FAMILIAR FACES ARE RETURNING TO TV
Intimacy, nostalgia and wisdom blanket the new season’s best offerings
H ollywood is a perpetual fountain of youth, in the sense that the young continually rule this make-believe world of fame, fortune and creative appeal. But while the youth are still going wild on the big screens, TV is once again welcoming former screen stars to a format that has long welcomed a famous face to begin a third act.
Actors in their 60s, 70s and 80s have bagged prominent roles in fresh comedies premiering this season, with Alan Arkin, Michael Douglas, Vicki Lawrence and Martin Mull among them. And they’re starring in vehicles that are built around conversations about depression, getting older, distressing changes to relationships and death with both humor and heart.
Nostalgia also is contributing to the cozy feel. Smart, relevant and engaging remakes and revivals of ’80s and ’90s favorites fill the schedule in every shape and form — from comedy to drama to supernatural horror.
The medium also ushers impressive and beloved names from the movie theater into the quiet comfort of our living rooms. Oscar winners Emma Stone and Julie Roberts are just two of the biggies playing leads in new series. Roberts, in fact, got one of the heartiest laughs at a press session when a television critic marveled at her decision to jump from movies to TV.
“I guess I didn’t really think of it as small screen-big screen,” she said. “My television is very big.”
Here’s a guide to 12 of the most promising new shows on the fall schedule:
“Maniac”: What really happens at those clinical drug trials that are constantly being advertised? Hopefully, it’s nothing like the goings-on in this trippy, darkly funny, frightening fever dream of a dramedy that’s directed by Cary Fukunaga (“True Detective”). Big-screen staples Stone and Jonah Hill play extremely troubled people looking for a quick and effective fix. They, along with 10 other strangers, are drawn to the promise of a radical new treatment — a sequence of pills its doctor/
inventor ( Justin Theroux) claims can repair anything about the mind, from heartbreak to mental illness. As you might suspect, however, they’re in for more than a few disturbing surprises. Full series debuts Friday on Netflix.
“Magnum P.I.”: Producers knew that an attempt to clone Tom Selleck in his mustachioed and Hawaiian-shirted glory would be suicide. So executive producer Peter Lenkov assured Jay Hernandez, who plays the new Thomas Magnum, “that we will not try to put a mustache on him.” Hernandez, whose Hispanic heritage will influence some of the stories, sports a trim goatee instead. What’s familiar? This character, like his predecessor, is an ex-Navy SEAL-turned-private eye living in a guest cottage on the lush grounds of novelist Robin Masters’ Hawaiian estate. The thorn in his side here is still a Brit named Higgins, the place’s caretaker. However, this Higgins is a woman, Juliet, who refuses to take any flak from Magnum, particularly over the estate’s growling guards, again a pair of Dobermans. What really shines in the reboot’s pilot, however, is the amped-up action sequences, directed by Justin Lin of “Fast and Furious.” For diehard fans of the first incarnation, Lenkov promises an homage to Selleck’s signature ’stache in episode two. Premieres 8 p.m. Monday, CBS
“Manifest”: The premise sure sounds like a sci-fi or supernatural drama. A jet full of passengers takes off in Jamaica in 2013. After a turbulent flight, it arrives in New York City — five years later. Those aboard soon are shocked to discover that after jumping so many years in a matter of hours, they somehow haven’t aged. But loved ones left behind have gotten older and their connections to the passengers altered dramatically. At its heart, however, the hour is more “This Is Us” than “Lost.” Premieres 9 p.m. Monday, NBC
“A Million Little Things”: If you miss the relatable angst of “thirtysomething” and were tickled by the love and humor in “The Big Chill,” this engaging exploration of the bonds forged by four friends and the women closest to them should be appointment viewing. Sudsy, yet emotionally solid, it not only is buoyed by an appealing acting ensemble — including San Antonio’s James Roday (“Psych”), David Giuntoli (“Grimm”) and Ron Livingston (“Office Space”) — but does something not many network TV shows attempt: It delves into depression. But there’s optimism amid the darkness. These characters, according to executive producer DJ Nash, “are each not living the version of life they thought they’d be living. And a friend’s unexpected death causes them to re-examine their life, to use that death as a catalyst to start living.” Premieres 9 p.m. Wednesday, ABC
“Murphy Brown”: Star Candice Bergen, along with creator Diane English, felt the calling, loud and insistent. Both became convinced their provocative newsroom-set comedy, which closed shop 20 years ago, had much more to say in today’s divisive and worrisome political climate. English elaborated on why the time was so right: “I’m focusing the show really through the prism of the press. The First Amendment and free press are under attack like I’ve never seen before. The press is not the enemy of the people, and these guys, our characters, are the press.” The pilot’s opening montage begins on Nov. 8, 2016, and takes us up to the present time. Most of the original ensemble will reprise their characters. Here, Murphy (Bergen) is host of a roundtable morning news show on cable with the help of former “Brown” castmates. Bergen promised the premiere will be “ambitious and so fearless we really stick our heads in the lion’s mouth.” 8:30 p.m. Thursdays (Sept. 27), CBS
“The Cool Kids”: Fox may have taken the biggest gamble of the season with a sitcom that brazenly seems to ignore the network’s once-prized young demo. Four seasoned actors in their 60s and 70s lead “The Cool Kids,” which follows a quartet of fun-loving seniors bent on breaking the rules of their retirement community. The coolest thing about the comedy newcomer? It’s loads of giggly fun — thanks to the crack comic timing of “The Carol Burnett Show’s” Lawrence, 69, Mull, 75, David Alan Grier, 62, and Leslie Jordan, 63, and the snappiest of banter from writers such as executive producer Charlie Day (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”). The half-hour, yes, is about being old, but Jordan — whose gay character unleashes the best zingers —added: “It’s about friendship. It’s about bonding together and doing these outrageous things.” 7:30 p.m. Fridays (Sept. 28), Fox.
“Charmed”: Witches are making a splashy return to series television this fall, starting with this contemporary retooling of the Aaron Spelling hit that bowed in the late ’90s. The remake, from “Jane the Virgin” creator Jennie Snyder Urman , has been updated to reflect today’s world. It features a multicultural cast, a feminist vibe and two LGBTQ regulars. The sisters at its heart, Maggie and Mel Vera (Sarah Jeffery and Melonie Diaz), and Macy Vaughn (Madeleine Mantock), are hit with shock after shock in the pilot. After learning their mother was murdered, they discover what she was preparing to tell them: The three are “the charmed ones,” the world’s fiercest witches, who, by combining their powers — the ability to freeze time and hear others’ thoughts, as well as telekinesis — can effectively protect humankind from the scariest of demons who live among them. They also deal with more downto-earth issues: sexuality, chauvinism and harassment. 8 p.m. Sundays (Oct. 14), The CW
“Camping”: The creative team behind “Girls,” Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner, deliver another irreverent HBO comedy, albeit in a dramatically different setting. Houston native Jennifer Garner gives new meaning to control freak as wife, mom and hypochondriac Kathryn, who’s determined to give her sweet and ultraplacating husband (David Tennant) a 45th birthday to remember. However, the woodsy campout turns into something everyone would sooner forget thanks to disruption after disruption by friends and family who come to celebrate. Mutinous fun soon arrives, however, in the form of a newbie to the group, played to dizzy perfection by Juliette Lewis, whose go-with-the-flow attitude — and enticing skinny-dipping — irks Kathryn to no end. 9 p.m. Sundays (Oct. 14), HBO
“The Rookie”: Nathan Fillion of “Castle” fame plays John Nolan, a middle-aged construction worker recovering from a painful divorce. A scary incident inspires him to take a big risk: reinvent himself in a more fulfilling career. He relocates to Los Angeles to become a cop. After vigorous training, John becomes the oldest rookie on the force. “This is, I feel, a new norm that we are experiencing culturally,” Fillion said at a press session, “the do-over … the reboot.” However, this particular reinvention doesn’t come without struggles. 9 p.m. Tuesdays (Oct. 16), ABC
“Chilling Adventures of Sabrina”: Don’t expect anything close to a mirror image of the cute Melissa Joan Hart confection of the mid-’90s. This is a dark coming-of-age tale that’s jump-fromyour-seat spooky and chillingly perfect for Halloween. Part of the Archie universe, it’s set in the 1960s and adapted from the graphic novel by Roberto AguirreSacasa, who also pens the TV show. In it, teen Sabrina wrestles to reconcile her dual nature — half-witch, half-mortal — while confronting the evil forces that threaten her loved ones. Helping her along is a furry co-lead, her helpful familiar, a black cat named Salem. Michelle Gomez (“Doctor Who”) was born to play Madam Satan, Sabrina’s nemesis. Oct. 26, Netflix “Homecoming”: The fact that this psychological thriller stars A-lister Julia Roberts in her first leading role for television is a major draw. Add accomplished showrunner Sam Esmail of “Mr. Robot” fame and the series becomes irresistible. The drama follows Heidi (Roberts), a caseworker who helps soldiers return from war to reintegrate into civilian society. But something isn’t right at the government facility where she works, and Heidi begins to unravel some dark secrets. Sissy Spacek also stars. Nov. 2, Amazon Prime “The Kominsky Method”: They may be in their twilight years, but the sun won’t be setting for a while on famous thespianturned-acting coach Sandy Kominsky and his grumpy agent and friend Norman. Academy Award winners Michael Douglas, 73, and Alan Arkin, 84, team up as the two pals, one a ladies’ man of three divorces, the other a devoted husband, who tackle life’s many curveballs as they navigate their later years in Los Angeles, a city that worships youth. Both comedic and emotional — and featuring a jewel of a Hollywood funeral that includes a performance by Patti LaBelle and some snarky standup from Jay Leno — this half-hour is created by multiple Emmy nominee Chuck Lorre of “The Big Bang Theory” fame. “The show began with my desire to write about what I’m living, which is getting older,” Lorre said. “Entropy … the decay of the flesh. It has to be funny, otherwise it’s heartbreaking.” Nov. 15, Netflix