Since premiering Mr. Robot in 2015, USA has really given fans of good TV a reason to believe in the network. This trend will hopefully continue with its latest show, Colony, which features a cast of actors from some of the most memorable shows to be on TV in the last 10 years. The series takes place in Los Angeles one year after extraterrestrials (unseen aliens who go by the name "Hosts") have invaded the earth. The main characters, married couple Will and Katie Bowman, lost one of their three children in the invasion and are given a chance to find their son if Will joins the occupiers in undermining the humans who have formed the Resistance.
If you liked Lost, then there are multiple reasons for you to tune into Colony . Lost showrunner and writer Carlton Cuse created the USA series and even brought along an actor who portrayed one of the island's best characters. Not to mention, there will be plenty of intrigue and questions surrounding the show's mysterious sci-fi premise and a large ensemble cast — just like Lost. While I have a friend who vowed never to trust a show created by Cuse or other Lost showrunner Damon Lindelof again after being outraged by the lack of question-answering in the series finale, I have faith that Colony will not leave its audience so enraged.
Since the first episode of Colony officially premieres on Thursday, Jan. 14, it's yet to be seen if it will attract the devoted and fierce fanbase that Lost that. But thanks to a cast comprised of actors from TV favorites, the USA show definitely has a shot. Here are some of the familiar faces to look forward to in Colony.
Josh Holloway
As a Lost fan, I'm not ashamed to admit that I adored the troublemaker Sawyer and usually preferred him to Jack. Cuse smartly reunited with the Sawyer actor for Colony since Josh Holloway knows how to handle drama, action, and sci-fi all with swagger. It's no wonder that Holloway will play the main character, former FBI agent Will Bowman. Hopefully, the actor will have better luck with Colony than the last time the actor returned to TV since his series Intelligence was canceled after only one season.
Sarah Wayne Callies
Another brilliant casting decision was Sarah Wayne Callies as Katie Bowman. Callies as Lori Grimes on The Walking Dead was not always a beloved character (to put it lightly) on the popular AMC zombie series. Whether you considered Lori to be a terrible person or not (I'm in the latter category), Callies has proven that she can handle the intense demands Colony will most likely place on her with great acting ability. (P.S. Check out how adorable Carl was in the above photo!)
Peter Jacobson
Every TV show needs a bad guy and Colony's comes in the form of Proxy Snyder, played by Peter Jacobson. As the proxy governor of the colony in Los Angeles, he supports the Occupation and is the man who forces Will Bowman to battle the Resistance. Like Holloway and Callies, Jacobson also was previously in a show with a fervent fanbase — House, on which he portrayed Dr. Taub opposite Hugh Laurie.
Amanda Righetti
Amanda Righetti plays Maddie Kenner, Katie's sister, who lives in the Bowmans' basement. Her character has a son, Hudson, who is diabetic and denied treatment by the Hosts. Righetti is familiar to TV viewers since she was a main character on the now departed The Mentalist as Grace Van Pelt. Beyond TV, the actress knows a thing or two about horrifying situations since she also starred in the 2009 version of Friday the 13th.
Tory Kittles
As Broussard, Tory Kittles fights for the Resistance and assists the Bowmans, which is a good thing since he is a skilled spy and gunmen. Kittles had an essential role in Season 1 of True Detective listening to Matthew McConaughey's rants about space, time, and circles and he was also featured in Sons of Anarchy. Along with being in the film Get Rich or Die Tryin', he was in the TV movie remake of Steel Magnolias.
Thora Birch
Best known for the movies she made when she was younger — like Now and Then, American Beauty, and Ghost World — Thora Birch is a surprising, but welcome, addition to the cast of Colony. While not a main character, she will have a recurring role as Morgan, a software engineer. TV isn't Birch's regular medium though since last time she was on TV was for the Lifetime movie The Pregnancy Pact back in 2010.
With Sawyer from Lost and Lori from The Walking Dead, sci-fi TV fans will have a reason to look forward to an alien invasion with Colony.
Images: Paul Drinkwater/USA Network; ABC; AMC; Fox; CBS; HBO; DreamWorks
