TV tonight: Grimm season two & Major Crimes series premiere

Grimm is back with the season two premiere, "Bad Teeth," tonight at 10 pm on NBC, and Mary McDonnell finally gets her own show at 10 pm on TNT.

Here is the synopsis for the Grimm season premiere:

After their face-off with Kimura (guest star Brian Tee), Nick (David Giuntoli) finds himself trying to come to grips with the return of his mother, Kelly Burkhardt (guest star Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio). A trail of brutal murders unveils a foreign conspiracy to hunt down Nick, leading to several revelations about his past. Meanwhile, Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch) still lies in her mysteriously-induced coma as Rosalee (Bree Turner) and Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) work tirelessly to bring her out of it safely.

Elsewhere, Hank (Russell Hornsby) struggles with the shocking truths he’s recently seen and Captain Renard (Sasha Roiz) deals with unexpected family issues when his estranged brother (guest star James Frain) comes back into his life. Reggie Lee also stars.

Mike Dopud will make an appearance in next week's episode, and John Pyper-Ferguson guest stars in episode 2x03.

Grimm will air Mondays at 10 until Friday, September 14, when it moves back to its old slot, Fridays at 9. Collider has a pretty good overview of things to look forward to this season. Here is a preview with the cast:

Hell on Wheels is back tonight

Hell on Wheels is back with the season two premiere tonight on AMC at 9 pm.

Christopher Heyerdahl is a regular this season and Ryan Robbins makes his first appearance as Hawkins the train robber in tonight's episode.

Synopsis:

On the run for his crimes, Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount) robs trains with a group of ex-Union soldiers, while Lily Bell (Dominique McElligott) and Durant (Colm Meaney) continue the Union Pacific Railroad's westward progress.

On Sun., Aug. 12 at 9/8c, the second season of Hell on Wheels continues its epic story of post-Civil War America, focusing on Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount), a former Confederate soldier, and his dramatic journey west as he struggles to leave his past behind.

Executive produced by John Shiban (Breaking Bad, The X-Files), Joe and Tony Gayton (Faster, Uncommon Valor) and Endemol USA’s Jeremy Gold, the show depicts the traveling town known as Hell on Wheels, a dangerous, raucous, lawless melting pot that follows and services the construction of the first transcontinental railroad.

Hell on Wheels also stars Common as Elam Ferguson; Colm Meaney as Thomas “Doc” Durant; Dominique McElligott as Lily Bell; Christopher Heyerdahl as The Swede; Robin McLeavy as Eva; Tom Noonan as Reverend Cole; Ben Esler as Sean McGinnes; Philip Burke as Mickey McGinnes; and Eddie Spears as Joseph Black Moon.

Here is a sneak peek:

Alphas returns tonight (10/9c, Syfy)

Alphas is finally back tonight with the second season premiere, "Wake-Up Call," which airs at 10 pm ET on Syfy.

John Pyper-Ferguson will appear in at least six of the 13 episodes, including the season opener and the finale, and Kandyse McClure will guest star in episode 2x09 as one of the Red Flag Alphas who work for him.

Season one was released on DVD last week. You can get it from Amazon.

Here is the synopsis for tonight's episode:

Eight months after Dr. Rosen's startling announcement to the world about the existence of Alphas, the government has locked him up at Binghamton. His Alphas, which have gone their own ways, must decide whether to reunite and save their friend.

And more info about this season:

The second season of Syfy's hit series Alphas, produced by Universal Cable Productions and BermanBruan Television, returns Monday, July 23 at 10PM ET/PT with a deep roster of guest stars. New this season are Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Rudy), C. Thomas Howell (Southland), Lauren Holly (NCIS), Steve Byers (Immortals, Total Recall), Kandyse McClure (Battlestar Galactica) and Noah Reid (Rookie Blue). Returning guest stars include John Pyper-Ferguson (Caprica, Brothers and Sisters) as Stanton Parish, Kathleen Munroe (Haven, Stargate Universe) as Dani Rosen and Mahershala Ali (Treme, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) as Agent Nathan Cley. Summer Glau (Dollhouse, Firefly) who was a fan favorite last season playing an Alpha, Skylar Adams, will return for three episodes.

What to see at Comic Con 2012

Some panels to check out:

WEDNESDAY, JULY 11

6:00-9:45 Special Sneak Peek Pilot Screenings — Comic-Con and Warner Bros. Television proudly continue their annual Preview Night tradition, with exclusive world premiere screenings of the pilot episodes of five of the most highly anticipated TV series pilots of the 2012-13 television season: 666 Park Avenue, Arrow, The Following, Revolution and Cult.

Arrow - From executive producers Greg Berlanti (Green Lantern), Marc Guggenheim (Green Lantern), Andrew Kreisberg (Fringe), and David Nutter (Smallville), hard-hitting action series Arrow reinvents the DC hero. After being marooned for five years on a remote island, billionaire Oliver Queen returns home with a mysterious agenda and a lethal new set of skills that he uses in a war on crime. The series stars Stephen Amell (Private Practice), Colin Donnell (Pan Am), Katie Cassidy (Supernatural), David Ramsey (Dexter), and Willa Holland (The O.C.), with Susanna Thompson (Dragonfly) and Paul Blackthorne (The River). From Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television, Arrow will air Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW this fall. Ballroom 20

(Brian Markinson, Hiro Kanagawa and Ben Cotton appear in the pilot.)

THURSDAY, JULY 12

10:30-11:30 Battlestar: So Say We All — Richard Hatch (Tom Zarek, Capt Apollo) hosts a 35th anniversary preview panel and fan discussion of the Battlestar universe, politics, philosophy, and 35 year history. Joining Hatch for this exciting BGcelebration, roundtable, and Q&A session are Jane Espenson (producer/writer, Battlestar and Caprica), Lili Bordan (actress, Blood and Chrome), Michael Taylor (Battlestar, Caprica, Blood and Chrome), Toni Graphia (Battlestar producer/writer), and Dr. Kevin Grazier (science consultant for BSG and Defiance), plus surprise guests. Room 6BCF

Falling Skies premiere, The Killing finale, Christopher Heyerdahl in True Blood, and a few more updates

Falling Skies returns tonight at 9 pm on TNT with a two-hour season premiere, season two of The Killing ends at 9 pm on AMC, Christopher Heyerdahl makes his first appearance in True Blood (HBO, 10 pm), and there are new episodes of Continuum and Longmire.

First stop, Falling Skies. Luciana Carro and Ryan Robbins will be recurring this season, and other than the showrunner, three BSG/Caprica writers -- Mark Verheiden, Bradley Thompson and David Weddle -- worked on season two.

Rémi Aubuchon (showrunner) and the cast have been doing interviews left and right in recent weeks. Jim Halterman talked to him about the new season. You can read the interview at The Futon Critic. Snippets:

Jim Halterman: Having watched the first few episodes of the second season - and not taking anything away from the first season - I felt like things were sharper and tighter.
Remi Aubuchon: Steven [Spielberg, Executive Producer] is very terse and concise in his direction and basically what he said was 'Look, I want you to amp up the second season.' And I think that what a lot of that comes from is us deciding that we've set the backdrop, we've established the foundation of the story now let's just go with it and I think you can feel that energy in the second season.

Hannah's Law with Ryan Kennedy and John Pyper-Ferguson premieres tonight

Hannah's Law, with Ryan Kennedy playing Doc Holliday and John Pyper-Ferguson as Frank McMurphy (the bad guy) premieres on the Hallmark Movie Channel tonight at 8/7c.

Synopsis:

From orphan to bounty hunter, tough-minded Hannah Beaumont doesn’t take lip from anyone. Hannah is driven by a soul-consuming mission to track down and bring to justice the McMurphy gang, who brutally murdered her parents and young brother.

Comfortable as a mercenary, Hannah’s fierce independence keeps the people in her life at a distance: Isom Dart, the father figure who taught Hannah everything he knows about shooting and hunting men, handsome admirer and suitor Wyatt Earp, mysterious Doc Holliday and Hannah’s best friend, Stagecoach Mary.

But when Hannah and her friends prove to the McMurphy gang that getting into Dodge is easy but getting out will be hell, a shocking secret is revealed that will change Hannah’s life forever.

Cast: Sara Canning (Hannah Beaumont), Kimberly Elise (Stagecoach Mary), Greyston Holt (Wyatt Earp), Danny Glover (Isom Dart), Ryan Kennedy (Doc Holliday), John Pyper-Ferguson (Frank McMurphy) and Billy Zane (Lockwood)

A couple of related updates before we get to the clips:

Continuum premieres in Canada tonight

Continuum, the new time travel drama set in Vancouver, premieres tonight at 9 pm ET on Showcase.

Brian Markinson and Richard Harmon have recurring roles on the show, and Mike Dopud and William B. Davis also appear in the pilot.

Here is the premise:

Inspector Kiera Cameron (Rachel Nichols) loses everything she has and finds herself on a new mission when she and eight dangerous terrorists are transported from their time in 2077 back to 2012 during the terrorist’s attempt to escape execution. She takes on a new identity and joins the Vancouver Police Department in order to stop the terrorists’ reign of violence. Along the way, she befriends Alec Sadler (Erik Knudsen), the 17 year old who will one day grow up to create the technology her world is built upon.

And a three minute sneak peek:



For more info, visit the official site: ContinuumtheSeries.com.