Fall TV Roundup, Week 5

 


We’re into October and it’s clear the tide of new shows remains steady but smaller than in previous years. But what of the new options are worth checking out? Let this weekly post be your guide as I review the pilot and second episode of new scripted series this Fall. Don’t see a new show listed below? Check previous weeks.

Tuesdays:
Found, Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on NBC (Premiered October 3)
About: This is a traditional network series that was originally set for last Spring but was held. Turns out to be a good thing for NBC, as it gives them another option for a Fall that’s thin for most of the networks. The series focuses on Gabi (Shanola Hampton) who is the lead of a team that finds missing and kidnapped people. Gabi is uniquely suited to lead this team as she was once a kidnapping victim who escaped. Through flashbacks, we see her experience with her captor (Mark-Paul Gosselaar). The series follows a traditional formula with a case-of-the-week and offers a long-term story that, in this case comes with quite the twist. I don’t know how I feel about the twist and what it will mean for the series long-term. The pilot worked decently with a solid cast and a solid premise. But it’s the twist that will come to define this as a long-term project. We’ll see how it plays out in Week 2.
Pilot Grade: C+

Wednesdays:
Sullivan’s Crossing, Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on The CW (Premiered October 4)
About: The CW has had a full slate of new programming owing to importing series from other countries. In this case, the new Wednesday night lineup features a pair of dramas from Canada. In this first one, Maggie Sullivan (Morgan Kohan) who is a brilliant surgeon about to win an award. Turns out her business partner was involved in some shady dealings, leading to her arrest and a crushing blow to her reputation. With her life in tatters, she heads to stay with her estranged father (Scott Patterson) in Nova Scotia. But can she make it work and find a way to start over? This new series follows a familiar pattern for long-time CW viewers. The presence of Patterson (Gilmore Girls) and Chad Michael Murray (One Tree Hill) will likely appeal to American audiences, too. The pilot was OK. There wasn’t enough character development and world-building, but the pieces are in place for this to become something more interesting.
Pilot Grade: C-

The Spencer Sisters, Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on The CW (Premiered October 4)
About: The other new Canadian import also has a familiar type of premise. Darby Spencer (Stacey Farber) is a cop in the big city. She’s got brilliant instincts that are dismissed by her male superiors, cause her to quit in frustration. After discovering her boyfriend is also having an affair, she packs up and heads to visit her estranged mother, Victoria (Lea Thompson), a successful crime writer. The two have sometimes been mistaken as sisters, but they constantly squabble. In the pilot, a friend needs help and they come together to ply their skills to solving her case. Can this be a new way forward for both of them? Seeing as it’s a series, we know the answer to that question though their partnership isn’t fully formed in the pilot. Farber and Thompson have good chemistry and the pilot was engaging in how it built the world and characters. This feels like a more easily watchable series premise, with something of a case-of-the-week that allows for a breezy watch. It’s not quite like what we’ve seen from The CW in the past, but it works well enough.
Pilot Grade: C+

Streaming Series:
Everything Now, Now Streaming on Netflix (Premiered October 5)
About: The latest from Netflix is also a foreign import, this one coming from England. It originally had a different title but focuses on Mia (Sophie Wilde) who was hospitalized for an eating disorder. Now that she’s out, she wants to resume her regular life with her friends. But she soon finds that a lot has changed for her and her friends while she was away. Soon, she is drawn to try and make the most out of life and cross of items on the list she made while away. Can she get it done? This eight-episode season explores Mia’s journey. All eight episodes are now available to stream. Wilde is sympathetic as the lead character, but I wasn’t drawn into the story and the world built here. It’s an interesting idea but the execution fell a bit short in the two episodes I watched. Still, for those interested in the format the show makes for a quick binge.
Pilot Grade: C-
Second Episode: C-


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