September brought a lot of new shows to watch. Atlanta is the best series on television right now. This is Us might be the next great family drama that reduces us to tears every week. Luke Cage, premiering at the tail-end of the month with a review on this blog coming soon, was a nice way to cap off a terrific month of television.
What about October? Well, here are another 12 new shows premiering this month that might tickle your fancy. Some are highbrow, some are lowbrow. Some might even get canceled fairly quickly. But you should still check them out.
Westworld (10/2, 9pm, HBO)
HBO hopes this will be the next Game of Thrones. It might be. Based on a campy 1970s sci-fi film, the series is about a western theme park complete with robots so that people can live out their wild fantasies. Of course, not everything is as it seems. But you’ll have to tune in to figure out what’s going on in this high-concept juggernaut.
Timeless (10/3, 10pm, NBC)
A criminal uses a time traveling machine to change the outcome of major events in an attempt to destroy the world. An interesting concept that will draw in many viewers. It won’t be as serialized or hoity-toity as Westworld because it is on NBC, but it could be intriguing enough.
No Tomorrow (10/4, 9pm, CW)
When a man claims the world is going to end in lest than a year, he convinces a new romantic interest to make an “apocalyst” – a bucket list before the end of the world. It is based on a Brazilian series and caught the interest of a lot of critics already. This might be the first CW show I like in a long time.
Divorce (10/9, 10pm, HBO)
Sarah Jessica Parker returns to HBO alongside Thomas Hayden Church in a 30-minute “comedy” about, well, divorce. The star power – including Molly Shannon as a neurotic best friend to SJP’s lead – is enough to bring in the viewers. I’m personally betting that this will be one of HBO’s stronger series premiering this year.
Insecure (10/9, 10:30pm, HBO)
Based off of Issa Rae’s Awkward Black Girl webseries, this comedy is all about exploring what it means to be a black female in today’s society without relying on cliche narratives. The first episode was released early, which my sister says is the best new show she’s seen so far.
American Housewife (10/11, 8:30pm, ABC)
This is supposed to fall in line with a long list of shows ironically poking fun at suburban life. It used to be called The Second Fattest Housewife in Westport before the name change. There has been mixed preview reviews, but ABC has already proven it knows how to produce family sitcoms, so it has to be worth a try.
Falling Water (10/13, 10pm, USA)
A lot of people are jokingly calling this “Inception: the TV Show.” Sure, it’s about people and connected dreams, but it’s no way close to Nolan’s film. USA was heavily promoting it during Mr. Robot‘s second season, which makes me believe they are relying heavily on this season doing well. Maybe that means they put a lot of effort into making it an actually good show.
Goliath (10/14, 12am, Amazon)
Billy Bob Thornton was terrific in the first season of Fargo. Now, he’s joined by William Hurt and Olivia Thirlby in a legal drama (that used to be called Trial). I plan on watching this for two reasons: the cast and because Amazon wouldn’t waste its time on a cliched legal drama. So it has to be different, right?
Eyewitness (10/16, 10pm, USA)
The series is about two gay teenage boys who witness a triple-homicide. They want to keep their romance a secret, which makes them unwilling to be witnesses. A close eye turns on them while the murderer is still on the loose. People will my mom will love this.
Chance (10/19, 12am, Hulu)
Stop me if you heard this before: Hugh Laurie stars as a genius doctor. While this series aims to be more highbrow than House, you can still expect Laurie’s ace acting to carry the load of the series. It was based on a novel by Kem Nunn, who had a hand in Deadwood and co-created John from Cincinnati.
Man with a Plan (10/24, 8:30pm, CBS)
This show might not be amazing. It excited me more when it co-stared Matt LeBlanc and Jenna Fisher. It turns out their chemistry or the original pilot weren’t great so she left the series. It’s about a man’s man becoming a stay-at-home dad while his wife goes back to work. Sounds kinda awful… But Friends.
Pure Genius (10/27, 10pm, CBS)
Genius Jason Katims (Friday Night Lights, Parenthood) has created this show about a billionaire who wants to open an amazing hospital. So he teams up with a maverick surgeon (Dermot Mulroney) in this medical drama.
ADAM VITCAVAGE 