Fall Television Roundup: 6 New Shows You Should Be Watching

Time flies when you’re watching TV. We’re nearly six weeks into the new season, with November sweeps right around the corner. Can you believe it? By now, most of us have decided what new shows we’re sticking with, and what won’t make the cut. I’m pleased to announce that four of the six shows I previously wrote about have secured a spot on my schedule: Ringer, 2 Broke Girls, The Secret Circle, and American Horror Story. Joining them are Revenge and New Girl.

Here’s just some of what you’ve been missing:

1) Revenge: Unabashedly soapy, Revenge is my newest guilty pleasure. Watching Emily VanCamp wreak havoc in the Hamptons is, in a word, delicious. I have but one question: Madeleine Stowe, where have you been all my life?

2) Ringer: Sarah Michelle Gellar’s latest star vehicle is a little uneven, sure, but it’s also insanely addictive. Just six weeks in, the twisty neo-noir thriller has already tackled identity theft, murder, adultery, and drug addiction. What’s next?

3) The Secret Circle: The latest offering from multitasker extraordinaire Kevin Williamson, The Secret Circle is the perfect companion to The Vampire Diaries. The supernatural series about a coven of witches recently introduced demons into the fold, and showed it means business by already killing off a main character this early in its run.

4) New Girl: Come for Zooey Deschanel, stay for the ensemble. This quirky new sitcom is a lot of fun, and has lots of heart.

5) 2 Broke Girls:  Kat Denning and Beth Behrs have great chemistry as waitresses from different backgrounds working in a Brooklyn diner. Full of hilarious one-liners, this sitcom is terrific, and would be even better if its supporting characters weren’t complete stereotypes.

6) American Horror Story: American Horror Story takes the term “haunted house” to a whole new level. Featured on the cover of the new issue of Entertainment Weekly, the much-anticipated series is Ryan Murphy’s ode to the horror genre. The pilot was a dizzying mess, but subsequent episodes have laid the groundwork for what is sure to be an exciting and memorable first season. After all, there’s nothing like a good scare.

What new shows are you hooked on this season?

S.M.F.G.

She’s baaack!  This fall, as I mentioned earlier, Sarah Michelle Gellar will be making her long-awaited return to network television in the new thriller Ringer.  The twist?  The series was not picked up by CBS, the network that had ordered the pilot, but by sister network The CW.  Whether or not this bodes well for Gellar and Co. remains to be seen, but, given the number of pilot hopefuls rejected altogether (ahem, Wonder Woman), I’m just thankul the series will air.  Now it’s up to the viewers to decide Ringer’s fate.  Ringer will begin airing Tuesdays this fall after 90210.  I, for one, will definitely be tuning in! 

Check out the first preview for Ringer!

Television Preview: 6 Pilots to Look Out for

Spring is here, and that can only mean one thing: It’s pilot season!  With May sweeps right around the corner, networks have already begun gearing up for the fall.  So, without any further delay, here’s a list of the 6 TV pilots that I’m most looking forward to, in no particular order.  (Narrowing the list down to 5 was too daunting a task.)

1. Ringer (CBS):  I was sold on this project from the moment I learned that Sarah Michelle Gellar had signed on to star.  I mean, it’s about bloody time for Buffy to make a comeback!  The premise is pretty neat, too.  SMG pulls double duty as a woman on the run from the mob hiding out as her estranged twin sister, who, as it turns out, has some secrets of her own. 

2. Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea (NBC):  That ’70’s Show’s Laura Prepon stars in this comedy based on late-night host and stand-up comedian Chelsea Handler’s best-selling book.   Need I say more?

3. 17th Precinct (NBC):  I’m really psyched for this supernatural cop drama, which is being described as “an adult Harry Potter.”  Battlestar Galactica fans are going gaga over the casting of Jamie Bamber, Tricia Helfer, and James Callis.  I myself couldn’t be more excited about the uber-talented Stockard Channing scoring a lead role in the series.

4. Two Broke Girls (CBS):  There’s a lot to like about this sitcom.  (1)  It comes to us from Sex and the City scribe Michael Patrick King and Chelsea Lately regular Whitney Cummings.  (2) It stars Kat Dennings, one of the most talented young actresses around.  (If I had a nickel for every time I’ve seen Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, then I’d have at least, like, fifty cents.)  (3)  It follows two young waitresses from very different backgrounds trying to make it in the Big Apple.

5. Secret Circle (CW):  Vampire Diaries creator Kevin Williamson is hoping to work his magic again with this supernatural drama, based on another series of books by L.J. Smith.  Starring Life Unexpected’s Britt Robertson, the show is about a California teen whose world is turned upside-down when she moves to New Salem, and discovers that she is a witch.  Williamson has struck gold with The Vampire Diaries, and I have no doubt that he’ll continue his winning streak with Secret Circle. 

6. Good Christian Bitches (ABC):  This dramedy about a recently divorced mother of two who clashes with a group of conservative women (led by Pushing Daisies’ Kristin Chenoweth) when she moves back to her hometown sounds like a lot of fun.  Iron Man’s Leslie Bibb has nabbed the leading role, and Designing Women’s Annie Potts has been tapped to play her mother.