Five Promising New Fall TV Shows

It's that time of year. The time when there are a whole bunch of new TV series debuting within just a few weeks of each other - far more than most people could possibly keep up with.

So what sticks out as being worth your time? I've listed five of the most promising new series below, based on what we've seen, heard and what we know so far. There are some shows that nearly made this list -- Sleepy Hollow, Trophy Wife and The Blacklist among them -- that show signs they could soon turn into something strong as well. And it's very possible a couple of shows with outright poor pilots could quickly turn themselves around, as has happened in the past; just as it's possible a show with a promising start could quickly falter. But right now, as the TV season begins, here's five to keep your eye on...

.... Brooklyn Nine-Nine

 

Premiered September 17th, Tuesday on FOX.

Parks and Recreation creator Michael Schur and his fellow Parks alum Dan Goor have a simple but highly effective scenario here, imprinting the style of comedy Schur honed on Parks and The Office onto a cop show. Andy Samberg and Andre Braugher are a great wacky guy/serious guy pairing, surrounded by a strong group of supporting characters. It's important to remember that neither The Office or Parks and Recreation started all that strong, taking several episodes to really find themselves. Brooklyn Nine-Nine is all the more impressive for feeling very solid in its premiere, indicating the show could quickly find itself among the best comedies on TV these days.
Available in Nigeria early Wednesday mornings.


.... Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

 Premieres September 24th, Tuesdays on ABC.

Look, everyone is going to at least give this one a shot. But the good news is, it's worth your time. Joss Whedon and Marvel already hit pay dirt (to say the least) with The Avengers, so the anticipation for this series -- the first show to tie into the Marvel cinematic universe -- is sky high. But take away the Marvel connection and you'd still have plenty of interest in this show simply because it's Whedon returning to the medium he's kicked so much ass in. The pilot is very fun and exciting, setting a great tone for what's to come.
 Available in Nigeria early Wednesday mornings.

.... Masters of Sex

Premieres September 29th, Sundays on Showtime.

Showtime takes a look at the real life story of Masters and Johnson, the research duo who would become pioneers in the field of sexual response and how the human body responds during intercourse. The eyebrow-raising scenario is added to by the period setting, as William H. Masters and Virginia E. Johnson face considerable obstacles looking into a subject matter that wasn't exactly widely discussed in the 1950s. Masters of Sex is clever, funny, and, yes, provocative, with Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan expertly portraying the way ahead of their time duo at the center of the story.
 Available in Nigeria early Monday mornings.

.... Almost Human

Premieres November 4th, Monday on FOX.

The pilot to this one is good, but not great, yet still, there's a lot to be hopeful about here, especially given Almost Human's pedigree. For those of us who loved Fringe, getting a new sci-fi show from J.J. Abrams and J.H. Wyman so soon after that show ended is something to be excited about, as is seeing Karl Urban (Star Trek, Dredd) take the lead in the series. Urban and Michael Ealy are a good pairing as a cop 35 years in the future and his android partner. And keep in mind, Fringe started out just okay too. All of which is to say, let's see where Almost Human takes us...
 Available in Nigeria early Tuesday mornings.

.... Mob City



Premieres December 4th, Wednesday on TNT.

This is the one show on this list that is listed completely due to expectations, since it hasn't been sent out to press yet. Frank Darabont returns to TV following his unceremonious departure from The Walking Dead, with the Shawshank Redemption/Green Mile director tackling cops and mobsters in 1940s-50s Los Angeles. A couple of The Walking Dead cast alum are along for the ride, including Jon Bernthal and Jeffrey DeMunn, plus folks like Neal McDonough (Justified), Robert Knepper (Prison Break) and Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes). It all sounds pretty damn cool, no? We'll have to wait until late this year to see for ourselves, but there's certainly a lot to have us intrigued...
Available in Nigeria early Thursdays mornings.

News : Game Of Thrones Series High, New Shows and Casting News.

... This is your weekly reminder that Game of Thrones has hit a new series high. 5.5 million viewers this time, up from 5.3 million last week.

... Starz has announced a premiere month for its pirate epic "Black Sails": January 2014. The series follows Captain Flint (Toby Stephens) and takes place 20 years before the events of Treasure Island. There are a lot of pirate shows coming out over the next year, but if you like your pirates with a side of boobs and gore, this will be the one for you.

... TNT has given a series order to "The Last Ship", a military thriller starring "Grey's Anatomy" vet Eric Dane. The series, based on the William Brinkley novel of the same name, follows the crew of a Navy destroyer that survives a global nucelar catastrophe. The 10-episode season season ships off in 2014.

.... NBC has cancelled "Deception", the Meagan Good starring series. After poor ratings and critical backlash, and subsequent mediocre episodes, this series isn't coming back.

... Awesome U.K. sitcom "The IT Crowd" is coming back for an episode, according to creator Graham Linehan. The plan is to air a final 40-minute special on Channel 4 in the U.K., with cast members Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson, and Matt Berry all returning. If you haven't seen "The IT Crowd" (which failed as an American import starring Joel McHale), do it!

... NBC is milking this "The Office" sendoff for all it can (and why not?), expanding the May 16 series finale to an hour and 15 minutes. It will preceded by an hour-long Office retrospective and followed by a new episode of "Hannibal", which will run with limited commercial interruptions.

... We spent all of Season 2 wondering when FX's "The Americans" would kill Soviet double spy Nina and FBI secretary Martha, and now we're going to spend all of Season 2 wondering how the show will keep them alive. Actresses Annet Mahendru (Nina) and Alison Wright (Martha) have both been promoted to series regulars for the spy drama's second season.

... There's a standoff happening over at CBS's "Criminal Minds". The drama has not yet been renewed due to salary disagreements between cast members and the studio-and-network combo that's behind the series, ABC Studios and CBS. Final offers have gone out to Thomas Gibson, Joe Mantegna, Shemar Moore, Kirsten Vangsness, and A.J. Cook, but Vangsness and Cook have declined theirs, opting to stand together to bring attention to the fact that the female actors on the show are, in some cases, getting paid less than half of what their male counterparts are making. It's unclear whether the show would move on without Cook and Vangsness.

News: Pilots, Casting and Finales

--- J.J. Abrams' production company Bad Robot is in the process of acquiring the rights to Stephen King's novel 11/22/63 with the idea of adapting it for television. In the book, an English teacher travels back in time to to 1958 to prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy by Lee Harvey Oswald.

--- AMC's "The Walking Dead" is tapping "The Wire" for another casting addition. Lawrence Gilliard, Jr., who played D'Angelo Barksdale in the HBO series, will play Bob Stookie in the zombie drama. The character will be quite different from the Bob Stookey in the comics, as Gilliard is much younger. "The Walking Dead" previously cast The Wire vet Chad Coleman as Tyreese.

--- FX has cast Corey Stoll as the lead in its upcoming vampire pilot "The Strain". Stoll played the substance-abusing and adulterous senator Peter Russo in the Netflix's "House of Cards". In "The Strain", he'll play a head of the CDC during a viral outbreak that smells like vampirism. Guillermo del Toro is on board as a director, writer, and producer, and Lost's Carlton Cuse is lined up as producer and showrunner if it goes to series.

... NBC made a few more scheduling decisions for its summer, with the highlight being a Sunday, June 23 launch for its new drama "Crossing Lines". The series stars William Fichter and Donald Sutherland as members of the International Criminal Court, a group that chases down international crooks who operate over multiple borders.

... AMC has ordered a pilot for "Line of Sight", a sci-fi thriller from "Brotherhood" creator Blake Masters. In "Line of Sight", a National Transportation Safety Board investigator survives a plane crash, and then his head nearly explodes from all the conspiracies that are involved in the accident.

OFFICE CLOSURE UPDATE
--- We now have some details on The Office series finale, so turn away if you want to avoid spoilers! Go ahead! Turn away! Set months after the end of the documentary project, the episode will feature a wedding that brings back past and present Dunder-Mifflin workers, including guest-stars Mindy Kaling, BJ Novak, Rachael Harris, Dakota Johnson, Joan Cusack, Ed Begley Jr., Malcolm Barrett, Matt Jones (Badger!), Andy Buckley, Mike Schur, and Bobby Ray Shafer. Steve Carell reportedly won't be there, but he's gotta be in this, right? The one-hour finale airs May 16. [THR]

News this Week

--- AMC has announced the return date for Breaking Bad.
Sunday, August 11 at 9pm
The Emmy-winning show from creator Vince Gilligan has just eight more episodes left in its run, and depending how you look at it, they either comprise the second half of Season 5 or the entirety of Season 6. Personally, I'm calling it Season 6. Assuming Breaking Bad airs uninterrupted for eight straight weeks, that would place the series finale on September 29.

---Starz has ordered a second season for "Da Vinci's Demons",
"Da Vinci's Demons" the series that replaced "Spartacus" after the show ended. The first episode of Da Vinci's was good, fun to watch, so a new season even after only one episode had already aired is showing the network's faith in the show.

--- Steve Carell to appear in "The Office" finale????
Rumors circulating that Steve Carell might appear on the Series finale of "The Office", even though he had insisted he'll never return to the series as Michael Scott, seemed to have gained a foothold when reports emerged he was on the set of the series, on the last day of shooting.

--- "Heroes" to return?????
Microsoft has been looking to bring in original programming to its gaming console for some time now, and in September the company hired former CBS president Nancy Tellem to create a television studio specifically aimed at developing original series for Xbox Live. With a new Xbox console allegedly in the works for later this year. But is Heroes the answer?

NBC's Heroes ran for four uneven seasons from 2006 to 2010, bursting onto the scene as a huge hit before petering out later on. Its ensemble cast and structure could make for a decent revival. Apparently the idea is to start with a whole new group of ordinary people with extraordinary abilities and bring in past cast members for cameos.

---- More ladies for Hank Moody.
"Californication" continues to beef up its cast for Season 7, adding Heather Graham (Boogie Nights) and Mary Lynn Rajskub (24) for substantial. Graham's will be a season-long run, and she'll play a woman from Hank's past. Rajskub's stay will be a bit shorter, and she'll play a neurotic writer. The Sopranos vet Michael Imperioli was also recently added to the cast.