It’s a pretty conventional lot, given that these are the bread and butter, 22-to-24-episodes-a-season network dramas and comedies. The more experimental work comes a little more randomly throughout the year, and as mid-season replacements. While Australian screening deals for most of these series haven’t been nutted out yet, we’ve indicated the series that already have a local broadcaster locked in.
From the classic sitcom formula to yet more superheroes and police procedurals with obligatory twists, here are 10 of the most exciting shows coming up in late September/early October:
Gotham – Fox (pictured above)
After Christopher Nolan’s gritty take on the Batman saga, Fox brings us a prequel focusing on the evolution of Batman’s super-villain nemeses — The Riddler, Catwoman, The Penguin — as Detective James Gordon works to restore order to the city. Gotham will air on Nine in Australia.
The Flash – The CW
The superhero genre hasn’t just taken over our cinemas, but is back in a big time on the small screen. The Flash is a spin-off from Arrow, and features Grant Gustin as Flash. Nine has also picked up the Australian rights to The Flash.
Jane the Virgin – The CW
Loosely based on the Venezuelan telenovela Juana la Virgen, Jane the Virgin follows a young, religious Latina woman who is accidentally artificially inseminated. Okay, the entire concept is ridiculous, but this could have the same camp-fun, telenovela-inspired vibe that Ugly Betty had. In fact, it has the same producer in Ben Silverman.
Bad Judge – NBC
The legal bad-boy genre is nothing new, but Bad Judge has two major differences. Firstly, the protagonist is a woman, played by Kate Walsh. Secondly, she’s not just a lawyer — she’s a judge. Created by much-loved comedy duo Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, NBC has high hopes for the series.
How to Get Away With Murder – ABC
Created by Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal) How to Get Away With Murder features two time Academy Award-nominee Viola Davis as a law professor who becomes caught up, along with her students, in a murder plot. Seven has picked up the broadcast rights for this one in Australia.
Stalker – CBS
Maggie Q and Dylan McDermott star as two cops who investigate stalking incidents. It’s not the world’s most exciting concept, but the trailer looks scary as hell. Stalker will air on Nine.
Fresh Off the Boat – ABC
Fresh Off the Boat is the first American sitcom featuring a leading cast made up of Asian American performers in 20 years. Based on chef Eddie Huang’s memoirs, it follows a family of Asian Americans who move from Washington D.C. to Florida, and is your typical fish-out-of-water tale. The trailer is packed full of decent laughs, and Constance Wu’s performance as Jessica is already attracting attention.
Scorpion – CBS
Genius misfits who solve the world’s most complex problems? The series is based (very) loosely on the life of Walter O’Brien, who hacked into NASA computers at the age of 13. It’s being called “CSI meets The Big Bang Theory” (god help us), but the trailer looks fairly promising.
Mulaney – Fox
There’s something a little bit Seinfeld about Mulaney, which features John Mulaney as a comedian who ends up in a job writing jokes for an obnoxious game show host and comedian played by Martin Short. It looks like it will be fairly standard order sitcom, with a laugh track and even a “wacky neighbour” character, but it’s exceptionally well cast.
Utopia – Fox
Not to be confused with ABC’s current political satire of the same name, Utopia is a reality series from creator John de Mol, who developed the original concepts for Big Brother and The Voice. Sitting somewhere between Survivor and Big Brother, the series puts 15 “ordinary Americans” into isolation and films them for 24 hours a day over the course of a year, as they try to build their own Utopian society. Will they succeed? Will we watch?