Welcome back to a new TV season on my blog! This year, I will be posting Tuesday through Friday with the following schedule:
Tuesdays: Schedules from the Past & Emmy Preview (at end of season)
Wednesdays: One Season Wonders
Thursdays: Episode Guides
Fridays: The Friday Five - Top 5 TV news stories of the week
Before that begins tomorrow, I wanted to do a quick Fall Preview post. I was going to post my Top 10 New & Top 10 Returning Shows I'm looking forward to but I found that it was hard to make a list of both, I think this is a little bit of a lighter fall in terms of what I'm interested in. So I combined it to one list. Here are my Top 10 Most Anticipated Shows (New or Returning) of the Fall Season!
The new broadcast offerings are few and far-between this year. Less than a decade ago, we saw 20-30 shows debut in the fall. This year, there are just ten new scripted shows - just ten! As a whole, they aren't that exciting but there's a couple that look promising. I watched a whole season of Nashville before I lost interest and in a sea of procedurals, FOX's Monarch is the only new character-driven drama coming to the networks this fall. Starring Susan Sarandon and Trace Adkins, I'm willing to give Monarch a shot.
9. ALASKA DAILY (ABC, October 6)
Hilary Swank in a drama about a newspaper in Alaska? I'm in! The premise sounds like it could have been from the 1970s but I'm still interested in a drama set in Alaska (Northern Exposure is still on my "to watch" list!) Swank is an acclaimed actress for a reason and Shondaland favorite Jeff Perry is always reliable too. I know it could end up being a standard procedural but it could also be a really well-done one, that's what I'm hoping for.
8. THE HANDMAID'S TALE (Hulu, September 14)
Hulu's dystopian drama returns for its fifth season next week. This was a show that I didn't watch when it first came out but it was a "pandemic" show for me because I caught up on the entire run during the COVID shutdown. I thought the first season was the best but the fourth season was an improvement on the second and third, which were often treading water. After the way the fourth season ended, I'm very curious where the show goes next but I also think this is a show that needs to start planning an endgame.
Hulu's very meta sitcom looks very promising as it plays off of the reboot/revival craze we've all been experiencing. It seems like a very clever premise with a top notch cast including Keegan-Michael Key, Judy Greer, Rachel Bloom and Paul Reiser. And it comes from the creator behind Modern Family and while that show went off the rails later in its run, it was at one point of the sharpest and smartest comedies on TV. I'm intrigued.
6. GHOSTS (CBS, September 29)
Everyone was and is talking about Abbott Elementary saving Broadcast TV comedy but it wasn't the only new network comedy that really hit its mark in its first season. Ghosts on CBS turned in a very solid first season that managed to successfully introduce us to a ton of different and well-drawn characters. I know it is based on a British series but it was one of the most inventive comedies CBS has had in years. I can't wait to see what happens in Season Two!
I mentioned the reboot craze up above and of course we have another reboot this fall. I've never watched the original Quantum Leap but I'm a sucker for time travel shows that go in the past (Timeless was one of my favorite guilty pleasure shows). Now in the old Timeless slot comes the new Quantum Leap. I know it's had some behind the scenes issues so it could be a complete mess but I'm interested enough to give it a solid try.
4. WEDNESDAY (Netflix, TBD)
I am sort of mixed on the Addams Family brand, but I think the trailer for this show looks really good. With the majority of episodes directed by Tim Burton and a cast that includes Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia, Luis Guzman as Gomez and Jenna Ortega in the title role, it looks to be a very high profile show with great production values and a fun concept. I've heard some rumors of it coming in November, which seems like a missed opportunity to not launch it in October, but I'll be excited no matter what month it premieres in.
I have been interested in this show since it was first put in development. I think the concept of a workplace comedy set at the last surviving Blockbuster store is really inventive. Then it was announced that Randall Park and Melissa Fumero, two solid comedy veterans from recent hits (Fresh Off the Boat and Brooklyn Nine-Nine). I could easily see this show being another great workplace comedy in the vein of a show like Superstore. Also the irony of it being on Netflix, which basically put Blockbuster out of business, is funny too.
2. ABBOTT ELEMENTARY (ABC, September 21)
Abbott Elementary was a breakout hit, an Emmy contender and my winner for Outstanding Comedy Series at my personal Benjamonster Awards. It was the freshest new sitcom to hit the airwaves in years and is well on its way to becoming a modern classic. But it only had a 13 episode freshman year made before it became a buzzy show. Sometimes shows like that can have a rough second season. I don't think that will be the case with Abbott but I'm very curious to see how it does over the course of a full season and with greater expectations. I think it can rise to the challenge.
The only thing that could top my Outstanding Comedy Series winner is my Outstanding Limited/Anthology Series winner. The first season of The White Lotus was probably my favorite thing I watched in the 2021-22 season. I have distinct memories of watching it in the Summer of 2021 and it was the perfect summer show. The second season of the anthology series moves from Hawaii to Italy and brings back only one cast member (the great Jennifer Coolidge). But the new season has a great cast including Michael Imperioli, F. Murray Abraham, Theo James and especially Aubrey Plaza. I think the change in locales will make it feel fresh and different. I can't wait. Is it October yet?
Check back tomorrow for my first regular post of the season: A look at Mondays in the 1995-96 season!
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