Fall TV is coming quickly, which is a real problem for my DVR because I’m still catching up on last season’s Arrow, Supernatural, and this summer’s Falling Skies. What can I say? I’ve been having really torrid affairs the past few months with The Strain, The Leftovers, Defiance, and Silicon Valley.
As much as my DVR might be groaning and the interface screaming “SHE CAN’T DO IT, CAP’N! SHE DOESN’T HAVE THE SPACE!”, I am super-excited for several new shows coming up soon. Check out these promising new titles while I slip into a lab coat and start trying to figure out how to combine my DVR with Time Lord technology.
1. INTRUDERS
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQw0rwf8xkQ&w=460&h=258]Intruder’s actually already premiered, another original series from BBC America. Considering BBCA gave us the stellar Orphan Black, it’s definitely worth your time to check out. It’s all conspiracy-laden men-in-black body-hijacking murder-laden mystery, and headed up by Mira Sorvino, James Frain, and John Simm. Now, if Millie Bobby Brown turns out to be as talented a young actress as Maisie Williams was at 13, this will be one compelling and creepy show.
Intruders will run for 8 episodes, and airs on BBC America after Doctor Who on Saturday nights.
2. CONSTANTINE
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPE2oBnzROY&w=460&h=258]Surely you’ve heard of John Constantine? He’s a British bad boy magician who’s in way over his head and never manages to do much more than keep his head above water. Sometimes, he doesn’t even manage that – his life includes regular stays in the Ravenscar asylum and getting his ass kicked by beings from all over the supernatural spectrum. He has an unflinching and grim sense of humor that makes us cheer him on, though, and if this show can capture that – they’re already well on the way after casting Matt Ryan in the titular role – I expect good things. Effed up things, to be sure, but good things.
Constantine will air Friday nights on NBC, after Grimm, and debuts on October 24, 2014.
3. THE FLASH
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj0l7iGKh8g&w=460&h=258]So, uh, yeah, remember when I said that I’m behind on Arrow up there? I sorta mean that I haven’t finished the first season and the second is crouching on my DVR’s harddrive like an impatient, arrow-slinging rogue. How could I possibly be looking forward to The Flash then?
Have you SEEN Arrow? If The Flash is approached with the same seriousness that this same creative team gave Arrow, it should be an excellent show. Mad science? Life long quest for vengeance? Team Science! Learning to control superpowers! Very yes.
The Flash will debut on the CW on Tuesday, October 7, as the lead-in to Supernatural.
4. GOTHAM
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d1zpt6k5OI&w=460&h=258]I was super-reserved when Gotham was announced. I’m not gonna lie. A TV show about a pre-Batman Gotham? As awesome a character as Gordon is, I was dubious, to say the least. Especially since we’re apparently going to be running into a young, newly-orphaned Bruce Wayne, a young, precocious Selina Kyle, and a young, troubled pre-Poison Ivy who has weirdly been renamed Ivy Pepper. Because that’s a more sensible name than Pamela Isley? Early rumblings of the series felt exploitative of the license more than anything, especially with the intentional vaguing-up of the setting’s time period. But then I read the following quote in Entertainment Weekly:
“The lead of the show is the city, and it’s falling apart and corrupt,” explains director-exec producer Danny Cannon (Nikita). “The genesis is, What[sic] would a criminal do if he thought he could get away with pretty much anything?”
Secure in the thought that they’re making Gotham as much of a character as Gordon, and that they seem to be putting quite a bit of thought into the development of various supervillains – I was sold on giving it a go.
Gotham will premiere on Monday, September 22, as Fox’s lead-in to Sleepy Hollow‘s second season.
5. GALAVANT
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPNVhGbw_Sg&w=460&h=258]Don’t look at me like that. Agent Carter doesn’t debut until the new year, and Z Nation just makes me cringe every time I see a commercial on Syfy.
I cringed a bit when I first read the description for Galavant, but then I watched a trailer and found myself laughing with sheer horrified amusement. This show looks RIDICULOUS. And I have a very soft spot in my heart for ridiculous things that are shiny and dance about and sing and also get snarky with its tropes.
Keep an eye out for this one on ABC during Once Upon a Time‘s midseason break.
Tell me: what are you most looking forward to on TV this Fall?
