the “original series” premieres April 1.
- Kong: King of the Apes is an animated series that sets the King Kong mythology in 2050. The series establishes King Kong as an anti-hero and premieres April 15.
- Word Party comes from The Jim Henson Company and follows four baby animals. Viewers are encouraged to help the animals learn new words and, hopefully, learn new words themselves. Tricky, Netflix, very tricky. The Party starts on June 3.
In Development
- Arrested Development‘s fifth season was to begin production on January 1, 2016, with a rumored schedule of four months. However, as expected, talent schedules proved difficult to negotiate. It is unknown exactly when the season will premiere, but it will pick up on Season 4’s political leanings (introducing a Donald Trump-esqe character) mixed with a true crime influence similar to Making a Murderer, Serial, and The Jinx. I literally cannot wait for that.
- Jessica Jones will have a second season, no surprise given the freshman season’s critical and popular reception. No premiere date has been announced, and it is unknown if the second season will premiere before or after the Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist mash-up of The Defenders. Jones‘s second season will reportedly focus on her backstory without villain Killgrave.
- Netflix is also considering but has yet to commit to another Marvel series. This new series would focus on the Punisher character played by Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead) who debuts in Daredevil‘s second season.