Fall TV preview
Fewer, possibly better new series debut on broadcast
TBEVERLY HILLS, Calif. his year’s trend in fall broadcast TV: A dearth of new series. ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and The CW have reduced the number of new titles they’re rolling out this fall due to competition from streaming services such as Netflix and the soon-to-debut Disney+ (coming Nov. 12) and Apple TV+ (launching Nov. 1).
“It does suggest that it is hard these days to stand out in a marketplace that is full of new programming,” said entertainment president Kelly Kahl during the Television Critics Association summer 2019 press tour. “As opposed to throwing up a lot of new shows and hoping for the best, I think everybody is thinking, let’s marshal our resources and try to get behind each of these new shows that we do put on as strong as possible.”
Indeed, why debut too many new shows in a twoweek fall period, just to see them lost in the clutter?
Here’s what’s new:
SUNDAY
“Bless the Harts” (8:30 p.m., Fox): A Southern-fried animated comedy in the tradition of “King of the Hill” — but told from female characters’ points of view — the series follows single mom Jenny Hart (voice of Kristen Wiig, “Bridesmaids”), her lottery ticket-buying mother, Betty (Maya Rudolph, “Saturday Night Live”), and artist daughter Violet (Jillian Bell, “Workaholics”). Consistently funny but also sweet-natured, “Harts” quickly proves itself a blessed addition to Fox’s Sunday animation lineup. (Premieres Sept. 29.)
“Batwoman” (9 p.m., The CW): Yep, it’s another superhero show on The CW from executive producer Greg Berlanti but with a bit of a twist. Ruby Rose stars as Kate Kane, cousin to Bruce Wayne and inheritor of a Bat costume now that Batman has fled Gotham for unexplained reasons. What makes “Batwoman” stand apart is that Kate is a lesbian, and by the end of the premiere she’s caught up in an unconventional-for-TV love triangle. Beyond that, this superhero show is admittedly more of the same. (Oct. 6)
MONDAY
“Bob [Hearts] Abishola” (8:30 p.m., CBS): Swissvale native Billy Gardell returns in this new Chuck Lorre sitcom that has a slight premise and few laughs, but newcomer Folake Olowofoyeku as Abishola gives an effortless performance that’s equal parts sweet and tart. Gardell plays a Detroit sock salesman who has a heart attack, wakes up after surgery and falls in love with Abishola, his Nigerian-American nurse. The rest of the pilot could just as easily be titled “Bob Stalks Abishola.” Producers say they want to explore the immigrant experience, but that’s not superclear in the pilot. (Sept. 23)
“All Rise” (9 p.m., CBS): Great cast, lousy legal procedure. Relative newcomer Simone Missick stars as new Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lola Carmichael in this legal drama that’s as much about the courthouse workplace as it is about the legal cases. Maybe it should be more about the workplace, judging by a pilot that has problematic legal storylines, including a violation of communication rules. Yeah, there’s a lot of stuff that would never happen in a real courthouse here, but the characters are quite likable, especially Wilson Bethel (“Hart of Dixie”) as an assistant district attorney and Ruthie Ann Miles as Carmichael’s know-it-all judicial assistant. (Sept. 23)
“Prodigal Son” (9 p.m., Fox): Malcolm Bright (Tom Payne, aka Jesus on “The Walking Dead”), son of serial killer Dr. Martin Whitly (Michael Sheen), solves crimes by seeing what the killer would have seen. So basically this is “Profiler” with a Hannibal Lecter-ish father-son overlay. Malcolm cut off communication with his dad 10 years ago but turns to him for consultation on a new case. These scenes are far less entertaining than those with Malcolm’s mother, played by “Scandal” star Bellamy Young, hamming it up. These moments give “Prodigal Son” an occasional “Castle” vibe. (Sept. 23)
“Bluff City Law” (10 p.m., NBC): “Bluff City Law” is to legal dramas as last season’s “New Amsterdam” is to medical dramas: emotionally manipulative and meh. Jimmy Smits (“L.A. Law”) stars as a crusading Memphis civil rights lawyer who begs daughter Sydney (Caitlin McGee) to rejoin his firm. She does and immediately stirs up trouble as she heeds her father’s advice to “change the world,” which somehow involves using legal strategies that should cause a mistrial, but because this is broadcast network TV there’s a happy ending. (Sept. 23)
TUESDAY
“mixed-ish” (9 p.m., ABC): This “black-ish” prequel explores the 1980s childhood of Bow (Arica Himmel) growing up in a mixed-race family after they move off a commune. Fans of “blackish” are likely to enjoy this period comedy that gets a boost from Gary Cole (“Veep”) as Bow’s paternal grandfather. (Sept. 24)
“Emergence” (10 p.m., ABC): “Emergence” seems likely to be the umpteenth ABC mystery serial that will never provide a resolution (see: “Resurrection,” “Invasion,” “The Nine,” “The Crossing,” etc.). The concept isn’t overly complicated— no heavy mythology in the pilot — and the cast, including Clancy Brown and Donald Faison, has strong appeal. Allison Tolman (“Downward Dog”) returns to “Fargo” mode playing an understanding sheriff. She’s empathy in a bottle, which comes in handy when an aircraft crashes on a Long Island beach after a night of electrical outages, and a young girl, who doesn’t remember her name or where she’s from, is found near the crash site. Tolman’s sheriff takes the girl in — off the books — as shadowy figures give chase for reasons unknown. (Sept. 24)
WEDNESDAY
“Almost Family” (9 p.m., Fox): Brittany Snow (“American Dreams”) stars as Julia, daughter of a famous infertility doctor (Timothy Hutton, “Leverage”). Julia faces a crisis when her father is arrested for using his sperm to impregnate possibly hundreds of women who came to him seeking infertility treatments. The show plays this for laughs and the cringy thing it is as Julia discovers two new potential sisters, washed-up gymnast Roxy (Emily Osment) and frenemy Edie (Megalyn Echikunwoke). The cutesy new-sisters vibe sits awkwardly next to the dad’s-accused-of-sexual-assault plot. (Oct. 2)
“Nancy Drew” (9 p.m., The CW): 2018 Carnegie Mellon University grad Kennedy McMann stars as the title character who’s been reimagined. Nancy lives in a seaside Maine town that’s been haunted since a girl’s death in 2000. Nancy had planned to go to college, but her mother got cancer and died, so she’s now working as a waitress and sleeping with a local mechanic when a crime lord’s wife is found dead near Nancy’s workplace. Nancy’s detective skills kick in. The pilot offers fine post-teen drama, but it lacks the nod and wink of lead-in “Riverdale” and so far is more grounded and less insane, a positive or negative depending on one’s love of the crazy. (Oct. 9)
“Stumptown” (10 p.m., ABC): Actress Colbie Smulders (“How I Met Your Mother”) elevates this wellmade procedural private eye drama, starring as Dex, a PTSD-suffering, self-destructive Afghanistan War veteran in Portland, Ore., who eschews romance with her nice-guy bartender friend (Jake Johnson, “New Girl”) for a one-night stand with a hot cop (Michael Ealy, “Sleeper Cell”). Love triangle alert! Smulders is snarky, tough and damaged with a softer side that comes out around her brother, who has Down syndrome. (Sept. 25)
THURSDAY
“Perfect Harmony” (8:30 p.m., NBC): The first of two new “Community”-esque comedies on NBC — oddball gangs come together! — this one is funnier. Bradley Whitford (“The West Wing”) stars as a snobbish music professor widower who returns to Cumberland, Ky., to bury his wife and winds up leading a church choir. The chorus includes a soprano played by “Pitch Perfect” veteran Anna Camp (“Pitch Perfect”). Use of “Perfect” in the title” is surely an attempt to trade on the popularity of the “Pitch Perfect” movies. This consistently funny pilot introduces a character raised by missionaries who changed the titles of American TV shows and movies to teach moral lessons (“Glee” becomes “Being Gay Makes High School Hard”). (Sept. 26)
“The Unicorn” (8:30 p.m., CBS): Walton Goggins is best known for playing villainous characters on “The Shield” and “Justified,” but darn if he isn’t likable as a good-guy widower in this decent comedy pilot. On paper, this show sounds dreadful, but it rises above its premise largely thanks to Goggins. He stars as Wade, who lost his wife to cancer and now lives in what a friend describes as “the Disney version of ‘Grey Gardens’” with his two daughters and dogs lounging on kitchen counters. When frozen pity dinners run out, Wade agrees to start dating again and he finds himself dubbed a “unicorn” for his rare good guy nature. (Sept. 26)
“Carol’s Second Act” (9:30 p.m., CBS): More upbeat, positive and optimistic than any of her past characters on “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Back to You” and “The Middle,” Patricia Heaton stars as the title character, a divorced mom and retired school teacher who went to medical school and is now the oldest in a new group of hospital interns. The age jokes are in the CBS wheelhouse, and some of the gags are occasionally funny, but the whole endeavor seems predictably rote, from the cold, aloof chief resident to the uber-confident intern (JeanLuc Bilodeau, “Kyle XY”). (Sept. 26)
“Sunnyside” (9:30 p.m., NBC): Kal Penn stars as a disgraced Queens, N.Y., city councilman who coaches a group of misfits for their citizenship exam, which makes it the second new NBC show this fall to give a bit of a “Community” vibe, just not as funny as that pilot was. But the “Sunnyside” study group characters offer promise for bigger laughs to come, especially comedian Joel Kim Booster as half of a pair of siblings who whines about test prep, “I don’t understand why people expect me to learn new things. It’s not my brand!” (Sept. 26)
“Evil” (10 p.m., CBS): Producers Michelle and Robert King (“The Good Wife” and “The Good Fight”) offer the best broadcast network drama pilot this fall. It follows skeptical psychologist Kristin Brouchard (Katja Herbers), who works with priest-in-training David Acosta (Mike Colter, “Luke Cage,” “The Good Wife”) to investigate supposed cases of demonic possession and miracles. There’s an enjoyably spooky “X-Files” vibe and also a little too on-thenose will-they-or-won’tthey? chemistry between the married Kristin and the presumably celibate David. “Evil” evinces a welcome cheekiness, as when Kristin encounters a demon (possibly in her dreams) named George. (Sept. 26)
TV writer Rob Owen: rowen@post-gazette.com or 412-263-2582. Read the Tuned In Journal blog at post-gazette.com/tv. Follow RobOwenTV on Twitter or Facebook.