Television Premieres and Notables: October 3-9, 2016

So it's been a pretty unexciting fall season; one of the least-exciting (for me, anyway) in at least as long as I've been doing this.

[Quick new show run-down: I watched an episode each of Son of Zorn and Kevin Can Wait and-- wow-- not good. But I did like Speechless and Designated Survivor enough to keep going with them (both of which have been picked-up for a full 22-ep season). And while I rarely watched the original, the new MacGuyver has just enough charm that I will continue to watch it sporadically when I'm not at the DVR in my house and and have limited options OnDemand.]

Anyway, here's where shit gets real. This week are the season premieres of most of the shows I really get into- and new shows that sound like things I'd be into.  Yeah, I'm an old comic book geek, but some of these shows are so fun, I'm not afraid to admit I eat them up as much as any of the more realistic shows out there.

And who have guessed that The CW is the network I'd be hardcore into...?


Monday, 10/3

Scorpion; CBS. 8 pm CST. 3rd Season Premiere.

Conviction; ABC. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
The great Hayley Atwell stars as the head of a legal firm that finds (possibly) wrongly convicted people and tries to get them set free.
I, unfortunately, haven't heard much great about it.

Timeless; NBC. 9 pm CST.
Three people travel through time to stop another person from changing history.


Tuesday, 10/4

The Flash; CW. 7 pm CST. 3rd Season Premiere.
Unlike the moody, brooding, emo bullshit that is the DC Movie Universe, the DC TV Universe feature heroes who "do the right thing", Barry Allen is about as pure and good-hearted a hero as you can find. He does what he does because he is the only one who can.
But he also makes mistakes because he's human. Like when he has gone back in time and changed his past.  Like in the 2nd Season finale, when he made a big, selfish, mistake any one of us would have also made that will undoubtedly change his entire life, as well as the lives of the people he's close to. (And, if the show follows even a portion of the comic book story "Flashpoint" that this storyline is based on, it's likely much more than just Barry's world that changed. And they may just have the basis for the big crossover event later this year.)

MasterChef Canada; Cooking. 7 pm CST. Season Premiere.

No Tomorrow; CW. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.
A young woman lives a normal, boring, life-- until a charismatic Aussie comes into her life and urges her to do more and be more.
Sounds great-- except the man actually thinks the world is going to end in eight months, so he may be going a little too gung-ho on the bucket list.

The Mindy Project; Hulu. Streaming. 6th Season Premiere.


Wednesday, 10/5

Arrow; CW. 7 pm CST. 5th Season Premiere.
This show has been embracing the more fantastical elements of super-hero stories as its seasons have gone on, but they may have gone too far with Damien Darhk last season.
So they're pulling back a little this year and getting back to ground-level heroics with Prometheus and The Vigilante, as well as (maybe) Mr. Terrific and Artemis.

Frequency; CW. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.
A young woman detective in 2016 finds herself able to communicate with her dead cop father from 1996.


Friday, 10/7

The Ranch; Netflix. Streaming. Mid-season Premiere.
Netflix drops the back half of the the first season on us.


Saturday, 10/8

The Graham Norton Show; BBC American. 9 pm CST. Season Premiere.
The best celeb chat show out there.
Watch it and then cry because the U.S. equivalents are so dull.


Sunday, 10/9

Divorce; HBO. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Sarah Jessica Parker and Thomas Hayden Church star as a couple who are deciding if their marriage is worth saving.
Sounds like a hoot...

Insecure; HBO. 9:30 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Issa Rae (from the Awkward Black Girl webseries) brings her voice to HBO.

Television Premieres and Notables: September 26-October 2, 2016

Monday, 9/26

Vice News Tonight; HBO. 6:30 pm CST. Series Premiere.

Food Network Star Kids (Food; 7 pm CST). Season Finale.

Tuesday, 9/27

Aftermath; Syfy. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.

Drunk History; Comedy Central. 9:30 pm CST. 4th Season Premiere.

Wednesday, 9/28

Criminal Minds; CBS. 8 pm CST. 12th Season Premiere.

Code Black; CBS. 9 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.

Younger; TV Land. 9 pm CST. 3rd Season Premiere.

Friday, 9/30

Crisis in Six Scenes; Amazon. Streaming. Mini-series Premiere.

Luke Cage; Netflix. Streaming. Series Premiere.

Saturday, 10/1

Versailles; Ovation. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.

Saturday Night Live; NBC. 10:30 pm CST. Season Premiere.

Sunday, 10/2

NCIS: Los Angeles; CBS. 7 pm CST. 8th Season Premiere.

Ash vs. Evil Dead; Starz. 7 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.

Blunt Talk; Starz. 7:30 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.

Madam Secretary; CBS. 8 pm CST. 3rd Season Premiere.

Westworld; HBO. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.

Shameless; Showtime. 8 pm CST. 7th Season Premiere.

Elementary; CBS. 9 pm CST. 5th Season Premiere.

Television Premieres and Notables: September 19-25, 2016

Okay, the 2016 Fall Season begins.
I'll got really got time or energy for is a straight-up "this is the show, channel, time" listing.

Monday, 9/19

The Big Bang Theory; CBS. 7 pm CST. 10 Season Premiere.

Gotham; Fox. 7 pm CST. 3rd Season Premiere.

The Voice; NBC. 7 pm CST. 11th Cycle Premiere.
Now with 100% more Alicia Keys and Miley Cyrus.

Kevin Can Wait; CBS. 7:30 pm CST. Series Premiere.

Lucifer; Fox. 8 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.

The Good Place; NBC. 9:00 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Beware: NBC is doing this a number of times this season; where a show premieres at a different time and day and then drops it in it's normal slot later. It's not clear if the the timeslot premiere will be a new ep, or a repeat of the pilot, so I'd plan for both.
This show will premiere in its usual timeslot on Thursday at 7:30 pm CST.


Tuesday, 9/20

NCIS; CBS. 7 pm CST. 14th Season Premiere.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine; Fox. 7 pm CST. 4th Season Premiere.

New Girl; Fox. 7:30 pm CST. 6th Season Premiere.

Bull; CBS. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.

Scream Queens; Fox. 8 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.; ABC. 9 pm CST. 4th Season Premiere.

NCIS: New Orleans; CBS. 9 pm CST. 3rd Season Premiere.

This is Us; NBC. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.


Wednesday, 9/21

The Goldbergs; ABC. 7 pm CST. 4th Season Premiere.

Speechless; ABC. 7:30 pm CST. Series Premiere.

Lethal Weapon; Fox. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.

Modern Family; ABC. 8 pm CST. 8th Season Premiere.

Survivor: Millennials vs Gen X: CBS. 33rd Cycle Premiere.

Empire; Fox.8 pm CST. 3rd Season Premiere.

Law & Order: SVU; NBC. 8 pm CST. 18th Season Premiere.

Black-ish; ABC. 8:30 pm CST. 3rd Season Premiere.

Designated Survivor; ABC. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.

Chicago P.D. NBC. 9 pm CST. 4th Season Premiere.


Thursday, 9/22

Grey's Anatomy; ABC. 7 pm CST. 13th Season Premiere.

Rosewood; Fox. 7 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.

Superstore; NBC. 7 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.

The Good Place (NBC) moves to it's normal timeslot (7:30 pm).

Notorious; ABC. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.

Pitch; Fox. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.

Chicago Med; NBC. 8 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.

How to Get Away With Murder; ABC. 9 pm CST. 3rd Season Premiere.

The Blacklist; NBC. 9 pm CST. 3rd Season Premiere.

Easy; Netflix. Streaming. Series Premiere.


Friday, 9/23

Last Man Standing; ABC. 7 pm CST. 6th Season Premiere.

MacGyver; CBS. 7 pm CST. Series Premiere.

Hell's Kitchen; Fox. 7 pm CST. 16th Season Premiere.

Dr. Ken; ABC. 7:30 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.

Shark Tank; ABC. 8 pm CST. 8th Season Premiere.

Hawaii Five-O; 8 pm CST. 7th Season Premiere.

The Exorcist; Fox. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.

Blue Bloods; CBS. 9 pm CST. 7th Season Premiere.

Van Helsing; Syfy. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.

Transparent; Amazon. Streaming. 3rd Season Premiere.


Sunday, 9/25
First off-- pay attention to football on CBS and Fox.
If a network has the late afternoon game, it'll inevitably "go long".
(Thus is especially true for CBS. Fox tends to know the game will go past 6 pm.)

Bob's Burgers; Fox. 6:30 pm CST. 7th Season Premiere.

Once Upon a Time; ABC. 7 pm CST. 6th Season Premiere.

The Simpsons; Fox. 7 pm CST. 28th Season Premiere.

Secrets and Lies; 8 pm CST. 2nd season Premiere.

Family Guy; Fox.  8 pm CST. 14th Season Premiere.

Last Man on Earth; Fox. 8:30 pm CST. 3rd Season Premiere.

Quantico; ABC. 9 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.

Television Premieres and Notables: September 12-18, 2016

Monday, 9/12.

Dancing With the Stars; ABC. 7 pm CST. 23rd Cycle Premiere.


Wednesday, 9/14

Blindspot; NBC. 9 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.

South Park; Comedy Central. 9 pm CST. 20th Season Premiere.

American Horror Story; FX. 9 pm CST. 6th Season Premiere.

Documentary Now! IFC. 9 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.


Thursday, 9/15

Project Runway; Lifetime. 8 pm CST. 15th Season Premiere.


Friday, 9/16

Z Nation; Syfy. 9 pm CST. 3rd Season Premiere.

High Maintenance; HBO. 10 pm CST. Series Premiere.
HBO is bringing the weed delivery man web-series to premium cable.


Sunday, 9/18

The Case of: JonBenet Ramsey; CBS. 7:30 pm CST. Series Premiere.

Television Premieres and Notables: September 5-12, 2016

Monday, 9/5

Harley and the Davidsons; Discovery. 8 pm CST. Mini-series Premiere.
A scripted 3-parter that looks at the beginnings of the motorcycle company and the men behind it.

Loosely Exactly Nicole; MTV. 9:30 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Nicole Byer stars in this autobiographical series kind-of about her life.


Tuesday, 9/6

From Dusk Til Dawn: The Series; El Rey. 8 pm CST. 3rd Season Premiere.
Catch up on the first 2 seasons as El Rey reairs them beginning at midnight (9/6) then get into S3 at 8 where more crazy shit is bound to happen.

Atlanta; FX. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Donald Glover stars as one of a pair of cousins trying to break into the Atlanta rap world.

Queen Sugar; OWN. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Oprah Winfrey and Ava DuVernay bring us this adaptation of the Natalie Baszile novel.

StartUp; Crackle. Streaming. Series Premiere.


Wednesday, 9/7

American Gothic (CBS; 8 pm CST). Season Finale.



Thursday, 9/8

Finding Prince Charming; Logo. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Lance Bass hosts this gay dating show.

Better Things; FX. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Pamela Adlon stars in and co-created (with Louis CK) this look at a single mother actress.

Haylie's America; Cooking. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Haylie Duff travels the country, eating at various establishments.


Friday, 9/9

Quarry; Cinemax. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
A disgraced Vietnam vet returns and gets recruited to be a hitman, like one does.

One Mississippi; Amazon. Streaming. Series Premiere.
Tig Notaro stars in this series that is based on her life after her mother died.


Sunday, 9/11

Masters of Sex; Showtime. 9 pm CST. 4th Season Premiere.

Television Premieres and Notables: August 29-September 4, 2016

Monday, 8/29

THE MAKING OF THE MOB: CHICAGO (AMC; 9 pm CST). Season Finale.


Wednesday, 8/31

YOU'RE THE WORST; FXX. 9 pm CST. 3rd Season Premiere.

GREENLEAF (OWN; 9 pm CST). Season Finale.


Thursday, 9/1

SOUL MATES; SeeSo. Streaming. Series Premiere.


Friday, 9/2

CHEF'S TABLE; Netflix. Streaming. Season Premiere.

NARCOS; Netflix. Streaming. 2nd Season Premiere.


Sunday, 9/4

BUILDING STAR TREK; Smithsonian. 7 pm CST. Special.
Scientists explain how the show inspired them to invent/develop some of the technology seen on the show.

Television Premieres and Notables: August 22-28, 2016

Tuesday, 8/23

Halt and Catch Fire; AMC. 8 pm CST. 3rd Season Premiere.

Adam Ruins Everything; TruTV. 9 pm CST. Mid-season Premiere.


Wednesday, 8/24

Cleveland Hustles; CNBC. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
LeBron James brings us this series that looks at Cleveland entrepreneurs.

Gomorrah; Sundance TV. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Sundance brings the hit Italian series about a crime family to The States.


Thursday, 8/25

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars; Logo. 7 pm CST. Season Premiere.


Sunday, 8/28

The Strain; FX. 9 pm CST. 3rd Season Premiere.

Television Premieres and Notables: August 15-21, 2016

Wednesday, 8/17

Unlocking the Truth; MTV. 10 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Ryan Ferguson, a man who was wrongfully convicted of murder, tries to help three other possibly innocent prisoners.


Thursday, 8/18

60 Days In; A&E. 8 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.


Saturday, 8/20

Rush Hour (CBS; 7 pm CST). Series Finale.


Sunday, 8/21

Fear the Walking Dead; AMC. 8 pm CST. Mid-season Premiere.
This series has started to pull itself away from the original, and I'm interested to see if it can continue to show a different side of the zombie apocalypse.

Television Premieres and Notables: August 8-14, 2016

Monday, 8/8

Angie Tribecca (TBS; 8 pm CST). Season Finale.

Unreal (Lifetime; 9 pm CST). Season Finale.


Tuesday, 8/9

Hard Knocks: Training Camp With the Los Angeles Rams; HBO. 9 pm CST. Season Premiere.


Wednesday, 8/10

Hollywood Medium With Tyler Henry; E! 7 pm CST. Season Premiere.


Thursday, 8/11

Take My Wife; Seeso. Streaming, Series Premiere.
Rhea Butcher and Cameron Esposito create and star in this series loosely based on their own life together.


Friday, 8/12

The Great British Baking Show (PBS; 8 pm [check local listings]). Season Finale.

Outcast (Cinemax 9 pm CST). Season Finale.

The Get Down; Netflix. Streaming. Series Premiere,
Baz Luhrmann (with Grandmaster Flash and Nas) brings us this series about the rise of hip-hop in the 1970s.

Television Premieres and Notables: August 1-7, 2016

Monday, 8/1

The Bachelorette (ABC; 7 pm CST). Season Finale.

Running Wild With Bear Grylls; NBC. 9 pm CST. Season Premiere.

Fameless; TruTV. 9 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.


Tuesday, 8/2

Bachelor in Paradise; ABC. 7 pm CST, 3rd Season Premiere.


Thursday, 8/4

Greatest Hits (ABC; 8 pm CST). Season Finale.


Friday, 8/5

2016 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony; NBC. 6:30 pm CST. Special.

David Cross' Making America Great Again! Netflix. Special.


Sunday, 8/7

Inspector Lewis; PBS. 8 pm CST (check local listings). Season Premiere.

Television Premieres and Notables: July 25-31, 2016

Tuesday, 7/26

MADtv; CW. 8 pm CST. Series Reboot.
It's got a new cast, but original cast members-- and some of their characters-- will be showing up from time to time.


Wednesday, 7/27

Sing It On; Pop. 8 pm CST. Season Premiere.


Thursday, 7/28

Jeff Ross Presents Roast Battle; Comedy Central. 9 pm CST. Mini-series Premiere

Ripper Street; BBC America. 9 pm CST.  4th season premiere.


Friday, 7/29

Last Chance U; Netflix. Streaming. Series Premiere.


Sunday, 7/31

Preacher (AMC; 8 pm CST). Season Finale.

Television Premieres and Notables: July 18-25

Tuesday, 7/19

Shooter; USA. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Ryan Phillippe stars as a guy who shoots.


Friday, 7/22

The Rap Game; Lifetime. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
The search for the next rap talent starts here.

BoJack Horseman; Netflix. Streaming. 3rd Series Release.

Degrassi: The Next Generation; Netflix. Streaming. Season Premiere.


Saturday, 7/23

Hell on Wheels (AMC; 8 pm CST). Series Finale.
It had its ups and downs, but Anson Mount rocked every scene he was in.
I can't wait to see what he does next.


Sunday, 7/24

Looking; HBO. 9 pm CST. Special.
The show closes out in this finale movie.

Survivor's Remorse; Starz. 9 pm CST. Season Premiere.

Ozzy and Jack's World Tour; History. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Ozzy Osbourne and son, Jack, take pit stops at various places during his latest tour.

Television Premieres and Notables: July 11-17, 2016

Monday, 7/11

The Making of the Mob: Chicago; AMC. 9 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.
Now the series looks at a different city...


Tuesday, 7/12

Maya & Marty (NBC; 9 pm CT). Season Finale.

Difficult People; Hulu. Streaming. 2nd Season.


Wednesday, 7/13

Mr. Robot; USA. 9 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.

The A Word; Sundance. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
A young boy's parents try to manage life with their autistic son.


Thursday, 7/14

HarmonQuest; Seeso. Streaming. Series Premiere.
Community creator Dan Harmon, actress Erin McGathy and comedian Jeff Bryan Davis play Dungeons and Dragons (or maybe a sort of D&D game).


Friday, 7/15

Stranger Things; Netflix. Streaming. Series Premiere.


Sunday, 7/17

Ballers; HBO. 9 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.
I watched S1 last weekend, and it's like a less douchey Entourage.
The fact that Dwayne Johnson is doing a TV series is still a little mind-blowing to me.


Vice Principals; HBO. 9:30 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Danny McBride and Walton Goggins star as as vice principals vying for the same promotion.
The commercials alone confirm it should be at least as profane as Eastbound and Down.
McBride has said the series will only last two seasons for a total of eighteen episodes (which he also said have already been filmed).

Television Premieres and Notables: July 4-10, 2016

So-- another week where I don't have EW to regurgitate-- and I'm near the DVR to check times.
But it's something...

Wednesday, 7/6

Tyrant; FX. 3rd Season Premiere.

Duck Dynasty; A&E. Season Premiere.


Sunday, 7/10

The Night Of; HBO. Series Premiere.
I have heard good things. Really good things.
If you have HBO, check it out.

DB Cooper; History. Series Premiere.
A documentary series about the mythological robber.

Television Premieres and Notables: June 27-July 3, 2016

Monday, 6/27

Discovery's annual Shark Week starts today.


Tuesday, 6/28

Zoo; CBS. 8 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.

Dead of Summer; Freeform. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Elizabeth Mitchell stars in this series set at an '80s summer camp that has a supernatural problem.


Thursday, 6/30

Greatest Hits; ABC. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Arsenio Hall and Kelsea Ballerini host this show where the hits of yesterday (as far back as the '80s) are sung by the stars of today (and yesterday).

Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll; FX. 9 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.

Night Train With Wyatt Cenac; Seeso. Streaming. Series Premiere.
Cenac hosts his own comedy showcase show.


Friday, 7/1

The Great British Baking Show; PBS. 8 pm CST (check local listings). Season Premiere.

Marcella; Netflix. Streaming. Series Premiere.
Anna Friel stars as a cop who returns to the job when a serial killer makes his return in this British
import.


Sunday, 7/3

The Hunt; BBC America. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.
David Attenborough teams with the Planet Earth crew to show us how predators catch their prey.