Comic-Con 2011: 15 TV Sneak Peeks

”It’s a role you wish wasn’t there, because obviously Andy did such an amazing job,” says Liam McIntyre, who took over the title character’s role after Andy Whitfield was ?diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. ”Starz wants me to make Spartacus my own. It’s not about copying Andy or anything, because you can’t do that.” (January 2012)

For more Comic-Con preview, pick up the July 22, 2011, issue of Entertainment Weekly

In new supernatural drama, orphaned Cassie (Britt Robertson, here with Thomas Dekker) moves in with her grandmother in Chance Harbor, Wash., and learns she’s a teen witch destined to bind powers with five others to complete a new generation of the Secret Circle. (Sept. 15, 2011)

Here’s a show for your watch list: In this foreboding, Big Brotherly drama exec-produced by J.J. Abrams and Jonathan Nolan (The Dark Knight), Lost‘s Michael Emerson plays an enigmatic billionaire — ”a good guy, but his motives aren’t clear,” Emerson offers — who has created a machine that can predict who will commit a crime or be the victim of one. Armed with this intel, he recruits a troubled ex?CIA agent (The Passion of the Christ‘s Jim Caviezel) to help prevent impending offenses. (Sept. 22, 2011)

For more Comic-Con preview, pick up the July 22, 2011, issue of Entertainment Weekly

The story begins in 2149, with Earth suffering major environmental degradation. While the world’s best scientists haven’t found a way to end pollution, they have developed the means to travel 85 million years into the past so humankind can start over during the time of the dinosaurs. Avatar‘s Stephen Lang plays a military honcho tasked with defending Terra Nova from both ?T. rexes and a rebellious faction of colonists. Jason O’Mara (Life on Mars) is an ex-cop trying to mend his fractured family and survive the rigors of his brave new world. (Sept. 26, 2011)

Shows don’t come more Comic-Con-ready than Game of Thrones. The grown-up fantasy drama has sword fights, kinky sex, castles, dragons (like the one sitting on Emilia Clarke‘s shoulder here), and even its own made-up language (take that, Klingons!). Exec producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are prepping production on season 2 in Belfast, where they?re casting several new characters (such as the late king’s brother Stannis Baratheon, along with his sorceress Melisandre) and trying to figure out how to adapt the ambitious second novel (A Clash of Kings) in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series on a TV budget — including a fiery climactic clash on a fleet of ships. ”We have dragons, we have the direwolves growing, we have massive battles,” Benioff says. ”It’s going to be a season of tough choices.” (2012)

This time, the goal is to keep people on the island. In Fox’s midseason drama from the team behind Lost (exec producers J.J. Abrams, Elizabeth Sarnoff, Bryan Burk, and Jack Bender), hundreds of the country’s worst criminals vanished from the infamous prison 48 years ago and are now reappearing and wreaking havoc in modern-day San Francisco. Jorge Garcia’s island expert teams with police detective Sarah Jones to track down the baddies. Where does Sam Neill fit in? (Early 2012)

For more Comic-Con preview, pick up the July 22, 2011, issue of Entertainment Weekly

When the Centers for Disease Control blew up at the end of season 1 of the hit zombie drama, it signaled danger for the remaining heroes and a change in the show’s setting. Expect a different look in season 2. ”The first season was very urban,” exec producer Robert Kirkman notes. ”The second season is out in the woods, and it’s going to be much different visually. It’s going to be creepier. We’re going to be taking the setting of, like, an Andrew Wyeth painting and throwing zombies into it. I think it’ll be a really cool change of pace for the show.” (October 2011)

This new NBC series is inspired by classic fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm. But of course it’s not quite that simple. In this world, the fairy tales aren’t tales — here, for example, the big bad wolf is a creature disguised as a human. One of the few people who can see the beasts for what they truly are is homicide detective Nick Burkhardt (David Giuntoli, pictured here with Silas Weir Mitchell), part of an elite group of hunters known simply as Grimms, who fight to keep the balance of humanity safe from the supernatural. (Oct. 21, 2011)

In this new tale, characters such as Snow White and Rumpelstiltskin straddle two dimensions: One is the magical world that was created in the books, and the other is the odd New England town of Storybrooke, where the classic figures live without realizing their true identities. It’s a young Storybrooke resident, Henry (Jared Gilmore, forefront), who puts it all together and begins a quest to uncover the truth about the characters and the stories behind them. (Also pictured, Jamie Dornan, Lana Parrilla, Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Dallas, Robert Carlyle, and Jennifer Morrison) (Oct. 23, 2011)

Here Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s Sarah? Michelle Gellar plays twin sisters: Bridget, an ex-stripper on the run from the Mob, and Siobhan, a high-society snoot with a resentful husband (Ioan Gruffudd), a possessive lover (Kristoffer Polaha), and many secrets. When Siobhan goes missing, Bridget tries to escape her troubles by taking over her sister’s identity. Instead, both their lives become more complex. (Sept. 13, 2011)

Wedding bells in geek land? Co-creator Bill Prady says someone may walk down the aisle come spring. But if you’re thinking Penny (Kaley Cuoco) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki, right) — think again! Don’t forget that Howard (Simon Helberg, far right) proposed to Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) last season. ”I don’t see anything standing in the way of them getting married,” Prady says. (Also pictured, Kunal Nayyar and Jim Parsons, left). (Sept. 22, 2011)

For more Comic-Con preview, pick up the July 22, 2011, issue of Entertainment Weekly

After a season in which Dexter (Michael C. Hall) was consumed by his own humanity, the ol’ killing machine is revving back up. ”We jump ahead a year, ?so we begin with Dexter in a very strong, centered, focused place,” notes exec producer Scott Buck. ”He’s left a lot of the darkness from the previous season behind.” A special trailer ?for season 6 — which also features Edward James Olmos, Colin Hanks, Mos Def, and a chilling message-sending murderer — debuts at Comic-Con. (Fall 2011)

Did Peter’s (Joshua Jackson) time-travel heroics in the season 3 finale keep alive both his true love,? Olivia (Anna Torv), and his demented daddy, Walter (John Noble)? And did he really erase himself from reality in the process? Exec producers Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman are keeping mum on the answers. Asked for just two words about season 4, Pinkner offers ”continuance” and Wyman volunteers ”consequences.” More teases are promised at their annual Comic-Con panel. ”Brush up on your Fringe trivia,” Pinkner advises ?attendees. ”There will be prizes.” (Sept. 23, 2011)

Gleeks can expect new voices to fill the McKinley High hallways in season 3, including the winner of Oxygen’s The Glee Project. And Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) will run for political office in her quest for world domination. ”The glee club is small potatoes,” explains exec producer Ryan Murphy. ”She should be going after the Obama administration. She should be going after Sarah ?Palin. Her enemy should be the U.S. government.” Will (Matthew Morrison) should be grateful. (Sept. 20, 2011)

Season 3 is about leveling the playing field between Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Stefan (Paul Wesley), who’s now wingman for Klaus (Joseph Morgan). ”Stefan has been the saint, and Damon has been the sinner. Now it’s about each of them being a little bit of both,” says exec producer Julie Plec. ”If Elena [Nina Dobrev] is able to still love Stefan when all is said and done, then is it also possible that she could ultimately feel the same way about Damon?” (Sept. 15, 2011)

For more Comic-Con preview, pick up the July 22, 2011, issue of Entertainment Weekly