Fall TV Roundup — Week Six


In these weekly posts I look at pilots and second episodes of new shows this fall. If you don't see a new show listed below, check previous weeks.

Monday Nights:
Supergirl, Mondays at 8 p.m. on CBS (Premiered October 26)
About: We live in a superhero rich time. There's shows from the Marvel and/or D.C. Comics world on every network. Now CBS is getting into the action. "Supergirl" also carries the weight of a lot of expectation. It's tangential to the bigger D.C. universe players, it comes from the team behind "The Flash" and "Arrow," and there's the potential to bring younger eyeballs to greying CBS. In addition, it's a superhero show built around a female hero. That's something that's been a cry from the public, and something potentially important. In other words, CBS has a lot riding on this show. And the premier was… OK. Honestly, I expected more given the cast and the production team behind this show. The pilot was too busy and introduced too many story lines, which is problematic. Also problematic is that the entire show had a giant, Superman-sized shadow hanging over the first episode. In addition, I didn't feel the show honored the pressure to have a confident female character. There was an interesting little aside about the term Supergirl, and if that was appropriate. But at the same time, our protagonist and the construct of the show play into the fact she's a young woman a little too much. Maybe this is something that will improve, but overall I thought the pilot was a lot of hype without a lot of delivery.
Pilot Grade: C

Friday Nights:
Truth Be Told, Fridays at 8:30 p.m. on NBC (Premiered October 16)
About: This is the only new comedy on NBC, and one of only two sitcoms on the air for the Peacock this fall. And its ratings are poor. That said, I thought the second episode was a mild improvement. The state of sitcoms on networks isn't good. This show isn't great either, but it's watchable. That's high praise given the woeful new comedies that have aired this fall. I also think this is a show that is growing into its cast and premise, and that could be exciting. I'm curious to see where it goes, which isn't the case with most of the new sitcoms this fall.
Pilot Grade: C-
Second Episode: C

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