The fall television season is nearly upon us, with tons of premieres heading our way in September.
Summer isn’t usually a great time for television: though cable has expanded our viewing options, the entertainment industry has a big focus on seasonal programming… and the fall season is often the biggest of all. This year’s no different, with a slew of hot new programs lined up for September. This is good news if you’re looking for new shows to watch, but bad news if you’re still trying to catch up on your Netflix queue. Either way, here are the shows we’re most excited about this month.
Houdini
History Channel, September 1st. Stars: Adrien Brody, Kristen Connolly, Evan Jones.
Maybe this drama about the magician’s rise to fame has missed the window for period magic pieces. (After all, how is it going to top David Bowie’s turn as Nikola Tesla in 2006’s The Prestige?) Still, we plan to tune in for this gorgeous period piece staring Adrien Brody as the titular Harry Houdini. This mini-series runs just two episodes on the History Channel.
Boardwalk Empire
HBO, September 7th. Stars: Steve Buscemi, Stephen Graham, Vincent Piazza.
If magic isn’t your thing but period drama is, you’ll want to catch Boardwalk Empire, which is returning to the small screen for its 5th and final season. We have hopes that this HBO finale will be better than True Blood’s, if nothing else.
Sons of Anarchy
FX, September 9th. Stars: Charlie Hunnam, Katey Sagal, Tommy Flanagan.
Another series that doesn’t look like it’s heading to a peaceful conclusion is FX’s Sons of Anarchy. The 7th season will be the show’s last, and we’re assuming that none of the characters are likely to die of old age. If you’ve fallen behind on the series, you can currently catch the first 5 seasons streaming on Netflix.
Gotham
Fox, September 22nd. Stars: Ben McKenzie, Donal Logue, David Mazouz, Sean Pertwee, Jada Pinkett Smith.
If you ever wondered just how Gotham City came to be Gotham City, DC promises answers in Gotham, which introduces you to all of your favorite Batman characters before they became the heroes or villains you know them as. We caught the first episode at Comic-Con and though it wasn’t great, the show has plenty of style, which may be enough to keep you watching.
Sleepy Hollow
Fox, September 22nd. Stars: Tom Mison, Nicole Beharie, Orlando Jones.
If you missed season 1 of this sophomore offering, you’ll want to catch up before season 2 kicks off — Hulu Plus subscribers can stream all 13 episodes, so you should get on that now to be ready for the premiere. If you don’t, you’ll jump in to season 2 a bit lost, and considering how much fun the first season of this supernatural alternative history drama was, that would be a real shame.
The Blacklist
NBC, September 22nd. Stars: James Spader, Megan Boone, Diego Klattenhoff.
Watching James Spader play the conniving baddie Red Reddington in The Blacklist is the closest you’re going to get to Avengers: Age of Ultron (in which Spader plays Ultron) before summer 2015. But even if you have no interest in the superhero genre, The Blacklist is well worth watching… or at least DVRing. If you missed season 1, watch for it to pop up on Netflix streaming soon.
Forever
ABC, September 22nd. Stars: Ioan Gruffudd, Lorraine Toussaint, Alana De La Garza.
You might not actually want to watch the trailer for Forever, which makes the series look like a bizarre mix of supernatural drama (featuring Ioan Grufford as Dr. Henry Morgan, who’s apparently immortal), police procedural (he’s a medical examiner who makes Sherlock Holmes-style leaps of logic), and a romance (because he clearly has a thing for the cop he’s working with), neatly tied together with a voiceover to explain everything. In short: it looks hokey and less than compelling. But the episode is better than the trailer suggests (though, admittedly, that isn’t saying much). While it won’t air until late September, you can stream it on Hulu now and decide for yourself.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
ABC, September 23rd. Stars: Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton.
Though there’s no trailer yet, we’re already psyched about the next season of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which will feature Mockingbird and Lucy Lawless.
Person of Interest
CBS, September 23rd. Stars: Jim Caviezel, Taraji P. Henson, Kevin Chapman, Amy Acker.
If the spy drama of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. does nothing for you, maybe the spy drama of Person of Interest will. The only downside to this particular drama is that it isn’t available for streaming anywhere, so if you haven’t watched the first 3 seasons, jumping into the 4th may leave you more than a little lost.
Once Upon a Time
ABC, September 28th. Stars: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Lana Parrilla.
Once has kept adding a constant stream of new fairy tale characters throughout its tenure, and for season 4, Frozen‘s Anna and Elsa are joining the show’s ensemble cast. Whether you’re into fairy tales or not, Once Upon a Time is always a fun twist on the traditional stories. If you want to catch up, seasons 1 and 2 are on Netflix, while season 3 is available on Hulu Plus.
Selfie
ABC, September 30th. Stars: Karen Gillan, John Cho.
This comedy is, unfortunately, not what you’d expect to happen when you paired Doctor Who‘s Karen Gillan with Star Trek‘s John Cho. Loosely based on My Fair Lady, the story follows Eliza Dooley (Gillan), a self-obsessed social media star, as she tries to change her online image with the help of marketing guru Henry Higenbottam (Cho). This premise could be delightful… or completely insufferable. The first episode is already available on Hulu, so you can make the call for yourself.
