It’s September, so the fall television season is almost
upon us. This weekend, Boardwalk Empire’s final season kicks it all off. From
last year, five of my new series lasted and are returning (Brooklyn Nine-Nine,
Sleepy Hollow, Blacklist, Agents of SHIELD, About a Boy). This year’s crop does
not look that great, so I’ll only be giving a chance to five new shows. Here’s
my schedule (starting with Sunday):
THE SIMPSONS [FOX]
Upcoming Season: 26
Premiere Date/Time: Sun, Sept 28 @ 8pm
Genre: Animated Comedy
Starring: Dan Castellaneta (Hey Arnold!)
Hank Azaria (Smurfs,
Huff, Godzilla)
Creator: Matt Groening (Futurama)
Showrunner: Al Jean (The Critic)
Why I watch: I’ve seen every episode, why stop
now?
Coming up: A character dies in the premiere
ONCE UPON A TIME [ABC]
Upcoming Season: 4
Premiere Date/Time: Sun, Sept 28 @ 8pm
Genre: Fantasy Drama
Starring: Ginnifer Goodwin (Big Love, Ed)
Jennifer Morrison (House,
Star Trek)
Creators: Adam Horowitz & Edward Kitsis (Lost, Tron: Legacy)
Showrunners: Horowitz & Kitsis
Why I watch: Love the twists and turns of
fairy tales
Coming up: Their take on Frozen
BROOKLYN NINE-NINE [FOX]
Upcoming Season: 2
Premiere Date/Time: Sun, Sept 28 @ 8:30pm
Genre: Workplace Comedy
Starring: Andy Samberg (SNL, Hot Rod, Celeste & Jesse Forever)
Andre Braugher (Last
Resort, Homicide:Life on the Street)
Creator: Michael Shur (SNL, The Office, Parks & Recreation)
Showrunners: Shur & Dan Goor (Daily Show, Parks & Recreation)
Why I watch: Love the chemistry between
Samberg & Braugher
Coming up: Eva Longoria as a lawyer and love
interest for Peralta
[NEW!] MULANEY [FOX]
Upcoming Season: 1
Premiere Date/Time: Sun, Oct 5 @ 9:30pm
Genre: Comedy
Starring: John Mulaney (SNL, Kroll Show)
Martin Short (SNL,
Primetime Glick, Three Amigos)
Creator: Mulaney
Showrunners: Jon Pollack (Spin City, 30 Rock, Go On)
Premise: Comedian works for has-been who’s now
a game show host
Why I’ll give it a chance: The cast looks
really funny.
What could hurt it: Terrible timeslot and
unknown star
BOARDWALK EMPIRE [HBO]
Upcoming Season: 5
Premiere Date/Time: Sun, Sept 7 @ 9pm
Genre: Crime Drama
Starring: Steve Buscemi (Fargo, Reservoir Dogs, Monsters Inc.)
Stephen Graham (Snatch,
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stanger Tides)
Creator: Terence Winter (The Sopranos)
Showrunner: Winter
Why I watch: Beautifully shot and acted.
Buscemi is great.
Coming up: The final ten episodes of the
series. Lots of death.
HOMELAND [SHOWTIME]
Upcoming Season: 4
Premiere Date/Time: Sun, Oct 5 @ 9pm
Genre: Drama / Thriller
Starring: Claire Danes (Romeo+Juilet, My So-Called Life)
Mandy Patinkin (Princess
Bride, Dead Like Me)
Creator: based on Israeli series Prisoner of War by Gideon Raff
Showrunners: Howard Gordon & Alex Gansa (24, X-Files)
Why I watch: Great drama despite its slow
burn. Great cast.
Coming up: Carrie on a new mission in South
Asia
THE WALKING DEAD [AMC]
Upcoming Season: 5
Premiere Date/Time: Sun, Oct 12 @ 9pm
Genre: Drama / Horror
Starring: Andrew Lincoln (Love Actually, Strike Back)
Norman Reedus (Boondock
Saints)
Creator: based on Robert Kirkman’s graphic
novel
Showrunner: Scott Gimple (Chase, Flash Forward, Life)
Why I watch: It’s an intense hour of drama and
zombies
Coming up: The cliff-hanger conclusion in the
Terminus train car
THE BIG BANG THEORY [CBS]
Upcoming Season: 8
Premiere Date/Time: Mon, Sept 22 @ 8pm
Genre: Friends Comedy
Starring: Jim Parsons (Garden State, The Muppets, Normal Heart)
Johnny Galecki (Roseanne,
In Time, Christmas Vacation)
Creators: Chuck Lorre (2½ Men) & Bill Prady (Dharma
& Greg)
Showrunners: Prady & Steven Molaro (The Class, All That)
Why I watch: One of the most consistent
comedies on TV right now
Coming up: Wedding planning with Leonard and
Penny
[NEW!] GOTHAM [FOX]
Upcoming Season: 1
Premiere Date/Time: Mon, Sept 22 @ 8pm
Genre: Crime/Thriller
Starring: Ben McKenzie (Southland, The OC)
Donal Logue (Vikings,
Terriers, Zodiac)
Creator/Showrunner: Bruno Heller (Rome, The Mentalist)
Premise: The origin stories of Commissioner
Gordon and Gotham villains
Why I’ll give it a chance: Looks stylistically
cool; Penguin looks awesome
What could hurt it: Trying to cover too many
Batman villains
SLEEPY HOLLOW [FOX]
Upcoming Season: 2
Premiere Date/Time: Mon, Sept 16 @ 9pm
Genre: Sci-Fi
/ Thriller
Starring: Tom Mison (Parade’s End, One Day)
Nicole Beharie (42,
Shame)
Creators: Phillip Iscove (new) Alex Kurtzman
& Robert Orci (Alias, Fringe)
Showrunner: Mark Goffman (West Wing, White Collar, Studio 60)
Why I watch: One of the most consistent
comedies on TV right now
Coming up: Wedding planning with Leonard and
Penny
[NEW!] SCORPION [CBS]
Upcoming Season: 1
Premiere Date/Time: Mon, Sept 22 @ 9pm
Genre: Action/Drama
Starring: Elyes Gabel (World War Z, Body of Proof)
Eddie Kaye Thomas (American
Pie, How to Make it in America)
Creator/Shworunner: Nick Santora (Prison Break, Lie to Me)
Premise: Super-geniuses are the last line of
defense against terrorism
Why I’ll give it a chance: The premise looks
exciting enough
What could hurt it: The busy Monday timeslot
THE BLACKLIST [NBC]
Upcoming Season: 2
Premiere Date/Time: Mon, Sept 23 @ 10pm
Genre: Crime Drama
Starring: James Spader (Boston Legal, Stargate, The Office)
Megan Boone (Law
&Order: LA, Step Up Revolution)
Creators: Jon Bokenkamp (The Call, Taking Lives)
Brandon Margolis (new) & Brandon Sonnier (new)
Showrunner: John Eisendrath (Alias, My Own Worst Enemy)
Why I watch: Spader is electrifying. He’s
reason enough.
Coming up: Paul Reubens (PeeWee Herman) in a
two-ep arc
MARVEL’S AGENTS OF SHIELD [ABC]
Upcoming Season: 2
Premiere Date/Time: Tue, Sept 23 @ 8pm
Genre: Action Drama Sci-Fi
Starring: Clark Gregg (Avengers, New Adventures of Old Christine)
Ming-Na Wen (ER,
Mulan,The Single Guy)
Creators: Joss Whedon (Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse, Avengers)
Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen (Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog)
Showrunner: Jed Whedon & Tancharoen (Dollhouse)
Why I watch: Every episode is full of action,
humour & great stories
Coming up: More Marvel tie-ins and mysterious
characters
[NEW!] MARRY ME [NBC]
Upcoming Season: 1
Premiere Date/Time: Tue, Oct 14 @ 9pm
Genre: Comedy
Starring: Casey Wilson (Happy Endings, SNL)
Ken Marino (Burning
Love, Veronica Mars, Party Down)
Creator/Showrunner: David Caspe (Happy Endings)
Premise: A couple work through a number of
botched marriage proposals
Why I’ll give it a chance: Wilson and Marino
will do well in Caspe’s hands
What could hurt it: The premise doesn’t seem
like it can last
NEW GIRL [FOX]
Upcoming Season: 4
Premiere Date/Time: Tue, Sept 16 @ 9pm
Genre: Friend Comedy
Starring: Zooey Deschanel (Elf, 500 Days of Summer, Yes Man)
Jake Johnson (Safety
Not Guaranteed, Let’s Be Cops)
Creator: Elizabeth Merriwether (new)
Showrunners: Brett Baer & David Finkel (Just Shoot Me, 30 Rock)
Why I watch: Love the camaraderie among the
roommates
Coming up: Jessica Biel playing the hottest
scientist in the world
THE MINDY PROJECT [FOX]
Upcoming Season: 3
Premiere Date/Time: Tue, Sept 16 @ 9:30pm
Genre: Workplace Comedy
Starring: Mindy Kaling (The Office, Wreck-It Ralph)
Chris Messina (Newsroom,
Damages, Argo, Ruby Sparks)
Creator: Mindy Kaling (The Office)
Showrunner: Matt Watburton (Simpsons, Community)
Why I watch: Kaling and Messina are great
together (but not dating)
Coming up: Danny’s mom causes a bunch of
problems
ABOUT A BOY [NBC]
Upcoming Season: 2
Premiere Date/Time: Tue, Oct 14 @ 9:30pm
Genre: Family/Friend Comedy
Starring: David Walton (New Girl, Perfect Couples)
Benjamin Stockham (1600
Penn, Sons of Tucson)
Creator/Showrunner: Jason Katims (Friday Night Lights, Parenthood)
Why I watch: The chemistry between Walton and
Stockham rocks
Coming up: Hopefully a non-romantic
relationship between Will & Fiona
MODERN FAMILY [ABC]
Upcoming Season: 6
Premiere Date/Time: Wed, Sept 24 @ 9pm
Genre: Family Comedy
Starring: Ty Burrell (Back to You, Out of Practice)
Julie Bowen (Boston
Legal, Weeds, Lost, Ed)
Creators/Showrunners: Steve Levitan (Just Shoot Me, Frasier, Wings)
Christopher Lloyd (Wings,
Frasier, Out of Practice, Back to You)
Why I watch: Best family sitcom on television
Coming up: Andy returns to possibly date
Hayley
AMERICAN HORROR STORY: FREAKSHOW [FX]
Upcoming Season: 4
Premiere Date/Time: Wed, Oct 8 @ 10pm
Genre: Horror
Starring: Jessica Lange (The Office, Wreck-It Ralph)
Sarah Paulson (Newsroom,
Damages, Argo, Ruby Sparks)
Creators/Showrunners: Ryan Murphy & Brad
Falchuk (Glee, Nip/Tuck)
Why I watch: It’s disturbingly campy and dark
but very stylistic
Coming up: Two headed characters and other
freaks
[NEW!] GRACEPOINT [FOX]
Upcoming Season: 1
Premiere Date/Time: Thu, Oct 2 @ 9pm
Genre: Mystery
Starring: David Tennant (Broadchurch, Dr. Who)
Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad, Deadwood)
Creator: Based on British series Broadchurch by Chris Chibnall (Torchwood)
Showrunner: Dan Futterman (The Birdcage, Judging Amy)
Premise: A young boy is found dead in a small
idyllic town
Why I’ll give it a chance: Curious to see
comparison to awesome original
What could hurt it: Could fail to be as
awesome as Broadchurch
PARENTHOOD [NBC]
Upcoming Season: 6
Premiere Date/Time: Thu, Sept 25 @ 10pm
Genre: Family Drama
Starring: Peter Krause (Sports Night, Six Feet Under, Lost Room)
Lauren Graham (Gilmore
Girls, Bad Santa, Evan Almighty)
Creator/Showrunner: Jason Katims (Friday Night Lights)
Why I watch: Great writing and character work
Coming up: A death in their final season
(probably Zeek)
AMAZING RACE [CBS]
Upcoming Season: 25
Premiere Date/Time: Fri, Sept 26 @ 8pm
Genre: Reality Competition
Starring:Phil Keoghan (No Opportunity Wasted)
Creator: Elise Doganieri (Amazing Race Philippines, Asia, etc.)
Showrunners: Bertram VanMunster & Evan
Weinstein
Why I watch: Best reality competition on
television.
Coming up: New places I suppose.
MASTERCHEF JUNIOR [FOX]
Upcoming Season: 2
Premiere Date/Time: Fri, Nov 7 @ 8pm
Genre: Reality Competition
Starring: Gordon Ramsay (Hell’s Kitchen, Hotel Hell)
Joe Bastianich (Iron
Chef America)
Creator: Based on the British version of the
show by Franc Roddam
Showrunner: Robin Ashbrook (As Seen on TV)
Why I watch: Great dishes and the judges are a
bit nicer
Coming up: More kids that make me feel bad
about my lack of skills
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE [NBC]
Upcoming Season: 40
Premiere Date/Time: Sat, Sept 27 @ 11:30pm
Genre: Sketch Comedy
Starring: Taran Killam (The Awesomes, 12 Years a Slave, Scrubs)
Cecily Strong (The
Awesomes)
Creator/Showrunner: Lorne Michaels (30 Rock, Portlandia)
Why I watch: It’s an institution. Always
something to talk about.
Coming up: 40th Anniversary
celebrations
Of the new shows, it’s Gotham that looks most interesting..
What new shows are you going try this year?
