Ah, autumn. Back to school. The turning of leaves. And all the new episodes of television you can handle! There's a lot of shifting, new shows and returning favourites every year, but I've got my eye on a few that I think you should check out (if you weren't already planning on it).
Dramas
Hannibal - NBC Thursdays starting September 13. Mads Mikkelsen stars as Dr. Lecter in this strange sounding, possibly awesome but probably terrible cop drama which centres around a detective who's working with Dr. Lecter to solve crimes (that unbeknownst to the detective, are being committed by the mad doctor himself).
Mads Mikkelsen as Hannibal
Elementary - CBS Thursdays starting September 27. This show is in direct competition with Hannibal and stars Johnny Lee Miller as Sherlock and Lucy Lui as Joan Watson. I'm more interested in watching this for the fact that I expect it to be an utter train wreck.
Mad Men - AMC Sundays starting Spring 2013. What can I say about MM that hasn't been said already? Many are saying that this season will be the show's last so I'm expecting a doozy and can't wait to see how it all plays out.
Breaking Bad - AMC Sundays starting Summer, 2013. I know, I know. It just ended last week....but I can barely wait to see what happens to everyone.
Comedy
Community - NBC Thursdays starting October 19. It took me a while to warm up to Community but now I'm following along with the chants of "6 seasons and a movie!" The show was close to being canceled before it got saved by fans, so I'm most curious to see how they will try and live up to the hype this year.
The cast of Community
The Mindy Project - FOX Thursdays starting September 25. I have high high hopes for this show. Mindy Kaling (head writer and one of the stars of The Office—Kelly Kapur) writes and created this show about the messy love life of a young, single physician navigating life. High hopes.
Mr. D - CBC January 2013. This is one of those little gems on Canadian TV. Gerry Dee based this show on his 10 years as a teacher before he quit to become a stand up comic.
The New Normal - NBC Tuesdays starting September 11. This show has already been banned in Utah because the show revolves around a (gasp!) gay couple who enlist a woman to be their surrogate to complete their family. This is one of two gay-centric shows coming out this year, but this one, I think, will succeed.
Reality TV
American Idol - FOX January 2013. Mariah Carey. MARIAH CAREY. Mariah on TV week to week is enough to watch (remember when she was running on a treadmill in stilettos on MTV Cribs?) but the goss is that either Nicki Minaj or Kanye West will join her at the table. This will be some fine reality programming.
The Voice - NBC Mondays and Tuesdays starting September 10. This show brought so much more to the musical landscape than Idol has in recent years. Between the excellent judges and the more live results, the show seems to have it all. Even this year's mentors have what it takes: Mary J. Blige, Michael Buble, Rob Thomas and Billie Joe Armstrong have joined.
Teen Mom 2 - MTV Tuesdays starting October 2. I recently interviewed one of Teen Mom 2's moms, Chelsea Houska, and I was impressed with how together she seems to be after all the drama that's gone on between her and her ex Adam. Now that he's out of her life, I'm curious to see how her life plays out.
Over the Rainbow - CBC Sundays and Mondays starting September 15. I'm very excited for this one. Toronto's Mirvish Productions is doing a run of The Wizard of Oz, and based on the success of CBC's How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?, they put out a call to find their new Dorothy. This is definitely going to be worth watching—these ladies have to be a triple threat, which already puts them head and shoulders above the competetors in other competitions.
Contestant Cheslea Rose Tucker
Sci-Fi
Revolution - NBC Mondays starting September 17. This show could go either way, but I'm really hoping that with JJ Abrams and Jon Favreau on the case, this show will rock. The show takes place in a post-apocalypitc future where 15 years previous, every inch of electricity on the planet just stopped working. A bit Lost and a bit X Files this show may be just what the doctor ordered to tide me over until you-know-what-time (see below).
The cast of Revolution
Arrow - CW Wednesdays starting October 10. The CW did such a good job with Smallville that this Green Arrow adaptation will be good, right? I hope.
The Walking Dead - AMC Sundays starting October 25. I hem and haw about this show because it's not nearly as good as the comics and I barely paid attention last year, but I'll watch this season in the hopes that with the introduction of characters Michonne and The Governor, things may actually pick up. I hope.
Game of Thrones - HBO Sundays starting Spring 2013. Game of effing Thrones! Effing thrones.
There will also be two X-Files style shows starting this fall (which won't last) and a lot of mid-season stuff that looks just as awful as the shows that they will be replacing, however, two shows really stick out at me as being the worst of the worst: NBC's 1600 Penn a show about a wife trying to make her husband's kids like her even after the elder son moves back home....and home is the white house (wah wah). The other is The CW's The Carrie Diaries based on Carrie Bradshaw's teen life. Yep. I think it'll be beyond crappy.
So, spill it! What shows are you most excited for this fall?
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