Fox and NBC have announced a combined five series for the fall of 2014, all dramas. Here’s the roster.
“Empire” is a hip-hop drama for Fox starring Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson, who left the CBS hit “Person of Interest” last season, Howard and Henson play Lucious and Cookie Lyon, a divorced couple and former business partners. Lucious is a music mogul who is about to take his company, Empire Entertainment, public. Lee Daniels and Danny Strong (“The Butler”) are the executive producers.
Also on Fox: “Red Band Society,” which stars Oscar winner Octavia Spencer. According to Deadline Hollywood. com, it’s a coming-of-age drama set in a hospital with a strong group of teenage characters. The series is adapted from the Spanish drama “Polseres Vermelles.”
NBC has “Marry Me,” a romantic comedy about a nervously engaged couple that stars Ken Marino and Casey Wilson, formerly of “Happy Endings” and the real-life fiancee of show creator David Caspe, who also wrote “HE.”
The first new drama on NBC’s slate is “Allegiance,” which is going to sound a lot like FX’s spy drama “The Americans.” Based on the Israeli series “The Gordin Cell,” it’s about a young CIA analyst who learns that his parents (Scott Cohen, Hope Davis) are Russian spies deactivated decades ago. The Kremlin has just put them back into service for a terrorist operation directed against America.
Katherine Heigl (“Grey’s Anatomy”) returns to TV — after the demise of her film career — in “State of Affairs.” The controversial actress plays Charleston Tucker — another CIA analyst! — who was once engaged to the female president’s (Alfre Woodard) son, a victim of a terrorist attack. She wants revenge.