BEST IN SHOW
The approaching fall TV season boasts a bounty of ‘can’t miss’ shows that are worth checking out
April showers may bring May flowers, but cooler September weather brings a bunch of new TV shows.
It’s as if the TV gods are begging you to grab the remote control and hunker down in an adult-size onesie, preferably shaped liked the zoo animal of your choice. And you wouldn’t want to anger the TV gods, would you? Why risk a purgatory of reruns, laugh tracks and commercial breaks?
To that end, once you’ve settled on your onesie (or OK, fine, plain-old pyjamas), the task at hand is to sort through the new offerings for fall. Here are nearly two-dozen new shows — and one recently revived one — that are worth checking out.
FACTUAL ENTERTAINMENT
If you sit very quietly and summon your sweetest memories of Johnny Carson, you can feel it — the tectonic plates of late-night television are shifting once again. Indian-Canadian YouTube star Lilly Singh is taking over Carson Daly’s time slot, making her the first openly bisexual woman of colour to host a late show on a major network. A Little Late with Lilly Singh debuts Sept. 16 on NBC/Global.
Another reason to wave the Canadian flag: CBC is reviving Battle of the Blades (Sept. 19), which it cancelled in 2013 amid budget cuts. Once again, figure skaters and hockey players will pair up to perform ice dancing routines. Ron MacLean and Kurt Browning are returning as host and head judge, respectively.
CBC is also debuting Family
Feud Canada (Dec. 17), with Gerry Dee holding court as families try to guess the most popular answers to survey questions.
Moving from the Canadian public broadcaster to the U.S. one, PBS is embarking on another Ken Burns odyssey — and this documentary spans eight parts and 16 hours. Country Music (Sept. 15) traces the genre’s growth in the 20th century, featuring interviews with more than 80 artists.
And yes, Netflix’s miniseries Unbelievable (now streaming) is scripted, not exactly fitting into the “factual entertainment” category, but it’s based on real events detailed in a Pulitzer Prize-winning article. Kaitlyn Dever stars as a teen who’s charged with making a false rape accusation before two detectives (Toni Collette and Merritt Wever) investigate.
TV ADAPTATIONS
Forget reading, writing and arithmetic — the three Rs of pop culture are still reboot, revamp and remarket. Comic book adaptations Watchmen (Oct. 20, HBO) and Batwoman (Oct. 6,
The CW) are on tap, with Watchmen helmed by Damon Lindelof (Lost, The Leftovers), who brings the story into a Trump-inspired modern era. The new Batwoman stars Orange Is the New Black actress Ruby Rose as TV’s first openly lesbian superhero.
Meanwhile, Stumptown
(Sept. 25, ABC/CTV), based on the popular graphic novels, stars Cobie Smulders as unorthodox Marine veteran Dex Parios, who’s now a private investigator. Jake Johnson, Camryn Manheim and Tantoo Cardinal also star.
Three book series will get the small-screen treatment. Philip Pullman’s fantasy novels are the inspiration for His Dark Materials (date TBA, HBO), which struts fancy with a cast including James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson and Lin-Manuel Miranda. The Witcher fantasy series lands at Netflix (date TBA) with Henry Cavill as the monster-hunting hero Geralt of Rivia. And Nancy Drew (Oct. 9, The CW/W Network) returns to TV after 40 years, revamped for today’s teens. Josh Schwartz (The O.C.) and Stephanie Savage (Gossip Girl) are executive producers.
Don’t forget Star Wars — as if George Lucas would ever let you. The franchise will debut The Mandalorian when the Disney+ streaming service launches on Nov. 12. Created and written by Jon Favreau, it’s set five years after the events of Return of the Jedi and follows a bounty hunter played by Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones, Narcos).
COMEDIES
Memories of The Big Bang Theory may still be dancing in your head — and rerunning on your TV — but co-creator Chuck Lorre has a new comedy in the mix.
Bob Hearts Abishola (Sept. 23, CBS/CTV) stars Mike & Molly’s Billy Gardell as a sock company owner who falls for his nurse, a Nigerian immigrant played by Folake Olowofoyeku.
Mixed-ish (Sept. 24, ABC/ Citytv), meanwhile, is the newest addition to the -ish family, following older siblings Blackish and Grown-ish. This one is narrated by present-day Bow (Tracee Ellis Ross), who tells the story of growing up in a mixedrace family in the 1980s.
Like Disney+, forthcoming streaming service Apple+ wants to prove it can make prestige content, Apple-ifying big names for its much-hyped The Morning Show (date TBA). Jennifer Aniston+, Steve Carell+ and Reese Witherspoon+ star as morning news broadcasters embroiled in behind-the-scenes drama. The first two seasons reportedly cost a staggering US$300 million to produce.
A couple of offbeat options with big names attached: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Jillian Bell lend their voices to animated series Bless the Harts (Sept. 29, Fox/Citytv), about a fun-loving but poor southern family; and Paul Rudd stars as two versions of the same character, Miles, in Living With Yourself (Oct. 18, Netflix). When Miles undergoes a mysterious treatment, he discovers that it has improved on him with a Miles 2.0.
DRAMAS
You can take your pick of family-driven dramas this fall. Almost Family (Oct. 2, Fox/CTV) centres on a woman (Brittany Snow) who learns that her dad (Timothy Hutton), a fertility doctor, has used his own sperm to conceive more than a hundred children. Prodigal Son (Sept. 23, Fox/Global) untangles the relationship between a criminal psychologist (Tom Payne) and his serial killer father (Michael Sheen), and adult animated series Undone (Sept. 13, Amazon Prime Video) follows a 20-something woman (Rosa Salazar) who can time-travel and communicate with her dead dad (Bob Odenkirk). Undone comes from BoJack Horseman creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg.
If you’re more into mystery and myth, the neo-noir fantasy Carnival Row (now streaming, Amazon Prime Video) stars Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne in a story about mythical creatures who immigrate to a city populated with humans. Evil (Sept. 26, CBS/Global) follows a psychologist, a priest and a contractor as they investigate supposedly supernatural incidents, and Emergence (Sept. 24, ABC/CTV) stars Fargo’s Allison Tolman as a police chief who finds a girl who can’t remember who she is or what happened to her.
Finally, Ryan Murphy’s first Netflix series The Politician (Sept. 27) stars Ben Platt as a male version of Tracy Flick, Reese Witherspoon’s character in the film Election. Payton Hobart knows that he’s going to be president of the United States, but first he needs to become president of his high school. Gwyneth Paltrow plays his mother.