2018/2019 Fall TV is here!

I’m a little behind in my highly-anticipated annual post on fall television. Please accept my apologies, friends. And for those shows that have already debuted? That’s what OnDemand is for.

What am I watching now? As I write this, I’m watching the series finale of Shooter (USA). Ballers (HBO), The Purge (a new one from USA), and Barry (Showtime) have also been in rotation. It seems like every year I’m less and less excited about the new shows. This year is no different. Maybe you know something I don’t? Tell me what I should be watching and help get me jazzed!

What will I be watching? Welcome back to my returning favorites:

  • The Deuce, HBO (Sept. 9, 8 p.m.)
  • Bull, CBS (Sept. 24, 10 p.m.)  
  • The Goldbergs, ABC (Sept. 26, 8 p.m.)
  • Modern Family, ABC (Sept. 26, 9 p.m.)
  • The Good Place, NBC (Sept. 27, 8 p.m.)
  • Law & Order: SVU, NBC (Sept. 27, 9 p.m.)
  • How to Get Away With Murder, ABC (Sept. 27, 10 p.m.)
  • The Simpsons, FOX (Sept. 30, 8 p.m.)
  • Superstore, NBC (Oct. 4, 8 p.m.)
  • Riverdale, The CW (Oct. 10, 8 p.m.)
  • House of Cards, Netflix (Nov. 2)

Two of my favorites will be returning mid-season:

  • Good Girls, NBC
  • Jane the Virgin, The CW 

And now for the new shows I’ll be adding to the DVR and following until I decide I hate them:

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Amazon (Aug. 31)

Author Tom Clancy introduced the character of Jack Ryan in a series of books before Ryan headed to the big screen in several films. Now the former U.S. Marine is featured in an episodic series for the first time, with John Krasinski portraying Ryan in this Amazon original thriller that centers on Ryan as an up-and-coming CIA analyst. He is thrust into a dangerous field assignment for the first time and uncovers a pattern in terrorist communication. That launches him into the middle of a dangerous gambit with a new breed of terrorism that threatens destruction on a global scale.

Kidding, Showtime (Sept. 9, 10 p.m.)

Jeff, aka Mr. Pickles, is an icon of children’s television, a beacon of kindness and wisdom to America’s impressionable young minds; when his family begins to implode, Jeff finds that no fairy tale, fable or puppet can guide him through the crisis.

The Good Cop, Netflix (Sept. 21)

The Good Cop is an upcoming American television drama created by Andy Breckman based on the Israeli show of the same name created by Erez and Tomer Aviram and produced by Yoav Gross. It will consist of ten episodes, and will be released on Netflix.

New Amsterdam, NBC (Sept. 25, 10 p.m.)

Dr. Max Goodwin is brilliant, charming — and the new medical director at America’s oldest public hospital. While he’s set on tearing down the bureaucracy to provide exceptional care, the doctors and staff are not so sure. They’ve heard this before, and no one else has delivered on those promises. Not taking no for an answer, Max disrupts the status quo and proves he will stop at nothing to breathe new life into this understaffed, underfunded and underappreciated hospital — the only one in the world capable of treating Ebola patients, prisoners from Rikers Island and the president of the United States all under one roof — and return it to the glory that put it on the map. Inspired by Bellevue in New York City.

Single Parents, ABC (Sept. 26, 9:30 p.m.)

This ensemble comedy follows some single parents as they lean on each other to help raise their 7-year-old kids and maintain some kind of personal lives outside of parenthood. When the parents in the group meet Will, a 30-something guy who’s been so focused on raising his daughter that he’s lost sight of who he is as a man, they see just how far down the rabbit hole of PTA, parenting and princesses he has gone. The friends decide to band together to get him out in the dating world and make him realize that being a great parent doesn’t mean sacrificing everything about his own identity.

A Million Little Things, ABC (Sept. 26, 10 p.m.)

It has been said that friendship isn’t one big thing, it’s a million little things. That is certainly true for a group of friends from Boston who bonded under unexpected circumstances. Some have achieved success, others are struggling in their careers and relationships, but all of them feel stuck in life. After one of them dies unexpectedly, it’s just the wake-up call the others need to finally start living. Along the way, they discover that friends may be the one thing that can save them from themselves. 

I Feel Bad, NBC (Oct. 4, 9:30 p.m.)

Emet is the perfect mom, boss, wife, friend and daughter. OK, she’s not perfect. In fact, she’s just figuring it out like the rest of us. Sure, she feels bad when she has a sexy dream about someone other than her husband, David, or when she pretends not to know her kids, Lily and Louie, when they misbehave in public, or when she uses her staff to help solve personal problems. But nobody can have it all without making a few mistakes — and Emet’s realizing that as long as she doesn’t become her mother, it’s all going to work out pretty great.

Camping, HBO (Oct. 14, 10 p.m.)

An obsessively organized and aggressively controlling woman gathers together her meek sister, her holier-than-thou ex-best friend, and a free-spirited tagalong for a back-to-nature camping trip to celebrate her husband’s 44th birthday.

The Rookie, ABC (Oct. 16, 10 p.m.)

Starting over isn’t easy, especially for small-town guy John Nolan, who, after a life-altering incident, is pursuing his dream of becoming an LAPD officer. As the force’s oldest rookie, he’s met with skepticism from some higher-ups who see him as just a walking midlife crisis. If he can’t keep up with the young cops and the criminals, he’ll be risking lives — including his own — but if he can use his life experience, determination and sense of humor to give him an edge, he may just become successful in this new chapter of his life.

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Netflix (Oct. 26)

As her 16th birthday nears, Sabrina must choose between the witch world of her family and the human world of her friends; based on the “Archie” comic. (Think Sabrina the Teenage Witch meets Riverdale!)

Grand Hotel, ABC (mid-season, likely 2019)

Eva Longoria executive produces this bold, provocative drama set at the last family-owned hotel in multicultural Miami Beach. Charismatic Santiago Mendoza owns the hotel, while his glamorous second wife, Gigi, and their adult children enjoy the spoils of success.The hotel’s loyal staff round out a contemporary, fresh take on an upstairs/downstairs story. Wealthy and beautiful guests bask in luxury, but scandals, escalating debt and explosive secrets hide beneath the picture-perfect exterior. The show is based on the Spanish series.

The Gilded Age, NBC (mid-season, likely 2019)

When the population of the US doubled at the end of the 19th century, transforming America, disparities between rich and poor sparked passionate debate. Food, coal, steel and oil made fortunes for some, but seldom for the workers on the front lines of industry.

Abby’s, NBC (mid-season, likely 2019)

The oddball cast of characters that hang out at Abby’s believe everyone needs a bar to call home. Theirs just happens to be an unlicensed watering hole in Abby’s backyard, where the drinks are cheap and the laughs abound. But what really makes this place so special is Abby. She’s a tough cookie with no time for nonsense. She doesn’t allow cellphones, earning a seat at the bar takes time, and losing a challenge means drinking a limey, sugary, non-beer cocktail — and her regulars wouldn’t have it any other way.

Set those DVRs and tell me what I should be watching to help get me jazzed for the new shows!