Four new TV faces to watch
While a new season always offers its usual crop of familiar faces in new places such as David Boreanaz in “SEAL Team” and Leah Remini reuniting with “King of Queens” co-star Kevin James on “Kevin Can Wait,” here’s a rundown of some new faces whose profiles stand to get a boost in the new fall season.
Brandon Micheal Hall
Where you can see
him: As the title character on ABC’s “The Mayor” (premiering Oct. 3), a half-hour comedy produced by “Hamilton” co-star and musician Daveed Diggs about a hip-hop artist who runs for office for publicity reasons and actually wins. Where you may have
seen him: As Julian in TBS’ dryly comic millennial murder mystery “Search Party.”
Why he matters: Because given Diggs’ recent run — which also includes his own inventive hip-hop project clipping. — the series has potential. Plus, it might be refreshing to watch the results of an unexpected victory by a political outsider that has no real-world repercussions.
Frankie Shaw
Where you can see
her: Writing, directing and starring in the Showtime comedy series “SMILF” (premiering Nov. 5), which was picked up by the network after her short film of the same name won the Jury Prize at Sundance in 2015. Where you may have
seen her: If you didn’t happen to be at Sundance that year, she appeared on the first season of “Mr. Robot” as Shayla, Elliot’s troubled drug-dealing neighbor and part-time romantic interest and on Amazon’s short-lived 2016 series “Good Girls Revolt” as researcher
Naomi. Why she matters:
Because the series’ auteuristic vision has a similarly smart, funny and raw feeling as FX’s “Louie,” except about young single motherhood, and because it may also yield a fresh perspective on its South Boston setting by not involving a Wahlberg or an Affleck.
Robin Thede
Where you can see
her: Hosting her own late-night show “The Rundown,” which is coproduced by Chris Rock and due on BET on Oct. 10. Where you may have
seen her: As a writer and the funniest cast member of her previous gig, “The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore,” where for the first year and a half she also served as head writer. Why she matters:
Already having broken one glass ceiling as the first (and only) black woman head writer for a late-night comedy series, Thede will also be the first to have her own show since network mate Mo’Nique in 2011. Promising a mix of pop culture news with the requisite political material, Thede has the voice, chops and experience to put a distinctive stamp on a crowded late-night field.
Shazad Latif
Where you can see
him: As Lieutenant Ash Tyler, a security officer in “Star Trek: Discovery” (premiering Sept. 24). Latif was originally cast as a Klingon, but this spring he wound up switching sides in the “Trek” universe’s latest televised conflict. Where you may have
seen him: As an Indian-English Henry Jekyll in “Penny Dreadful,” Showtime’s impressionistic take on the classics of gothic horror.
Why he matters: Because in terms of television legacies, they don’t get much more revered than “Star Trek,” so the stakes are high. But with its history as one of the few franchises to choose utopia over dystopia when depicting humanity’s future — here scheduled to be roughly 10 years before the original mission of Capt. Kirk and the Enterprise — if nothing else it will be a change of pace.