FALL PREVIEW 2015: The Sophomore Class

Another new TV season is upon us. Over the next week, I will be previewing each night and the new shows but before moving on to this season, here is a look at the sophomore class heading into their important second year.

Past Sophomore previews: 2014   2013   2012   2011

First, here's a look back each new class since this blog began in 2010.

2010-11
40 new shows
10 returned for a second season (25%)
5 are still on the air and entering season six (Mike & Molly, Blue Bloods, Hawaii Five-0, The Voice, Bob's Burgers)

2011-12
47 new shows
20 returned for a second season (43%)
8 are still on the air and entering season five (Once Upon a Time, Last Man Standing, Scandal, Celebrity Wife Swap, 2 Broke Girls, Person of Interest, Grimm, New Girl)

2012-13
33 new shows
9 returned for a second season (27%)
3 are still on the air and entering season four (Nashville, Chicago Fire, Elementary)
** also The Mindy Project is now on Hulu

2013-14
43 new shows
12 returned for a second season (28%)
8 are still on the air and entering season two (The Blacklist, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Sleepy Hollow, Chicago PD, Mom, The Goldbergs, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Masterchef Junior)

2014-15
40 new shows
16 returning for a second season (40%)
and here they are!

EMPIRE (FOX) - The most anticipated show, new or returning, is FOX's Empire. After its limited first season delivered numbers not seen on broadcast dramas in years, anticipation is extremely high for the second season, which will be split into two chunks of nine episodes each. This is broadcast TV's crown jewel at the moment. The question is will it be able to come back as strong and sustain that strength over a longer season? I think the answer is yes to the first question. For the second? We'll see, but I think it will continue to be a hit. I didn't watch all the season one episodes but I feel like I need to at least start season two just to keep up with the phenomenon while it lasts.

GOTHAM (FOX) - Gotham was one of the most anticipated fall shows last year and it started very strong and stayed pretty steady in the fall before falling after a long hiatus. FOX's scheduling did this show no favors plus it lost its way creatively partway through. Now it's back with a big second season push that is billed as the "Rise of the Villains." All signs point to them working through some of the season one problems, but will viewers come back or will this be another Sleepy Hollow or The Following? With the inevitable NFL promotion, I think this has a chance of rebounding at least for the fall.

HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER (ABC) - Last year was the season of buzzy new dramas and before there was Empire, there was the third piece to ABC's hit TGIT lineup as a water cooler show. The thrilling How to Get Away with Murder had a strong season but ended in February because star Viola Davis only does 16 episodes. It was trending slightly down so it's hard to know if it would have stayed strong through the spring. Either way, the band is back together this fall with Grey's Anatomy and Scandal as lead-ins. Even if its not quite as red hot as last fall, it should still have a good second season. Creatively, I'm curious to see where things go as I thought it was thrilling but inconsistent.

SCORPION (CBS) - One of the biggest surprise hits in my opinion was CBS's Scorpion. The light-hearted procedural worked very well in a slot on Mondays that had been home to comedies for decades. It premiered very strongly and held on quite well throughout the season. CBS will pair it with comedies first and then the highly anticipated Supergirl will become its lead-in in November. I think it'll do OK even if Supergirl fails, but it could get a boost if Supergirl hits. I only watched the first episode and it wasn't for me.

NCIS: NEW ORLEANS (CBS) - Probably the least surprising success story from last season, NCIS: New Orleans fit in quite nicely behind the parent show. It never reached the height of former timeslot occupant, NCIS: Los Angeles, but the lead-in wasn't what it once was either. It's a safe choice for CBS but it paid off because it aired in a comfortable slot and that should continue this season. The bigger test will come when it airs somewhere else down the road, but this seems to absolutely be headed for the CBS syndication factory. I watched a couple episodes and was pretty "meh" on it.

MADAM SECRETARY (CBS) - It was a tale of two seasons for Madam Secretary. In the fall, when it had football as a near direct lead-in on several weeks, it skewed old but had a pretty impressive total viewer count and got an early second season renewal.Then it lost the football lead-in and went off the rails, dipping down to low 1 demos with less impressive total viewer numbers. The same split results could happen this year with the same setup but I'm not convinced it will soar as high in its second season. I watched all of season one and enjoyed it but I'm not super excited for it to come back like I am with Gotham and How to Get Away with Murder. We'll see what happens, but I plan to keep watching for now.

CSI: CYBER (CBS) - CBS made a decision to cancel the long-running CSI but they renewed the modest new spinoff, CSI: Cyber, which will welcome CSI star Ted Danson to the cast this fall. It also moves to Sundays at 10pm, which means it will be starting at 10:30pm or later for about half of its fall episodes. This situation led to the end of CSI and I'm pretty skeptical about CSI: Cyber's ability to anything in this slot as it will likely skew ancient and be hurt by the late timeslots. I don't see this returning for a third season. Would anyone really miss it?

THE MYSTERIES OF LAURA (NBC) - The sole NBC renewal was this very modestly rated drama that led off NBC's Women Crush Wednesday (WCW) lineup. It started out OK but dropped as low as a 0.9 demo. However, that wasn't terrible by NBC's standards for new shows which saw shows like State of Affairs, Constantine, American Odyssey, Allegiance, and more dip even further than a 0.9. As long as NBC doesn't have another season like they just did with new shows, this probably won't go past 13 episodes in season two. If they bomb again, who knows, maybe they'll try to get it to syndication numbers. I didn't despise this as much as some critics but I didn't stick with it.

BLACK-ISH (ABC) - It was a rough year for new comedies not on ABC as three of the four renewed comedies came from the Alphabet Network. The biggest hit was Black-ish, which fit like a glove on ABC's Wednesday lineup and even earned an Emmy nod for star Anthony Anderson.The show managed to survive the Empire onslaught in the timeslot and had a very strong year. With the lineup returning in tact, I see no reason why it won't continue to do well. Creatively, it had its ups and downs but the promise is really there. I think it could take a big creative leap forward in season two the same way The Goldbergs did.

FRESH OFF THE BOAT (ABC) - The other ABC family comedy success came in much less favorable conditions. Thrown to the wolves on Tuesday nights after a Wednesday preview, Fresh Off the Boat managed to ride a critical wave and hold on enough to get a second season. It struggled more as the season went on but now it will get a lead-in from the anticipated new series The Muppets as well as a renewed promotional push from ABC. I could see it taking a small step forward but it won't have a Goldbergs-type leap without airing on Wednesdays. I felt much the same about this as I did with Black-ish. I see a ton of potential and if it puts it all together, it could become one of my favorites.

WORLD'S FUNNIEST FAILS (FOX) - FOX's unscripted show did enough on Friday night to get a second season in the same low pressure timeslot. Things could be worse here for FOX and as long as it keeps the lights on, I could see FOX continuing to air this knock-off of America's Funniest Home Videos.



AMERICAN CRIME (ABC)
SECRETS AND LIES (ABC)
MARVEL'S AGENT CARTER (ABC)
GALAVANT (ABC)
THE ODD COUPLE (CBS)
A bunch of underdogs got renewed for a second season. American Crime received critical acclaim and several Emmy nominations while Secrets and Lies built momentum over its season one mystery. Both are anthology shows so they will return with different stories but some of the same actors. Marvel's Agent Carter was a surprise renewal but it got the nod when a Marvel show in development fell through. Galavant was the biggest surprise after a very brief January run that earned a little critical buzz but miniscule audiences. The Odd Couple benefited from its Big Bang Theory lead-in and is the first Matthew Perry show to get a second season since Friends, but the critical drubbing will not help its case.