Fall 2011 Network TV

Every year around August I start getting excited for new Fall TV and printing out schedules of when all the new shows are starting. Inevitably, I don’t care for most of them and the ones I do care about get cancelled. Not to mention that shows I love (The Office, 30 Rock and Parks and Rec), I didn’t really care for in their first season. This year I decided to let shows get a little head start and then judge them by watching a few in a row. Some of these will probably get cancelled, some will probably lose my interest but for now my favorite fall network shows are:

Revenge (ABC, Wednesday 10 pm)

Watch this if you like…Veronica Mars crossed with Dallas.

Quick Summary: Emily Thorn has moved to the Hamptons to take revenge on the people that sent her father to prison years before. Each episode focuses on taking down a different character while telling us a bit more about Emily, her father and the back story on murder that takes place in the first episode. The creator has promised that the first plotline about her father will wrap up in 13 episodes and then the show will move on to focus on the aftermath of the murder. It’s definitely a soapy drama but the characters are very likeable and layered. It’s not always easy to see who is bad and who is good so the show could go in a lot of different directions with the revenge theme.

Hart of Dixie (CW, Monday 9pm)

Watch this if you like…The OC, medical drama and southern sensibility

Quick Summary: Rachel Bilson plays a young city doctor with limited people skills who moves to a small southern town to take over a family practice after she doesn’t get a prestigious fellowship. There are a few secrets being revealed as the show moves along and we are learning more about the relationships between the central characters. It is a little hard to take the medical stuff seriously when it’s being acted out by Rachel Bilson but it’s a fun way to spend an hour.

Up All Night (NBC, Wednesday 8pm)

Watch this if you like…the idea of Liz Lemon and Gob having a baby together

Quick Summary: Reagan (Christina Applegate) and Chris (Will Arnett) are brand new parents struggling to reconcile their old life with their new baby. Chris is a lawyer turned stay at home dad and Reagan is the producer/best friend of a daytime talk show host. From realizing the baby will not be quiet during hangovers to discussing whether a Huey Lewis and the News shirt is ironic if you actually like them, the show has lots of funny moments.

The New Girl (Fox, Tuesday 9pm)

Watch this if you like…Zooey Deschannel inserted into the cast of Friends updated for 2011

Quick Summary: First off, I would like to ask the people that created the marketing for this show to stop using the word “adorkable”, it almost kept me from watching this show entirely. Zooey is adorable and quirky in the show but the interplay between her and the male roommates is what makes the show interesting. The show feels less about her and more about living your twenties in a city.

Metacritic has a great guide to all the new shows, including those that are starting later in the season.