The networks have all unveiled their new fall shows, and some definitely look more promising than others…
Most Promising: Although I wasn’t knocked out by any one show, these have the most potential in just their set-ups and their casts…
5. Sleepy Hollow…Fox’s new drama takes a tired central premise (some type of fantasy/sci-fi element to solve basic procedural mysteries) and gooses it with enough atmosphere to make Tim Burton jealous. Plus, the radiant Nichole Behari on a weekly basis can’t be a bad thing.
4. Hostages…CBS dramas are never as good as they initially look. [They just can’t help themselves from making everything a procedural.] But this limited series looks interesting.
3. Brooklyn 99…A cop comedy with Andy Samberg and Andre Bragher. May take a few weeks to find its footing (as all comedies from The Mindy Project to Parks and Recreation do) but I believe in this show.
2. Blacklist…Who doesn’t love James Spader in morally ambiguous mode? Here he’s playing a master criminal who agrees to bring down everyone he’s ever worked with but he’ll only talk to an undistinguished FBI agent he seemingly has no connection to.
1. Almost Human…Like Sleepy Hollow, it could be a typical cop show with a slightly innovative premise, but I’m hoping for the next Fringe instead.
Least Promising
Dishonorable Mention: Ironside…Blair Underwood updates the detective, but there’s nothing fresh here and TV remakes almost never work.
5. Meet the Goldbergs…Better yet, don’t meet them
4. Dads, Mom, Back in the Game…Three shows where people have to move back in with their parents/kids. Three good shows to get cancelled.
3. Junior Masterchef…What’s better than Gordon Ramsay screaming at people? How about screaming at kids? Rather than see them get scarred for life, I’ll just skip this one.
2. Sean Saves the World…The gay parenting trend made relevant by Modern Family and The New Normal reaches its nadir here as Sean Hayes plays a man from the 90’s (this show is old-fashioned to the bone) trying to raise a daughter.
1. The Millers…Will Arnett deserves better. Beau Bridges deserves better. Margo Martindale deserves a LOT better. To see this great actress go from sterling, complex characters in Justified and the Americans to farting in her pajamas really makes me depressed.