The beginning of the fall TV season is like the beginning of any season in professional sports. Everyone feels like a winner during training camp. Optimism abounds. Then you start to play the games, and the mood changes quickly for many.
Pre-season “lying to yourself” aside, what do the new shows look like this fall … really?
The fantasy/superhero genre continues to take over television, in terms of volume at least, if not necessarily ratings. Gotham, Constantine and The Flash are the newest entries, and I have to say, they all look pretty good in their own way. With the understanding, of course, that on the lightness-to-darkness scale, it goes The Flash, Constantine, Gotham, so target each series based on your content preferences.
I’ve written before that I was impressed by the pilot episode of Gotham, which stars Ben McKenzie, Donal Logue and Jada Pinkett Smith, among many others. And having been one of the people who was rolling his eyes at the thought of a Batman prequel, impressing me was no small feat in this case. It’s pretty violent by network TV standards, though, so be forewarned. Constantine, starring Matt Ryan, is based on characters that appear in the comic series Hellblazer. The Flash, starring Grant Gustin, is a spinoff of Arrow.
Outside of the superhero/fantasy world, perhaps the most talked-about new series is Stalker. Maggie Q and Dylan McDermott star as detectives who handle stalking cases – including voyeurism, cyber harassment and romantic fixation, etc. – for the Threat Assessment Unit of the LAPD.
When creator Kevin Williamson appeared at the Television Critics Association event in Los Angeles in July, the session actually got a little stormy. Stalker is something of a polarizing series, if we lived in a world with three poles. Some people see it as shining a light on a growing problem in society, and that’s a good thing. Some people see it as a de facto glorification of stalking, a “how to” if you will, and that’s a bad thing. And some people see it as merely a TV show, and think that the people in the other two camps should take a chill pill. In any case, there will be no shortage of Stalker talkers.
There are still more new shows centred on U.S. politics and government (State of Affairs with Katherine Heigl, Madam Secretary with Tea Leoni), more time travellers (Forever), more computer geniuses (Scorpion), a notable spinoff (NCIS: New Orleans with Scott Bakula), and a notable remake (Gracepoint, based on the British series Broadchurch). The Affair, with Dominic West, Ruth Wilson, Joshua Jackson and Maura Tierney, is particularly intense in a rip-your-life-apart kind of way.
Sadly, none of the new sitcoms really jumps out at me as instant hit material, although series such as Black-ish and Cristela are demographically designed to resonate with big chunks of the U.S. population. Marry Me with Casey Wilson and Ken Marino is getting some positive buzz. And as for Selfie starring Doctor Who alumnus Karen Gillan, well, I didn’t despise it as much as many of my colleagues in the critics’ community.
First shows cancelled? For me, two candidates are Bad Judge with Kate Walsh, and yet another young-adult-relationship comedy called Manhattan Love Story.
NEW SHOWS
(Networks always can change their plans, so this is what we know as of now, please check local listings closer to broadcast)
Sept. 17
Red Band Society (Fox)
The Mysteries of Laura (NBC, CTV)
Sept. 21
Madam Secretary (CBS, Global)
Sept. 22
Gotham (Fox, CTV)
Scorpion (CBS, City)
Forever (ABC, CTV)
Sept. 23
NCIS: New Orleans (CBS, Global)
Sept. 24
Black-ish (ABC, City)
Sept. 25
How To Get Away With Murder (ABC, CTV)
Sept. 28
Canada’s Smartest Person (CBC)
Sept. 30
Selfie (ABC)
Manhattan Love Story (ABC)
The Honourable Woman (CBC)
Oct. 1
Stalker (CBS, Global)
Oct. 2
Gracepoint (Fox, Global)
Bad Judge (NBC, Oct. 3 on Global)
A to Z (NBC, Oct. 3 on Global)
Oct. 4
Survivor’s Remorse (Super Channel)
Oct. 5
Mulaney (Fox, Global)
CBC Selects: Janet King (CBC)
Oct. 6
Strange Empire (CBC)
Oct. 7
The Flash (CW, CTV)
Oct. 10
Cristela (ABC, CHCH)
Oct. 12
The Affair (TMN/MC)
Oct. 13
Jane the Virgin (CW)
Oct. 14
Marry Me (NBC, Oct. 17 on Global)
Oct. 17
Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways (HBO Canada)
Oct. 24
Constantine (NBC, Global)
Oct. 30
The McCarthys (CBS, CTV)
Nov. 2
Olive Kitteridge (HBO Canada)
Nov. 17
State of Affairs (NBC, Global)
Nov. 25
Ascension (CBC)
Dec. 12
Marco Polo (Netflix)
bill.harris@sunmedia.ca
@billharris_tv