CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Fall 2021 TV: New shows to watch, try and avoid

The New York Daily News - 9/7/2021

The phrase "fall TV" used to have much more allure before streaming services eliminated all sense of time, but there's still a buzz in the air.

Here are the buzziest new shows of the season, with some to watch, try and avoid -- based solely on trailers and descriptions (no spoilers here).

Watch

"Doogie Kame loha, M.D.," Sept. 8, Disney+

If you spent all of 2020 watching "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" with your middle school-aged children who were suddenly home, like, all the time, 1) congratulations on surviving and 2) you deserve an award. That award might just come in the form of "Doogie Kame loha, M.D.," a reboot of Neil Patrick Harris' "Doogie Howser" starring "Andi Mack's" Peyton Elizabeth Lee as the teenage wunderkind juggling adolescence and a burgeoning medical career, all set in front of a Hawaiian backdrop. On top of homework, Lahela is also trying to figure out where she fits as a mixed-race Asian American girl. Quality television for tweens really can exist.

"Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol," Sept. 16, Peacock

No one would be blamed for wanting to stay away from anything conspiracy theory-related right now, but at the same time, "The Da Vinci Code" may have been the last time any of us had fun. No Tom Hanks this time, but instead a young Robert Langdon, played by "Succession's" Ashley Zukerman, solves a series of deadly puzzles to save his kidnapped mentor and thwart a chilling global conspiracy.

"The Premise," Sept. 16, Hulu

An anthology series means B.J. Novak gets five chances to capture your attention with a star-studded cast including Lucas Hedges, Kaitlyn Dever, Jon Bernthal, Ben Platt, Tracee Ellis Ross and Daniel Dae Kim. Hulu calls it a "curated collection of character-driven episodes that challenge our shared morality tales."

"Our Kind of People," Sept. 21, Fox

This messy family drama from Lee Daniels and Karen Gist that takes on race and class is based on Lawrence Otis Graham's 1999 book, a Martha's Vineyard-set story about the "powerful Black elite" and a single mom fighting for her own name.

"BMF," Sept. 26, Starz

It has somehow slid under the radar that 50 Cent not only is making TV now, but is making pretty good TV. After "Power" and what feels like a dozen subsequent spinoffs and the short-lived "For Life," the Queens native is headed to 1980s Detroit with "BMF," inspired by the true story of two brothers who formed one of the most influential crime families in the country.

"Dopesick," Oct. 13, Hulu

The rise of star-studded limited series has changed the television landscape, never more than the ability to tell a story like "Dopesick" promises to do. Starring Michael Keaton, Peter Sarsgaard, Kaitlyn Dever and Rosario Dawson, Danny Strong's series digs into the opioid epidemic, the big pharma executives who caused it and the victims who paid the price.

"Queens," Oct. 19, ABC

It's too soon to compare this to "Girls5Eva," so we'll just call it a great coincidence that we get a second show this year about a '90s girl group reuniting decades later. The "4 Stars" singers could never have dreamed of pulling off the swag necessary to go by Professor Sex, Butter Pecan, Da Thrill and Xplicit Lyrics like the hip-hop legends of "Queens," though.

"Colin in Black & White," Oct. 29, Netflix

Given the number of headlines and hot takes Colin Kaepernick has garnered over the last decade, it's hard to believe there's much of a story left, but Ava DuVernay has found one. The "When They See Us" director has set her sights on another "how on Earth did we get here" narrative, this time about a Black boy adopted into a white family and the "obstacles of race, class and culture" he faced before he even made it to the NFL, where it all came to a head.

"The Shrink Next Door," Nov. 12, Apple TV+

The reunion of Paul Rudd and Will Ferrell is good. Kathryn Hahn and Casey Wilson could make it great. A psychologist who weasels his way into every corner of his patient's life and, eventually, his house, might be enough to turn you off from seeking help with your own mental health, but please don't let it. It's a comedy.

"Hawkeye," Nov. 24, Disney+

Yeah yeah, it's our requisite MCU show on Disney+. Jeremy Renner is back as Clint Barton, Hailee Steinfeld is here as Kate Bishop. This should hit the target.

Try

"Kin," Sept. 9, AMC+

Is "Kin" on this list purely because of the Irish accents? I won't tell if you won't. Other than that, the story of a Dublin crime family going up against a drug kingpin is certainly fertile ground, even if it's been tread before.

"Y: The Last Man," Sept. 13, FX on Hulu

By the time "Y: The Last Man" finally premieres, it'll be almost six years since the adaptation of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra's post-apocalyptic comic book series went into production. There have been delays and cast changes and show runner changes and one real-life apocalypse, and I won't actually believe it's real until the opening credits roll, but the effort alone has earned it a shot. Beyond that, given everything we know about society, a world with no Y chromosomes sounds pretty nice.

"The Big Leap," Sept. 20, Fox

A network show about a bunch of rejects trying to put on "Swan Lake" almost definitely won't be good, but if it stays on the right side of cheesy (think the early seasons of "Glee," not the latter), it could earn a curtain call. Plus, a cast of Scott Foley, Teri Polo and Piper Perabo is all our wildest early-2000s dreams come true.

"Ghosts," Oct. 7, CBS

Sure, CBS' rep for sitcoms isn't exactly something to write home about. That said, if anyone can carry a network comedy, it's Rose McIver, who was utterly delightful on "iZombie." Now, she's moving from zombies to ghosts in a crumbling country home. One day she'll get to just hang out with some humans -- and no, a prince doesn't count.

"Ragdoll," Nov. 11, AMC+

It's the year of the murder mystery. In "Ragdoll," Lucy Hale hunts a serial killer who has murdered six people and stitched their remains back together to create one malformed monster. AMC's describing it as a "gruesomely imaginative serial killer thriller," so even if a few of those keywords fit, sign us up (for the show, not the murder).

Avoid

"La Brea," Sept. 28, NBC

You saw a million commercials for "La Brea" during the Olympics. Tell the truth: do you have any idea what it's even about? Probably not a great sign for a show that had a captive audience for weeks straight. Clue: it's about a massive sinkhole opening up in the middle of Los Angeles, separating a family between two worlds.

"Chucky," Oct. 12, Syfy

Syfy has some decent shows that you almost certainly don't watch, but does anyone actually need the eighth iteration of an evil ginger doll? Send Chucky off to the carnival with Woody and let him just retire in peace.

"Dexter: New Blood," Nov. 7, Showtime

To their credit, the showrunners of the "Dexter" revival have sworn not to ignore the much-maligned original series finale that saw Dexter (Michael C. Hall) fake his own death and turn up as a lumberjack in Oregon. Even if they're telling the truth, and that's still to be seen, does a show that fumbled the ending so badly really deserve a second chance?

(C)2021 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.