28 Upcoming Geek-Friendly TV Shows

[dropcap size=small]B[/dropcap]oy, is it a good time to be a nerd.

In terms of television, geeks are seeing a sort of renaissance, so to speak. Network, cable, and streaming channels have begun embracing all sorts of new source material, such as comic books and cult movies, and have started offering a slew of new programming for the nerd masses to consume– and we’ll lap it happily.

Here is a list of 28 sci-fi, fantasy, and geek-friendly TV shows (courtesy of CNET) coming in 2015!

iZombie

Being dead doesn’t stop young zombie Liv from investigating murders by feasting on brains. Based on the Vertigo comic by Chris Roberson and Mike Allred, “iZombie” is produced by “Veronica Mars” creator Rob Thomas and airs on The CW from 17 March.

Daredevil

In 2015, Netflix will screen a slate of shows based on Marvel comics, beginning with blind vigilante Daredevil. “Boardwalk Empire” star Charlie Cox is unboxed to play the title role, with Vincent D’Onofrio as the villainous Kingpin. The entire 13-episode series will drop onto Netflix on 10 April.

AKA Jessica Jones / Luke Cage / Iron Fist / The Defenders

Following Daredevil, Marvel comic book heroes Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist will have their own 13-episode show. Jessica Jones will be played by Krysten Ritter (pictured above) of “Don’t Trust The B- In Apartment 23” and “Breaking Bad” while Cage is played by Mike Colter, who you may recognise from Xbox TV series “Halo: Nightfall”.

The four series are all set in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen and cross over with guest appearances in each other’s shows. That then leads to a miniseries in which the quartet unite, Avengers-style, to form the Defenders.

The Walking Dead spin-off

AMC’s hit comic-based zombie show is spawning a spin-off, currently codenamed “Cobalt”. There’s no word on the plot yet, but it’s reported to star Frank Dillane, Alycia Debnam-Carey and TV stalwart Kim Dickens from “Deadwood” and “Sons of Anarchy” as a British family.

Thunderbirds Are Go

On the 50th anniversary of Gerry Anderson’s classic adventure series, the Tracy family and their cool International Rescue vehicles are re-invented in a combination of CGI and physical models by ITV and Peter Jackson’s WETA effects gurus. “Gone Girl” star Rosamund Pike voices Lady Penelope.

Westworld

This town ain’t big enough for the both of us…the 1973 sci-fi/Western movie mash-up Westworld is reworked by Jonathan and Lisa Joy Nolan for HBO. Jonathan is Christopher Nolan’s brother, who co-wrote “The Dark Knight” and “Interstellar” with his bro. Ed Harris dons Yul Brynner’s stetson with Anthony Hopkins, James Marsden, Evan Rachel Wood, Jeffrey Wright, Thandie Newton and Rodrigo Santoro also saddling up.

The Last Man On Earth

A post-apocalyptic comedy from the “The Lego Movie” and “21 Jump Street” dudes Phil Lord and Chris Miller, starring Will Forte? Go on then. Premieres in March on Fox.

Powers

Another comic adaptation, this time based on the superhero/police procedural mash-up by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming. The show features “District 9” star Sharlto Copley as detective Christian Walker and Susan Heyward as his partner Deena Pilgrim, with Eddie Izzard as the bad guy. “Powers” will be available through the PlayStation Network in late 2015.

Vixen

Another comic adaptation, this time from DC. Relatively little-known character Vixen will appear in an animated online series on The CW Seed in autumn. The show will be set in the same universe as The CW’s live action superhero hits “Arrow” and the “The Flash”.

Vixen first appeared in Action Comics #521 in July 1981. One of the the first African female superheroes from DC, Vixen is the alter ego of model Mari Jiwe McCabe, who can mimic the ability of any animal.

The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Netflix follows “House of Cards” and “Orange is the New Black” with new shows wholly funded and broadcast on the streaming service. Netflix snapped up this new sitcom from “30 Rock” team Tina Fey and Robert Carlock after NBC wavered. The 13-episode series stars Ellie Kemper from the American version of “The Office”, and every episode will land on 6 March.

The Man In The High Castle

One of Amazon’s pilots for 2015 is Ridley Scott’s dimly lit adaptation of the Philip K. Dick alternate history novel in which Japan and Germany won World War II and now rule the US. Rufus Sewell’s in it. If you like it, you can vote for it to be turned into a series.

On a related note, James Bond writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade are adapting Len Deighton’s 1978 similar novel SS-GB for the BBC.

The Expanse

Described as being like “Game of Thrones” in space, SyFy’s new show “The Expanse” is based on a space opera novel called “Leviathan Wakes”, which is the first in a series by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck written under the pen name James S. A. Corey. George R. R. Martin’s a big fan.

12 Monkeys

Emily Hampshire (pictured here) takes over from Brad Pitt in SyFy’s 13-part retooling of the time-travelling Terry Gilliam classic “12 Monkeys”. In an unusual twist, it’ll sync with your lightbulbs for extra spookiness. No, really.

Cucumber / Banana / Tofu

It’s not particularly sci-fi or fantasy, but the new project by “Doctor Who” resurrector Russell T. Davies is an interesting one. Interlinked stories will be shown in different places on TV and online to reach different audiences: “Cucumber” is a grown-up drama on the UK’s Channel 4; “Banana” is a set of short stories concerning some of the same characters, written by up-and-coming writers and shown on E4; and Tofu is a related documentary on Channel 4’s online streaming service 4OD.

CSI: Cyber

The Crime Scene Investigation crew turn their attention to the digital realm. Patricia Arquette (pictured here in her first “CSI” appearance) is the top cop, with James Van Der Beek and Peter MacNicol also on board. Let’s hope they can (puts on sunglasses) hack it.

The hack attack starts in March on CBS in the US, Channel 5 in the UK and Aus Ten in Australia.

Wayward Pines

M. Night Shyamalan adapts the novel “Pines” by Blake Crouch. Matt Dillon is a Secret Service agent searching for a missing agent in the spooky town of Wayward Pines. The all-star cast of this 10-episode Fox thriller also includes Melissa Leo, Terrence Howard, Carla Gugino, Shannyn Sossamon, Toby Jones and Juliette Lewis.

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell

Bertie Carvel (pictured standing) and Eddie Marsan are the titular pair in the BBC adaptation of Susanna Clarke’s set in a magical 19th-century England. It’s a joint effort between UK channel BBC One and the Beeb’s American outlet BBC America, so it will screen in both countries.

Another cross-Atlantic BBC production is “The Living And The Dead” written by Ashley Pharoah and Matthew Graham, the chaps behind “Life On Mars“ and “Ashes To Ashes”.

Jekyll and Hyde

Charlie Higson updates the legendary monster story to 1930s London for ITV, with Robert Jekyll — the grandson of the original doctor — facing off against zombies, werewolves and vampires.

ITV has also reached into the classics section for “The Frankenstein Chronicles”, in which Sean Bean plays a detective taking on another famous monster.

The Kettering Incident

The biggest TV show ever shot in Tasmania, this AU$15 million eight-part series stars Matt Le Nevez (pictured left) and Elizabeth Debicki (pictured right) from “The Great Gatsby” and “The Man from UNCLE” remake. It’ll be shown on FoxTel’s SoHo channel in Australia, and BBC Worldwide has the rights outside Oz.

Buddy: Tech Detective

One of Amazon’s 2015 kids’ pilots, this preschool-age cartoon is a curious hybrid of TV show and video game, as viewers can join Buddy and his, er, buddies in using gadgets to solve mysteries.

The Whispers

I believe the children are the future — except when they’re part of an alien invasion, of course; then they can do one. Steven Spielberg produces this ABC series based on the 1951 Ray Bradbury short story “Zero Hour”, from “The Illustrated Man”.

Better Call Saul

Not strictly a sci-fi or fantasy show, but we’re huge fans of “Breaking Bad” so it’s going in. Following the early exploits of sleazy lawyer Saul Goodman played by Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul” premieres on AMC and will be shown on streaming services Stan in Australia and Netflix in the UK.

The Astronaut Wives Club

Lifting off in spring, this ABC drama, based on the book by Lily Koppel, follows the wives of the Mercury Seven — America’s first astronauts. It’s the earthbound flipside of “The Right Stuff” and stars Yvonne Strahovski from “Chuck” (pictured above).

Cockroaches

The end of the world doesn’t sound like much to laugh about, but ITV2’s six-part sitcom has a crack at it. Nigel Planer, Jaime Winstone and Caroline Quentin pop up in this tale of two teenagers who take shelter from nuclear war then emerge 10 years later with a child in tow.

Glitch

In the small town of Yoorana, six people have risen from the dead. Patrick Brammall, from “The Moodys” (pictured left at the Melbourne premiere of “The Hobbit”), plays a small-town cop who has to figure it out in this six-part series on ABC.

Sense8

The Wachowskis, the siblings behind “The Matrix”, team up with “Babylon 5” creator J. Michael Straczynski for the story of eight strangers around the world who forge a strange link. “Sense8” is another Netflix production and will star Freema Agyeman from “Doctor Who” (pictured in her TARDIS-hopping days), Naveen Andrews from “Lost”, and Daryl Hannah from “Blade Runner” and “Kill Bill”.

Humans

Based on Swedish series “Äkta människor” (pictured above), “Humans” is an eight-part sci-fi series about lifelike androids, due to air on Channel 4 in the UK and AMC in the US. Doing the robot will be Katherine Parkinson from “The IT Crowd”, Colin Morgan from “Merlin” and Neil Maskell from “Utopia”.

Krypton

Syfy is reported to be developing “Krypton”, which will tell the story of Superman’s home planet long before it was destroyed at his birth. Writer David Goyer will presumably draw on the Kryptonian backstory he established in the movie “Man of Steel”, in which Russell Crowe (pictured) played Superman’s dad.