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HBO has the classic slogan “It’s Not TV, It’s HBO.” FX has “Fearless.” Starz, for its part, has “Taking You Places.” But television as a whole should have an all-encompassing one: “No Days Off.”
Now that TV’s the new everything, there’s never any downtime for television junkies—there’s nothing like how January or August give moviegoers chances to save money and know that whatever’s new in theaters probably isn’t very good. Take this summer, for instance—in addition to returning favorites like Masters of Sex, a slew of strong new shows debuted and kept DVRs full and people’s schedules unmanageable, from HBO’s The Leftovers to FX’s The Strain and Cinemax’s The Knick.
And now that fall is here, it’s only going to get even more crowded. Just like Hollywood studio are busy getting ready to unveil their big-screen awards season hopefuls, TV network executives are scrambling to set up their plethora of new sitcom pilots and prestigious rookie dramas while also saying goodbye to shows like Sons of Anarchy and Boardwalk Empire and looking to reinvent others like Homeland and American Horror Story.
Clear your calendars, folks, because the next few months are about to work your TiVo boxes out. To help you navigate through all the small-screen programming, here are The Most Anticipated TV Shows of Fall 2014.
Boardwalk Empire (HBO)
Stars: Steve Buscemi, Shea Whigham, Michael K. Williams, Michael Shannon, Stephen Graham, Kelly Macdonald, Vincent Piazza, Gretchen Mol, Jeffrey Wright, Anatol Yusef
Premiere date: September 7
That rare occurrence of a TV show ending way too early.
Perhaps because its period trappings cost a ton and its ratings haven’t ever been on Game of Thrones’ level, HBO’s Prohibition-era drama Boardwalk Empire is heading into its fifth and final season, and it’s a frustratingly abrupt conclusion to one of television’s most underrated shows. With so much real-life history to pull from, showrunner Terence Winter’s multi-layered, slow-moving gangster series could theoretically continue for several more seasons. Furthermore, Boardwalk’s stellar fourth season was the show’s best run yet. It’d finally hit its stride towards excellence.
Which, though, means there’s a strong chance it’ll go out on top, rather than defecate all over longstanding fans’ faithfulness a la, say, Dexter. Winter’s introducing numerous new characters into Atlantic City capo Nucky Thompson’s (Steve Buscemi) ever-growing world of crime, including Eliot Ness (Jim True-Frost) and Chicago enforcer Mike D’Angelo (Louis Cancelmi). There’s also a heavy The Godfather: Part II vibe happening, in the form of recurring flashbacks to 1884 AC, when a young Nucky (Nolan Lyons) first started politicking with his mentor, the Commodore. And, of course, it’s always better to end on a Godfather 2 note rather than, you know, The Godfather: Part III. —Matt Barone
Sons of Anarchy (FX)
Stars: Charlie Hunnam, Katey Sagal, Kim Coates, Tommy Flanagan, Mark Boone Junior, Dayton Callie, Theo Rossi, Jimmy Smits, Drea de Matteo, Malcolm Jamal Warner, Annabeth Gish, CCH Pounder, Robert Patrick
Premiere date: September 9
And speaking of underrated TV shows that had best-ever seasons last year…
Despite its minimal critical analyses and traditionally non-existent Emmy support, Sons of Anarchy has amassed a sizable and undyingly loyal fan-base for a reason—it’s the best soap opera on television. Instead of sappy romance and skirt-chasing philanderers, though, this soap pulls its intense drama from grizzled motorcycle-riding criminals, shoot-outs with automatic weapons in broad daylight, and hilariously unsubtle montages set to bluesy rock tunes. And it’s all so much damn fun to watch.
Also like Boardwalk Empire, Sons of Anarchy is entering its final season, with Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam) reeling from the [SPOILER ALERT] gruesome murder of his one true love, Tara. Without giving too much away, season seven opens with Jax getting out of the clink and getting wrong information about Tara’s killer, thus starting a war against one of the MC’s rival crews that, well, should keep the corpse total rising. It’s a Kurt Sutter show, after all. We wouldn’t have it any other way. —Matt Barone
New Girl (Fox)
Stars: Zooey Deschanel, Jake Johnson, Max Greenfield, Lamorne Morris, Hannah Simone, Damon Wayans, Jr.
Premiere date: September 16
New Girl, a show entering its fourth season, has a very simple plot. A woman, Jess, played by the (cringe, sorry to use this word) adorkable Zooey Deschanel moved in with a bunch of dudes she met on Craigslist. It turns out the guys are a bunch of hilarious, caring, and charming men, who are no way like most roomies you meet on the website. We've watched Jess and Nick (Jake Johnson) fall for each other throughout the seasons, but now, they'll have to deal with the sticky situation that is living with your ex, who's still your friend.
New Girl is a special type of sitcom, and a rare one, where you care about all the characters despite their personality flaws; you're invested in their dynamic and relationships with their friends, and the jokes are always hilarious. There's no cheesy hug at the end of an episode, but you never doubt the dedication and love they have for one another. —Hope Schreiber
The Mindy Project (Fox)
Stars: Mindy Kaling, Chris Messina, Ike Barinholtz, Ed Weeks, Beth Grant, Adam Pally
Premiere date: September 16
Do yourself a favor and catch up on The Mindy Project. What started off as a show that resembled a rom-com, shakily finding its footing in the first season, has quickly become one of the most entertaining shows on TV. Despite her recent Emmys snub, Kaling proves herself to be one of the best writers in the business. Inspired by her own mother, Kaling plays Dr. Mindy Lahiri, an OB/GYN, living and earning paychecks in New York City and trying to figure out her love life while working alongside Dr. Danny Castellano (Chris Messina), Mindy's friend/annoying co-worker/boyfriend. —Hope Schreiber
Red Band Society (Fox)
Stars: Octavia Spencer, Dave Annable, Griffin Gluck, Nolan Sotillo, Charlie Rowe, Brian Bradley, Ciara Bravo
Premiere date: September 17
If The Fault in Our Stars and If I Stay have taught us anything, it's that people love sick and hurt teenagers. They eat it up!
Red Band Society is cashing in on that. Set in the pediatric ward of a hospital, it's a comedy-drama following the lives of the ensemble cast of characters as they battle cancer and anorexia, begin their search for a new heart, and provide narration for the show while in a coma. The pilot episode, available on Hulu, is filled with hope and camaraderie, but there's a sneaking suspicion that the show is going to break your heart multiple times. And, with an exceptional teen cast, who, despite battling life-threatening diseases, still have to fight the urges of puberty, Red Band Society feels like Glee minus the singing. —Hope Schreiber
Sleepy Hollow (Fox)
Stars: Tom Mison, Nicole Beharie, Orlando Jones, Lyndie Greenwood, John Noble, Katia Winter
Premiere date: September 22
It was supposed to be the big joke of fall 2013. Instead, a year later, Sleepy Hollow returns triumphant as one of few network TV crowd-pleasers. With one season in the can, it's officially time to kill the bewilderment and just accept the improbable: Sleepy Hollow is great. The series, about an action-hero Ichabod Crane thrust into present-day to battle The Headless Horseman and the rest of the underworld, doesn't just work—it's fun as hell.
Last season ended with an appropriately hellish cliffhanger: Ichabod (James Mison) finally rescued his true love Katrina (Katia Winter) from purgatory, only to leave his partner-in-demonic-crime-fighting Abbie (Nicole Beharie) trapped there in Katrina's stead. And their long-lost son Henry (John Noble)—as in, from the 18th century when they were together—is actually still alive, bitter and sold his soul to become a horseman of hell. Year two will find Henry in full Big Bad mode, placing Ichabod in an awkward conflict of interest, but more importantly, the writers promise more of everything that made season one a hit.
More monsters, more scares, more humor, and best of all more of the awesomely nonsensical mythology that pairs real historical figures with the crazy supernatural lore—Ben Franklin himself is getting in on the action. Bring on the madness. —Frazier Tharpe
Gotham (Fox)
Stars: Ben McKenzie, Sean Pertwee, Donal Logue, Jada Pinkett Smith, Erin Richards, David Mazouz, Robin Lord Taylor, Camren Bicondova, Cory Michael Smith, Victoria Cartagena, Zabryna Guevara
Premiere date: September 22
Taking a page out of The CW's playbook, FOX is cashing in on the DC universe with Gotham. But don't expect yet another version of the billionaire caped crusader snatching up bad guys in Gotham City. Rather, this series travels back in time, way before Batman became Batman. Told from the perspective of a young detective James Gordon, Gotham will not only provide a glimpse into the life of a pre-teen Bruce Wayne, but also showcase the origin story of his would-be greatest adversaries, including Penguin, the Riddler, Mr. Freeze, Harvey Dent, Poison Ivy, and the Joker. —Tara Aquino
Forever (ABC)
Stars: Ioan Gruffudd, Alana de la Garza, Lorraine Toussaint, Donnie Keshawarz, Joel David Moore, Judd Hirsch
Premiere date: September 22
Forever’s plot description begs the question, “Will I wish I was watching Tom Cruise in Edge of Tomorrow instead?” Similar to Cruise’s character in that slept-on summer movie gem, Forever protagonist Dr. Henry Morgan (Ioan Gruffudd) is totally unkillable—whenever he “dies,” he comes back minutes later in his birthday suit and without any memory of his most recent death. And that’s been going on for 200 years.
That premise alone isn’t half-bad, an intriguing twist on “undead” tropes that typically involve zombies or vampires. But here’s the rub: Forever, despite its fantastical undertones, is yet another medical drama, with Gruffudd’s character using his 200-year knowledge as a New York City medical examiner who’s a go-to guy for a detective (Alana de la Garza) who, let’s face it, will also be his love interest. Part interesting concept and part sanitized Dexter, Forever will need to do more than paint by numbers if it wants to be more than just a bland reminder of Edge of Tomorrow’s superiority. —Matt Barone
Black-ish (ABC)
Stars: Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Laurence Fishburne, Yara Shahidi, Marcus Scribner, Miles Brown, Marsai Martin
Premiere date: September 24
The lack of diversity on television for the last few years inspired The Game writer Kenya Barris and executive producer Larry Wilmore (The Daily Show) to collaborate on a sitcom that tackles what it means to be Black in America today. In the tradition of The Cosby Show, Black-ish stars Anthony Anderson as Andre "Dre" Johnson, the patriarch of an African-American family living in a predominantly white, upper-middle class, suburban neighborhood with his wife, Rainbow (Tracee Ellis Ross), and his "pops" (Laurence Fishburne). The family struggles with balancing their four kids' inadvertent assimilation into White American culture, and teaching their children about their heritage and cultural history as Black people in America.
Dre makes several comical attempts at reintroducing his kids to their "blackness" while coming to terms with the fact that they are of a different generation. It remains to be seen whether the show will perpetuate pre-existing stereotypes about black culture, or if it will successfully challenge the mainstream television sphere's perceptions and portrayals of African-American families, but the only way to find out is to catch it when it premieres later this month on ABC. —Brooke Marine
Scandal (ABC)
Stars: Kerry Washington, Darby Stanchfield, Katie Lowes, Guillermo Diaz, Jeff Perry, Tony Goldwyn, Joshua Malina, Bellamy Young, Scott Foley
Premiere date: September 25
Where is Olivia Pope? Last season we saw Olivia Pope & Associates in the stickiest of situations yet, and the eponymous fixer had boarded an airplane to an undisclosed location. Shonda Rhimes' three-hour block on Thursdays leave Scandal to serve as a somewhat soapy palate cleanser between the long withstanding Grey's Anatomy and the highly anticipated How to Get Away with Murder. While Columbus Short will not return to reprise his role as Harrison, something to look forward to is that Portia de Rossi has allegedly been cast to have a guest arc this season, and if you're Team Jake, Scott Foley will continue to be a series regular as well. —Brooke Marine
How to Get Away With Murder (ABC)
Stars: Viola Davis, Billy Brown, Katie Findlay, Alfred Enoch, Jack Falahee, Aja Naomi King, Matt McGorry, Karla Souza, Charlie Webber, Liza Weil
Premiere date: September 25
From the brilliant mind of Shonda Rhimes, ABC's resident empress of primetime drama, comes How to Get Away with Murder, a legal thriller starring two-time Academy Award nominee Viola Davis. Davis plays the intense Annalise Keating, a professor of law at a prestigious university in Philadelphia, whose students become entangled in a murder plot and inevitably drag her into assisting them with covering up the deed. How to Get Away with Murder also stars Matt McGorry, whom you may know from Netflix's Orange is the New Black, and Alfred Enoch, known for playing Dean Thomas in the Harry Potter film franchise.
If How to Get Away with Murder follows the Shonda Rhimes television tradition, it'll be chock full of unexpected twists and turns throughout the season, with Scandal obsessives and Grey's loyalists tweeting their thoughts and reactions to this new Shondaland concoction as the show premieres. If you aren't able to watch it live, Thursday nights will most likely be the night you may have to stay away from the Internet if you want to avoid spoilers from all directions. —Brooke Marine
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Fox)
Stars: Andy Samberg, Andre Braugher, Stephanie Beatriz, Joe Lo Truglio, Melissa Fumero, Chelsea Peretti, Terry Crews, Dirk Blocker, Joel McKinnon Miller
Premiere date: September 28
The detectives of the Nine-Nine are headed to the big leagues for their sophomore year, with a prime Sunday evening time-slot. The cop sitcom isn't just an Andy Samberg vehicle, it's perhaps the best new family of charming work weirdoes TV's offered in the last year. The new season picks up where we left off: Samberg's manchild detective Jake Peralta is undercover, also having just professed his love to his Type A partner, Amy, while unlucky-in-love Charles tries in vain to hide his one-night-stand with Gina from the rest of the unit. But despite those new developments, really, we can just expect more hilarious physical comedy from Terry Crews, amazing monotone line-readings and banter from Andre Braugher's no-nonsense Captain Holt, and great chemistry from this extremely solid cast.
With all of the ratings attention a Sunday time-slot brings, the time to get down with the Nine-Nine is now. Recognize before it's too late. —Frazier Tharpe
Manhattan Love Story (ABC)
Stars: Analeigh Tipton, Jake McDorman, Nicolas Wright, Jade Catta-Preta, Chloe Wepper, Kurt Fuller
Premiere date: September 30
Typically, this plot would be found in a B-movie rom-com dropped in the middle of January, along with other forgettable films. A man and a woman, with stereotypical man and woman thoughts (which the show won't let you forget due to its overwhelming voiceover), go on a disastrous blind date before said man decides he wants to try to woo her properly. It sounds cliche because it is, but that's not to say there's not some potential here.
At least, not if you consider its stars. Fans of ABC Family's Greek stayed loyal to the series, thanks in large part to the charms of star Jake McDorman, but it's Crazy, Stupid, Love's Analeigh Tipton that's bound to be the scene stealer. If you don't fall in love with any of them, at least there's the actual Manhattan backdrop to swoon over. That always works. —Tara Aquino
Selfie (ABC)
Stars: Karen Gillan, John Cho, Tim Peper, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Allyn Rachel, David Harewood, Amber Rose
Premiere date: September 30
This contemporary take on My Fair Lady stars Karen Gillan as Eliza Dooley, a social media and selfie-obsessed young woman who hires Henry Higgenbottam (John Cho) to teach her how to rebrand her image. He also shows her how to make friends and form relationships with people IRL, rather than spending her days fishing for likes on Instagram and ignoring the real people right in front of her.
Fans of the original story will find this a cute attempt at capturing the zeitgeist of our image and media-driven culture. Plus, what other new series will have an audience consisting of a convergence of Doctor Who, Harold and Kumar, Star Trek, and Amber Rose fans? – Brooke Marine
Stalker (CBS)
Stars: Maggie Q, Dylan McDermott, Victor Rasuk, Mariana Klaveno, Elizabeth Rohm
Premiere date: October 1
Here it is, your early favorite for the fall season’s most critically maligned new show. This year’s answer to Dads, if you will.
The latest pitch-black drama from Kevin Williamson, CBS’ Stalker already sounds more like Williamson’s The Following than Williamson’s The Vampire Diaries—meaning, it doesn’t sound very good. Dylan McDermott and Maggie Q (two good actors who deserve better) play a pair of LAPD detectives who specialize in, as the show’s title implies, stalking incidents. And if it’s anything like The Following, that horribly written and gratuitously violent Fox series that somehow keeps drawing viewers in, Stalker will abandon all charms and subtleties and have scenes where beautiful woman get undressed while some perv fondles his junk outside her window. That’d be a very Kevin Williamson 2014 thing to do.
But don’t take my speculation for it—just read what TV critics like Vox’s Todd VanDerWerff and Huffington Post’s Mo Ryan have to say about it. When Stalker made its debut at the TCAs in mid-July, VanDerWerff got into a Twitter spat with Williamson after tweeting about the show with this: “It’s time for Stalker. This show is an abomination against God and man, and we must destroy it.” So, yeah, he’s not a fan. I, for one, am now extremely curious to witness the trainwreck for myself. —Matt Barone
A to Z (NBC)
Stars: Cristin Milioti, Ben Feldman, Henry Zebrowski, Lenora Crichlow, Christina Kirk, Katey Sagal, Hong Chau
Premiere date: October 2
As the titular Mother, Cristin Milioti was the redeeming quality, the bright spot personified, of the otherwise dismal final season of How I Met Your Mother. Essentially a newcomer, Milioti absolutely nailed a performance that was destined to be picked apart of a character who's been hyped for the better part of a decade. Even for all of the actual finale's shortcomings, The Meeting itself is beautiful. With that on her résumé, who wouldn't follow her to a new romantic comedy?
The plot here is pretty thin—she's Zelda, he's Andrew, A to Z, get it?—but if Miloti's chemistry with Mad Men's Ben Feldman registers on the romance scale at even half of what she created with Josh Radnor, then this will definitely be one to keep an eye on. —Frazier Tharpe
Gracepoint (Fox)
Stars: Anna Gunn, David Tennant, Michael Pena, Kevin Zegers, Jessica Lucas, Nick Nolte, Jackie Weaver, Kevin Rankin, Josh Hamilton, Jack Irvine, Sarah-Jane Potts
Premiere date: October 2
Two words: Anna Gunn. Actually, seven words: Anna Gunn’s first project after Breaking Bad.
Fresh off her Emmy win for playing the hell out of Breaking Bad Skyler White, Gunn, one of the best actresses on TV in the last few years, takes the co-lead in this stateside remake of the popular BBC crime drama series Broadchurch. She and David Tennant (one of Broadchurch’s original stars) play two detectives investigating a murder—indeed, Gracepoint is essentially Fox’s answer to HBO’s True Detective, though, we’re guessing, minus the Carcosa weirdness and any Spaghetti Monsters.
Police procedurals come a dime a dozen, but it isn’t often they arrive with this kind of esteemed pedigree. Gracepoint shares the same showrunner/creator as Broadchurch (Chris Chibnall), so Broadchurch’s moody, engrossing quality should remain intact; as for the cast, in addition to the almighty Gunn, O.G. scene-owner Nick Nolte’s on-board, as well as the always on-point character actor Michael Pena and refined Aussie Oscar nominee Jacki Weaver. If Gracepoint doesn’t turn out to be one of the fall’s best shows, new or returning, we’ll be shocked. —Matt Barone
Survivor's Remorse (Starz)
Stars: Jessie Usher, Mike Epps, RonReaco Lee, Anna Colwell, Cynthia Kaye McWilliams, Ashton Leigh, Malana Lea, Kerry O'Malley, Erica Ash
Premiere date: October 4
Could Survivor’s Remorse to LeBron James prove to be the new Entourage to Mark Wahlberg? Everything about this new Starz comedy series hints at that, from King James’ role as creator/executive producer right down to its Vinny Chase-esque plot. Rookie actor Jessie Usher stars as Cam Calloway, a twenty-something basketball stud from Philly who signs a multi-million-dollar deal with an Atlanta-based pro team and brings his cousin Reggie (RonReaco Lee) along for the ride. Consider Reggie Survivor’s Remorse’s answer to Entourage’s Eric, while co-star Mike Epps’ character, Cam’s (surely) wisecracking uncle, should fill out the Johnny Drama role.
Which is all to say, Survivor’s Remorse better defy everything I’ve just written and be more than just Entourage with a Jump-Shot. —Matt Barone
Homeland (Showtime)
Stars: Claire Danes, Mandy Patinkin, Rupert Friend, Tracy Letts, Laila Robins, F. Murray Abraham, Nazanin Boniadi, Corey Stoll
Premiere date: October 5
Brody is dead. That is unequivocally a good thing.
When Sergeant Nicholas Brody (Damien Lewis) exhaled for the last time, writhing from a crane in the middle of a Tehran square, out with him went the Homeland that was solely focused on a love affair that was melodramatic and illogical at best and perhaps even more importantly, the Dana Brody subplots. What's left is a show devoted to Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes). Not the one who puts her country in danger on a daily basis because she loves a boy and has been mixing meds with white wine, but the one who's actually good at her job.
But there are still a ton of questions surrounding Homeland, a show that seriously lost its way after a resoundingly successful first season. Will Homeland be able to recreate the sexy intensity they had when no one was sure whether Brody was turned or not? Now that that storyline has (finally) reached a conclusion, is there really any reason why we should care about Homeland anymore?
Introducing Corey Stoll (House of Cards, The Strain) to the cast and seemingly taking Carrie's psychosis down a couple hundred notches are both good signs, but this is a show that has squandered my faith. It's going to have to work hard to get it back. — Andrew Gruttadaro
Mulaney (Fox)
Stars: John Mulaney, Nasim Pedrad, Martin Short, Seaton Smith, Elliot Gould, Zack Pearlman
Premiere date: October 5
The show is still more than a month away from premiering and I'm tired of hearing the Seinfeld comparison. But at the same time, that's exactly how Fox is marketing Mulaney, comedian John Mulaney's first foray into the sitcom world, and that's exactly why I'm terrified the show will be awful.
Mulaney follows, well, Mulaney (full disclosure: I've been a huge fan of his ever since he was riffing on Law & Order: SVU), who lives with two roommates (Nasim Pedrad and Seaton Smith) in NYC and works as a writer on another comedian's (Martin Short) show. Like Seinfeld, bits of episodes are dedicated to Mulaney's stand-up act, which is good and bad. Good because Mulaney's dry, referential stand-up is one of the best around right now; bad because it's 2014, and the setup feels ancient. Mulaney also features another hallmark of yesteryear's sitcoms: a live audience (that laughs like the audience from the gas leak episode of 30 Rock).
For anyone who loves Mulaney's New in Town, or the magic he created with Stefon on Saturday Night Live, tip-toe into this show—the night is dark and full of possibilities for a flop. But for every time it leans too heavily on Martin Short or Elliot Gould (who plays Mulaney's kooky but wise neighbor, natch), there might be something to keep your hopes up, like when Pedrad walks into her bedroom after claiming to have found the solution for being single and Mulaney deadpans, "What if we just heard a gunshot right now?" — Andrew Gruttadaro
The Flash (The CW)
Stars: Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes, Tom Cavanagh, Jesse L. Martin
Premiere date: October 7
I'm going to be completely honest here, I've already seen The Flash pilot. And I only have two words for it: holy shit. If you managed to catch Barry Allen's intro in the second season of Arrow, you've already fallen in love with his character. It's difficult not to. He's basically a genius Seth Cohen meets a wounded Peter Parker. Grant Gustin's performance here as the titular hero is the bolt of lightning this DC creation deserves, carrying The Flash's playful yet action-packed series on his back. What's more, he's supported by a talented up-and-coming cast and has earned the co-sign of the man who played original Flash, John Wesley Shipp, now recurring as Allen's dad.
Greg Berlanti clearly knows how to make superhero series work. If his first effort Arrow is any indication, The Flash will be the next show you'll spend the next few months convincing your friends to tune into. —Tara Aquino
American Horror Story: Freak Show (FX)
Stars: Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Michael Chiklis, Frances Conroy, Denis O'Hare, Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, Gabourey Sidibe, Emma Roberts, Jamie Brewer, Wes Bentley, John Carroll Lynch, Patti LaBelle
Premiere date: October 8
Yeah, American Horror Story: Coven was a huge disappointment. What started out as a hilarious, shrewd, genre-disguised attack on racial and gender politics quickly jumped the broomstick, devolving into a messy pile of illogical twists and wasted character arcs. It felt like co-creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk were starting to run out of AHS steam, that they were succumbing to kitchen-sink fatigue after three seasons’ worth of over-the-top execution.
For me, at least, Freak Show is the last chance to prove mounting skeptics like myself wrong. Here’s to hoping it’s more Asylum and less Evan-Peters-as-the-lamest-Frankenstein-homage-imaginable. Set Florida, circa 1952, the fourth American Horror Story centers on a traveling group of circus performers/oddities who arrive in Jupiter, Flor., right as some kind of supernatural force also checks into the town. Among that roving band of weirdos are conjoined twin sisters (Sarah Paulson times two), a “clown killer” (AHS newcomer John Carroll Lynch), the resident strongman (Michael Chiklis, another newcomer), and a three-boobed Angela Bassett. Naturally, they’re all managed by Jessica Lange, playing a “German expatriate.” Expect an outrageous accent from the multiple Emmy winner.
As for Freak Show on the whole, Lange says it “the most extraordinary [season] that we’ve done,” which, of course, could just be biased lip service. Hopefully Lange, the eternal bar, can be trusted. —Matt Barone
Arrow (The CW)
Stars: Stephen Amell, Katie Cassidy, Willa Holland, David Ramsey, Colin Donnell, Paul Blackthorne, Emily Bett Rickards, Manu Bennett, Susanna Thompson, Colton Haynes
Premiere date: October 8
There's a reason why Arrow has its own cult following. It's so good that it can convert any casual viewer into a fanatic, and it only promises to get better. The third season picks up right where the second left off, with Starling City healing in the wake of Deathstroke's (Manu Bennett) destruction. Just when Oliver Queen and crew, namely his will-they-or-wont-they right-hand woman Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards) and his enforcer John Diggle (David Ramsey) think they have time to regroup, Arrow's ultimate adversary comes out to play, and that's Ra's al Ghul.
This year, expect to encounter more easter eggs for comic book fans, delight in returning heroes, including Black Canary (Caity Lotz), and meet new additions to the team, most notably Roy Harper (Colton Haynes) as Arsenal. Oh, and also, EXPECT MOAR #OLICITY. —Tara Aquino
Kingdom (DirecTV)
Stars: Frank Grillo, Jonathan Tucker, Nick Jonas, Kiele Sanchez, Paul Walter Hauser, Joanna Going
Premiere date: October 8
Nick Jonas—yes, the former Jonas Brothers member—as a badass MMA fighter? Indeed, that sounds about as believable as Ariana Grande starring in a Monster remake, but that’s part of the sales pitch behind DirecTV’s new 10-episode drama series Kingdom. It’s about the goings-on inside a Venice Beach gym dedicated to training Mixed Martial Arts fighters, two whom are Jonas’ character and another played by Friday Night Lights alumnus Matt Lauria.
If that all seems a bit silly, here’s your confirmation that Kingdom needs to be taken seriously: it also stars Frank Grillo, one of Hollywood’s best tough-guy character actors and a former MMA/boxing trainee in real life. Grillo brought subtle authenticity to the excellent 2011 MMA movie Warrior, and expect him to do the same here. —Matt Barone
The Walking Dead (AMC)
Stars: Andrew Lincoln, Chandler Riggs, Norman Reedus, Steven Yeun, Lauren Cohan, Melissa McBride, Chad Coleman, Danai Gurira, Lawrence Gilliard, Jr., Michael Cudlitz, Josh McDermitt, Christian Serratos, Sonequa Martin-Green, Alanna Masterson, Emily Kinney
Premiere date: October 12
At this point, Robert Kirkman and his The Walking Dead cast should just call themselves the Broken Record Crew. Before every new season of the huge AMC zombie drama series, he and his colleagues give interviews where they claim that the new season will be the “best season yet,” or the “craziest,” or the most hardcore. In the current Entertainment Weekly cover story, Andrew “Rick Grimes” Lincoln goes so far as to say, “We’re really earning our rating this season. There are families that watch [The Walking Dead] together, but just so it’s on the record, guys—it’s a grown-up show this season.” As opposed to last season, which Lincoln teased to TV Line with, “Rest assured, [Rick being in a decent place] doesn’t last much longer than the first episode. It’s not The Waltons.”
So what’s in store for The Walking Dead’s fifth go-round? Clearly, more doom and gloom, picking up with Rick and his fellow survivors locked in that train car by those (possibly) cannibalistic bastards living inside Terminus. Based on the season’s trailer, the zombies will be much nastier-looking, the stakes will increase (see: Glenn apparently catching a bad one while bound and gagged), and what appears to be Beth resurfacing inside some kind of hospital with an all-new band of non-walkers. Then again, as the ever-uninformative and vague Kirkman told Collider, “If you think you know what’s going on from watching that trailer, you might not. There’s a lot of twists and turns along the way.” Thanks for nothing, Robbie. —Matt Barone
The Affair (Showtime)
Stars: Dominic West, Ruth Wilson, Joshua Jackson, Maura Tierney
Premiere date: October 12
At first glance, Showtime’s new drama series The Affair sounds like a ho-hum case of White People Problems and potentially overwrought melodrama. Set in the Hamptons, the show follows two married couples (one being Dominic West and Maura Tierney, the other Joshua Jackson and Ruth Wilson) who get intertwined through infidelity. We’ve seen that before, of course, usually on the big screen and not stretched out over the course of a full television season.
The Affair, however, has one interesting wrinkle that could help it rise above those negative preconceptions—it’s told retroactively, through the individual biased perspectives of the cheating man (West) and woman (Wilson). Best case scenario: The Affair could give familiar domestic woes a nice and fascinating Rashomon remix. Worst Case Scenario: it’ll make Roman Polanski’s Carnage seem like a nonstop action blockbuster. —Matt Barone
Jane the Virgin (The CW)
Stars: Gina Rodriguez, Justin Baldoni, Andrea Navedo, Brett Dier, Yael Grobglas, Ivonne Coll, Michael Rady, Jaime Camil
Premiere date: October 13
Admittedly, I didn't think twice about this show at first. The premise was a bit too much of a stretch for my taste: A straightedge career woman (Gina Rodriguez) who's spent her lifetime treasuring her virginity gets accidentally artificially inseminated during what's supposed to be a routine pap smear. What's more, the sperm turns out to be that of her cheating ex-boyfriend, whose battle with cancer left that sperm as his only chance for having a kid. Basically, it sounds like a storyline straight out of Passions.
However, the star of the series, Gina Rodriguez, stunned the crowd at the TCAs with a speech on cultural identity that could make anyone give this show a second chance. Here's just an excerpt (the complete version you can read here):
And for me, to look on younger girls and to say, ‘Well, Gina’s like me, maybe not necessarily the same skin color, maybe not necessarily the same background, but like that’s me. I’m not alone. I can do it too.’ So every role that I’ve chosen has been ones that I think are going to push forward the idea of my culture, of women, of beauty, my idea of liberating young girls, of feeling that they have to look at a specific beauty type. And I wasn’t going to let my introduction to the world be one of a story that I think has been told many times.
Yeah, I'm tuning in, at least for the pilot. —Tara Aquino
Marry Me (NBC)
Stars: Ken Marino, Casey Wilson, Sarah Wright Olsen, John Gemberling, Tymberlee Hill, Tim Meadows
Premiere date: October 14
Still mourning the loss of ABC's dearly departed hangout sitcom Happy Endings? So are we, but maybe a new series from creator David Caspe that co-stars Casey Wilson might help with the grief.
Veteran comedy character actor Ken Marino joins Wilson to play a long-running couple who finally decide to tie the knot. Marry Me will show all of the turmoil and hijinks the life change brings to their previously very comfortable relationship. While that doesn't sound like the most feasible of long-running plots at first, if Marry Me has the zany rapid-fire one-liners that Caspe perfected and Wilson executed on Happy Endings, it has every chance of being as charming and inviting as that series was. And a new real-life development could factor in even more charm that could take the series further: David Caspe and Casey Wilson are actually married, going so far as to credit the series and future storylines as being loosely based on their own relationship. —Frazier Tharpe
Constantine (NBC)
Stars: Matt Ryan, Harold Perrineau, Charles Halford, Angelica Celaya
Premiere date: October 24
I’m excited about Constantine because I truly want it to be good, not because I think it actually will be. That may sound like a bummer, but I have my reasons. TV has always been a tough medium for comic books crossovers, and though there have been some minor successes (Complex Pop Culture editor Tara Aquino is ride-or-die for Arrow), the amount of misses is undeniably greater than the hits. One reason is that special effects are just too expensive for TV without looking seriously goofy; another is that big-name superheroes are usually saved for the cinema, leaving the networks to the no-names and D-listers. (A Batman show without Batman sounds like a joke—it isn’t. It exists, and it's called Gotham.)
Constantine, however, can avoid these pitfalls by employing a genuinely beloved character who doesn’t lean heavily on his fantastical abilities. If the writers just attack the Hellblazer hero with an iota of the uncanny strangeness that writers like Neil Gaiman, Warren Ellis, or Garth Ennis brought to the comics, maybe they can prove my suspicions to be unfounded. Let's hope so, anyway. —Nathan Reese
State of Affairs (NBC)
Stars: Katherine Heigl, Alfre Woodard, Adam Kaufman, Sheila Vand, Tommy Savas, David Harbour, Mark Tallman, Cliff Chamberlain
Premiere date: November 14
Katherine Heigl back?
She definitely hopes so. In her first TV gig since leaving Grey’s Anatomy back in 2010, the rom-com specialist everyone loves to hate is looking to become the next Olivia Pope. Heigl leads State of Affairs as Charleston “Charlie” Tucker, a top-ranked White House employee/CIA analyst whose job is to give the President of the United States her Daily Briefing every morning, and, chances are, help POTUS deal with tons of personal headaches. And did we mention that the show’s fictional president is the nation’s first black female POTUS, played by Alfre Woodard?
Oddly enough, State of Affairs doesn’t come from the mind of Shonda Rimes, though it sounds very much in the Scandal creator’s wheelhouse. Rather, it’s the brainchild of Joe Carnahan, a filmmaker known for bro-centric action flicks like Smokin’ Aces, The A-Team, and The Grey. So maybe State of Affairs will shock us all and turn into a small-screen answer to White House Down? For Heigl’s sake, one can only hope. —Matt Barone