Singapore – Mark our words, February is going to be epic on AXN. Kickstarting the lineup in the beginning of the month is the highly-anticipated return of singing reality competition series The Voice Season 2, which will telecast 24 hours from the US premiere. Next, modern legal thriller The Firm will be simulcast across Sony Pictures Television’s global network of channels including AXN in Asia!
The fresh, real talent show – The Voice Season 2 
Premiering in Asia on 6 February, within 24 hours of the US broadcast is Season 2 of The Voice, offering aspiring singers the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be mentored by celebrity coaches. Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton return with their sizzling chemistry and their trademark red swiveling chairs, to judge contestants solely on their vocal talent and not their looks. If more than one coach turns to pick a particular singer, the tide turns and the choice of coach goes to the singer. This season, show producer Mark Burnett has added more rounds of blind auditions and each of the coaches’ teams will be expanded to 12 singers each. The more the merrier, we say!
The ante is certainly upped in terms of the diversity and quality of the contestants this season, with Aguilera bagging ‘everything from an opera singer, powerhouse MC to soul singers’ on her team. What is interesting is that savvy contestants who are in demand now know how to play the game, and have taken the opportunity to push the coaches a little further and wrangle for commitment to be kept for a few rounds.
Season 1’s contestants have done well for themselves so far; winner Javier Colon has released a new album in collaboration with Natasha Bedingfield and his coach, Adam Levine, while first runner-up Dia Frampton has also launched her album with the help of coach Blake Shelton. Other contestants – Beverly McClellan from Team Aguilera and Vicci Martinez from Team Cee Lo have also begun recording after the show ended.
Talent-spotting aside, be sure to keep an eye out for new songs from the coaches themselves! After all, Season 1 was the launchpad for Shelton’s ‘Honey Bee’, a country chart-topper, as well as the Maroon 5-Aguilera single ‘Moves Like Jagger’ which hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 list. And as Aguilera teased, look out for the ‘kickass’ opening performance by the coaches this season!
The Voice Season 2 premieres on February 6, Monday at 7:15 p.m. with a regular two-hour slot on February 7 at 7:15 p.m. and encore at 10 p.m.
The first AXN original series — The Firm
AXN viewers in Asia will be able to enjoy a two-hour premiere of The Firm on 19 February, on the same day it airs across 126 million households on SPT channels globally in Asia, Latin America, Central Europe, Iberia, Italy, Africa, Russia and the Baltics.
An AXN original series based on John Grisham’s bestselling novel, the TV reincarnation picks up ten years after the movie of the same name starring Tom Cruise. Young hot shot lawyer, Mitch McDeere, brought down a Memphis law firm fronting the Chicago mob. Mitch and his family attempt to reclaim their lives by moving to Washington DC to start their own firm after leaving the Federal Witness Protection Program. However, the past has a way of catching up with them.
The stellar cast includes Josh Lucas (The Lincoln Lawyer) and Juliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers). Lucas is cast as Mitch McDeere, the role originally made famous by Cruise, with Lewis playing McDeere’s receptionist, Tammy Hemphill (previously played by Holly Hunter in the film). Canadian cast members include Molly Parker (Deadwood) as McDeere’s wife, Abby, and Callum Keith Rennie (Battlestar Galactica) as his brother, Ray, and Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) as Alex Clark, the firm’s managing partner.
Showrunner Lukas Reiter, a former prosecutor who has worked on The Practice and Boston Legal, was the one who first sought out John Grisham in the hopes of scripting a sequel and eventually got him on board as executive producer. On what to expect from the new Mitch, Reiter teased, “What made Mitch Mcdeere so special is his ability to find the hidden solution long after the average person believes there is no way out…There’s a great amount of fun to be had watching Josh Lucas find those solutions.”
Shot on location in Canada, The Firm will keep viewers on the edge of their seats and fans of Grisham can anticipate the same kinds of drama and thriller feel that made the book and the 1993 film adaptation so original!
Original The Firm premieres on February 19, Sunday at 9:50 p.m. (Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong), 8:50 p.m. (Jakarta), 9:55 p.m. (Philippines, and 9 p.m. (India). (advt)