TV Heartbeat! Colbert’s Late Show! A Preview of All the New Fall Season Shows!
It’s that time of year again! Labor Day picnics, back-to-school sales, Halloween candy in the stores and the last weeks to prepare for the new fall season! But first, we have a pretty busy week ahead!
We finally get the finale of Mr. Robot! One of the breakthrough shows of the summer, the debut was delayed a week due to an on-air shooting during a newscast in Virginia. (Sigh!) It seems that there is something similar in the finale (spoiler alert!) so USA network respectfully pushed the episode back a week.
The Last Ship finishes its second tour of duty while The Great British Baking show returns. This show is a huge hit in the UK, but I have to wonder why they are setting up their competitive kitchens outside in the heat of summer.
Stephen Colbert will make his debut as, well, himself in the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He’ll drop his Colbert Report persona so it’ll be like Colbert as we’ve never seen him before.
We also have a few new shows popping up this week! Hand of God is Amazon’s new show with Ron Perlman as an ethically-challenged judge dispensing God’s justice (as he sees it). The cast also includes Garret Dillahunt and Dana Delany.
Tonight: Mr. Robot season finale (USA)
Friday: Hand of God debut (Amazon)
Sunday: The Last Ship season finale (TBS), Arthur & George debut (PBS), The Great British Baking Show season premiere (PBS)
Monday: The Librarians marathon (TNT), Z Nation marathon (Syfy)
Tuesday: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert debut (CBS)
Wednesday: The League season premiere (FXX), You’re the Worst season premiere (FXX)
Health check
A few folks did fear Fear the Walking Dead as the show’s stellar ratings dipped a bit in the second week. (And by dipping a bit, the show is still far and away one of the biggest shows on TV right now.) We’ll see if people have written off the show or if they just decided to DVR the second episode instead. Regardless, Fear the Walking Dead has a second season (it was renewed weeks before its debut) so it’s just a question of whether it will get Talking Dead as an after-show next season.
Syfy is happy with its freshman Friday shows and renewed both Killjoys and Dark Matter. Veteran Defiance still waits for a verdict on its future.
Fall Season preview
Strangely enough, I am more excited about the winter TV season since that will mean Outlander (probably – still don’t have an official date yet), Orphan Black, Game of Thrones and the debuts of X-Files and Shadowhunters. (Yes, I know that this is season 10 of X-Files, but it’s really a debut all over again.)
But this fall isn’t without some interesting options, so here’s the lowdown on the new network shows for the fall!
Sunday
Blood & Oil (ABC) – A young couple (Chace Crawford and Rebecca Rittenhouse) moves to rugged North Dakota to hopefully ride the biggest American oil rush to a better life. A rich tycoon (Don Johnson) kinda wants the riches for himself. This soapy drama has had some drama behind the scenes with a change in showrunner so let’s see if there’s more drama in front of the camera.
Quantico (ABC) – The latest group of recruits at the FBI have a ton of potential – too bad one of them may be the mastermind behind a huge terrorist attack. This show has one of the most diverse casts this season and also include Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra.
Monday
Blindspot (NBC) – Jamie Alexander (Thor) stars as amnesiac Jane Doe who’s dropped into Times Square wearing nothing but tattoos. Her tattoos grab the attention of the FBI since they seem to be a road map to a big conspiracy and her identity.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (The CW) – Rachel Bloom is a young woman who gives up a promising career in NYC to follow her childhood crush in this musical comedy. Yes, you read that right – musical comedy! Who would have thought we’d have two musical comedies on network TV? (ABC’s Galavant will return in the winter season). Crazy Ex-Girlfriend‘s cast also includes Santino Fontana (aka Hans in Frozen).
Minority Report (Fox) – The show continues the story where the movie left off: pre-crime has been dissolved, but Dash, one of the pre-cog twins, still sees flashes of the future.
My Life in Pieces (CBS) –A family comedy similar to Modern Family, but with the coveted post-The Big Bang Theory timeslot. The cast includes Colin Hanks, Betsy Brandt, Dianne Wiest and James Brolin.
Supergirl (CBS) – Superman’s cousin (Melissa Benoist) lands on earth and also works at a newspaper with an overbearing editor-in-chief (Calista Flockhart).
Tuesday
Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris (NBC) – A live variety show featuring (guess who?) Neil Patrick Harris. Look for skits, songs and guest stars.
Chicago Med (NBC) – The latest companion show to Chicago Fire and Chicago PD, this will focus on the lives of the folks at Chicago Med, a fictional hospital. This show has been through a lot already with a switch from a winter to a fall debut, the departure of one of its lead actors (Laurie Holden) and a new set of showrunners. But the cast includes Oliver Platt, Brian Tee, Colin Donnell and S Epatha Merkerson and the new showrunners (Andrew Schneider and Diane Frolov) worked on Boardwalk Empire and The Sopranos so I think the show is in good hands.
Grandfathered (Fox) – John Stamos finds out he not only has a grown son (Josh Peck), but his son is a new dad as well.
The Grinder (Fox) – This comedy features a pair of brothers where one is a lawyer (Fred Savage) and the other plays a lawyer on TV (Rob Lowe).
Limitless (CBS) – A special drug boosts brain power. Bradley Cooper, who starred in the movie, will produce and drop by occasionally. Jake McDorman will be the new Bradley Cooper character in a cast that includes Jennifer Carpenter.
The Muppets (ABC) – The Muppets are back in a reality show format. Kermit has dumped Miss Piggy to date another (scary-looking) pig and, well, that doesn’t sit well with Piggy.
Scream Queens (Fox) – Ryan Murphy sort of mixes up his greatest hits with the show: take the perky attitude and snark of Glee and sprinkle in the deaths and gore of American Horror Story. Emma Roberts in the queen bee of the sorority where lots of death are happening. The massive cast includes Jamie Lee Curtis, Lea Michelle, Ariana Grande, Abigail Breslin and Keke Palmer.
Wicked City (ABC) – Sex, drugs and rock and roll in the 80’s! But this show is not all fun and games. The police are after a serial killer (Ed Westwick) who stalks the Sunset Strip.
Wednesday
Code Black (CBS) – One of many medical dramas this season, this one takes place in the LA County emergency room and stars Raza Jaffrey.
Rosewood (Fox) – More drama in medicine! This one is in the fun, fun, fun morgue with Lorraine Toussaint as Dr. Rosewood.
Thursday
Angel from Hell (CBS) – This comedy is about Allison’s (Maggie Lawson) struggle to determine if her friend Amy (Jane Lynch) is a guardian angel or a lunatic.
Heroes Reborn (NBC) – The “heroes” (people with extraordinary abilities) are blamed for a terrorist attack so they go into hiding. Look for a bunch of new heroes (Zachary Levi) to mix with some old ones including Noah a.k.a. H.R.G. (Jack Coleman), Hiro (Masi Oka), Matt (Greg Grunberg), Mohinder (Sendhil Ramamurthy) and the Haitian (Jimmy Jean-Louis), among others.
The Player (NBC) – Wesley Snipes and Philip Winchester try to prevent big crimes in Las Vegas. Remember to always bet on black…
Friday
Dr. Ken (ABC) – Ken Jeong (The Hangover, Community) stars as a doctor.
The networks are holding back several shows for replacement and for mid-season so there’s still DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Lucifer, Emerald City and Lookinglass (formerly Frankenstein Code).
Lots of choices, right?
Stay tuned!
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