Today is the last big premiere day for the fall season. The new shows that are left will continue to trickle in for the rest of October, with most of The CW’s offerings coming in the next two weeks.
Here is this week’s schedule with new series in bold type. A few favorites from cable are thrown in as well.
Today
6 p.m.: 60 Minutes (CBS)
7 p.m.: The Amazing Race (CBS); Once Upon a Time (ABC); The Simpsons (Fox)
7:30 p.m.: Bob’s Burgers (Fox)
8 p.m.: Family Guy (Fox); The Good Wife (CBS); Homeland (Showtime); Revenge(ABC)
8:30 p.m.: American Dad! (Fox)
9 p.m.: Betrayal (ABC); Masters of Sex (Showtime); The Mentalist (CBS)
9:30 p.m.: Hello Ladies (HBO) Monday
7:30 p.m.: We Are Men (CBS) Wednesday
8:30 p.m.: Super Fun Night (ABC)
9 p.m.: Ironside (NBC); Top Chef (Bravo) Thursday
7 p.m.: The Vampire Diaries (CW)
7:30 p.m.: Welcome to the Family (NBC)
8 p.m.: The Originals (CW); Sean Saves the World (NBC)
9 p.m.: Scandal (ABC)
I’ll cover the rest of the new shows in Tuesday’s and Thursday’s columns. Here’s an overview of the four new shows today and Monday.
Betrayal. With Betrayal, ABC is attempting to tap into the same female audience that has loyally followed its hit series Scandal and Revenge. Evidence? The network is debuting the new show immediately following the Season 3 premiere of Revenge. It’s a package deal and ABC hopes you’ll tune in at 8 p.m. and leave the remote alone.
That’ll be tough with such 8 p.m. Sunday competition as The Good Wife, Homeland, The Walking Dead, Boardwalk Empire and NFL football.
But if prime-time soaps are your favorite, then ABC has you covered.
In Betrayal, Hannah Ware stars as Sara Hanley, a photographer trapped in an unhappy marriage who begins a steamy affair with ace lawyer Jack McAllister (Stuart Townsend).
Here’s the network hyperbole: “Two lovers’ worlds will collide, culminating in a powerful and compelling story of sex, love, loyalty, marriage and treachery in this provocative, sensual and gripping new drama.”
Unknown to Sara, Jack is the attorney for the powerful Karsten family and is married to Elaine (Wendy Moniz), the daughter of shady entrepreneur Thatcher Karsten (James Cromwell).
Elaine runs a cafe and is mother to their 16-year-old twins. Sara and her lawyer husband Drew (Chris Johnson) have a 7-year-old son.
See? It’s already messy.
It gets worse. There’s a murder and the evidence points to Thatcher’s mentally challenged son, T.J. (Henry Thomas). Jack the lover is the attorney for the defense; Drew the husband is the prosecutor.
If you followed all that and want to commit to all this guilt and sin and colliding worlds, here’s your show. I’m taking a pass.
Masters of Sex. The masters in the title are 1950s human sexuality pioneers William Masters and Virginia Johnson, played by Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan. I’ve watched the first five episodes and have two observations.
1.) This is a well-written and acted docudrama that I frequently found compelling.
2.) This is also Showtime and given the venue and the subject matter, it is not for the easily offended. The language is frank; the nudity frequent (including clinical and recreational sex scenes). It’s rated TV-MA. You have been advised.
Hello Ladies. The new HBO comedy stars The Office co-creator (along with Ricky Gervais) Stephen Merchant as Stuart, a British web designer who moves to Los Angeles and plunges into the social scene “in hopes of finding excitement, romance, and maybe even a soul mate.”
He’s clueless, bumbling and frequently painful to watch. The episodes I’ve seen have also had their funny moments, but if we must watch poor, desperate Stuart strike out week after week, it’ll get old quickly.
Bright spot: Christine Woods plays his attractive (though not interested) roommate Jessica. In addition, Kevin Weisman plays Kives, a charismatic paraplegic who fares far better with the ladies than Stuart.
We Are Men. You’ll probably either love this new sitcom or dismiss it as yet another testosterone comedy that missed the mark.
Chris Smith plays Carter, who gets stiffed (a la The Graduate) at the altar and moves into an apartment complex where he meets three bachelors who take him under their wings to impart their brand of wisdom about the opposite sex.
Wisdom from these guys: Jerry O’Connell is (the frequently shirtless) Stuart Weber, a doctor in the middle of his second divorce; Tony Shalhoub is Frank Russo, a four-time divorcee and self-described ladies’ man; and Kal Penn plays Gil Bartis, who had “the world’s worst affair” and is now trying to get his wife back.
Feminine balance: Australian actress Rebecca Breeds plays Frank’s daughter, Abby. The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email: [email protected]
Style, Pages 52 on 09/29/2013