Honestly-if someone asked you to name your favorite shows, would you even list more than one network show? There are still some that people would list (Scandal, The Good Wife, Nashville, and Parks and Recreation come to mind), but even those would be on your guilty pleasure list. I still watch some, but most are more out of habit than anything else, and even those are relics. Community and How I Met Your Mother both disappeared this past year, I couldn't handle New Girl anymore, my once beloved Glee I'm so behind on I'll just catch up when it's all over on DVD, and all but three of the remaining shows are FOX Animation Domination Sunday, which is more of a before-bed comfort food than something that I actively involve myself in. Of the three live-action shows, the newest is five seasons' old Modern Family (which actually had a pretty strong fifth season, even though it's totally uncool to say that). The other two are The Big Bang Theory (which, while occasionally funny, has long since slipped from clever into cloying and probably would be headed to a pasture next year except the money is too good) and Parks and Recreation (enjoying that brilliant rejuvenated confidence that comes with knowing you're about to have your final season). Overall, though, I watch no network dramas anymore (and that's generally the genre I gravitate toward) and haven't picked up a new series in three seasons.
So I look into this new list of shows with a lot of heartache and fingers crossed-I don't want to give up on network television (there's still a place for quality half-hour sitcoms and I still wave the flag for Lost), but I'm being given little choice since most of the new season seems like a letdown already. The below are the top five (the number one being of the most interest) that I want to watch this fall.
No, that's not the name of the series (though, in a season with The Mysteries of Laura...). There are a number of shows that have actors that I am particularly intrigued by and generally enjoy, but their shows have giant red flags. Octavia Spencer is perfectly-fitted for a lead role on a television series with her comic timing and ability to balance it with gravitas (that Murder, She Wrote reboot idea was great and I don't know why it didn't go anywhere), but Red Band Society looks like the sort of thing I just couldn't handle every week (though the trailer got me a bit choked up). I am all for gay characters on television and Laurie Metcalf is wildly under-appreciated, but she could do so much better than The McCarthys (which looks like it was from Will and Grace season one except it's sixteen years later). Alfre Woodard should be president, but not when I have to also watch Katherine Heigl. Casey Wilson was a riot on Happy Endings and has terrific sitcom timing, but Marry Me seems like it will be cancelled by November. And John Mulaney is adorable and funny in his stand-up, but should have been able to swing better than what FOX just gave him. If the reviews improve on any of these shows or there's a surprise ratings hit I'll probably check in because I want these actors to do well, but I'd really prefer them to have good material more.
I don't watch anything on The CW. To the point where while I was researching it I referred to it as the WB. That's how both old and out-of-it I am. That said, I cannot help but be intrigued enough by The Flash to want to put it in an actual listing here instead of just dismiss it. The show seems to have that nice comic-book vibe but without going so heavy-handed quite yet. I also am marveling at how the show is able to sustain the special effects. The thing I don't think that network television has quite realized about what people are craving in cable and premium television is the anthology sort of story-the way that there's a patience in the plotting and that people don't have to worry that the show won't be here next week (you at least get a season finale, for example). There is a place and a time for serials, but if networks want to get back to creating great, watchable dramas like Lost or Desperate Housewives (or wonder why Scandal works so well) it's because there's a vision for the show. The Flash seems to have an understanding of that. Plus, Grant Gustin is crazy hot.
I didn't really want to list both of the comic book shows in the Top 4, but you give me a better solution. The cast isn't what you'd call awe-inspiring (I rather enjoy Ben McKenzie, but have never been able to say the same about Jada Pinkett Smith, and I'm not really familiar with the rest), but again-I'm willing to get behind a series that clearly has a story and a direction to tell, even if it's a story and direction we've seen before. I'm in desperate need of a network drama to work, and this has that vibe that it could be a huge hit. Plus, there's at least some fireworks and potential in the trailer, and unlike some past fall seasons, this is probably the highest concept series that we're going to get this year (it's really light on high-concept, probably because Revolution failed so spectacularly). Color me intrigued, though wishing we could find another universe to play around with.
An incredibly saucy title, this trailer is the only one I actually watched twice. Dean Thomas goes to law school is initially what I got (Alfie Enoch plays what looks to be a main character), but really, this trailer is all about Viola Davis. Davis' momentum couldn't be hotter right now (I'd argue she may well have deserved both of those Oscars), and while I think that she isn't quite right for television (she's more of a movie star), that doesn't mean she cannot sell it, and she genuinely seems to be having fun with a sly role. Throw in the only gay character that seems to actually, you know, be gay in one of these trailers (The McCarthys subscribes to the sexless Will Truman avenue of portrayal) and a wickedly fun plot (is the entire trailer just from the pilot or throughout a season-it has the vibes of both, which shows that it could be quite sustainable) and you have the recipe for something I want to watch. Finally, after years of oddly protesting, I will be watching a Shonda Rhimes' series.
I'm aware this is super bratty to put at number one, and honestly, I probably should have just gone with HTGAWM at the top slot, but this trailer is so good. The only problem with it, quite frankly, is that it's a limited series (based off the hit Broadchurch from the BBC, the show will only run for ten episodes). Otherwise, the show has a Twin Peaks meets Prisoners vibe, and what a cast! David Tennant, Anna Gunn, Nick Nolte, Jacki freaking Weaver! You couldn't ask for a better crew, and Nolte and Weaver in particular seem to be A) incredibly well-cast and B) wickedly fun to watch. I genuinely cannot wait for this series to premiere. If only the networks would have this sort of confidence with an open-run series, they'd be in a far better place.
Those are my list (decidedly light on comedies-I'm not big on any of them at this point). What are yours? What are you dying to see this fall? Share in the comments!
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