What I’m Watching This Fall

Man, I don’t know what it is about things lately, but Fall TV really snuck up on me again this year. At any rate, I hope you all had a lovely summer and are ready to dive back in to things! Here’s what I’m watching this fall:

RETURNING SHOWS

Supergirl (Sundays at 9 on the CW)

Supergirl had what I think was its strongest season last year. So many things worked about it, and I’m worried this season will be a letdown by comparison. However, I’m excited/nervous for the fallout of Lena discovering Kara’s secret, and it’ll be fun to see Alex and Kelly pursue a relationship.

Madam Secretary (Sundays at 10 on CBS)

This is the rare show where I’m happy it’s the final season AND that they’re only doing 10 episodes. It’s interesting that they pivoted from an election storyline to one where (*spoiler alert if you haven’t seen the promo*) Elizabeth is already president. I’m surprised by how many cast members won’t be returning as series regulars, but realistically very few of her staff would have made the jump to the White House, so it makes sense.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (Sundays at 11 on HBO)

This isn’t really returning, as it was on a decent chunk of the summer, but John Oliver continues to keep me sane and informed, and I continue to appreciate it.

The Flash (Tuesdays at 8 on the CW)

Like Supergirl, I enjoyed the last season of this show but am looking forward to the coming one. I have a feeling that The Flash and Arrow will be the two most affected by the crossover, and I’m curious to see how that plays out. I will miss Nora, though.

Arrow (Tuesdays at 9 on the CW)

It definitely sounds like this year will be more of a season-long farewell, which I’m happy about. If any show deserves a proper sendoff, it’s this one. Again, 10 episodes feels like the right number, and I’m glad my previous concern that the crossover would also serve as Arrow‘s series finale didn’t amount to anything.

This Is Us (Tuesdays at 9 on NBC)

TIU can be a little frustrating but also one of the most affecting things on TV in the right week. I feel like they’re really selling this season’s premiere as a departure for the show, which I’m intrigued by. I’m also looking forward to having Jennifer Morrison back on my TV.

Survivor (Wednesdays at 8 on CBS)

I think the Boston Rob/Sandra twist is hokey and dumb, but there have been plenty of great seasons of Survivor with bad premises, so I won’t count it out yet. Honestly, I’m more excited about the whispers of an upcoming “all-winners” season than I am about this one.

Modern Family (Wednesdays at 9 on ABC)

10 seasons in, by now this is far from my favorite comedy. However, I’m confident they’ll stick the landing in their final season and probably make me cry along the way. I got in on MF early (after season 1), so it’s bittersweet to say goodbye to something I’ve been watching every week for almost a decade, regardless of what my feelings are toward it now.

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (Wednesdays at 10 on TBS)

This is the same deal as with John Oliver: I watched it throughout the summer and will keep doing so. Sam Bee’s been particularly sharp on female candidates and their media coverage this year, something I’m confident will continue this fall.

Grey’s Anatomy (Thursdays at 8 on ABC)

I’m leery of the weird “weekly crossover with Station 19” thing that’s been teased and walked back and then sort of teased again throughout the summer, but it would take a heck of a lot to make me quit Grey’s at this point. Like with Modern Family, I’m nearly a decade in.

Superstore (Thursdays at 8 on NBC)

I won’t actually be watching Superstore when it premieres, as I’m currently binging season 2. However, I’m already enjoying it enough to make catching up a priority, even when regular TV comes back.

The Good Place (Thursdays at 9 on NBC)

Unlike with Arrow and Madam Secretary, I’m bummed this is The Good Place‘s final season, but I respect it from a storytelling perspective. I can’t wait to see what Mike Schur and Co. have cooked up for us, and this is another “comedy” season that will definitely make me cry.

Legacies (Thursdays at 9 on the CW)

Legacies is pretty low on my list of show priorities, but I thought the first season was pleasantly surprising in spots. This cast has grown on me a lot since the pilot, too. At this point, I’d be a bit lost without a Julie Plec show in my life.

Saturday Night Live (Saturdays at 11:30 on NBC)

SNL didn’t start their season off on a good note, but I’m glad they rectified their mistake, even if it took longer than it should have. I’m excited about the other new cast members, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge + Taylor Swift is a hell of a combo for the second episode (I owe a decent chunk of my summer to Fleabag and Lover).

NEW SHOWS (NETWORK)

Batwoman (Sundays at 8 on the CW)

I’ll be very surprised if I don’t end up loving this one. I thought Ruby Rose was great in her few scenes during Elseworlds, and it’s awesome that she’ll be the first lesbian title superhero. Also, come next season (provided everything gets renewed), Grant Gustin will be only straight white guy leading a DC show on the CW, which is pretty cool.

Stumptown (Wednesdays at 10 on ABC)

I’ll admit that I’m still a little bitter at Stumptown for taking Whiskey Cavalier‘s spot, but I love Cobie Smulders (Robin was my favorite on How I Met Your Mother), and Jake Johnson was great on New Girl, too.

Perfect Harmony (Thursdays at 8:30 on NBC)

I’m less certain about Perfect Harmony; it may be one where I wait a couple of weeks to see what viewer/critical reception is like. It’s a cute premise, and I like Bradley Whitford and Anna Camp a lot, but I could also see it sitting in my virtual “to watch” pile for a while.

The Unicorn (Thursday at 8:30 on CBS)

I have similar feelings about this one, though I don’t think the premise is quite as novel as Perfect Harmony‘s is. The promos have made it look very “generic CBS comedy,” but several of the folks at TVLine said it was worth checking out, and they almost never lead me astray.

NEW SHOWS (STREAMING)

The Politician (Friday, September 27 on Netflix)

I probably won’t stress about checking out any streaming shows the first weekend they premiere, but The Politician is one I plan on getting around to at some point this fall. The trailer was pretty effective, juicy and fun, and I sound like a broken record, but another great cast.

Looking for Alaska (Friday, October 18 on Hulu)

I’m a longtime John Green fan, but LFA isn’t my favorite of his books. That being said, I know getting this one to the screen was a frustrating and lengthy process for him, so I’m happy about it for that reason. I’m also excited about it being the first TV adaptation of one of his books. Of all of them, LFA is probably the one best suited to TV over film.

Modern Love (Friday, October 18 on Prime Video)

Like with The Politician, this cast is borderline ridiculous (Anne Hathaway! Tina Fey!) and has the potential to be really great, I think. I only occasionally read “Modern Love” but am kind of surprised that it hasn’t been adapted before.

Your turn! What shows are you watching this fall and which ones are you particularly excited about? Hit the comments and let me know!

The Arrow-verse Gets Off to a Promising Start

Now that we’re a couple weeks into the new season of the CW’s Arrow-verse, I thought I’d take a second to weigh in on the returns of Supergirl, Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, and The Flash.

Supergirl: This premiere was pretty good, though it suffered for being the first one after so many changes (Mon-El and Winn leaving, Alex replacing J’onn at the DEO, Sam and Ruby moving, etc.). It had to do some awkward exposition while also introducing new characters like Nia.

The second episode was much stronger and gave me hope for how great this season could be. It set up what’s probably going to become a contentious relationship between Supergirl and the new President, which will make it feel more relevant to the current times. It also had some of my favorite—and most hilarious—Kara/Lena scenes ever, with sweet Lena doing everything possible to protect her best friend, while Kara repeatedly tries to sneak away to become Supergirl. Plus, we got to know the already wonderful Nia with her protecting Brainy and coming out as transgender to James (and the importance of that happening with so little fanfare on network television shouldn’t be forgotten). Tack on Alex telling Brainy to send anyone who gives him trouble her way, and yeah…I’m very excited about the potential of this season.

Arrow: Very few aspects of Arrow‘s last season worked for me, but I was excited about new showrunner Beth Schwartz, plus the promise of Oliver’s decision in the finale to have long-term consequences. This one did the opposite of Supergirl: the premiere was excellent, but it was the second episode that left me slightly concerned about the season as a whole.

The first episode was my favorite of theirs in a long time, from the brutal Oliver/Felicity fight sequence to that crazy William reveal. For a show that goes back in the time so often, I don’t know why it never occurred to me that they could also go forward in time, but it opens up pretty endless storytelling opportunities for them.

The second hour had more Not!Laurel, who I’ve finally admitted is a character that will never work for me, and I still have a hard time buying even a professional relationship between her and Dinah. The Felicity/Diggle fight also felt out of character to me, just because I think John would know better than to leave Felicity out and would also be a better friend to her than he was in this episode, especially after she just spent five months alone with William. Also, one of the biggest issues with last season was that it upset the status quo too much, so with Oliver already in jail, it makes for a stronger story to have the rest of the team intact. This was also the episode where I started to get a little concerned about the flash-forward scenes going forward; they have a leg up over the flashback scenes in that they can dole out fun tidbits from the future (like how wonderfully casually William mentioned his ex-boyfriend), but that in and of itself won’t sustain them.

Legends of Tomorrow: This season’s a little more of a wild card since they’re only one episode in, but this premiere was classic Legends: nutty, fun, and surprisingly sweet. Truly, only this show could have a unicorn alternatively murdering people and spewing a rainbow-colored hallucinogen, a virgin nipple sacrifice, and a guy hugging someone he believes to be his beloved pet rat. But this premiere was enjoyable because, despite all of its antics, it also had Sara, a character with one of the Arrow-verse’s more tragic backstories, in a healthy, happy place with lady love Ava, Zara taking Ray on a most bittersweet trip down memory lane, Nate reconnecting with his parents, etc. It would be easy to let the show’s inherent zaniness take precedence over character, but that miraculously never happens. Hopefully, it will continue this season as well.

The Flash: They’re already three episodes in, so I have the most sense of what this season will look like. Unlike with Arrow and Supergirl, all of these episodes worked equally well for me. One of the best signs of the season to come is that they’ve moved past the kind of secrets that majorly bogged down the show in the past, like the real reason Nora went back in time, with everyone on the show finding out, not just the audience. Speaking of, Nora is just perfectly cast, with Jessica Parker Kennedy nailing down a mix of Barry and Iris’s mannerisms and making it look easy. There’s been a decent swell of actors playing parent to people their age (see Once Upon a Time and This Is Us) and it totally falls apart without commitment, which Candice Patton and Grant Gustin thankfully have.

Cicada is one of their creepier villains already, and the stakes were effectively raised by him “killing” Cisco, as well as Nora’s ominous warning that “you never catch him.” I’m also excited about the prospect of Caitlin finding her father, as well as the genuinely nice friend role Ralph is playing there. Between that and Ralph helping Cisco get over his heartbreak, these first few episodes continued the character rehab of last season after Ralph was introduced as the kind of sleazy womanizer that the writers quickly realized wasn’t a great character for these times. Also, gotta give a shout out to Tom Cavanagh creating what might be his most ridiculous version of Wells yet in Sherloque.

What did you guys think of the start of the Arrow-verse’s season? Overall, I’m most excited about Supergirl and The Flash, though I may be more excited about Arrow and Legends in a couple weeks. Let me know your thoughts in comments!

Superhero Roundup: Meet The J.S.A.

http://tvreviewswithrebecca.tumblr.com/post/152227620384/superhero-roundup-meet-the-jsa

10 Wishes For The New Season

http://tvreviewswithrebecca.tumblr.com/post/150732040884/10-wishes-for-the-new-season