With the new Fall TV season (fast!) approaching, it’s a great time to get caught up on ALL those shows you’ve been meaning to watch (and you know there are a lot of them!).
To make it handy for us, many of these shows have just released the previous season on DVD and/or Blu-ray. Let’s take a look at some new shows on disc. Click through the titles to buy on Amazon.
2 Broke Girls: The Complete Fourth Season
I’m not gonna lie. At first, I did not get this show at all. My daughter and I screened the first few episodes when it premiered a few years back, and neither one of us liked it! But after the show settled into a groove, I found that I started to like the characters and their snappy banter, and the writing is really funny.
This DVD includes all 22 half-hour episodes from the fourth season, plus exclusive unaired scenes and a gag reel. I love a good entrepreneurial story, and season four serves up sweet success for two of Brooklyn’s hottest waitresses, Max (Kat Dennings) and Caroline (Beth Behrs), as they plan to strike it rich with their new cupcake T-shirt business! The shirts are selling like hot cakes, until a couple of unfortunate situations happen, and the two entrepreneurs are back at square one — and broke again.
Love is in the air as Sophie (Jennifer Coolidge) and Oleg (Jonathan Kite) plan their wedding, with Max and Caroline as the bridesmaids and Earl (Garrett Morris) and Han (Matthew Moy) along for the ride. The girls still worry about ways to make money, but their friendship is worth a million bucks.
Season Four also features appearances by guest stars Kim Kardashian West, Lily Aldridge and Sandra Bernard. Also, TBS has secured syndication rights to the series and will begin airing them in 2015.
Witches of East End: The Complete Season 2
Witches never go out of style, and I love this Lifetime series. As the second thrilling season returns, Joanna (Julia Ormond) clings to life after being poisoned by Penelope. Meanwhile, the Beauchamps must find and destroy the mysterious evil presence that crossed into this world through the open portal.
King Nikolaus’ arrival puts the witches in their greatest danger yet, and Frederick’s return spells uncertainty – will he help his family or seal their deadly fate? While Dash plots revenge on his blackmailer, Freya strives to reunite with Killian. The excitement builds from the first chilling episode to the shocking season finale in this mesmerizingly sexy, suspenseful series also starring Mädchen Amick, Jenna Dewan Tatum and Rachel Boston.
Hell on Wheels: Season 4
In Season 4 of AMC s top-rated drama, Hell has indeed frozen over. Following the brutal winter of 1868, the railroad is at a standstill and restless workers wreak havoc on Cheyenne. Cullen Bohannon is trapped in a fort with a pregnant wife and the Swede.
Thomas Durant is broke and Elam Ferguson is presumed dead. The task of uniting America by rail remains undone and the costs and consequences are rising, for everyone. Combining history, drama and thrills, check out “Hell on Wheels” if you haven’t yet.
Texas Rising
From the acclaimed team that created the Emmy-winning “Hatfields & McCoys” comes HISTORY’s explosive miniseries “Texas Rising,” charging onto Blu-ray (plus Digital HD) and DVD (plus Digital) this week.
Texas Rising tells the story of legendary hero Sam Houston and the Republic of Texas’s intense struggle for independence against the forces of fierce Mexican General Santa Anna. And the all-star cast is ridiculous: Bill Paxton (who himself is a direct descendant of the character he plays, Sam Houston), Brendan Fraser, Ray Liotta, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Thomas Jane, Olivier Martinez, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Chad Michael Murray and Max Thieirot. I mean, come on!
The inspiring true story tells how the state of Texas fought for their independence from the commanding rule of the Mexican General Santa Anna (Martinez), ultimately forming one of America’s oldest and most legendary law enforcement agencies — The Texas Rangers. From rough-hewn Rangers with guns on their hips to the legendary “Yellow Rose of Texas” (Addai-Robinson), whose brains were matched only by her beauty, this is a story of the human spirit rising in the face of insurmountable odds and claiming a piece of history for themselves.
Special features include: “Capturing the Revolution: Filming Texas Rising” featurette; “Sam Houston: A Man of the Revolution” featurette; and “General Santa Anna: Leading Mexico” featurette.
The Royals: Season 1
“The Royals” is just a fun, soapy show that’s a great escape from reality. And don’t we all need that right now? E!’s first scripted dramatic series returns for its second season this November and stars Elizabeth Hurley as the seductive and scheming Queen Helena, as well as William Moseley, Merritt Patterson, Vincent Regan and newcomer Alexandra Park.
Set in modern-day England, “The Royals” follows the lives of a fictional British Royal family that inhabits a world of opulence and regal tradition catering to any and every desire – a world that also comes with a price tag of duty, destiny and intense public scrutiny.
This set includes all ten episodes from the first season, as well as these special features: “Madness In Great Ones: Creating The Royals” featurette; “Behind the Royal Wardrobe” featurette; and “Private vs. Public: A Modern-Day Monarchy” featurette.
The Originals: Season 2
Oh my gosh. I fell in love with Joseph Morgan when he sprang to life as vampire-werewolf hybrid Klaus Mikaelson on “The Vampire Diaries,” and my infatuation has only grown as he migrated to his own series, “The Originals.” In season one, he returned to the supernaturally charged city of New Orleans (great setting for this show) and was stunned to learn — along with his siblings Elijah and Rebekah — that Hayley, a werewolf, was pregnant with his child, and his vampire protégé, Marcel, whom the Original siblings had thought long dead, was ruling the French Quarter.
Soon, a bloody war escalated between vampires and witches — the stakes raised by powerful teenage witch Davina and by Klaus’s bond with Cami, a student with a painful past — and a ruthless pack of wolves seized the opportunity to stage a violent coup.
Now, in season two, a new status quo must be adjusted to, as the newly empowered werewolves control the city. Klaus struggles with weaknesses as Elijah desperately tries to save Hayley — now a hybrid — from a vicious spiral of self-destruction. Meanwhile, with the re-emergence of several Mikaelsons, “family is power” takes on new meaning. And guess what? They’re coming back for season three this fall.
Special features on this set include: The Originals: Always and Forever; The Awakening Web Series; The Originals: 2014 Comic-Con Panel; Come Visit Georgia PSA; Deleted Scenes; Gag Reel
The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Sixth Season
My daughter and I caught all the way up on “The Vampire Diaries” this summer! I’m so excited to report that – we even started at the very beginning, even though we’d seen through season 4. It’s good to get a fresh start if you’ve been away from a series for a while.
“The Vampire Diaries” continues its sixth season with more delicious drama to sink your teeth into. In season five, after a passionate summer with Damon, Elena headed to Whitmore College with Caroline, not knowing Bonnie had sacrificed her life for Jeremy’s. Meanwhile, Stefan and Caroline’s friendship deepened as they stood up to the Travelers, a nomadic witch tribe driven to strip Mystic Falls of magic and cast out its supernatural residents. In the shocking season finale, Damon, fearing he would lose his loved ones on the crumbling Other Side, made a huge sacrifice to bring them all back — with catastrophic and heartbreaking results. Sniff…
Season six follows the characters’ journey back to each other as they explore the duality of good versus evil inside themselves. Matt Davis reprises his role as Alaric Saltzman, recently returned from The Other Side. Plus, the season will make you misty-eyed as the departure of a major character will turn lives upside down and leave us asking what happened to Mystic Falls. As in, What.Just.Happened?!
Special features include: The Vampire Diaries: Good Bite and Good Luck (executive producers and cast of The Vampire Diaries say a final farewell to Nina Dobrev, Steven R. McQueen, Marguerite MacIntyre, and Michael Trevino, after six memorable years); The Vampire Diaries: Best.Reaction.Ever. (Fan reactions to big moments throughout the season will be curated from Twitter, fan sites and other social media, and pieced together to tell the story of season six via fans’ reactions); Ep.615 Audio Commentary; Writer/Director Julie Plec provides commentary on her directorial debut; The Vampire Diaries: 2014 Comic-Con Panel; Come Visit Georgia PSA; Deleted Scenes; Second Bite: Gag Reel.
Mike & Molly: Season 5
Any time I have a chance to see Melissa McCarthy in anything, I’m there. And with Billy Gardell as a bonus? Yes. The adorable couple returns in season five of this very funny comedy about a working-class Chicago couple who’d almost given up on love – until they found each other. Officer Mike Biggs is a good-hearted cop who was instantly smitten by Molly Flynn, an elementary school teacher. After realizing they were meant for one another, they got married.
Now Molly has embarked on a career change as she sets her sights on being a writer. While attending the prestigious Iowa Writing Workshop, Molly sells her romance novel, but the excitement is short-lived as she now faces the pressures of meeting deadlines, taking notes from her opinionated publisher and dealing with her own insecurities as a writer. Oh, I so relate!
Aside from living under the same roof as his in-laws, Mike has to deal with his partner dating Molly’s sister, and supporting his wife while riding the roller coaster of being married to a published author.
The Affair: Season 1
I’ve been a huge fan of Dominic West ever since I saw him in “The Wire.” He’s done a lot of things since then, but here he’s paired with a stellar cast that includes Ruth Wilson, Maura Tierney and Joshua Jackson.
Season one of this series explores the emotional and psychological effects of an extramarital affair between Noah Solloway (West), a married father of four spending the summer at his in-laws’ estate, and Alison Bailey (Wilson), a waitress working to piece her marriage back together in the wake of tragedy. The provocative drama creates a unique and thrilling narrative by presenting events from both male and female perspectives.
Special features include character profiles; Tale of Two Costumes: “Happyish,” episodes 1 and 2; and the first episodes of “Ray Donovan” and “Madam Secretary.”
Ancient Aliens: Season 7
What supernatural lives will be revealed by the 10,000-year-old prehistoric artwork discovered in a cave in India? Could the face of Giza’s Great Sphinx prove to be older than once thought, and what otherworldly being might it actually represent?
HISTORY continues its exploration of unexplained events and phenomena in this “Ancient Aliens” collection that journeys through the Egyptian pyramids, Central American temples, and Earth’s enigmatic caves, offering viewers a detailed account of the mysteries of life that continue to elude us.
We continue to be obsessed with aliens, and this is a fun series to quench your (alien) thirst.
Mythbusters: Collection 13
This lucky thirteenth “MythBusters” collection is packed with its infamous, scintillating, scientific mayhem, along with a few rocket-powered surprises. With 30 years of special effects experience, Adam and Jamie answer the craziest questions viewers can think up – and then make up a few of their own!
For instance, can balloons protect you in a car crash? Does the smell of fear really exist? Can you cook lasagna in a dishwasher? And what exactly tastes like chicken? They’ll also team up with movie director James Cameron to tackle a titanic myth—the most requested in history.
Plus, this 2-disc set includes perhaps the most perfect episode ever: Explosions from A to Z, highlighting some of the show’s 752 detonations. These guys are just really fun to watch. And you learn cool things in the process.
When Calls the Heart: Heart and Home
From celebrated author Janette Oke comes this romantic adventure as epic as the wide frontier. Erin Krakow, Daniel Lissing, Jack Wagner (Frisco!) and Lori Loughlin star in this beautiful story with roots in relationships, self-empowerment, and the enduring power of love.
Jack and Elizabeth leave Hope Valley and rush back to the city of Hamilton when they learn that Jacks’ brother, Tom, was involved in an automobile accident … with Elizabeth’s sister, Julie! But Tom and Julie are hiding something about the incident, a deceit that puts Jack and Elizabeth at odds with their families … and with each other.
Their trip is further complicated when Tom and Julie endeavor to run off together (via train this time) and Elizabeth’s father offers Jack a job – an offer that puts Jack and Elizabeth’s fledgling romance in peril yet again.
When Calls the Heart: Heart of the Family
I really love this Hallmark series because it’s just a nice romantic story that you can actually watch with your family. Nothing TV-MA to see here! And that’s a good thing.
In this story, Elizabeth returns to Hope Valley and immediately volunteers to look after a neighbor’s rural homestead … and his two children, an undertaking which proves to be a bigger chore than she’d imagined. But when Jack lends a hand, and they wind up chatting by the fire, all seems right in Hope Valley and the world.
Meanwhile, in Hamilton, Bill Avery sets about busting a counterfeiting ring wide open, an endeavor which surprisingly leads him to Hope Valley, where he mysteriously declines Jack’s help. But Bill isn’t the only big-town visitor. Elizabeth is even more surprised to see her former suitor, Charles Kensington, standing right in the middle of her schoolhouse!
Shark Week: Dominating the Deep
What IS it about sharks that’s so captivated us? I guess it all leads back to “Jaws,” but this summer’s rampage of sharks on beaches along both east and west coasts makes them yet more intriguing.
Jump into the feeding frenzy for your favorite summertime ritual—any time at all—with this 3-disc set. Now more popular than ever, cable’s longest-running programming event needs no introduction or explanation. So, strap on your gear, climb into the cage, and watch the ocean explode into a wild fury as Great Whites, Hammerheads, Whale Sharks, and others take you on a fin-gripping ride through their underwater world.
These 10 episodes bring you more than 8 hours of remarkable new insights into the lives of these magnificent, elusive creatures.
Fast N’ Loud: Speed Demons
Magically turning rust into gold – that’s just another day in the Gas Monkey Garage. Richard Rawlings and Aaron Kaufman search far and wide for dilapidated classics to resurrect from the rust pile, and this collection of five fan-favorite episodes features some of the best: a 24-hour Jeep overhaul (which is there always such a stressful deadline?!), a famous ’63 Ford Falcon race car, a rare 1919 Nash, a 1931 Model A, and the holy grail of a ‘64 ½ Mustang.
Plus, there’s the high-stakes auction purchase that leaves the crew no choice but to flip five cars in one week. Watch in awe at the unbelievable transformations of these exceptional finds when they’re given a whole new life with a little Gas Monkey style. We’re big car aficionados in this household, so it’s always fun to see it from the perspective of someone else’s garage.
The Killing: The Complete Fourth Season
“The Killing” goes down as one of my all-time favorite TV shows ever. The relationship between the two main characters is so compelling, especially set against the backdrop of rain-soaked Seattle. I was sad to see it end, but what an ending. I loved it. (Not everyone shares my view.)
Following the shocking murder of her former lover, Detective Sarah Linden (Mireille Enos) joins her partner Stephen Holder (Joel Kinnaman) in a race to destroy evidence that would implicate Linden in the crime. Meanwhile, the two must resolve a case involving the horrifying slaying of a prominent family whose son is enrolled in a respected military academy.
Also featuring veteran actress Joan Allen, the absorbing final season of this acclaimed show is nothing short of riveting. I’m so glad they brought the show back for its final season on Netflix.
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