TV to watch in January, from 'Echo' to 'Griselda'

We have a flurry of badass women leads kicking off the year for TV fans. They're present in a new Marvel production, a comedic action series and Netflix's story of one of the most notorious female cartel bosses. The following are some of the shows you shouldn't miss this January. 

'The Brothers Sun' (Netflix, Jan. 4)

Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh stars in this action-comedy as Eileen "Mama" Sun, a "savvy woman who left the dangerous, criminal world in Taiwan behind" to start over with her young son Bruce (Sam Song Li) in California, Variety wrote. Once her oldest son, Charles (Justin Chien), "a hardened criminal," appears after a mysterious foe kills his father, Sun's peaceful life is shattered. Now, the trio has to work on mending their relationships while fending off rival gangs in this action-packed dark comedy. 

Byron Wu and Brad Falchuk co-created the eight-episode series, which also stars Highdee Kuan, Joon Lee, Johnny Kou and more. The series explores "what it means to be a son, what it means to be a brother and also what it means to try and keep a family together," said Falchuk, per Netflix. 

'Echo' (Disney+, Jan. 10)

Alaqua Cox returns to her scene-stealing role, Maya Lopez (aka Echo), from Marvel's 2021 series "Hawkeye." In "Echo," she comes home to her "Choctaw roots" to deal with her "trauma-laced and violence-filled past," but Kingpin (Vincent D'Onofrio), her former father figure, is not far behind, Tom Power wrote for Tech Radar. "Fans of Netflix's 'Daredevil' are sure to eat this up."

The series will have several firsts for a Marvel production, including having a Native American deaf lead. It will be the first Marvel series to release all five episodes simultaneously and the first with a TV-MA rating. Also a first: The show will debut on both Hulu and Disney+.

'Ted' (Peacock, Jan. 11)

Seth MacFarlane resurrects everyone's favorite vulgar teddy bear with a prequel series to the "Ted" movies. Macfarlane reprises his mouth as the teddy bear back in 1993, living in Massachusetts with a 16-year-old John, played by Max Burkholder, and John's parents and cousin. All seven episodes of the Peacock-exclusive limited series will drop at once.

The series is set in the '90s but "is based on the timeless truth that being 16 sucks," MacFarlane said in a joint statement with co-EPs, writers and showrunners Paul Corrigan and Brad Walsh, per The Hollywood Reporter. Only friends make that period tolerable, "even if that friend is a has-been magical teddy bear with a foul mouth and a proclivity for drug use," they added.

'True Detective: Night Country' (HBO, Jan. 14)

The fourth season of HBO's hit anthology crime series is back, with "more of a reset than usual," Ben Travers wrote for Indie Wire. Writer Nic Pizzolatto stepped down after writing the first three seasons; writer, director and executive producer Issa Lopez has now taken over for "Night Country." This season is set in Alaska and is "focused on a group of missing scientists and the unsolved, years-old case of a murdered woman," Travers continued. With Jodie Foster and Kali Reis as lead detectives Liz Danvers and Evangeline Navarro, "let's see if HBO can keep this franchise cookin' with new creatives in the kitchen." 

'Griselda' (Netflix, Jan. 25)

Get ready to see "Modern Family" alum Sofia Vergara in an unrecognizable turn as the titular character in Netflix's forthcoming limited series "Griselda." Vergara serves as executive producer and star of the show, which is based on the height of the reign of "the Godmother" of a successful Colombian cartel in 1970s and '80s Miami. Narcos showrunner Eric Newman and director Andres Baiz join Vergara to helm the project. Latin music artist Karol G stars alongside Vergara as Carla, one of Griselda's confidantes. 

The trailer for "Griselda" hints at similar high-octane action sequences and compelling storylines that made "Narcos" a success, "along with the twist of watching a woman make her way through the male-dominated criminal underground, CBR wrote. Vergara "seems to embody the character as she rises to power and must fight tooth and nail, leaving a bloody trail behind her, to retain it."