10 gems worth checking out this season
So many shows, so little time.
Yes, another fall television season has arrived and, as usual, the broadcast networks, cable channels and streaming sites are about to bombard us with an insane amount of fresh programming. Of course it’s overwhelming. You’ve only got two eyes, after all, and your poor DVR is flat-out exhausted.
But no worries. We have your back.
To help you narrow your focus and ease your stress, we’ve taken a deep dive into the massive fall TV crop to uncover 10 potential gems that appear to be extra see-worthy.
Keep in mind that, for the most part, we’ve viewed only pilot episodes and/or preview clips available at press time. In a few cases, we’re making judgment calls based on the show’s premise and the talent involved.
But at least it’s a start. Here then, listed in order of their premiere dates, are 10 shows that we’re most excited to see:
“The Deuce” (9 p.m. Sept. 10, HBO): You get two James Francos for the price of one in this compelling drama series about the birth of modern pornography.
Franco plays twin brothers — one an enterprising bartender, the other a gambler in debt to the mob. They become pioneers in the rough-and-tumble flesh trade developing in New York’s Times Square during the early 1970s, when the area was at its seediest.
The porn industry might seem a bizarre topic for a TV show, but when it involves the guys behind “The Wire” — David Simon and George Pelecanos — you take notice. Another plus: an all-star cast that includes Maggie Gyllenhaal, who daringly plays a tough-minded prostitute with moviemaking ambitions.
“Star Trek: Discovery” (8:30 p.m. Sept. 24, CBS; CBS All Access): Trekkies, rejoice. Set 10 years before the original series, this highly anticipated — and repeatedly delayed — prequel is an ambitious endeavor to reboot the sci-fi franchise on television after a 12-year absence.
And it will boldly go where the other shows haven’t. It’s the first “Star Trek” series to star a woman of color — “Walking Dead” alum Sonequa Martin-Green — and the first with a lead character who is not a captain (she’s a Starfleet first officer who was raised by Spock’s father). It’s also the first to be fully serialized, and the first to feature an openly gay character (played by Anthony Rapp).
Now, if it can only live long and prosper.
“The Good Doctor” (10 p.m. Sept. 25, ABC): “House” creator David Shore introduces us to another unconventional medical hero in this San Jose-set drama.
Freddie Highmore, hot off his magnetic performance on “Bates Motel,” is emotionally engaging as Shaun Murphy, a young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome. He’s leaving behind a quiet country life to join a prestigious hospital’s surgical unit, where he faces some daunting challenges.
Unable to personally connect with those around him, Shaun uses his extraordinary medical gifts to save lives and defy his skeptical colleagues.
The exposition-laden pilot had its rough spots, but there’s plenty of promise here.
“Young Sheldon” (8:30 p.m. Sept. 25, CBS): This warmly funny prequel to “The Big Bang Theory” whisks us back to 1989 to inform us on how Sheldon Cooper became the brainy oddball we all know and (sometimes) love.
When we meet the precocious, pint-sized version — played by the oh so adorable Iain Armitage (“Big Little Lies”) — he’s living with his parents and two relatively normal siblings in East Texas. A socially awkward child prodigy, he’s about to enter high school at the ripe old age of 9, and he has absolutely no idea what he’s in for.
Armitage plays his budding Sheldon with a charming naiveté and innocence that, of course, will present all sorts of pitfalls as he steps out into the real world. In a nice touch, Jim Parsons — the adult Sheldon — narrates the story.
“Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders” (10p.m. Sept. 26, NBC): The relentless crime wave that continues to sweep over television often can leave viewers rolling their eyes. But this eight-episode anthology series is likely to stand out from the pack.
It combines the powerhouse appeal of producer Dick Wolf’s long-running procedural franchise and the dynamic presence of Edie Falco (as tenacious defense attorney Leslie Abramson), with one of the most notorious trials of the 1990s.
When brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez were tried on national television for killing their well-heeled parents, their story became a media spectacle. This series promises to not only recall the court battles, but unveil “the shocking truth” of what really went down when the cameras stopped rolling.
“Liar” (10 p.m. Sept. 27, Sundance TV): Say goodbye to Anna Bates. Fans of “Downton Abbey” might be stunned by the actions of Joanne Froggatt’s latest character in this taut and provocative psychological thriller.
Froggatt plays Laura Nielson, a dedicated school teacher who goes on a seemingly innocent date with Andrew Earlham (Ioan Gruffudd), a renowned surgeon and pillar of the community. But following their gettogether, a series of volatile accusations rock their world. As they increasingly turn on one another, secrets and lies unravel over the course of a suspenseful saga in which everyone seems to have their own version of the truth.
Is she lying? Or is he? Prepare to spend a few hours on the edge of your seat while trying to find out.
“Ten Days in the Valley” (10 p.m. Oct. 1, ABC): Kyra Sedgwick (“The Closer”) makes a triumphant return to series television in this intense and moody whodunit.
She stars as Jane Sadler, a stressed-out television writer who is in the middle of a bitter separation when her young daughter goes missing late one night. Naturally, suspects abound, and just like the controversial police show on which she works, everyone has a secret and no one can be trusted.
Producers promise that we can take the title literally. “Ten Days” will
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