The world of television continues to evolve outside of the box, as more platforms and ways to watch develop every year.
People currently watch their favorite shows on their phones, tablets and laptops, taking the action out of the living room. Remember when we as viewers were forced to watch commercials? Well, that's no more, as most shows are now DVR'd or streamed. On Demand options have made missed programs a thing of the past. There are so many different kinds of shows to watch it is almost impossible to catch them all, especially during fall season sweeps.
Here are some highlights and lowlights of 2015 on the telly:
Zombies, demons, and white walkers remained supreme with very gory offerings such as AMC's The Walking Dead, HBO's Game of Thrones and the new surprise camp of Ash vs. Evil Dead on Starz.
Some shaky returning shows included Fox's Empirewhere the numbers were lower and, arguably, the storyline was as well. For Orange Is the New Black, the third time was not a charm, and True Detective was almost shot down with a stinker of a season. On the upswing, AMC's Better Call Saul and Netflix's Narcos are set to return after both being highly entertaining.
Superheroes knocked watchers' socks off with Gotham, Arrow, The Flash and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Spunky Supergirl took off to a good start with big ratings on her first flight and Agent Carter on ABC has been renewed for a second season. Heroes Reborn lost power with clunky characters; the cheerleader ( played by Hayden Panettiere ) was too busy in Nashville to bother with this one.
How to Get Away with Murder reigned with the gays while many lesbians thought the new tattooed and naked Blindspot girl was simply smoking hot.
Finally, Asian-Americans got some exposure with the diverse success of Fresh off the Boat and newbie Dr. Ken.
Chicago got a little love with the new Med, P.D. and Fire that can now crossover with each other while being filmed in the same windy location.
A new season of American Horror Story ( subtitled "Hotel" ) dug up a stone-cold Lady Gaga; then, Ryan Murphy transformed more singers into campy actors with Ariana Grande and Nick Jonas on Scream Queens. Why hasn't a brash Jamie Lee Curtis, as Dean Cathy Munsch, been on our boob tubes before now?
Reality shows were rehashed as Big Brother, Survivor and Dancing with the Stars put their best feet forward. American Idol will finally sing its last note next yearadios, J.Lo! I Am Cait tried to educate while the Kardashian family proved that this brood was no Brady Bunch. The Real Housewives continued to pump out products in between fights while The Voice could be renamed Scandal, with two judges who divorced and now date.
What do we have to look forward to in 2016?
A Full House spinoff debuts for the New Year but haven't we seen enough of conservative Candace Cameron Bure on The View? Cutie-pie John Stamos is doing well on his own on a sitcom, Grandfathered, but he, along with many Full House alumni, was neglected to be invited to Mary-Kate Olsen's wedding. We know she is busy but Ashley couldn't fit it in her schedule to be on the spinoff?
However, we do have original cast members of science-fiction fan favorite X-Files returning in January, thankfully.
Local attention has Illinois gay native Sean Hayes hawking another sitcom called Crowded, about two daughters moving back home, and Steppenwolf's Joan Allen presenting The Family, on ABC.
This may seem a bit bleak for new shows but many return from 2015. So catch up, fellow couch potatoes, and binge-watch some past hits in whatever format you choose.