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Out of the deep: Freeform's mermaid drama returns from the watery depths

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Author: 
Andrew Warren / TV Media
Ian Verdun, Fola Evans-Akingbola, Alex Roe, Eline Powell, Sibongile Mlambo and Rena Owen in "Sirens"

Ian Verdun, Fola Evans-Akingbola, Alex Roe, Eline Powell, Sibongile Mlambo and Rena Owen in "Sirens"

Out of the deep: In the sleepy little seaside town of Bristol Cove, legends of mermaids have long been told. There are stories of fishermen who have spotted the mythical creatures, and in the first season of Freeform's "Siren," the townsfolk learned that the myths are all too real.

Fantasy drama "Siren" returns for a second season on the youth-focused network on Thursday, Jan. 24. Eline Powell ("Game of Thrones") returns as Ryn, a mermaid who took human form in the first season as she searched for her missing sister. What started out as a missing-merperson story quickly escalated into something much bigger, bringing in a sweeping government conspiracy and revelations about the effects of a mermaid's song on people's minds.

In season 2, the world beneath the waves breaks the surface as mermaids and mermen alike come ashore when an oil company drives them out of their subaquatic homes. Garcelle Beauvais ("Spider-Man: Homecoming," 2017) joins the cast as Susan, a mother who left her family behind when she left town for months, but who has recently returned. The cast also includes Alex Roe ("The 5th Wave," 2016) as marine biologist Ben Pownall, Fola Evans-Akingbola ("Death in Paradise") as Ben's fellow marine biologist and girlfriend, and Rena Owen ("Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith," 2005), a local woman who revealed at the end of last season that she's one-eighth mermaid. Sibongile Mlambo ("Teen Wolf") and Ian Verdun ("Lucifer") round out the main cast.

"Siren" proved to be a breakout hit for Freeform, drawing in solid audience numbers and impressing the critics. There's a whole other world beneath the waves, and it continues on its collision course with the surface world when "Siren" returns Thursday, Jan. 24, on Freeform.

 

Splitting up: Dark humor can be a wonderful thing. Taking something that's serious, life-altering and not usually funny at all and poking fun at it can be therapeutic, even if it does sometimes hit a little bit close to a home. HBO's "Divorce" is a prime example of dark humor done right, and the premium channel recently announced that it's sticking with the show for a third season.

"Sex and the City's" Sarah Jessica Parker serves as an executive producer and headlines the cast as Frances Dufresne, the woman whose affair was the catalyst for the split between her and her husband. Thomas Hayden Church ("Sideways," 2004) stars as Robert, the other half of the equation and the man who set the divorce in motion after learning of Frances' extramarital dalliance.

The third season, which doesn't yet have a premiere date, will consist of six episodes, down from the eight of last season and the 10 that the freshman outing had. Becki Newton ("Ugly Betty"), who joined the cast in season 2, will return as a series regular, along with Talia Balsam ("Mad Men"), Molly Shannon ("Will & Grace"), Sterling Jerins ("World War Z," 2013), Tracy Letts ("Lady Bird," 2017) and Charlie Kilgore ("Moonrise Kingdom," 2012).

After more than a little bit of criticism that the first season was a little bit too dark, the second lightened things some. Make no mistake: this is still dark comedy, but if the third season continues down the path that the second one blazed, there will be plenty of lighthearted moments to temper the heavier stuff.

Divorce is a very serious subject, but sometimes the best way to deal with something dark is to poke fun at it. Watch for the third season of "Divorce" later this year on HBO.

 

Wolf undercover: Dick Wolf may be expanding his TV empire. The legendary producer is the creator of and creative force behind both the Law & Order and Chicago franchises on NBC, and the freshman series "FBI" on CBS, and he's looking to extend his reach even further with a potential series revival on yet another network.

ABC and Wolf are working on a potential reboot of "New York Undercover," a police drama that ran for four seasons in the 1990s on Fox. Although it didn't have the longevity of some of Wolf's other shows ("Law & Order" ran for a whopping 20 seasons, a feat that its spinoff, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," has matched this season), "Undercover" had a loyal audience.

No casting announcements have been made as of press time, but just a few days after it was reported that the potential reboot is in the works, ABC ordered a pilot, a major early step on the path to a full series being made. One of the hallmarks of the original series was the prevalence of people of color in starring roles, something that was unusual for police dramas at the time, so it's to be expected that the reboot will feature a similarly diverse cast.

It's still a long way to go before "New York Undercover" gets a series order, but anything from Dick Wolf is usually a safe bet for a network. Watch for more news about the potential reboot over the coming months.