Last year’s network TV season proved, somewhat surprisingly,
that the rumors of the death of network TV had been greatly exaggerated. ABC
expanded their reign over network TV comedy by bringing us “Fresh Off the Boat”
and “Black-ish,” two of the funniest new sitcoms in a long time. ABC found a
hit (and possible Emmy winner) in “How to Get Away with Murder.” And FOX
changed the landscape entirely with one of the biggest shows of 2015, the
record-breaking “Empire.” Where are the networks at the beginning of a new
season? As the starter pistol is about to go off on the 2015-16 season, what
shows should you keep an eye on? Which ones should you ignore? I tried to stick
with only programs premiering in September and October (so no “Chicago Med” on
NBC and no inclusion of the best new comedy I’ve seen, ABC’s “The Real O’Neals”
with Martha Plimpton—it’s coming midseason). I also had technical issues with
the one new show on The CW this Fall, but given that I’m trying to pick the
best program on each network, I suppose “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” wins that title
by default.
CBS
The number one network for total viewers has two new
comedies and three new dramas, including programs starring Jane Lynch, James
Brolin, Dianne Wiest and Marcia Gay Harden. A bomb on CBS typically gets total
viewer numbers that would make them a smash hit on any other network, but the
channel still has difficulty drawing in the younger viewers that advertisers
covet. And so expensive shows like “Vegas” with Dennis Quaid get the axe
whereas they wouldn’t on NBC or ABC. CBS needs to bring in young viewers, and I
expect they’ll seriously make some headway in that department this Fall as
their best new program is one that should appeal to teens and twentysomethings,
the charming and fun “Supergirl.”
Premiering on October 26th, “Supergirl” stars
relative newcomer Melissa Benoist (the girlfriend in “Whiplash”) as Kara
Danvers, Superman’s cousin. She was sent to Earth shortly after Kal-El to help
protect him, but a screw-up separated them and, well, Superman didn’t need a
whole lot of protection. So while the Man of Steel has been making headlines,
his cousin has been under the radar. Of course, that’s about to change, despite
the protestations of her foster sister Alex (Chyler Leigh) and to the great
satisfaction of her media mogul boss Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart), a woman in
need of some big stories. Jeremy Jordan (“The Last Five Years”) and Mehcad
Brooks co-star.
“Supergirl” isn’t reinventing the wheel by any stretch, but
I suspect it will make Benoist an overnight star. She’s a natural in front of
the camera, playing Supergirl as a variation on the Superman/Clark created by
Christopher Reeve. She’s a reluctant hero, but also someone who wants to show
off her powers and knows she can do some good. The entire cast is strong, and
the pilot really hums.
As for the rest of the CBS line-up, I’m a little worried
that “Life in Pieces” will be a sizable hit. Worried because everyone in its
talented cast deserves a better project. So clearly designed to be a CBS
version of “Modern Family” that they should practically pay the ABC hit
royalties, it’s a multi-character family piece starring Wiest, Brolin, Colin
Hanks, Thomas Sadoski (“The Newsroom”), Betsy Brandt (“Breaking Bad”) and Dan
Bakkedahl. The writing could improve. It almost has to. “Code Black” is
well-done but familiar (although I may tune again just for Luis Guzman); “Angel
From Hell” wastes Lynch’s perfect timing; “Limitless” is just silly. Again, you
should know that I have not seen much of these shows and often not final
versions. These are merely first impressions. Full reviews will follow in the
coming weeks.
NBC
The Peacock Network didn’t make available their most
highly-publicized show, “Heroes Reborn,” which has been pitched as what “Heroes”
would be like if it had never been canceled and was in its 10th season. Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival next weekend, I’m
certainly curious. Come back for a full review.
As for what I have seen, the less said about the horrendous
comedy “Truth Be Told,” the better. “Blindspot” has an intriguing premise—a
naked woman is dropped off in Times Square with tons of unexplained tattoos and
no memory of her past. She quickly learns she has a very special set of skills,
and her ink points to criminal activity. It’s kind of like “The Bourne Identity”
meets “Prison Break.” Like a lot of this Fall’s high concept shows, it’s a
little silly, but it could develop into something interesting. My biggest
concern would be that audiences won’t have the patience to keep it on the air.
It’s one of those shows that I could see getting canceled before it gives
viewers any answers.
On the other hand, I suspect that “The Player,” premiering on Thursday, September 24th,
will be a hit. It has that breakneck pacing of “The Blacklist” and a clever
premise. Set in Las Vegas (which, come to think of it, has been poison for new
shows lately), “The Player” stars Phillip Winchester (“Strike Back”) as Alex
Kane, a man drawn into a high-stakes game when his wife is murdered. Kane is
suddenly controlled by Mr. Johnson (Wesley Snipes) and his assistant Cassandra
King (Charity Wakefield) as some of the world’s richest people in the world
gamble on the world of crime. Can Kane “win the hand” or will the underworld
get the best of him this time? It’s a B-movie pleasure to be sure but the pilot
hums, providing just enough of what seems likely to be the show’s multi-episode
narrative and giving viewers an idea of what the program will be like week to
week. And what’s that? Dumb fun.
ABC
All that was available pre-season on “The Muppets” was a
ten-minute preview but we’ll have more thoughts on that before it premieres.
For now, it didn’t qualify (even if I did find the 10 minutes pretty funny, if
a bit inconsistent). The other fall half-hour show is “Dr. Ken” starring Ken
Jeong of “The Hangover” and “Community,” and it’s an offensively bad disaster.
Again, I’ve only seen one, and it may even be polished before premiere, which
means I’ll have to suffer through it again before forming a final opinion.
Based on what I’ve seen, nothing can save it.
In the drama department, ABC made out a little better during
pilot season. On Sundays, a night they’ve struggled with lately, they’re
launching two dramas on September 27th with soap opera elements and
multi-episode arcs. While Don Johnson brings some fun style to “Blood &
Oil,” “Quantico” is the superior
program of the two. Priyanka Chopra stars as Alex Parrish, a new cadet at the
infamous FBI educational institution. The narrative flashes back and forth
between the early days at Quantico and the aftermath of a deadly bombing in New
York City. We quickly learn that one of the young wannabe agents is the
mastermind behind the terrorist attack. Created by Joshua Safran (“Smash,” “Gossip
Girl”), “Quantico” is a well-paced, entertaining hour with a really strong
cast, especially Chopra. Which one of these likable young agents was secretly a
terrorist? It’s a fun question that will keep me engaged for at least a few
weeks. And that’s all a pilot really needs to do—make you want to watch another
episode.
FOX
FOX has one of the most interesting Fall 2015 seasons in
that almost all of their new shows have an “almost there” quality to them in
that they could be really clicking by week two or total disasters. I think it’s least likely that “Rosewood” develops into anything more interesting than its
pilot, and their two new pilots—“Grandfathered” and “The Grinder”—live and die
on their casts. Both need to finetune their writing but John Stamos on “Grandfathered”
as a ladies man who learns he has a granddaughter, and Fred Savage and Rob Lowe
on “The Grinder,” prove why they’ve been in this business as long as they have.
“Grinder” is the better of the two, but neither are going to set Twitter on
fire yet.
People are more likely to be talking about “Minority Report” and “Scream Queens,” in a dead heat for the
most promising new show on the network. Neither completely works from the
beginning, but both have ingredients that intrigue me and style that’s missing
from a lot of the other new shows this season.
“Minority Report” is up first on Monday, September 21st,
and I think it will make a solid partner for “Gotham” for most viewers. Set
eleven years after the events of the Stephen Spielberg film, the focus shifts to one
of the Precogs, a young man named Dash (Stark Sands), who has basically been in
hiding since the Pre-Crime Unit was shut down. He’s still in touch with twin brother
Arthur (Nick Zano) and foster sister Agatha (Laura Regan), but he’s not really
allowed to use his ability. When he witnesses a murder about to happen in his
mind, he ends up crossing paths with Detective Lara Vega (Meagan Good). Much of
the film’s style and aesthetic have been transported to the show. It’s
surprisingly loyal. And surprisingly hyper. Everyone talks too fast and the
pilot is way too quick-cut. But those are problems that can be easily fixed. As
the actors and writers settle into their characters and concept, “Minority
Report” could really work. As I’ve said so many times, judging a pilot is so
difficult because it’s hard to say what it will be like in a week, much less a
month or two. I think there’s potential here.
The same goes for “Scream Queens,” premiering the next night
on September 22nd. Created by the notorious Ryan Murphy, Brad
Falchuk and Ian Brennan, it wouldn’t be vastly incorrect to describe this as
Murphy’s “Glee” meets Murphy’s “American Horror Story.” He sets his satirical
sights on sorority girls, including one headed by an awful creature named
Chanel (Emma Roberts), who will do anything to keep her social status, even try
to hide the fact that someone is killing her sisters and pledges. Jamie Lee
Curtis steals the two-hour pilot as the dean of the university where the
bloodshed unfolds.
Murphy’s rapid-fire style can be as aggravating as it is
clever (often because it telegraphs just
how clever Murphy and his team think they are), but it’s impossible to deny
that a few of the witty barbs connect. In the opening scene, a teenager has a
baby in a bathtub and her sorority sister freaks out because she’s not missing
the party downstairs (“I am NOT missing ‘Waterfalls’
for this! ‘Waterfalls’ is my jam!”) Murphy goes on to really target a class
of people too self-centered to see the world outside of their bubble. “You’re an awful person.” “Maybe. But I’m rich and I’m pretty, so it
doesn’t matter.” Lines like that go a long way to smoothing out some of the
bumps in the “Scream Queens” premiere, and the show gets tighter and more
entertaining as it goes along. Again, that’s what every network wants from
their pilots—enough promise to keep you watching for another week.
Come back starting September 21st for all of our
Fall TV coverage, starting with reviews of “Blindspot,” “Heroes Reborn,” “The
Player,” “Minority Report” and “Scream Queens” on that date; “Limitless” and “The
Muppets” on September 22nd; “Rosewood” on September 23rd;
“Blood & Oil” and “Quantico” on September 23rd.
