Fall Television: What Will You Watch?

Where do they go from here?
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.

Comments

  1. Mary Saputo

    I checked most of these out and here’s my whys and why nots: Castle (love these 2); Blue Bloods (watch this show but mostly because there’s nothing else on at this time); Bones – Can’t stand her. She certainly doesn’t replicate (in my mind) the character in the book; Covert Affairs – how far-fetched is this show? Criminal Minds – Like it but it seems to be getting more and more violent; CSI and CSI: NY – Watch both. Dexter – I show about a serial killer? I think not. Fringe and Hawaii 5-0 – No; Homeland – Am going to order Showtime just to watch this show. The same with HBO and Boardwalk Empire; Law & Order SVU – Watched some episodes during the summer and like the new stars, mixed with SOME of the old better; NCIS – Love it; NCIS LA – Couldn’t get into it. Person of Interest – Like it but not a die-hard fan; Psyche – Never could get into it; Revenge – Not interested. The Good Wife – Probably one of THE BEST shows on TV; The Mentalist – Like it but they need to show “the boss” in a much better/smarter light; The Walking Dead – Not my cup of tea; 666 – Elementary – The Mob Doctor – will give all of them a try. Premise on the first 2 doesn’t thrill me. The Mob Doctor seems a little far-fetched to me; Revolution – Will give this a try. Looks like it “could” be good; Last Resort – Looks like a good one; Vegas – Looks like a good one; Beauty and the Beast – Not my cup of tea. Let’s hope Revolution – if it’s good – doesn’t get cancelled. A relative of a friend is one of the producers. I’m most excited to once again see The Good Wife and Parenthood. I consider these two shows to be the best 2 shows on TV.

  2. Deborah Lacy

    @bitsy08 – I always love your comments. Thank you for being so comprehensive. I tend to be addicted to a few shows and watch every episode. I stopped watching The Good Wife a few seasons ago, but I don’t have particular reason why. Based on your overwhelming support of the show I will add it back to the DVR. I agree with you about NCIS being better than NCIS, LA. Boardwalk Empire is a little too violent for me.

  3. Laura K. Curtis

    Let’s see… My DVR will be set for

    Castle
    The Mentalist (I only just started watching this show and I have been catching up on the older seasons on TNT)
    Once Upon A Time (I know, not crime, but still)
    Criminal Minds
    Last Resort
    Vegas

    I am losing interest in CSI, though I will still watch it if it’s on. I watch older episodes of NCIS on USA but it conflicts with something, I can’t remember what.

    I am watching Copper on a probationary basis.

  4. Laura K. Curtis

    Oh, and Homeland! I forgot Homeland!

  5. Clare 2e

    Hmm, let’s see, there’s so much to talk about here, Deb!
    After a couple of episodes, not sure Copper’s hanging together for me. Enjoy Psych for laughs and just caught up with last season. (I’m also watching more of The Mentalist on TNT.) Always like Criminal Minds. Many of these shows I enjoy, but I’m not urgent about the latest episode or when I watch them. I’m still hanging in with Grimm, too, though I recognize it’s not perfect. What people might not expect about this kind of show is that it’s got very good tight-space action choreography, FWIW.

    Someone who shares my couch is deep into Boardwalk Empire. We both like Dexter. I’ve heard good things about Last Resort, and it seems like an interesting premise. Not too interested in the Mob Doctor, but I’m a little played on those storylines at the moment. Very intrigued by Vegas. I think if done right that western frontier colliding with 60s swinging could be very cool!

  6. Scott Parker

    First and foremost: Castle!
    Grimm (2nd only to Castle)
    Wallander (next week!)
    Elementary (absolutely!)
    CSI: still digging Ted Danson
    Revenge (wife’s fav that I’ve got into)

    CSI: MIAMI?!?! [crickets sound] I *still* miss this show. We need a one-off movie that encompasses the finales of the two remaining CSIs.

  7. Deborah Lacy

    @laurakcurtis & Claire2e – I have never watched the Mentalist. Do you think I will like it? I have never liked Criminal Minds. I like to catch the bad guy not spend time with him.

    @lauracurtis, @clare2e and @scottparker – I never started watching Grimm, although I must sound the changes they made this season were intriguing.

    @ScottParker – Totally missed Wallendar in the run down – thanks for catching it! For Walendar fans – the show starts Sunday September 9th and 9pm on PBS and runs through the 23rd. You should check you’re local PBS listings just to make sure. Sometimes they aren’t in sync nationally.

  8. Laura K. Curtis

    Deborah –

    I think you probably would really like The Mentalist, but the problem is that the older episodes are not readily available. I can’t stream them from Netflix or iTunes or any of my usual go-to spots. It irritates me to no end. But the show is a lot of fun.

  9. Betty Breier

    Castle and The Walking Dead are “must see” shows for me. My sister got me started on Blue Bloods, but if I miss an episode now and then, I’m okay with that.

    I like the idea behind Revolution and I hope it is well done. If you like this kind of story, I recommend SM Stirling’s book Dies The Fire and its sequels.

  10. Deborah Lacy

    @LauraK – I’ll put it on the DVR list. I wonder why they are making it so hard to get old episodes … maybe the think it will help them sell a lot of DVD sets.

    @BLB – Thank you for the book rec. I’ll check it out.

  11. Mary Saputo

    Okay I’m back again. I was just watching TV and they had and ad for “Suits.” I know this is a summer show (or whatever they call it because it’s back in January – what do they call it?) but when talking about The Good Wife and Parenthood, I just have to add Suits. My family met for a holiday and we started talking about the shows we watch and someone said Suits. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this show. Another top-notch program with great writing. Can’t wait until January.

  12. Deborah Lacy

    @Bitsy08 – I have never even heard of Suits, so I looked it up and copied the description from the USA Network below. I’ll watch for it in January. Thanks for the recommendation! That is one of the things I enjoy most about CE.

    Suits
    Even the best lawyer in New York City can use some help. While running from a drug deal gone bad, Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), a brilliant young college-dropout, slips into a job interview with one of New York City’s best legal closers, Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht). Tired of cookie-cutter law school grads, Harvey takes a gamble by hiring Mike on the spot after he recognizes his raw talent and photographic memory. Mike and Harvey are a winning team. Even though Mike is a genius, he still has a lot to learn about law. And while Harvey may seem like an emotionless, cold-blooded shark, Mike’s sympathy and concern for their cases and clients will help remind Harvey why he went into law in the first place. Mike’s other allies in the office include the firm’s best paralegal Rachel (Meghan Markle) and Harvey’s no-nonsense assistant Donna (Sarah Rafferty) to help him serve justice. Proving to be an irrepressible duo and invaluable to the practice, Mike and Harvey must keep their secret from everyone including managing partner Jessica (Gina Torres) and Harvey’s arch nemesis Louis (Rick Hoffman), who seems intent on making Mike’s life as difficult as possible.

  13. KarenF

    For me, it’s The Good Wife (I clear my Sunday night schedule so that I can’t miss the best written show on TV … which will cause angst when Sherlock starts to air, and I’ll have to decide between the best written show and the best written mini-series). I try to catch Castle and Criminal Minds live, but if I miss, I watch within the next day or so on Hulu. I’ve watched Copper “on demand” and like it, but it hasn’t become must see for me yet.

    I’ll probably try to check out Revolution and Vegas – nothing else this fall looks that enticing to me (oh, well, Nashville, because I love Connie Britton, but that doesn’t fall under the mystery category anyway). Elementary does not look promising, and there are already enough shows out there I could hate-watch if I were feeling grumbly.

  14. Deborah Lacy

    @KarenF – There are a lot of Good Wife fans. It’s back on my DVR list. I haven’t been able to get into Copper yet either.

  15. Kim M. Hammond

    OMG soo many good sown owns. There’s not enough hours in the day or even the week.

  16. Kim Hammond

    OMG so many good shows. There’s not enough hours in the week.

Comments are closed.