The fall TV season is upon us again, and the avalanche of series debuts and season premieres occurring mid-to-late September is overwhelming, whether you’re a boob tube fanatic or an occasional channel surfer. The Signal staff condenses the chaos of this year’s selection for you with catch-up notes, reviews of openers and plot predictions.
—Jhoni Jackson
30 Rock
Thursdays at 8:30 p.m., on NBC
Liz Lemon (Tina Fey), the ringleader of the nutty bunch at The Girlie Show (TGS), might just get the happy love life she’s been gunning for over four seasons of 30 Rock. The finale last year ended with a promising outlook for the witty Lemon, who became involved with Carol (Matt Damon), a pilot with likeminded interests and quirks. But Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin), Lemon’s boss and vice president of the network, meddles in his trademark self-righteous style, which results in a one-upping back-and-forth that prods at his newly settling relationship with Avery (Elizabeth Banks). And Kenneth, the endearingly simple low-level employee who was fired in the final episode of season four, still gets some screen time—which leaves viewers hopeful that he’ll return to TGS to be, once again, at the beck and call of the ridiculous, egotistical and hilarious Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan).
—Jhoni Jackson
Chuck
Mondays at 8 p.m., on NBC
Regular guy-turned-secret agent Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi) returns on Mondays this fall with the fourth season of Chuck. The third season concluded with the revelation to those closest to him of his double life. This season, Chuck will have to work harder to keep his spy life and personal life separated, a challenge made harder by his burgeoning relationship with superspy Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski), as well as the arrival of best friend Morgan (Joshua Gomez) into the spy world. Additionally, Chuck will begin the search for his long-lost mother, who will be played by Linda Hamilton of Terminatorand T2: Judgment Dayfame.
—Elijah Sarkesian
90210
Mondays at 8 p.m., on The CW
The popular reworking of the ‘90s teen drama Beverly Hills 90210returns this fall for its third bout, marking the first season in which there will be no guest stars from the original series. Instead, 90210will delve deeper into the lives of the new seniors of the high school, with some of the expected drama to involve rape, infidelity and natural disasters. In the series opener, which premiered Sept. 13, most of the regular cast returned, and the episode built up the regular excitement, focusing on a divorce and budding relationships among the characters.
—Junia Abaidoo
The Cleveland Show
Sundays at 8:30 p.m., on Fox
The spin-off of Seth MacFarlane’s successful Family Guyis back for its second season. Last season, viewers took a journey with Cleveland back to his hometown of Stoolbend, Virginia to start a new family with his high school crush, Donna Tubbs. Among the other highlights of the season were the funeral of Cleveland’s ex-wife Loretta and Cleveland Jr. rapping with Kenny West, voiced by Kanye West. All the characters are back, but at least one voice will sound somewhat different this season. Roberta, Donna’s teenage daughter, will now be voiced by Reagan Gomez-Preston; actress Nia Long played Roberta during the show’s first season..
—Lauren Mincey
Boardwalk Empire
Sundays at 9 p.m., on HBO
For its newest original drama, HBO revisits the days of Prohibition with Boardwalk Empire. The series stars Steve Buscemi as Enoch “Nucky” Thompson, a politician and mob boss with plans to use Prohibition to make himself rich. Nucky’s former protégé Jimmy Darmody (Michael Pitt), meanwhile, is just returning from World War I with his own set of plans for his future. The series comes from Terence Winter, who won an Emmy for his work on The Sopranos, with Oscar-winner Martin Scorsese serving as an executive producer and director.
—Elijah Sarkesian
Dexter
Sundays at 9 p.m., on Showtime
Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) is a blood spatter analyst, a father and a serial killer who preys only on criminals. The fourth season of Dexter, which featured an Emmy-winning performance from John Lithgow as the Trinity Killer, concluded with the murders of both the Trinity Killer and Dexter’s wife. The fifth season will focus on Dexter’s struggle as he tries to juggle separate lives—a single dad, and an inconspicuous killer.
—Kendall Harris
Bones
Thursdays at 8 p.m., on Fox
Since the finale of season five, forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan and Agent Seeley Booth have parted ways for the sole purpose of expanding their careers. Both completely in love with one another yet set on keeping their relationship professional, season six picks up after the couple has been separated for one year. In the meanwhile, newlyweds Angela Montenegro and Jack Hodgins have taken off for a trip to Paris while Dr. Camille Saroyan stays behind to oversee the Jeffersonian. As the rest of the team spreads out to different corners of the earth, word goes around that Dr. Saroyan hasn’t been doing too well without the old crew’s symphony of talents and presence.
—Judy Kim
Glee
Tuesdays at 8 p.m., on Fox
The second season of Gleepremiered on Sept. 21 on Fox, with the expected thrills, dilemmas and Sue Sylvester’s classic one-liners in tow. Filipino YouTube star Charice supplements the cast as Sunshine Corazon, threatening to displace Rachel Berry (Lea Michele), while newcomer Sam Evans (Chord Overstreet) joins New Directions and positions for a spot on the football team, setting himself up for a potential rivalry with Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith). Last season’s football coach, Ken Tanaka, has been replaced with the brilliant Coach Beiste (Dot-Marie Jones), whose off-kilter banter with Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) reminds why you became a Gleek in the first place. Fans unite once again next week on Tuesday, Sept. 28, when the series takes on the music of Britney Spears in the episode “Britney/Brittany,” which will include a cameo from the pop star herself and will give Brittany, a fan-favorite background character, some much-needed time in the spotlight.
—Chelsie Rohlen
Grey’s Anatomy
Thursdays at 9 p.m., on ABC
Following last season’s shocking finale, the seventh season of Grey’s Anatomyfinds the doctors of Seattle Grace in recovery mode. While Derek (Patrick Dempsey) is living life to the fullest following his brush with death, Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) is still waiting to tell him about her pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage. Meanwhile, Cristina (Sandra Oh) is finding herself in a reenergized relationship with Owen (Kevin McKidd), Callie (Sara Ramirez) and Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) are exploring the idea of living together, and Alex (Justin Chambers) is attempting to move past his abandonment by Izzie (former cast member Katherine Heigl).
—Elijah Sarkesian
Nikita
Thursdays at 8 p.m., on The CW
Nikitais an action-packed drama that premiered on The CW on Sept. 9. It’s a remake of the 1997 cult classic series, La Femme Nikita, itself an adaptation of the 1992 film of the same name. The show centers on Nikita, who is trying to bring down the secret government agency, Division. Division finds troubled teens, erases their past life, and molds them into being assassins for them. Nikita escaped the agency hoping to expose the secret society. While Nikita is trying to expose them from the outside, she is helping to train Alex, one of the trainees, from the inside to help her. The show stars Maggie Q as Nikita, Shane West as Michael, and Lyndsy Fonseca as Alex.
—Lauren Mincey
House
Mondays at 8 p.m., on Fox
The medical drama centered around Dr. Gregory House, the Sherlock Holmes-esque protagonist who regularly clashes with his patients, mentees and, in particular, Dr. Lisa Cuddy (House’s boss), is back for its seventh season. Viewers can expect an exploration of the relationship between House and Cuddy, whose sexual tension finally appeared to culminate in the season six finale, plus an ongoing a dialogue about the uncertainty of the hospital’s future due to its loss of status as a level-one trauma center.
—Junia Abaidoo
The Office
Thursdays at 9 p.m., on NBC
NBC’s hit mockumentary, The Office, returned for its seventh season on Sept. 28, marking Steve Carell’s final bout as lead character Michael Scott, regional manager of Dunder Mifflin. Michael ran into problems with his new favorite employee, Erin (Ellie Kemper), and Pam (Jenna Fischer) concocted an off-the-wall office prank. Michael will get plenty of screen time this season, as two of his past love interests (Melora Hardin as Jan Levinson and Amy Ryan as Holly Flax) resurface. The rivalry between Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) and Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) will enter a new chapter—Dwight now owns the building that houses Dunder Mifflin, but Jim’s penchant for pranks isn’t going anywhere.
—Jerel Marshall
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Mondays at 8 p.m., on Fox
The FX favorite It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, now in its sixth run, premiered Sept. 16, at 10 p.m. Last season, viewers saw the Paddy’s Pub gang attempt to make kitten mittens and even poison a couple of high-class frat members. There was a hilarious dating strategy courtesy of Dennis, and Dee even had a couple of (fleeting) boyfriends. This go ‘round, the show promises to be even more entertaining, with the same cast coming back to touch on sticky topics, like gay marriage and pregnancy (again). In the season premiere, Mac expressed his views on gay marriage when Carmen, a male-to-female transsexual and Mac’s former flame, gets married
—Zakkiyya Anderson
$#*! My Dad Says
Thursdays at 8:30 p.m., on CBS
The show is based off the tweets of Justin Halperman’s father. When Justin lost his job he moved back in with his father, who says outrageous things. Justin decided to share his father’s quotes with the world and this results in the new comedy television show $#*! My Dad Says. William Shatner plays Justin’s father, Jonathan Sadowski plays Henry and Will Sasso plays Vince. The title of the show, which in on-air promos replaces the first word with “bleep,” has caused controversy among parents. With a successful lead-in show in The Big Bang Theory, though, expect for the series to be at least a moderate hit for a while.
—Lauren Mincey
Law & Order: Los Angeles
Wednesdays at 10 p.m., on NBC
Dick Wolf returns to create and produce the fifth American variation of his celebrated crime drama franchise, Law & Order. The new series is set in Los Angeles instead of the tried-and-true New York City environment, and boasts an all-star cast including Alfred Molina, Terrence Howard, Regina Hall and Skeet Ulrich. According to the series description on NBC’s official website, the series will focus on the “glitz, glamour and guilt” of Los Angeles. The pilot, titled “Hollywood,” is as news-inspired as any Law & Orderepisode—it’s based on the The Bling Ring Burglars, a group of children suspected of targeting homes of famous Hollywood actors.
—Junia Abaidoo
Undercovers
Wednesdays at 8 p.m., on NBC
J.J. Abrams, the creator of Lost, Aliasand Fringe, brings his latest effort to NBC this fall with Undercovers, a sleek, sexy, action-packed espionage series. Married couple Steven and Samantha Bloom (Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw) operate a catering company in Los Angeles, though they were at one point top CIA spies who left the agency after falling in love five years prior to the series’ beginning. When a fellow spy goes missing, though, they’re brought back into the CIA to help in the rescue mission, which leads to the realization that they both miss their former line of work.
—Elijah Sarkesian
Modern Family
Wednesdays at 9 p.m., on ABC
The sitcom follows the lives of Mitchell and Claire Pritchett, the children of Jay Pritchett. Claire has three children—Haley, Alex and Luke–with her husband, Phil. Mitchell adopted a baby girl, Lily, with his life partner, Cam. Jay’s wife, Gloria (who is significantly younger than him), has a son named Manny. The debut season finale left viewers smiling and satisfied as the family took a picture wearing muddy white outfits, letting loose and having fun (which is something Claire does not often do). Viewers are likely to be even more entertained this season, as actor Nathan Lane is expected to guest star in an early episode as a character named Pepper, a friend of Cam’s. Additionally, Justin Kirk will return as Mitchell’s potential boss.
—Laura Apperson
The Vampire Diaries
Thursdays at 9 p.m., on The CW
The Vampire Diariesis back with more vampires, plus some interesting new animals. In the first season finale, we were left wondering if Jeremy would live or die and what trouble Katherine would do to the people of Mystic Falls. Stefan, Damon, Elena and Bonnie are continuing their well-known roles. While Caroline is getting used to her role as the newest vampire in town, Tyler is understanding his werewolf ways. Newcomer Taylor Kenny plays Tyler’s uncle, Mason Lockwood, who is also a werewolf. Nina Dobrev who plays Elena is also portraying Katherine, the vampire the Salvatore brothers fought over centuries ago.
—Lauren Mincey
