FALL PREVIEW 2015: Tuesday

Here is the Tuesday preview. On Tuesday, we see something new on every network with the biggest changes on FOX. It should be an interesting night with more new shows than any other night (of course that was true last year too!)

Past Tuesday previews: 2014   2013   2012   2011   2010

ABC
8:00 THE MUPPETS
8:30 Fresh Off the Boat (2nd season)
9:00 Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (3rd season)
10:00 Beyond the Tank (2nd season)/WICKED CITY

ABC is tweaking its Tuesday lineup and starting with one of the more anticipated new comedies, ABC's The Muppets. The return of the beloved Muppets to TV in a new mockumentary format has been getting good reviews and could jump-start the night better than other comedies have in recent years. It is paired with season two of Fresh Off the Boat, which survived under difficult circumstances last year. This is an interesting pairing but it could work. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. stays at 9pm but it continues to underwhelm. 10pm was supposed to be Quantico, but that was moved to Sundays. In its place will be Beyond the Tank for several weeks and then the new Wicked City. Beyond the Tank could do alright at 10pm but I don't have high hopes for Wicked City in this slot, even though it sounds interesting to me. The problem with this lineup is it doesn't go together very well and ABC should learn from their Wednesday and Thursday that a cohesive lineup still matters even in today's time-shifted viewing age.

CBS
8:00 NCIS (13th season)
9:00 NCIS: New Orleans (2nd season)
10:00 LIMITLESS

It is mostly status quo for CBS on Tuesday except the fading Person of Interest has been replaced with the new Limitless. Based on the movie of the same name and occasionally featuring its star Bradley Cooper, it will try to succeed at 10pm. But that's a tough time to launch a new drama that isn't too buzzy and it's not like the movie was iconic, so this could be a tough sell. Earlier in the night is NCIS and its spinoff, NCIS: New Orleans. These work well together but NCIS is getting old and New Orleans can only go so high if the lead-in is lower. This could be an old skewing night for CBS.

NBC
(Various Times) BEST TIME EVER WITH NEIL PATRICK HARRIS
8:00 The Voice (9th edition)
9:00 (Nov) CHICAGO MED
10:00 (Oct) Chicago Fire (4th season)

NBC's schedule is a complete mess on Tuesdays as it keeps changing through the first several weeks. Starting tonight, the new variety show Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris will air at 10pm (after America's Got Talent this week and The Voice next week). Then on September 29, Best Time Ever moves to 8pm and The Voice moves to 9pm. On October 13, Chicago Fire returns to 10pm and in November, The Voice moves to 8pm and Chicago Med premieres at 9pm as Best Time Ever's limited run will end. Make sense to you? Yeah, me neither. Despite all the craziness with scheduling, the two new shows have a decent chance on NBC. Best Time Ever has gotten a lot of promotion and if anyone can make a variety show work, it's Neil Patrick Harris. Chicago Med will probably get trashed by reviewers but the Chicago franchise certainly has its fans and it gets to follow The Voice and be followed by Chicago Fire. If audiences can keep track of the schedule, this could be one of NBC's more successful nights.

FOX
8:00 GRANDFATHERED
8:30 THE GRINDER
9:00 SCREAM QUEENS

FOX is going all new on Tuesday nights with an interesting and bold lineup. At 8pm is two new comedies starring long time heartthrobs. John Stamos stars in Grandfathered and he is followed by Rob Lowe in The Grinder (also starring Fred Savage). These look like two of the better new comedies this season but it's still hard to launch a new comedy block by itself and these two stars have had their share of ups and downs. At 9pm is perhaps the fall's most anticipated new shows, Ryan Murphy's horror comedy Scream Queens. With an all-star cast and tons of buzz, this should have a hot start and could be one of the most talked about shows throughout the fall. In a season with lots of questionable new shows, this might be the best bet for a breakout hit.

New Tuesday Show Survival Chances

The Muppets (ABC) - Good. With a limited fall run, I think this will have enough good will and solid ratings to get a second season.

Wicked City (ABC) - Poor. I think this sounds interesting and I hope it's good but I just don't see it working. It's a tough sell and in a timeslot that never works for ABC.

Limitless (CBS) - Poor. I'm pretty down on this show. I just don't see it being able to carve out an audience if Person of Interest was having trouble. Maybe if it aired at 9pm or with Scorpion on Mondays, but not where it is slotted.

Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris (NBC) - Fair. This is one of the bigger wildcards of the season. People love Neil Patrick Harris but they don't love variety shows. NBC wants to continue their live programming initiative so they'll give it every chance to succeed.

Chicago Med (NBC) - Fair. The Chicago franchise does well and this is following The Voice so I was tempted to put "good" but three might be too many so I'm not convinced. The more crossovers with the other shows, the better its chances.

Grandfathered (FOX) - Fair. I think this has a decent chance but I don't love its timeslot and I'm not sure it's quite the type of show for the FOX audience. We'll see.

The Grinder (FOX) - Fair. I am also giving this a "fair" rating but I'm less confident about it than I am about Grandfathered. It also needs Grandfathered to work to have a chance.

Scream Queens (FOX) - Very Good. I'm high on this show. I think it will be a buzzy show throughout the fall that will keep people talking and interested.