2014 Fall Preview: FOX

RETURNING SHOWS:

Hell’s Kitchen (9/10)
New Girl (9/16)
The Mindy Project (9/16)
Sleepy Hollow (9/22)
Bones (9/25)
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (9/28)
The Simpsons (9/28)
Bob’s Burgers (10/5)
Family Guy (9/28)
Master Chef Junior (11/7)

NEW SHOWS:
Utopia (9/7)
Red Band Society (9/17)
Gotham (9/22)
Gracepoint (10/2)
Mulaney (10/5)

SHOWS I AM MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO:
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Sleepy Hollow
Gotham

SHOWS I AM LOSING INTEREST IN BUT WILL GIVE ONE MORE SEASON TO:
New Girl (after a strong first season, the second season was bad)

SHOWS I COULDN’T CARE LESS ABOUT:
Glee
The Mindy Project
All the Animated Shows
Hell’s Kitchen
Utopia

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
Glee’s Final Season:  This is it.   The dreck that has been Glee the last few seasons is finally coming to an end.    And it’s been a long time coming.   These characters have been destroyed (Rachel leaves what was ALWAYS her dream of being on Broadway and playing Fanny Brice to be on a shitty TV show) the stories are worse than ever, and I just don’t care what happens to them anymore.   FOX also realized no cares anymore and lowered the original 22 episode commitment down to 13.   I won’t be checking it out but I’m sure some people will.
Sleepy Hollow Sophomore Season: It’s been 8 months since Sleepy Hollow was last on air.   And that can be dangerous with a show with so much mythology behind it.   But I can’t wait for this to return!!!  Abbie is now in purgatory.   Jenny was in a car crash.  Ichabod was buried alive by the Sineater (who turned out to be his son.)   And Katrina is now running around Sleepy Hollow with no one who knows her.  And Sineater/Jeremy is working with the Headless Horseman (who is also one of the 4 Horseman of the Apocalypse) to open the gates of hell to release all the Horseman.   Nice!!!  I just hope we get more than 13 episodes this year and Sleepy Hollow is every bit as strong in its sophomore year as it was its freshman year!
Brooklyn Nine-Nine Moving to Sundays: This is how FOX treats it’s best new comedy of last year?   Which also happened to win the Golden Globe for Best Comedy by the way.   You move it to animated comedy Sunday?    With so much already on Sunday, I’m really disappointed to see this show move.   I hope it doesn’t hurt a show that was not a ratings juggernaut.   It picked up steam at the end of the season with the GG win and word of mouth.   But how will it fare if people have to DVR it for football or other big Sunday night shows.

EARLY THOUGHTS ON NEW SHOWS:
As if I don’t have enough superhero shows to watch on TV these days, but I am excited to check out Gotham.   Gotham is a different twist on the superhero genre focusing on a name we all know very well (that is those of us that follow DC Comics)…Commissioner Gordon.  We know Gordon from the Batman comics.   But before Batman was Batman as we know him, Gordon and Gotham City had their own stories to tell…full of villains and vigilantes.   This show is the compilation of those stories.   It is an origin story.   It stars Ben Mackenzie as Detective James Gordon.   Gordon is called to the scene of a crime involving the murder of one of the wealthiest families in Gotham City…the Waynes.   Thomas and Martha Wayne are murdered and the only survivor is their son…Bruce (who eventually becomes Batman.)  Gordon and Bruce connect instantly (a kinship that will continue for years to come) and Gordon promises to track down the killers.   As the series evolves we’ll meet all the people we come to know in their adult lives…Selina Kyle (Catwoman), Edward Nygma (The Riddler), and Oswald Cobblepot (The Penguin.)   Between Arrow, Agents of SHIELD, and other newcomer shows The Flash and Constantine, I don’t know how much comic book TV I can stomach.  I watch the Marvel movies so SHIELD isn’t going anywhere.    And I love Arrow (and Stephen Amell.)   But can I add The Flash, Constantine, AND Gotham all to my viewing landscape?   I will and we’ll see if they all stick.

Gracepoint is another show I will be checking out.  It reminds me a little of Twin Peaks and a better version of The Killing.   I’m a big fan of these 10 episode shows that have a brief period of time to tell their story.  It leaves little room for fluff and gets right into the meat of the show.   But since I’m a big character person, it’s hard for these shows to really get us in tune with the characters with such little time to get to all the show runners need to get to.  True Detective did a masterful job of it last year.    So can Gracepoint do the same?   For other people, it might not matter.   This is a murder mystery event.   It might not matter to some about characters.    It does to me though.    But with powerhouses Anna Gunn and David Tennant leading the way, I feel confident this show will be short but mighty.

As for Utopia, Red Band Society and Mulaney, these show may be the result of nothing more than I have no time to watch and their premises haven’t warranted me finding time to watch them.     First of all, Utopia is a reality show about people leaving their lives behind and moving to a remote location to create a whole new civilization.   Yeah, no.  Don’t care, won’t be watching.    Red Band Society stars Octavia Spencer and Dave Annable as part of the medical staff at Ocean Park Hospital.    It focus on a young group of “rule benders” (great more of those) who would never in a million years become friends except for the fact that they are all patients at this hospital.   The show explores relationships between the patients and the staff with both humor and drama.    It appears to have a ton of warmth and heart (with a touch of over the top lessons to be learned.)   Although I have to ask, was Diana Agron too busy to play another blonde, bitchy cheerleader?   Seems all teen shows have those these days and she’s played quite a few of them.    I love the cast (you had me a Octavia Spencer) but I just don’t know if I have time for this show.   It might be one I catch up on in the summer if it hangs around and gets renewed…which I doubt.  The ratings were really bad out of the gate (with no competition) so that doesn’t bode well for the show.   And I love Dave Annable but he is a jinx when it comes to new shows where he is the headliner.   Finally we have Mulaney, which is a Seinfeld rip off.   I’m serious.  Even the shows star and creator, John Mulaney, joked that it is.   “I just watched Seinfeld and I copied it.”    Wow.  That takes balls.   Even if you are just kidding, you are basically setting yourself up for failure if the show is even average because people will automatically compare the two shows.   Early reviews are really bad for the show.   I keep reading the same thing….John Mulaney is a talented writer and great stand up comic.   His show, is bad.  No laughs at all.  Not a glowing endorsement for a new comedy.