Spoiler Time: Arrow, Beauty and the Beast, Fringe, Grimm, Once Upon a Time, Revolution, Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries, and The Walking Dead
Here’s a little intel on what to expect when several of the shows we love return, from TV Line:
Arrow (Returns on Wednesday, January 16 at 8/7c on The CW) | In addition to the Dark Archer, Oliver will have his hands full with other baddies — including “The Count,” who peddles a drug called Vertigo on the streets of Starling City. As played by Fringe‘s Seth Gabel, “He’s a departure from any of the villains that we’ve had so far,” says series lead Stephen Amell. “I spend a lot of time as Arrow going after him, and it’s personal for me for reasons I can’t explain.” There’s also Cyrus Vanch (Alias‘ David Anders), whom Amell describes as “reckless and incredibly confident — and I don’t go after him; he comes after me!” On the romantic front, Oliver will rekindle “something” with a vice cop played by True Blood‘s Janina Gavankar (“The reason that I end up doing so will surprise everybody,” Amell teases), while Laurel forever finds herself drawn to one hooded vigilante. “There’s this magnetic sort of almost sexual tension between the two of them,” says Katie Cassidy. “She so wants to know how he does what he does, who he is…. And I think she wants to be a part of it.” (Hmmm!)
Beauty and the Beast (Returns on Thursday, January 24 at 9/8c on The CW) | “A lot of juicy stuff is going to be stirred up in the back half of the season,” executive producer Sherri Cooper promises – including an “explosive love triangle” featuring Vincent’s onetime fiancée Alex (played by Legend of the Seeker‘s Bridget Regan). Upon reuniting with his ex, “Vincent will try to be as honest as he can be [with Catherine], but he might be surprised by his own emotions,” Cooper previews. Other obstacles for the titular twosome include a “young, power-hungry” ADA (Heroes‘ Sendhil Ramamurthy) who is resolved to “bring in New York’s newest menace,” and a returning threat. “Catherine and Vincent thought that Muirfield had lost track of them, but we’ll see that that is not the case.” Lastly, will anyone else learn about the very special fella in Cat’s life? “I’ll tease it this way: Tess is a best friend,” says Cooper, “and best friends eventually catch on to what’s going on in each other’s lives.”
Fringe (Returns on Friday, January 11 at 9/8c on Fox) | Just three more hours spread over two weeks. As previously shared, show boss Joel Wyman calls the finale the “biggest, most expensive” season-ender the show has ever done, a final hour that packs literal punches as well as emotional ones. “By rights we really shouldn’t be here, and without that support and respect [of fans and the press] we wouldn’t be, so I wanted to be sure I handled that [action element] and the emotional with equal import.” Among the finale’s surprises: a critical assist from Astro Asterisk Astrid, which delighted her portrayer. Noting that for much of Season 5, Walter’s lab assistant “wasn’t super-integral,” Jasika Nicole happily reports that Astrid “gets her moment to shine in the last episode. Without her, I can honestly say, everything’s going to go downhill!” Although the day-saving moment is a brief one, Nicole shares, “It meant the world to me.” (But which world…?)
Grimm (Returns on Friday, March 8 at 9/8c on NBC) | Now that Nick knows Renard and Juliette are smooch buddies, “He’s not exactly happy about it,” says Grimm co-creator James Kouf. “It’s something he realizes he kind of has to deal with. The captain is out of the bag, so to speak.” Expect a huge confrontation between the men – “It’s like a long-term marriage where suddenly all this stuff jumps out,” says co-creator David Greenwalt — when the drama returns in March. Also ahead: Former hexenbiest Adalind will tap into a new kind of power; Hank will continue to have “a pretty weird year”; Rosalee and Monroe will get closer upon her return to Portland (thanks to the end of Bree Turner’s real-life maternity leave); and a new Wesen from Africa will take the title of “the creepiest one we’ve ever done,” Greenwalt promises. As for Renard and Juliette, “There’s definitely some action between them,” Kouf says, adding, “It’s all messy.” Yes, but will she climb his beanstalk… if you get our drift? Says Kouf: “Well, they’re going to do something.”
Once Upon a Time (Returns on Sunday, January 6 at 8/7c on ABC) | “No one’s going to be happy” about the arrival of the pirate ship’s passengers, says Jennifer Morrison. “It’s too much of a threat to everything that we care about.” Speaking in character, she adds, “I don’t really know that much about all these people from this other land, but I do know that those two are dangerous, so I’m certainly not going to want them anywhere near my kid.” Also, as revealed in recent weeks: Mulan, Prince Phillip and Smee will each make encores; viewers will meet Dr. Frankenstein’s father and brother (played by Gregory Itzin and Chad Collins); Emma’s baby daddy Neal Cassidy will be seen again; and Ethan Embry (Can’t Hardly Wait) and Sonequa Martin-Green (The Walking Dead) will surface in secret roles.
Revolution (Returns on Monday, March 25 at 10/9c on NBC) | Now that Rachel and Miles have come face-to-face in the present, expect to get more answers about their mysterious backstory. “We’re absolutely exploring it, because we left them with her getting handcuffed after surrendering to him in a flashback,” says executive producer David Rambo. “We would like to see more of what happened 10 minutes later between the two of them.” Meanwhile, Charlie and Jason’s “paths will cross again,” and there’s a very good chance the NBC hit will explore the world outside of the Monroe Republic. “We had [exec producer] John Favreau with us for a day in the writer’s room and he loves these other republics, what they could be,” reveals Rambo. “He gave us some fantastic ideas about what these other places in North America might look like 15 years after a blackout.”
Supernatural (Returns on Wednesday, Jan. 16 at 9/8c on The CW) | As if the trust issues between the Winchesters, the return of Cas’ mysterious heavenly arc and Amelia’s presence weren’t enough, Dean and Sam will also deal with daddy complications when their paternal grandpa, Henry, time-travels to the present in a family mythology episode. “When you meet your father’s father, that brings up some of your father issues. In other words, what did your father’s father have to do with the way your father turned out?” previews executive producer Jeremy Carver. “A lot of that is explored head-on.” But it’s not all doom and gloom. Felicia Day’s Charlie Bradbury returns in what is sure to be a geektastic hour about live-action role playing.
The Vampire Diaries (Returns on Thursday, Jan. 17 at 8/7c on The CW) | Tyler will be reeling from the loss of his last remaining family member by “keeping to himself, refusing to show his emotions and stewing in his own grief and anger, which is making it difficult to help him,” teases executive producer Julie Plec. Despite Klaus’ terrible doings, the EP “wouldn’t say it’s the last we’ve seen of a connection between” the Original and Tyler’s girl Caroline. Though, “It’s the last that she’s going to want a connection between them.” On the Damon/Elena front, he picked his words carefully and told Elena to go home, not to never think of him again, so expect “lots of sad longing…between the two.” Meanwhile, neither April nor Rebekah will take lightly to being lied to or betrayed. (The latter, in particular, will seek revenge against Stefan.) And Jeremy gets an unexpected vampire hunter mentor in Damon!
The Walking Dead (Returns on Sunday, February 10 at 9/8c on AMC) | The “death” of his daughter will unleash an even bigger, badder Governor. “We haven’t seen him activated to the extent that he’s going to be activated in the back half of the season,” shares exec producer Robert Kirkman. “He’s going to be much more engaged and a little bit more aware of the threat that the prison represents. He’s going to be on the warpath.” Luckily, he’s facing a weakening enemy in Rick. “He’s a person who’s bearing the weight of everyone’s survival on his shoulders, and I think that’s become a little bit unbearable,” says Kirkman. “He’s certainly spiraling out of control. And now he’s starting to see [dead people]. It’s definitely a real problem.”
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