The best TV in 2012

Game of Thrones Showcase
Pitch Assemble knights from a fantasy realm, liberally add sex and violence, marinate in sorcery and dragon lore, add a sprinkle of incest and bake slowly over 13 episodes and you’ve got the return of 2011’s coolest show.
Stars Peter Dinklage, Charles Dance and Emilia Clarke.
Turn off Sometimes the sex and violence intrudes on the story. And vice versa.
Turn on Imps, castratos, dragonesses and assassins playing bloody mind games.
Wildcard Was killing off the lead character at the end of season one bravery or stupidity?
Airs in April

Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms Ten
Pitch From the producers of Nine’s Underbelly franchise comes a dramatisation of the feud between bikie gangs the Comancheros and Bandidos leading up to the infamous 1984 Milperra Massacre that left seven dead and 28 injured.
Stars Callan Mulvey, Susie Porter, Anthony Hayes and Luke Hemsworth.
Turn off More stylised violence, soap stars in dress-up and “heroic” scumbags. 
Turn on A six-episode run means fast scripts, explosive violence and sharp acting.
Wildcard Jeremy Lindsay Taylor (Underbelly Razor) put on 20kg of belly and beard for his role
Air date TBC

Hamish & Andy’s London Olympics Project Nine 
Pitch Australia’s favourite besties take their New York Gap Year concept to Blighty as a lead-in to Nine’s coverage of the 30th Olympiad. Can two naughty boys fluff for 10,000 athletes in 302 events across 26 sports? We’re betting on comedy gold.
Stars Hamish Blake and Andy Lee and a cast of unwitting celebs and sports stars.
Turn off Gap Year’s comedy-on-the-fly meant plenty of gag gutter balls.
Turn on H&A doing for London 2012 what Roy & HG did for Sydney 2000.
Wildcard Will the Pomgolians be as fun to laugh at as the Yanks?
Airs in September

Downton Abbey Seven 
Pitch Seven’s smash hit soap returns with war being waged across Europe and all manner of fiendish skirmishes happening within the Abbey (now a makeshift military hospital). Expect plenty of star-crossed love, scheming and tea breaks.
Stars Huge Bonneville, Maggie Smith and Elizabeth McGovern.
Turn off The season two trailer is to the strains of an operatic ‘With or Without You’.
Turn on A third season is already underway ensuring we can froth at leisure.
Wildcard Nine have the Downton-esque Parade’s End starring Rupert Everett and Miranda Richardson and scripted by Sir Tom Stoppard scheduled in 2012.
Airs mid-year

Lowdown ABC 
Pitch Scurrilous newshound Alex Burchill returns for another eight episodes in which he and faithful snapper Bob save their tawdry tabloid’s freefalling circulation by sparking sex scandals, outing sports stars, and setting up cheating TV chefs.
Stars Adam Zwar (Wilfred), Kym Gyngell and cameos from Matt Preston, Brett Tucker, Colin Hay and Kimberley Davies.
Turn off If you disapprove of phone-bugging or a woman’s right to marry her cat.
Turn on Geoffrey Rush’s brilliantly bonkers narration.
Wildcard Rupert Murdoch launches his own Sunday Sun tabloid in April.
Airs in June

Luck Showcase
Pitch Stone-cold geniuses David Milch (Deadwood) and Michael Mann (Heat) unite on this series of one-hour episodes based in the murky world of horse racing with gambling, corruption and an all-star cast of “colourful racing identities”.
Cast Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte, Dennis Farina and Kerry Condon.
Turn off Lukewarm US reviews to the pilot make this prize pony an even-way bet.
Turn on Mann and Milch alchemising with Rain Man? Get ya backside trackside!
Wildcard Milch owns two thoroughbreds himself, both Group One winners.
Airs in March

Once Upon a Time Seven
Pitch This wonderfully warped drama/thriller carries the intriguing premise that Snow White, Jiminy Cricket, Little Red Riding Hood, Rumpelstilskin and co. are living in a small town with no memory (yet) of their alternate lives in fantasyland.
Cast Ginnifer Goodwin, Robert Carlyle and Aussies Alan Dale and Emilie De Ravin.
Turn off If you’re too old for high-camp, high-farce fairy tales.
Turn on Trainspotting’s Begbie (Carlyle) is reborn as a demonic Rumpelstilskin. 
Wildcard Lost’s executive producers Adam Horowitz and Ed Kitsis are behind it.
Airs in April. 

Mad Men Movie Network
Pitch The first show to win the Emmy for Outstanding Drama four years straight, MM5 returns with a two-hour premiere episode, ‘A Little Kiss’. Assuming the peck is Don Draper driven, is it with ex-wife Betty, new fiancée Megan or Big Red herself?
Stars John Hamm, Christina Hendricks, John Slattery and January Jones.
Turn off If you’re a stickler for responsible parenting.
Turn on If you like hard liquor, soft sells, pliable morals and sublime scripting.
Wildcard Will Hamm’s turn as a D-grade pig in Bridesmaids taint the A-grade swine he plays in Mad Men?
Airs Thu Apr 12, 8.30pm.

Tour de France SBS
Pitch SBS won awards galore and a huge audience for the 2011 Tour won by Aussie Cadel Evans, an amazing feat considering the wee-small-hours timeslot. With Evans re-contesting the 99th Tour in 2012, yellow jersey fever will hit an even higher gear.
Stars Cadel Evans on the track, and Phil Liggett in the commentary box.
Turn off Lycra bike shorts filmed from the rear.
Turn on If you’re easily addicted to adrenaline sports and feats of endurance.
Wildcard He’s already the oldest ever Tour winner. Can Cadel do it again aged 35?
Airs Jun 30-Jul 22. 

Rake ABC 
Pitch Arguably the national broadcaster’s best show of 2011, Rake featured big name cameos (Sam Neill, Noah Taylor, Hugo Weaving) and twisted scripts that went where only drug-addled legal eagles dare. No wonder the US is remaking it.
Stars Richard Roxburgh and Russell Dykstra. 
Turn on To see Roxburgh’s louche lawyer descend deeper into the moral abyss.
Turn off If you’re easily offended or need legal representation.
Wildcard Alan Ball (Six Feet Under, True Blood) has confessed himself a fan.
Airs mid-year

Work of Art Studio
Pitch Reality TV without fatties, foodies or catwalk waifs at each other’s throats? This is highbrow stuff as 14 artists go head-to-head for 10 eps over multi-media (portraiture, book design, public art etc) to win a solo show and $100,000.
Stars Psychology starlet China Chow as host, big name art luminaries as judges.
Turn on A visual art war waged with skill, imagination, originality and ego.
Turn off These episodes are from 2010, Season 2 has aired in the US. Spoiler alert!
Wildcard David LaChappelle is a guest judge on the final episode.
Airs Wed 14 March, 8.30pm

The Walking Dead FX
Pitch With True Blood and Twilight flagging, it’s the zombies time to shine. This horror series on the brand new cable channel has a sheriff’s deputy waking from a coma to a post-apocalyptic world overrun with brain-guzzling zoms (aka “walkers").
Stars Andrew Lincoln (Egg from This Life), creator is Frank Darabont (Shawshank Redemption).  
Turn on This is no zom-rom-com, it’s splatter art with edgy scripts and big thrills.
Turn off Episode one is a gore-fest, so crumb your brains pre-screening not after.
Wildcard 11 million watched the US premiere. We get Seasons 1-2 back-to-back.
Airs Sun 26 Feb, 8.30pm

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