Television Premieres and Notables: October 17-23, 2016

Monday, 10/17

Jane the Virgin; CW. 8 pm CST. 3rd Season Premiere.
It's silly and soap opera-y, but it's so fun and whimsical and crazy that it's also extremely delightful.

The Odd Couple; CBS. 8:30 pm CST. 3rd Season Premiere.


Wednesday, 10/19

Chance; Hulu. Streaming. Series Premiere.
Hugh Laurie stars in this series based on the Ken Numm novel about a forensic neurologist.


Thursday, 10/20

The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Timewarp Again; Fox. 7 pm CST. Special.


Friday, 10/21

The Vampire Diaries; CW. 7 pm CST. 8th-- and final-- season.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend; CW. 8 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.
Even crazier than Jane, and even more delightful.

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency; BBC America. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.
A new take on Scott Adam's books.
I liked the first series based on them that starred the always-great Stephen Mangan, so I'll give this a shot too.

Black Mirror; Netflix. Streaming. 3rd Season Premiere.


Sunday, 10/23

The Simpsons (Fox; 7 pm CST) airs its 600th episode-- and it's a Treehouse of Terror ep.

The Walking Dead; AMC. 8 pm CST. 7th Season Premiere.
I've watched this show since the beginning, but I am especially fascinated by the idea of how this season is going to play out.
It's one of the biggest shows in the country, and it may have pushed it a little too much last season, so I'm curious to see how the storytelling changes-- and how fans react.
Firstly, I think they made a mistake when they showed what looked like a major character death-- and then held confirmation for a few episodes (and the silliness surrounding the reveal). I think, story-wise, it was an okay choice, but AMC made it a bigger deal than it should have, so fans rebelled a bit.
The second mistake was the cliffhanger. Yeah, it's TV; it's what is done. But I think not showing who Negan killed right away will take away the impact of that death. When Negan was introduced in the comics, he pulped a character in the same issue, and that made him even more terrifying.  But the series decided to hold the reveal over the summer, and I think with an entire eight eps following right after, there won't be time for fans to let it sink in.
And I'm sure things have changed in the TV business of the past few years (more cable shows, shorter seasons), but I wonder if The Walking Dead has the traditional network actor contracts. (I, seriously, don't know; just speculating based on "the way it used to be".)  Traditional contracts locked in an actor for five seasons with the studio getting an additional option for two more (with changes that gave more power to the actor for those additional two years). After that, the actor has the advantage of being able to walk away. That's why you see more cast changes happening around the 7-8 season mark.
It's likely the contracts nowadays are different, but we really are reaching the point in this series where actors may decide to pursue other projects, and character deaths may not be strictly story-based.
The cast makeup of this show may be pretty different in the coming years after being fairly stable (for the main characters) for a the past couple.

Talking Dead; AMC. 9:06 pm CST. 6th Season Premiere.
A special 90-minute episode featuring twelve of the actors on Negan's hit list".

Comic Book Men; AMC. 11:40 pm CST. 6th Season Premiere.

Television Premieres and Notables: October 10-16, 2016

And The CW now finishes-off their premiere (two)week.
My DVR just got a little more full...

Monday, 10/10

Supergirl; CW. 7 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.
Moving from CBS will mean a smaller budget-- but hopefully will also mean it can be a little more free in its storytelling.
Season One wasn't perfect, but it was fun and told the right types of stories.
Kara/Supergirl is just trying to find her place in the world, which is made even more difficult because her cousin is the greatest hero in that world.
And Kara does what she does because it's the right thing to do; because she has the power to do more.
This is the right way to do a superhero show. If you have a young girl in your household, this is the type of role model she should be watching.

Two Broke Girls; CBS. 8 pm CST. 6th Season Premiere.
Yeah, this show is still on...


Tuesday, 10/11

The Middle; ABC. 7 pm CST. 8th Season Premiere.

American Housewife; ABC. 7:30 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Katy Mixon stars as a housewife who decides not to be like the other "perfect" women in her neighborhood.

Fresh Off the Boat; ABC. 8 pm CST. 3rd Season Premiere.

The Real Husbands of Beverly Hills; BET. 8 pm CST. Season Premiere.

Channel Zero: Candle Cove; Syfy. 8 pm CST. Mini-series Premiere.

The Real O'Neals. ABC. 8:30 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.

Chicago Fire; NBC. 9 pm CST. 5th Season Premiere.


Thursday, 10/13

DC's Legends of Tomorrow; CW. 7 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.
The weakest of the CW DC shows, but it has the most potential.
It's got a great group of actors, and I hope they can even-out the issues from last season (trying to balance the special effects seemed to be one of the biggest), and with a team shake-up for this season, I think we'll be in a better place for S2.
But whatever. Hourman mentioned The Justice Society in the season finale.
I'm in.
All in.

Supernatural; CW. 8 pm CST. 12th Season Premiere.

Falling Water; USA. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Following on the heels of the surprise Mr. Robot; USA tries to reinvent itself with another mysterious show. This one has to do with people with shared dreams-- and someone(s) are able to hack into others'.

Bajillion Dollar Properties; Seeso. Streaming. 2nd Season Premiere.


Friday, 10/14

Goliath; Netflix. Streaming. Series Premiere.

Haters Back Off! Netflix. Streaming. Series Premiere.


Sunday, 10/16

Eyewitness; USA. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Dead bodies are found, and a cop has to figure out who did it.

Graves; Epix. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Nick Nolte stars as a Republican former-president, who considers his his ideals.