Let’s go by network (I’m only
investigating the big 4).
NBC (ugh)
This romcom tries to be clever by
copying what all the other romcoms are doing lately: include some of the actual
relationship, not just the ecstatic build up. Because everyone wants to see
what happens after they kiss! (spoiler
alert: not really). The show follows the relationship of Andrew and Zelda
(Zelda? Really?) (parantheses 2: A TO Z, GET IT??) from, well, A to Z.
Beginning to end, people. Please let me stop flogging this dying horse
now. This show sounds like it will be exhausting to watch, with all the flash
backs/forwards of 500 Day of Summer. What
works well in a neatly engineered 2-hour plot usually doesn’t bode so well for
television. Remember, I don’t care who the mother is. I also probably won’t
care how Andrew and the adorably named Zelda break/broke up. I don’t want
complicated plot from a half hour sitcom; I want jokes. I don’t need a
ridiculous premise that the show will now be trapped in for the next NINE
seasons. You already had Andrew and ZELDA,
you can still have your ridiculous title, can we leave the flashbacks to the
filmmakers please?
However, this does star Mad Men’s Ben Feldman, with whom I am in
love.
VERDICT: I’ll probably watch the
pilot + a few eps before it fizzles.
Bad Judge
Oh god, no. Why did you do this
to yourself Addison?
VERDICT: hard pass
Constantine
Based only on the title, I know
this is about a demon hunter. Based only on this picture of Matt Ryan, I hate
that trench coat, even though I’m sure it looked great in the comics. Based
only the HORRIBLE tag line, I think I can miss this.
VERDICT: No thanks. I’d rather
watch old episodes of Supernatural.
who's that blurry guy in the background? |
Marry Me
Created by David Caspe of Happy Endings, Marry Me stars Penny from
Happy Endings (Casey Wilson) and the
firefighter from Burning Love (Ken
Marino). I’ll just say it: I DO! But
I watched the trailer and it seems like the entire premise of this show is that
these two lovebirds keep fucking up their marriage proposals to each other.
HILARIOUSLY. Not. It’s very awkward and weird to watch two insanely funny
people be forced through the motions on flat out NOT funny material. Wilson
basically reprises her role of Penny, but without her friends to play the
straight man, so Marino is forced into the straight man role that he was born
to run far far away from. He basically has no character. And he is SUCH a funny
man. It’s really a shame. I love these two, so I will definitely watch this,
but my hopes are pretty much dashed. My one shining light is Parks and Recreation. That show was
decidedly not funny in season 1, but once it found it’s feet, it was/is a
shining gem of hilariousness. So hopefully Marry
Me will grow up and figure out how to commit to some real jokes.
VERDICT: I’m pulling for ya!
The Mysteries of Laura
Grace just isn’t worth it without
Will. This is another female-centered show that NBC is doing a bang-up job of
making totally misogynist. Can Laura be a cop and a mother? Can she really HAVE
IT ALL?? I don’t care. No one cares. Please find a gay man to put on
Messing’s arm. Until then, I’m really not interested.
VERDICT: Besides all this, it’s
also a cop procedural on NBC. PASS.
State of Affairs
NBC! Look at you! Three for three
on the sneaky misogyny! You see, it looks
like you’re buying into the current popularity of female stars (Amy Poehler, Tina
Fey, Jennifer Lawrence, ladies are killing it right now), but you’re really just putting us in our place. The
tagline for this Katherine Heigl vehicle is “All the President’s Men are nothing compared to her.” LOOK AT HER! She’s a woman!! Doing a MAN’S job!! She might be
really good at it, but she’ll always have a vagina, and that will always the
most important thing about her! Also, did NBC miss how completely unlikeable
Heigl is? She’s basically shot herself in the foot (and any other appendage) at
every press opportunity, and now I’m pretty sure no man or woman is interested
in watching her try and do a poor-woman’s Claire Danes. Just watch Homeland. That’s also insufferable, but
definitely better than this will be.
Is the president supposed to be a black woman? overwhelming GIRL POWER.
VERDICT: Ugh
So that wraps our NBC preview:
two sitcoms I hope against better judgment will be good (but maybe I’m a BAD
JUDGE); one drama I’m completely ambivalent about; and three for-sure pieces of
crap driven by women who NBC is really hoping are still popular. Poor NBC.
ABC
wave to the white people honey! |
Black-ish
This is just the black version of
Modern Family, right? It’s probably
funny, because Anthony Anderson is funny. But it makes me sad that the only way
network executives could spin a black family sitcom (in 2014 people, jesus) was to make the show about being black. My hope is that the pilot will blow its load of
racist jokes, and then we can just have a funny family sitcom.
VERDICT: Meh
Cristela
I know nothing about Cristela
Alonzo, and in commitment to this article being off-the-cuff (read:
un-researched and probably useless to you), I did not google her! Apparently
she plays a law student who takes a job at a firm where she is often mistaken
for the help. Get it? Because she’s Mexican! Hahaha! And her family’s Mexican
too, and sometimes she talks to them. I am 110% in favor of minority representation
on network television. But why do they always make Latinos look so white? You only really get that she's Mexican because of the *fun* font. Also, is this ABC’s version of
Mindy Lahiri? That chubby brown girl
is doing all right – give this chubby
brown girl a show! Networks.
VERDICT: I’ll bite. I’ve never
heard of her, but I’m always looking for new fun female comics.
Forever
Look at this hot guy! He’s a
medical examiner, so we can have a procedural format. Also, he’s immortal. HE WILL ALWAYS BE THIS HOT! It
co-stars that guy that I loved in Bones,
so I’ll almost definitely watch at least the pilot. I’m getting Castle, I’m getting the Mentalist, I’m getting House…it’s
a medical/law procedural with a supernatural twist! Could be awesome! Could be
awful!
VERDICT: Unknown. Just gotta
watch it. For that face at least.
How to Get Away with Murder
The bus ads for this got me very
excited. I like Viola Davis, and what fun font! Then I found out Shonda Rhymes
created it. Of course. Shonda is the only one allowed to write “serious” shows
about black women, how could I forget! Davis plays a law prof who has her own
firm, and presumably there’s a murder she has to get away with. She’s probably
good at it. Just look at her hair.
VERDICT: I couldn’t even get
through the pilot of Scandal so this
is probably not for me. But it will do well of course. Shonda doesn’t need my
sorry ass.
Manhattan Love Story
This show is built on voice over.
Game over. This doesn't even warrant a picture.
VERDICT: MLS will last four
episodes (that I will not be watching).
Selfie
Here’s my standout prediction
from this list: Selfie is going to be
awesome. Yes, the title is abhorrent.
But so was Don’t Trust the B---- in
Apartment 23. And that was some of the funniest dang television I’ve ever
seen. Selfie stars Karen Gillian of Dr. Who fame. The only DW I’ve ever
watched were a few of her episodes, and she was adorable and funny, so I have
high hopes for her. Basically her character is a self-absorbed internet star
who realizes (GASP) that facebook friends are not the same as real friends. So
she hires a marketing guru to help her…find real friends? Because that’s what marketers do. Heh. Anyway,
that guy is played by John Cho, who is also amazing. I have strong faith in
this one, just based on ABC’s proven record of putting funny shit on the air
that they don’t totally understand and have no idea how to advertise. “Selfie”
sold this concept. Hopefully there’s more to it than the cultural zeitgeist
that got it through the door.
VERDICT: I’m actually really
excited about this one. Definitely will watch.
I couldn't find a good pic, so take this adorable one of Karen channeling Sinaed (in a good way) after Guardians of the Galaxy |
So ABC, how’d you do? Lots of diversity
here, but hopefully the talent can shine through all the whitewashing. In
general though, this is looking to be a pretty solid line up. I’ll probably
watch all of them except Murder,
which doesn’t need me anyway; it’s all but guaranteed to be Scandal’s popular successor.
CBS
Madam Secretary
CBS jumps on the (never ending,
so boring) bandwagon of “can she have it all???” Tea Leoni (hi, I love you, I
missed you!) plays a Secretary of State who shakes things up in Washington, and has a family. There’s a (slim)
chance this could be good. But seriously. Can we end this conversation, and
just create cool women characters because they’re great, not because they’re a
fascinating cultural phenomenon?
VERDICT: I’m going to bite my
tongue and watch this one because I’m getting shades of House of Cards and I love Leoni. At least for the pilot.
GO SPORTS! |
The McCarthys
I guess CBS missed the memo that
Boston is so over. This is about a
family of Bostonians who live in Boston and just do downright Boston things!
Like watch sports and have accents! There’s a black sheep, of course, who
probably hates Boston and doesn’t have an accent. This black sheep and his dad
have to coach a little league team together. How Boston!
VERDICT: Wicked pissah! I mean
bad.
Another beautiful day of murders! |
NCIS: New Orleans
More exploitation of “hot”
locales. Everything I’ve seen about this show just makes it look like the
cutest! Forget the dead body bleeding out over there. Do I need to say much
about this? It’s NCIS. We all know the drill.
VERDICT: Not even for you, Scott
Bakula. I’ll just wait for the next season of Looking.
even this promo pic is horrible |
Scorpion
I’m over Katharine McPhee. Scorpion is about a group of nerds who
band together to save the world using their enormous brains. Katharine McPhee
is the dumb (girl) waitress who keeps them grounded. This is Big Bang Theory minus the jokes. In
other words, bad.
VERDICT: Was I ever under Katharine McPhee? Pass.
Stalker
I definitely thought based on
photos that this was a continuation of Hostage,
that mega-promoted show that died with a squeak last season. But sadly no. Stalker follows a division of the LAPD
that tracks stalkers, voyeurs, etc who target mostly women. You see, in the
criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially
heinous. In LOS ANGELES, the dedicated detectives who investigate these stories
are DYLON MCDERMOTT. This is his story.
VERDICT: I’ll probably watch
syndicated episodes of this when I’m sick two years from now. If networks last
that long.
just gonna leave this here... |
CBS wrap up: so much blah! Tea
Leoni is the only weakly glimmering light. The network continues to pander to
the lowest common denominator with the safest, lamest, most procedural options
possible. No wonder it’s number one!
ben's bored |
FOX
Gotham
More Batman. Enough Batman
already! It’s not even creative Batman. Gotham
is the origin story of Detective Gordon, who let’s face it, is the most boring
character from that franchise. I don’t think even Ben McKenzie can save this
one.
VERDICT: But he’s so pretty!
so tortured, so ugly |
Gracepoint
Jeez, FOX is so serious. A young
boy is found dead, and two tormented cops try and solve the murder. This feels
very the Killing. Which I also didn’t
like. It stars David Tennant, and it’s based on a British show Broadchurch, so maybe it will turn out
to be amazing. Here’s hoping. I’m just so bored with murder shows. Is anyone
else bored with murder shows?
VERDICT: Mehhh maybe
guys, it's 1992! LIKE ME! |
Mulaney
I’m actually very sad about this
one. I love John Mulaney. He’s a great stand up. His show looks awful. The
things that make his routine work are the cadence of his voice and the pace of
delivery. He’s good at talking. The jokes don’t exactly translate into an
ensemble comedy. They seem to fall flat, from what I’ve seen. But again, this
might just be a case of a show needing to grow into itself. Even Seinfeld (which this so badly wants to
be) wasn’t very funny in the beginning.
VERDICT: I’ll watch season two,
if it makes it.
Red Band Society
God, this looks awful. It’s about
a group of kids that are sick an in a hospital? And there’s a magical black
fairy godmother nurse who looks after all of them? And it’s narrated by a kid in a coma? Looks like
FOX is going for Glee + cancer. I
just. I can’t.
VERDICT: No. Please no.
When do the songs start? |
FOX roundup: surprisingly, I am
strongly not excited about of these.
Maybe FOX is doing too well with existing shows, and just didn’t feel the need
to try very hard?
So there we have it! Avery’s
decidedly flaky fall TV preview. The top three I’m excited about are:
- Selfie
- Forever
- Marry Me/A to Z, whichever lasts
longer
That’s a pretty sad list. Two female secretary of state shows! Literally the exact same show. These bad ideas aren't even creative! No wonder good content is leaving television. The internet is the way! Networks can’t green light their way out of
a paper bag. And who can blame them really? Remember: CBS is number one.
PS. This is really the only thing I am excited about which is soon to come to network tv: http://abc.go.com/shows/marvels-agent-carter
ReplyDeleteDude! My other comment got eaten. :( I had said something along the lines of network tv being all fail this year and that I had watched the first episode of Forever on Hulu+ and it reminds me of a skewed version of my novel annnndddd that I might check out Gracepoint but really I just want the US to stop trying to adapt good tv. I am still cringing over what they did with About A Boy.
ReplyDelete