With the end of Summer almost upon us, what better way to prepare for Fall than the time honored tradition of taking on a whole bunch of new TV shows? You know how you feel? Summer is a free wheelin' good time for all of us. However, everybody needs some form of structure and these upcoming Fall TV shows will give you just that! And with the offerings so numerous, it wouldn’t be prudent of us not to help guide you in your viewing endeavors. That, my friends, is exactly what this list aims to do. And with the help ofTV Guide, we were able to narrow your DVR hopefuls to the twenty-two biggest shows you simply can’t miss in the upcoming months.
Whether you are looking for laughs, serious drama, procedurals or just mindless entertainment, the networks do not disappoint this year. With TV now maturing as the place to make content that we can’t get from the movies, it honestly seems like the networks have gotten on board. They have stacked this list with shows that will make you think, make you laugh, make you question, and hopefully make you want more.
The coolest part about all of this is the amount of new and familiar faces we are getting with these offerings. Whether it’s Anne Heche inThe Brave, or Craig Robinson and Adam Scott teaming up inGhosted, or new/old blood like the cast ofSeal Team, everything about the new 2017 Fall TV shows seems special. And all the big networks, fromABC, to CBS, to NBC, toFox, along withThe CWand all the biggest and best cable channels have at least one good show to offer up this year.
TV is a very interesting medium. It has exploded because of it’s constructs. Stories that have languished for years can now be told. And we, the viewing audience are the lucky recipients. However, not every show is worth your viewing time and we have taken it upon ourselves to help you out. We stringently went through all the upcoming Fall TV shows and whittled them down to the 22 you need to check out. So sit back, take some shade and enjoy theNew Fall TV Shows You Need to See. There is nothing but strong offerings here. In fact, even the pickiest of TV snobs would have to agree that this line-up is pretty darn great!
23The Gifted (Fox, October 2)
AnX-MenTV series? Count us in. The Gifted focuses on a suburban couple whose ordinary lives are rocked by the sudden discovery that their children possess mutant powers. Forced to go on the run from a hostile government, the family joins up with an underground network of mutants and must fight to survive. Everybody doesn’t like somebody but nobody doesn’t like theX-Men, right? If this show doesn’t immediately captivate audiences, that will be the biggest surprise of the 2017 Fall TV season.
22Star Trek: Discovery(September 24)
You’ve gotta love aStar Trektale that takes things all the way back to the beginning. This new show comes in before Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock ever had any sort of intergalactic meeting. We follow the crew of the Starfleet as they find themselves on new adventures week in and week out. With a cast that includes Michelle Yeoh, Rainn Wilson and the complex Jason Isaacs,Star Trek: Discoveryalready has fans old and new salivating. Where might the crew members of the Starfleet end up? How willStar Trek: Discoverycomment on the issues that we face in today’s world? The 1963 show set the standard and showed that no issue was off limits. It seems thatStar Trek: Discovery, which takes place before the original show, will further invoke the vision of series creator Gene Roddenberry.
21Young Sheldon (CBS, September 25)
The world needs many things and this prequel toThe Big Bang Theorygives us a lot more Sheldon Cooper. If this was a social media post, I don’t think I could LIKE it enough. For 9-year-old Sheldon Cooper (Iain Armitage), it isn’t easy growing up in East Texas. Being a once-in-a-generation mind capable of advanced mathematics and science isn’t always helpful in a land where church and football are king. And while the vulnerable, gifted and somewhat naïve Sheldon deals with the world, his very normal family must find a way to deal with him.The Big Bang Theory’smultiple Emmy Award winner Jim Parsons narrates as Adult Sheldon. This single-camera, half-hour comedy gives us the chance to meet Sheldon in childhood, as he embarks on his innocent, awkward and hopeful journey toward the man he will become.
20Rosanne Revival (ABC, TBA)
Roseanne and Dan are back in all-new episodes of the 90’s era sitcom that changed the face of TV forever. And don’t worry. These latest half hour outings will basically ignore the series finale, which revealed Dan (Goodman) had died of a heart attack. Chalke, who played Becky after Goranson left the original series, will play a different character. And everyone else is back doing what they do best. No plot details have been revealed just yet, but Roseanne has been teasing this one for a long time. And it should satisfy those fans who want to revisit the Connor household. This is one of the most anticipated shows of the new fall season.
19Will and Grace Revival (NBC, September 28)
Speaking of anticipated returns. We have Will, Grace, Just Jack and Karen all back for some big post-election episodes. Eleven years after going off the air, the former Must-See TV staple will return for a whole lot of fun, in a landscape that has changed drastically from the last time we caught up with the gang. NBC has so much confidence in these newWill & Graceepisodes that Season 2 has already been renewed. This one should be super fun.
18Me, Myself & I (CBS, September 25)
Talk about turning the TV show on its head.Me, Myself & Istars Bobby Moynihan in a comedy about the defining moments in one man’s life over three distinct periods - as a 14-year-old in 1991, at age 40 in the present day and at age 65 in 2042. During these pivotal periods of yesterday, today and tomorrow, Alex always finds a way to move forward with determination and humor, knowing his life story isn’t defined by the bad things that happen to him, but instead by how he chooses to deal with them.
17The Brave (NBC, September 25)
While D.I.A. Deputy Director Patricia Campbell (Anne Heche) and her team of analysts wield the world’s most advanced surveillance technology from Washington, D.C., Adam Dalton (Mike Dalton) and his heroic Special Ops squad of highly trained undercover specialists use their unbreakable bond and commitment to freedom to save lives of innocent people and execute missions in some of the most dangerous places in the world. Anne Heche seems like the perfect fit for a TV show of this sort. The characters she has embodied have always seemed a cut above in the intelligence department. Add to this that she hasn’t been seen in too many high profile things recently and that makes theThe Braveeven more special. Undercover procedurals, if done right, always make for great TV. The story lines are immediate and with much ofThe Braveseemingly culled from today’s headlines, that makes this whole endeavor that much more intriguing.
16The Mayor (ABC, October 2017)
In what sounds like a present day take on Warren Beatty’sBulworthand Peter Seller’sBeing There,The Mayorjust might be the breakout show of the 2017 Fall TV season. Young rapper Courtney Rose (Brandon Micheal Hall) needs his big break. For years, he’s toiled away in a small inner-city apartment, making music in his junk-filled bedroom closet. Tired of waiting for opportunity, Courtney cooks up the publicity stunt of the century: Running for mayor of his hometown in California to generate buzz for his music career. Unfortunately for Courtney, his master plan goes wildly awry, ending in the most terrifying of outcomes: An election victory.
15Dynasty (The CW, October 11)
Dynastyis finally getting the reboot it deserves. AfterDallaswas resurrected, now we get another classic prime time soap overflowing with sudsy bubbles. This modernized reboot shows two of America’s wealthiest families, the Carringtons and the Colbys, as they ruthlessly fight over their fortune and their children. The drama will be told primarily through the perspectives of two women at odds, Fallon Carrington, daughter of billionaire Blake Carrington, and her soon-to-be stepmother, Cristal, a Hispanic woman marrying into this WASP family and America’s most powerful class. We can’t wait for this one.
14Good Girls (NBC, TBA)
Matthew Lillard has successfully resurrected his career in the past couple of years with stellar work onThe Bridge. And he wowed up until that fateful last moment onTwin Peaks, so its nice to see him return here. But the big get is Mae Whitman, a fan-favorite fromArrested DevelopmentandParenthoodwho does great ensemble work, but really deserves her own show at some point. Here, three “good girl” suburban wives and mothers suddenly find themselves in desperate circumstances and decide to stop playing it safe and risk everything to take their power back. The cast is stacked higher than the dollar bills on that table. And it should come as a surprising bit of thrilling fun for those looking to watch something different. We can’t wait!
