It’s September and the fall season is upon us. This means that veteran shows will be coming out of rerun hibernation for another season and more importantly, new shows will be premiering. With all of the new dramas premiering this fall, its hard to keep them all straight so I went through the list and picked a new show for almost every day of the week. I based my choices on the hype surrounding the show, the actors as well as the premise. There are some shows that, despite having big names and great press, just don’t look like they’re going to pan out while others I think could be the next must-watch TV drama series.
These are my choices for new dramas that I think will be worth watching this fall:
Brothers and Sisters (ABC – Sundays at 10 pm) – Taking over the ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ timeslot, this show centers on a woman named Kitty Walker (played by Calista Flockhart) and her siblings. According to what I’ve read, something happens on the evening of Kitty’s birthday that turns their lives upside-down. The story is told through the viewpoint of Kitty which makes me think it could have that ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ feel to it except instead of a bunch of interns trying to get their lives on track, it’s a bunch of siblings.
‘Heroes’ (NBC – Mondays at 9 pm) – A professor discovers that there are people on the planet with mysterious and amazing “super powers”. Based on the trailers (which make the show look fantastic by the way) some of the powers include the ability to alter time, tissue regeneration, mind-reading, flying and predicting the future. Sendhil Ramamurthy, Milo Ventimiglia and Greg Grunberg, among others, star in what I hope will be the best new drama this fall (and it will be if the show lives up to the hype).
‘Smith’ (CBS – Tuesdays at 10) – Ray Liotta’s back to his old tricks again (being intense and committing crimes) in his role as Bobby Stevens on ‘Smith’. In the drama, Bobby joins up with his group of criminal-buddies to commit a few more heists before retiring and spending some quality time with his family on the straight and narrow. There’s not many shows out there where we get to root for the bad-guys. That happens a lot more in movies than it does in TV.
‘Justice’ (FOX – Wednesdays at 9 pm) – I caught the first episode of this show last week and I liked it a lot. A foursome of attorneys work hard to get their high-profile clients acquitted. Spinning the media, running focus groups (mock juries), investigating the crime and training their clients to talk the talk and walk the walk of the innocent in the eyes of the public all play into how these lawyers do their jobs. Victor Garber, Kerr Smith, Eamonn Walker and Rebecca Mader all star in this new Bruckheimer series, which is sure to do well in the ratings if it lives up to its pilot.
‘Men in Trees’ (ABC – Fridays at 9 pm) – Anne Heche plays a best-selling author who gets stuck in Alaska. When she learns that her fiancé has been cheating on her she decides to stick around in the chilly state and start over. People say Anne Heche is a bit crazy (probably due to that breakdown she had years ago) but I like her. She’s got that intensely high-strungness going on that makes her fun to watch. I can’t wait to see how she is on the small screen. Also staring in the series are James Tupper, Suleka Mathews and Derek Richardson.
Intentionally left off the list:
‘Jericho’ – I’m just not hearing great things about it.
‘Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip’ – it’s listed as a drama about the behind-the-scenes antics of a sketch comedy show. I don’t know if it’ll be a drama or a comedy or a dramedy but since I already had my pick for Monday night, ‘Studio 60’ will get this less than honorable mention.
‘Six Degrees’ – This would’ve been my pick for Thursday nights but honestly it just doesn’t sound that great. Its described as a drama based on the old “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” game. Six people whose stories are connected somehow. Meh. If I start hearing good things about it, I might check it out.
In addition to the above mentioned new dramas, the worth mentioning new comedies coming out are, ‘The Class’ (CBS – Mondays at 8:30 pm) and ’30 Rock’ (NBC – Wednesdays at 8:30 pm).
As for old shows that’ll be returning this season, I don’t think I’m alone in my eagerness to see new seasons of ‘Lost’, ‘Veronica Mars’, ‘The Office’, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, ‘How I Met Your Mother’ and ‘Desperate Housewives’.
Inside the Twin Towers (DSC) 9:00 pm
If you haven’t gotten your fill of dramatized versions of the events of 9/11 this summer (or if you’re like me and aren’t interested in seeing the day’s events told through the eyes of Hollywood), check out this Discovery Channel Documentary. Interviews with witnesses, the families of the victims and military leaders along with information about the investigations fill this two our special.
True Hollywood Story(E!) 8:00 pm
Michael J. Fox - Who doesn’t love Michael J. Fox? From his Alex P. Keaton days all the way through to his battle with Parkinson’s disease, Fox continues to make his mark in the industry, as testified by many big names who’ve had the privilege to know and work with him.
Big Brother (CBS) 8:00 pm
Another Live Eviction! - (New!) - The two showmances remain but one couple is about to be broken up because this is a special eviction episode! After this episode there will only be three houseguests left to battle it out for the final two.
Veronica Mars (UPN) 9:00 pm
Happy Go Lucky - (Repeat) – The Aaron Echolls murder trial goes on which drags up a lot of painful memories for those closest to Lilly (including Veronica and Logan). Lucky gets fired and goes crazy at school.
Bones (Fox) 8:00 pm
Mother and Child in the Bay - (New!) – Booth searches for the husband of a pregnant woman whose body washes up onshore. According to the husband’s new girlfriend, he fled the area after hearing the news about his wife’s death. A pregnant woman dies and the husband, whose got another woman is the suspect? This story sounds familiar.
Justice (Fox) 9:00 pm
Pretty Woman - (New!) – A college student (played by Amanda Seyfried) is on trial for the stabbing of a music mogul. I saw the pilot of this show last week and loved it (Check out the review here!). I’m also a fan of Amanda Seyfried (Mean Girls, ‘Veronica Mars’) so that’s even more of an incentive to check out this episode.
Big Brother (CBS) 8:00pm
(new!) – Normally I’d be promoting ‘The Office’ for Thursday evenings but NBC’s got football on instead so why not check out one of the final episodes of ‘Big Brother’? Even if you haven’t been watching it this summer, since there’s only a few people left in the house, competitions are pretty intense and the few people left in the house are pretty much at their wit’s end with things.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (Nick) 8:00pm
If you’re stuck indoors on Friday night, check out this John Hughes classic that never seems to get old and is somewhat less dated than some of his other great teen movies. We all wanted to be Ferris Bueller growing up, didn’t we?…. yeah, I still sort of do.
Switching Sexes: The Aftermath (DHC) 8:00pm
A documentary about two men who deal with adjusting to being women after they decide to get nipped and tucked. Sounds fascinating in a “I have no idea how people deal with this sort of thing” way.
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