FALLING FOR T.V. Fall 2014 Must Watch List

While there are certainly a few shows I’m excited about this fall, a few of them seem like imitations of themselves. Debra Messing plays a NYPD homicide detective who juggles her duties at work with a messy family life. Tea Leoni balances achieving world peace as the Secretary of State with handling her duties at home as a mother. Katherine Heigl splits her time between her work for the CIA and solving a murder mystery with a personal agenda. Kate Walsh plays a criminal court judge who must balance….well, you get the idea. However, there are also some noteworthy offerings on television this fall. Below are seven highlights from the new fall season that will ensure you don’t waste precious DVR space.

UTOPIA

Premieres: Sunday, September 7 at 8/7c on Fox
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3fu7j02Mks
I haven’t come across too many unique concepts for reality shows in recent years, but this one definitely changes things up a bit. 15 contestants spend one whole year in semi-isolation together in the wilderness with the goal of building a new society with their own set of rules. Issues of religion and politics are sure to come up, along with why anyone would sign up for this show. I’m totally watching. 

 

BLACK-ISH

Premieres: Wednesday, September 24 at 9/8c on ABC
http://abc.go.com/shows/blackish
Anthony Anderson created and stars in this sitcom about a father of four who feels his children lack a strong racial identity. For example, his son Andre wants to go by the name Andy, wants to play field hockey, and requests for his parents to throw him a bar-mitzvah. Laurence Fishburne plays the grandfather. Black-ish will follow Modern Family on Wednesday night. Seems like a funny way to spend an hour.

 

HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER
Premieres: Thursday, September 25 at 10/9c on ABC
http://abc.go.com/shows/how-to-get-away-with-murder
Yet another sudsy show from Shonda “I own Thursday night” Rhimes. This legal thriller is headed by Viola Davis, which ensures some built-in classiness. Davis plays a law school professor whose students get tangled up in real life murder plot outside of the classroom. Admittedly, I stopped watching Grey’s Anatomy years ago, and I am one of the few out there who has never seen even one episode of Scandal, but I did watch another Shonda Rhimes show religiously which will remain nameless for the sake of you taking any of my television recommendations seriously.

 

A TO Z
Premieres: Thursday, October 2 at 9/8c on NBC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FKlRDYy_7o

The Mother is alive! Cristin Milioti is given a second chance at love, this time with Ben Feldman. The romantic comedy will chronicle the ups and downs of their relationship from start to finish. The last time we saw Ben Feldman he was cutting off a nipple on Mad Men, but I still think that decision makes more sense than having Ted Mosby end up with Robin, so maybe Cristin Milioti finally has a real shot at a happy ending.

 

THE AFFAIR
Premieres: Sunday, October 12 at 10/9c on Showtime
http://www.sho.com/sho/the-affair/home
The Affair delves into the messy consequences of marital infidelity from both the male and female perspectives. The show stars Dominic West, Ruth Wilson, Maura Tierney and Joshua Jackson. I may watch just to find out why anyone in their right mind would ever cheat on the adorable Joshua Jackson.

 

GOTHAM
Premieres: Monday, September 22 at 8/7c on FOX
http://www.fox.com/watch/251680835515

While poor Pacey is becoming a cuckold on The Affair, Ryan Atwood (aka Benjamin McKensie) gets to play Jim Gordon, Gotham City’s police commissioner. Gordon’s life becomes more complicated when he begins to investigate the murder of Bruce Wayne’s (David Mazouz) parents. Gotham is going to focus not only on Jim Gordon, but also on the origin stories of the Penguin, Catwoman, Poison Ivy and the Riddler.

 

MARRY ME
Premieres: Tuesday, October 14 at 9/8c on NBC
http://www.nbc.com/marry-me/video/marry-me-official-trailer/2781078

If you miss Happy Endings as much as I do, get excited for this new romantic comedy from writer David Caspe which stars Casey Wilson and Ken Marino as a couple whose relationship is such a mess that they can’t even get the marriage proposal right. From watching the preview, I feel like this is just Wilson playing Penny in a new sitcom, which is just fine by me.


Be sure to catch more of my television wisdom by following me on Facebook and Twitter.