Here are some highlights from Thursday, January 15 at the Television Critics Association (TCA) Winter 2015 Press Tour in a day dedicated to programming from NBCUniversal's cable channels (Syfy, USA, E!, Bravo and more).

THE EXPANSE
Syfy

Panel:
Naren Shankar, Executive Producer
Mark Fergus, Executive Producer
Cas Anvar, as Alex Kamal
Dominique Tipper, as Naomi Nagata
Thomas Jane, as Detective Miller
Steven Strait, as Holden
Shohreh Aghdashloo, as Chrisjen Avasarala

A thriller set 200 years in the future, THE EXPANSE follows the case of a missing young woman who brings a hardened detective (Thomas Jane as Det. Miller) and a rogue ship’s captain (Steven Strait as Holden) together in a race across the solar system to expose the greatest conspiracy in human history. This hour-long, ten-episode series is based on the book series collectively known as "The Expanse," written by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck (under the pen name James S. A. Corey). Miller, a native of the Asteroid Belt, is a detective for a corporate security force operating as the law in the Belt, and he discovers a newfound sense of purpose when he's put in charge of the investigation into a missing heiress. Holden, the captain of the ice-carrying freighter the Canterbury, is a natural leader who's not sure he wants responsibility, but who will soon have no choice when he is drawn into a dangerous plot.

Top Row: Naren Shankar, Mark Fergus, Cas Anvar, Dominique Tipper;

Bottom Row: Thomas Jane, Steven Strait, Shohreh Aghdashloo

(Photo by: Chris Haston/NBCUniversal)

Jane describes THE EXPANSE as “kind of a film noir storyline” – or, more accurately, “future noir.” He reiterates that “great writing turns me on, and this show has exceptional writing.”

Actor Cas Anvar informs us that the Belters are physically and culturally different from the humans and the Martians because they were born in zero gravity. Executive Producer Naren Shankar explains that conflict arises when people can identify someone as different from themselves. He’s referring to the humans, Martians, and Belters, but, of course, this notion is indisputably relevant to our society as well. It gives them a reason to fight, to wage war, and to conquer.

Shohreh Aghdashloo, whose husky, unmistakable voice was a hot topic in the Twitterverse, expresses that the reason she loves being on this show is its “diversity, in front of and behind the camera.”

Furthermore, “actors, in my humble opinion, are like children,” Aghdashloo avows. “When I put those dresses on, I feel like a child.” She loves her costumes so deeply that she wishes Mattel would create a Barbie doll of her character.

The book’s authors are present during the writing of the show, which adds richness and depth, Shankar says. “We’re so devoted to the book’s universe, yet there are so many ways to diverge. Generally, we’ve made a really faithful adaptation,” Executive Producer Mark Fergus adds.

Fun Fact #1: THE EXPANSE is Syfy’s most expensive thriller ever.

Fun Fact #2: Shohreh Aghdashloo learned about sci-fi from watching episodes of FLASH GORDON in Iran when she was nine.

COMPLICATIONS
USA Network

Panel:
Matt Nix, Executive Producer
Jason O’Mara, as Dr. John Ellis
Jessica Szohr, as Nurse Gretchen

John Ellis, a disillusioned suburban ER doctor, finds his existence transformed when he intervenes in a drive-by shooting, saving a young boy's life and killing one of his attackers. When he learns the boy is still marked for death, he finds himself compelled to save him at any cost and discovers that his life and his outlook on medicine may never be the same.

Matt Nix, Jason O'Mara and Jessica Szohr at TCA Winter 2015 Winter Press Tour.
(Photo by: Chris Haston/NBCUniversal)

Ten years ago, when COMPLICATIONS (and former BURN NOTICE) executive producer Matt Nix was living in Echo Park, CA, he caught a gang member breaking into his house. He confronted him and when the man walked away, Nix followed him to his car. The cops said, “That was the worst idea in the world.” They caught the culprit, and Nix practically befriended him when they joked around at the trial. But that incident was Nix’s catalyst for COMPLICATIONS as it raised the questions: What if things hadn’t worked out that way? What would you do if you were faced with a life-threatening and potentially life-changing situation?

COMPLICATIONS is a crime thriller with a doctor as the lead character; it is not a medical show, Nix clarifies. It’s the exploration of what it means to be a hero, as well as the inherent ramifications that accompany every courageous act.

Ultimately, the big question for Dr. Ellis is: How do you return to the way life was before [said heroic act]? Can you put the genie back in the bottle? “Absolutely not,” Nix argues. “He’s a different guy now.”

Despite the show’s solemn nature, Nix assures us that it does incorporate a significant amount of levity and humor, particularly emanating from Jessica Szohr’s character. Star Jason O’Mara guarantees “three laugh-out-loud moments in every episode, and if you’re easily amused, it could be six.”

Szohr depicts her character, ER nurse Gretchen, as stubborn and determined to get what she wants at any cost. “It’s very opposite of anything I’ve done, and it’s very different from my day-to-day.” Gretchen becomes Dr. Ellis’s partner in crime, given that he’s the only male role model in her life; the only man she respects. (FYI: Szohr is best known for playing Vanessa Abrams on GOSSIP GIRL).

Dr. Ellis lost his daughter to leukemia, and the fact that he was unable to prevent her death as a father and a doctor caused him excruciating pain. Subconsciously, that grief and anger led him to intervene in saving the boy’s life. Ellis is gradually learning to channel his wrath and use it to effect positive change on the world. In reality, someone very close to O’Mara succumbed to cancer during the taping of the show, so “all of those feelings were there, readily available to me,” he says. Filming was a form of therapy for him.

But what would O’Mara do if he were faced with the drive-by shooting incident in real life? “I don’t think I could ever live with myself or sleep a good night’s sleep ever again” [if he killed someone]. “Would I have done the same thing? I don’t know. I’d like to think so.”

Fun Fact: Nix described Szohr’s audition tape as “the worst audition video I’ve ever seen.” It was filmed on her cell phone in her kitchen by her half-sister.

THE ROYALS
E!
Premieres Sunday, March 15, 2015 at 10pm

Panel:
Mark Schwahn, Executive Producer
Alexandra Park, as Princess Eleanor
Elizabeth Hurley, as Queen Helena
Dame Joan Collins, as Grand Duchess of Oxford
William Moseley, as Prince Liam
Merritt Patterson, as Ophelia

THE ROYALS offers a look into the lives of a fictional modern-day royal family, along with the public scrutiny they face. Executive producer Mark Schwahn (the mastermind behind the CW hit ONE TREE HILL) summarizes: “This is a family drama. It just happens to be a royal family.” He accentuates the fact that it’s a story about A royal family – not THE royal family. E! has already renewed THE ROYALS for a second season.

EP Mark Schwahn, Merritt Patterson, Alexandra Park, Elizabeth Hurley, Joan Collins

and William Moseley arriving at TCA Winter 2015 Press Tour.

(Photo by: Chris Haston/NBCUniversal)

Schwahn felt extremely fortunate to shoot in London, expressing that the city has become a second home to him.

In preparation for her role as Queen Helena, Elizabeth Hurley sought inspiration from Princess Diana, observing the way she dressed, the way she spoke, and asking herself what Princess Di would have been like as Queen of England. Then, to perfect the character, she integrated traits from Cruella de Vil.

The panel featured a surprise appearance by newly named Dame Joan Collins, who plays Hurley’s mother on the show. Countless DYNASTY/Alexis Carrington inquiries ensued. Collins lovingly mocked Hurley’s age (49) since Hurley was the only talent on the panel who had watched - or even heard of - DYNASTY.

Mark Schwahn on ONE TREE HILL:

- If he attempted to make ONE TREE HILL more comedic, or when he featured conflict between certain couples (Nathan and Haley?), he faced backlash from fans who didn’t want that.

- “ONE TREE HILL was incredibly special. There’s this whole new generation that’s rediscovering it. It’s all people want to talk to me about.”

- Ironically, Schwahn heard that Prince William and Princess Kate were big fans of ONE TREE HILL.

However, he feels “invigorated and revitalized because of the new cast, new stories, and London” - and the fact that THE ROYALS is E!’s first scripted series.

ODD MOM OUT
Bravo
Premieres Monday, June 8, 2015

Panel:
Julie Rottenberg, Executive Producer
Elisa Zuritsky, Executive Producer
Andy Buckley, as Andy
Jill Kargman, as Jill / Executive Producer / Writer
Joanna Cassidy, as Candace
Abby Elliott, as Brooke
Sean Kleier, as Lex

ODD MOM OUT, brought to us by Julie Rottenberg and Elisa Zuritsky (the co-producers of SEX AND THE CITY), is a politically incorrect comedy starring author Jill Kargman. The show, based not-so-loosely on her own life, explores the world of wealthy momzillas inhabiting New York City’s Upper East Side.

Andy Buckley, Jill Kargman, Joanna Cassidy, and Abby Elliott

at TCA Winter 2015 Press Tour.

(Photo by: Chris Haston/NBCUniversal)

Kargman describes her character as “an extension of the trashy novels that I’ve been writing for 20 years,” adding that playing this fictional version of herself came naturally to her.

Kargman refers to Bravo as “the Wild Wild West where we can say everything but ‘f**k.’” And let me tell you – she takes full advantage of that freedom!

“Jill has her own language. She doesn’t speak like the rest of us,” Zuritsky expands. For instance, Kargman will ask, “Should we go to the restaurant that everyone’s jizzing about?” Her non-existent filter will invariably carry the show.

Kargman credits her down-to-earth parents and overall tight-knit family for keeping her grounded, despite the fact that she was ensconced in a repulsively rich, spoiled rotten world, where kids gloated about their private jets and people had personal chauffeurs drive them two blocks. “I understood the value of a dollar. I always felt that I was not them,” she asserts. And now, yet again, she will find herself the odd one out.