There are a lot of new shows coming to television this fall, so we thought we would go through them and let you know which ones we think are worth checking out! Josh will reveal his Top 5 picks, and then Violet will reveal her Top 5. Read on to find out which shows each of them picked!
Click here to skip to Violet’s Top 5!
Josh’s Top 5 New Fall Shows
There are a lot of shows coming this fall, returning ones and new ones. Here is a rundown of the new shows this fall that I am excited about.
1. Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Premieres Tuesday, September 24th, 8/7c, on ABC): The show I am most excited for this fall of anything, returning or new, is Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Ever since I heard of this show, I have been dying to see it, and was really sad that I was not able to make the panel for S.H.I.E.L.D. at Comic-Con. Since Joss Whedon is involved, I have high hopes for the show, even though there seems to be rumors of script problems.
2. The Michael J. Fox Show (Premieres Thursday, September 26th, 9/8c, on NBC): While not much going on here Sci-Fi/geek related, I am very excited for this show. I am glad to see Michael J. Fox embracing his Parkinson’s, and is able to make light of his situation. On top of all that, the show seems really funny. I am not one to watch a lot of comedy sitcoms or movies, but I am all in for this show. The premise for this show has Michael J. Fox’s character as a man with Parkinson’s, who is returning to work, and has to deal with the coddling that people give him given his handicap.
3. Almost Human (Premieres Monday, November 4th, 8/7c, on Fox): Violet and I saw the first episode of Almost Human at Comic-Con. While it felt really similar to the movie I, Robot, I enjoy a good intellectual “What is human” storyline mixed in with a futuristic crime drama. This show follows a cop (played by Karl Urban) who lost his partner in a firefight, to which he blames a robotic cop “helper” for the death. Back on the force, Karl Urban’s character is forced to take another android partner, and gets a much more “human” like option.
4. Sleepy Hollow (Premieres Monday, September 16th, 9pm on Fox): I think most people have heard of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman. This show takes Ichabod Crane to the present, and put him and the police at odds while dealing with the Headless Horseman. It looks interesting, and seems like it might have some historical, conspiracy storylines, which I always find entertaining.
5. The Blacklist (Premieres Monday, September 23rd, 10pm, NBC): I first heard of this show at Comic-Con, seeing banners everywhere saying, “Who is Red Reddington?” with a photo of I presumed was Reddington. It didn’t pique my interest then, but having seen the previews, it looks interesting. From what I have gathered, Red Reddington is a criminal mastermind that has a lot of intelligence on other criminals, and seems to want to help the government catch these guys. I am always intrigued by shows where characters have hidden agendas. What is this guy’s play? Why does he have all of this information? I suppose anyone interested in this show is asking themselves, “Who is Red Reddington?”
There seems to be a lot of other shows starting in the fall, unfortunately they seem too “dramatic” for my taste. There is way too much to watch this season considering the returning shows that we have this fall as well! We will be following this post up with a highlight of our top 5 returning fall shows.
Violet’s Top 5 New Fall Shows
1. Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Premieres Tuesday, September 24 at 8/7c on ABC)
This one is a no brainer as the #1 most anticipated new show this fall for all geeks out there, and even for non-geeks, considering the massive mainstream success that The Avengers had. Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. takes place in the same universe as The Avengers, and Agent Coulson lives! Most importantly, Joss Whedon is involved with this show, and that’s all you need to tell me to get me on board! Unfortunately, we were unable to see the pilot ahead of its premiere date either at San Diego Comic-Con or D23 Expo, so we’re really looking forward to September 24! [See Josh’s Top 5 above for trailer.]
2. Almost Human (Premieres Monday, November 4 at 8/7c on Fox)
This is a pilot we actually did get to see during Preview Night at San Diego Comic-Con. You can read our reviews of the Almost Human pilot here. Almost Human takes place in the not-too-distant-future and stars Karl Urban as a police detective who finds himself partnered up with an android, played by Michael Ealy, who emits emotional responses, unlike most police androids, who are more robotic. I felt like the pilot did a great job combining sci-fi/futuristic elements with subtly placed comedic relief, and I look forward to what’s yet to come on Almost Human! Too bad we have to wait until November… [See Josh’s Top 5 above for trailer.]
3. Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (Premieres Thursday, October 10 at 8/7c on ABC)
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland is a spinoff of Once Upon a Time, a show that I watch, but Josh doesn’t. I did not get the chance to see the full pilot at San Diego Comic-Con, but I did get to see an abridged version of the pilot at D23 Expo, which lasted about 20 minutes.
Here’s a quick recap of the screening. Skip ahead to the next paragraph if you don’t want any spoilers, although much of the following can be deduced from the trailer. In the screening I watched, it looks like they may have cut out some of the beginning that involves residents of Storybrooke in Once Upon a Time. There’s a big storm in town, and we see a mysterious man, a stranger to Storybrooke. Then a cartoony looking white rabbit (voiced by John Lithgow) appears to take him somewhere. The rest of the episode focuses on Alice, a young woman rather than a child, whose stories of Wonderland have landed her in a mental institution, and the psychiatrists want to perform a procedure on her to make her forget all about Wonderland. We see that while in Wonderland, Alice met and fell in love with a genie named Cyrus, who falls to his death thanks to the Queen of Hearts. Or so Alice thinks. With the help of the White Rabbit, the mysterious stranger appears to rescue Alice and tell her that Cyrus is still alive. It seems that Alice has a bit of history with this man, whom she calls the Knave. Following the White Rabbit, the two jump through a portal back to Wonderland to try to find the whereabouts of Alice’s lost love, Cyrus. I’m guessing that the show will revolve around the search for Cyrus, while also giving us flashbacks of Alice’s previous adventures in Wonderland.
The D23 Expo screening held my attention the entire time, with its intrigue and imagery. I felt it was really well done, and I was quickly invested in the story. Alice is a surprisingly strong young woman, and although much of this episode focused on the romance between Alice and Cyrus, I think there will be a lot more to the show than just romance. The only thing that bothered me about the show was how fake the White Rabbit looked. I’m hoping that the rest of Wonderland looks better than he did, or else that will be highly distracting from the story. Overall though, it looks really good!
4. The Tomorrow People (Premieres Wednesday, October 9 at 9/8c on CW)
This is another pilot we got to see at San Diego Comic-Con. Well, we got to see most of it anyway. We missed the first 10-15 minutes or so. You can read our reviews of The Tomorrow People pilot here. The series stars Robbie Amell, cousin of Arrow’s Stephen Amell, as a high school student who discovers that he has super powers, and he meets up with a group of young people who also have super powers. However, there’s a group of scientists dedicated to finding and eliminating those with super powers. The pilot felt a bit on the cheesy side, but it did seem to have potential, and I’m interested to see where the story goes. The Tomorrow People will air right after Arrow, which is definitely good placement the show.
5. The Originals (Premieres Thursday, October 3 at 9/8c on CW)
The Originals is a spinoff of The Vampire Diaries that focuses on the five original vampires, who have moved away from Mystic Falls to live in New Orleans. Okay, yes, I admit, I watch The Vampire Diaries, it’s a guilty pleasure. However, Elena has gotten to be really annoying, so I’m hoping that with The Originals I can enjoy other characters from the show without Elena having to be a part of it, and New Orleans is the perfect setting for vampires, witches, and the supernatural in general. The “pilot” actually already aired as an episode during this past season of The Vampire Diaries. However, you can watch the director’s cut of the pilot for free on Hulu, which has additional scenes, and scenes removed that involve The Vampire Diaries characters who won’t be appearing as regular characters in The Originals. The pilot will premire right after The Vampire Diaries on October 3, but starting with Episode 2, on October 8, it will move to Tuesdays at 8/7c, right before Supernatural.
Other New Shows We Might Check Out
Dracula (Premieres Friday, October 25 at 10/9c on NBC)
Jonathan Rhys Meyers stars as the title character in Dracula, which takes place in Victorian London. However, the show seemed a little slow from the trailer, plus it has a terrible timeslot (Fridays at 10/9c), so it probably doesn’t have much chance of survival.
Fangasm (Premieres Tuesday, September 24 at 10/9c on Syfy)
Fangasm is a reality show about seven geeks living together in one house as they work as interns on Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo. Living in Southern California, we’ve had our eye on Comikaze the past couple years (this year will be Comikaze’s third year), but the programming has not yet compelled us to go. With the attention that Comikaze is getting with Fangasm, it will be interesting to see the planning that goes into the show, and to possibly get an insight into how much bigger and better the show will be this year — and maybe it will convince us to finally go!
As Josh mentioned above, we will be following up this post with our top 5 picks for shows returning this fall, so be on the lookout for that! Also, it looks like there are quite a few interesting new shows coming out midseason (as in, early 2014), so in a few months we will do our top 5 picks for new winter/spring shows!
Okay, so you guys have waaaaaaaaaay more sophisticated taste in TV shows than I do. I like to mix things up though, so I think I’m going to pick one of your anticipated shows to throw into my regular DVR mix (this is so embarassing…): Dancing with the Stars, Dance Moms, The Biggest Loser, Modern Family, The Bachelor, Downton Abbey, you get the picture. I think I’m most intrigued by Almost Human, but you’re talking me into Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. We’ll see. Thanks for sharing!
Haley, thanks for the comment! I don’t think it’s that our taste is more “sophisticated” as it is more geeky! We mainly stick to the sci-fi/supernatural/thriller type genres. Let us know which of our show(s) we picked here that you decide to watch, and come back and let us know what you think of it/them! ~Violet