Back to school means the return of many of our favorite TV shows. Major Crimes, Copper, and Grimm have already started, and we’ll have to wait until 2013 for BBC’s Sherlock, but plenty more premieres await in the golden months ahead. Will Castle and Beckett’s relationship grow or disintegrate as a result of their tryst? Where is Temperance Brennan and will she and Booth be reunited on Bones? And can Henry survive the gunshot on Psych?
We’ve also got a slew of new shows ranging from a haunted but toney New York apartment building in 666 Park Avenue to a remake of Beauty and the Beast. And let’s not forget Elementary, the new American Sherlock with Lucy Liu as Watson. (Okay, there is a chance we may want to forget it.)
Favorites Return:
Blue Bloods: Friday, 9/28 at 10/9c (CBS)
Bones: Monday, 9/17 at 8/7c (FOX)
In the season 7 finale, Temperance was on the run and a serial killer was still free and doing his thing. Will Booth and Brennan reunite?
Castle: Monday, 9/24 at 10/9c (ABC)
When last we left Castle and Beckett they were headed to the bedroom. What’s next for this super crime fighting couple? You can read the recap of the season finale here.
Covert Affairs: Tuesday, 11/1 at 10/9c (USA)
Criminal Minds: Wednesday, 9/26 at 9/8c (CBS)
CSI: Wednesday, 9/26 at 10/9c (CBS)
CSI: NY: Friday, 9/28 at 9/8c (CBS)
Dexter: Sunday, 9/30 at 8/7c (Showtime)
Dexter’s sister, Deb, has now seen Dexter commit cold-blooded murder. Things are going to get even more complicated from here.
Fringe: Friday, 9/28 at 8/7c (Fox)
Hawaii 5-0: Monday, 9/24 at 10/9c (CBS)
Chin Ho Kelly has to decide whether he saves his wife or his cousin in a bit of a Sophie’s Choice storyline. Who will live and who will die?
Homeland: Sunday, 9/30 at 9/8c (Showtime)
CrimeHQ will be bringing you a “catch up” post before the season starts, but if you need a quick refresher, you can always look in the Homeland archive.
Law & Order: SVU: Wednesday, 9/28 at 9/8c (NBC)
NCIS: Tuesday, 9/25 at 8/7c (CBS)
A bomb went off in the season finale cliffhanger.
NCIS: Los Angeles: Tuesday, 9/25 at 9/8c (CBS)
Person of Interest: Thursday, 9/27 at 9/8c (CBS)
Psych: Wednesday, 10/12 at 10/9c (USA)
This normally lighthearted show ended the last season with a bang. Can Henry recover? Guest appearances this season include William Shatner, Danny Glover, and Molly Ringwald.
Revenge: Sunday, 9/30 at 9/8c (ABC)
The Good Wife: Sunday, 9/30 at 8/7c (CBS)
The Mentalist: Sunday, 9/30 at 9/8c (CBS)
The Walking Dead: Sunday, 10/14 at 9/8c (AMC)
You can read what Christopher Morgan thought of last season’s finale here.
Series Premieres
666 Park Avenue: Sunday, 9/30 at 10/9c (ABC)
Based on a novel by Gabriella Pierce, this show is about a young couple who become the managers of a fabulous but haunted building on Park Avenue in New York City.
Vanessa Williams who is one of the stars of the show calls it, “A splash of Rosemary’s Baby, a hint of The Shining and the warm glow of ABC Television.” Other stars include Terry Quinn (Lost) and Rachel Taylor.
Elementary: Thursday, 9/25 at 9/8c (CBS)
The tagline for Elementary is “New Holmes, New Watson, New York.” Johnny Lee Miller plays a modern Sherlock transplanted to New York City with Watson played by Lucy Liu. We’ve covered this one quite a bit on Criminal Element. You can read what Lindsay Faye thinks of the concept here.
The Mob Doctor: Monday, 9/17 at 8/7c (FOX)
Dr. Grace Devlin (Jordana Spiro) is a “brilliant surgeon” who is somehow indebted to the mob, which makes her life not only ethically challenged but also complicated.
The trailer below asks: “How do you do the right thing, when you owe the wrong people?”
Revolution: Monday, 9/17 at 9/8c (NBC)
The latest series from J.J. Abrams, Revolution is about three people who try to save the world after a 15-year blackout occurs. It stars Tracy Spiridakos as Charlie Matheson, whose family is deeply entangled somehow in the initial blackout. Our heroine goes on a journey to find her kidnapped brother and discover why the lights went out as she and her friends hide from the all-powerful militia trying to hunt them down.
Last Resort: Thursday, 9/27 at 8/7c (ABC)
Last Resort is a military drama that takes place on a U.S. nuclear submarine. The commander of the sub refuses an order to blow up Pakistan and then for some reason the U.S. wants to sink them. The commander then takes over an island and tries to defend it with the sub.
Vegas: Tuesday, 9/25 at 10/9c (CBS)
Set in Las Vegas in the 1960s, this show was inspired by the true story of former Las Vegas Sheriff Ralph Lamb. It has an amazing cast—Dennis Quaid, Carrie-Ann Moss, and Michael Chiklis.
Here are Dennis Quaid and Michael Chiklis talking about the show.
Beauty and the Beast: Thursday, 10/11 at 8/7c (CW)
When she was a girl, Cat Chandler was saved by “someone or something” the day her mother was murdered. No one believed her story of how she was saved. She has grown up to be a homicide detective and her past has come back to haunt her.
My DVR is set for Castle, Once Upon a Time, Bones, Vegas, Psych, Homeland, Revolution, and Elementary. I don’t expect to like Elementary (skeptical about the whole Lucy Liu as Waston thing), but I may be pleasantly surprised. Revolution is a bit of a risk because if it gets cancelled we’ll never know what happened (like with Alcatraz). I’m most excited about Castle, Vegas, and Once Upon a Time.
Which of these shows are you looking forward to?
Deborah Lacy likes speakeasies, yellow heirloom tomatoes, and crime fiction. She blogs over at Mystery Playground and Criminal Element. You can meet her on Twitter @quippy.
Read all posts by Deborah Lacy for Criminal Element.
