Fall TV Previews

By Dixita Viswanath     8/28/13 7:00pm

Hostages

Starts Monday, Sept. 23 at 9 p.m. CDT on CBS

When surgeon Ellen Sanders (Toni Collette) and her family are taken hostage by rogue FBI agent Duncan Carlisle (Dylan McDermott), Sanders is given an ultimatum: Kill the president and risk her career or save his life and let her family die. What's more, Dr. Sanders, who was already scheduled to perform surgery on the president, is told to make it look like an accident. According to creator Alon Aranya, this show is based on a never-produced Israeli show by the same creators.

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Verdict

I would accept getting taken hostage by this new drama.

 

How I Met Your Mother

Returns Monday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. CDT on CBS

In this Emmy Award-winning show, we follow the life of Ted Mosby as he recounts his 20s and 30s to his kids. This season adds Cristin Milioti as a series regular, changing the cast lineup for the first time in nine years. Although this season may reveal itself in slightly haphazard flashbacks, the audience is in for the greatest reveal of the show: the mother to Ted's kids.

Verdict

After nine years, we're finally going to find out who the mother is. This truly is the mother of all shows.

 

Brooklyn NineNine

Starts Tuesday, Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m. CDT on Fox

Andy Samberg, class clown, is now a cop? Samberg plays the role of NYPD Detective Jake Peralta, a hipster cop who is told to grow up and "respect the badge" by his new boss. Combining a great cast and witty jokes, this show's characters will stand out  from every other cop show. 

Verdict

Don't we all wish we could make our own rules? If I took Peralta's attitude, it would probably result in flunked classes and endless Netflix marathons. It might just be his attitude that makes this show.

 

New Girl

Returns Tuesday, Sept. 17 8 p.m. CDT on Fox

Jessica Day is an offbeat elementary school teacher who, after a bad breakup, moves into an apartment with three young men she's never met before: Nick, Schmidt and Winston. In this season of the returning Emmy-nominated series, we see our lovable gang in new adventures, including a run-in with the police, a romantic rendezvous in Mexico with starring couple Nick and Jess, and a peek into Winston's deep, dark past. 

Verdict

Jess may not be the newest girl on TV anymore, but this season will definitely not make her old news. 

 

Modern Family

Returns Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 8 p.m.  CDT on ABC

Premise

This Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning series returns for another chance at breaking hearts, mending lives and turning upside down our definition of a family. This season promises a break in the family with the introduction of a new male nanny for baby Joe Pritchett-Delgado. Executive producer Christopher Lloyd describes the character as an energetic Midwestern guy who "doesn't want to just take care of the baby. He wants to sort of revive the entire household, which leads to some territorial clashes with Jay and Manny."

Verdict

This big (straight, gay, multicultural, traditional) family can handle anything we throw at it. 

 

The Blacklist

Starts Monday, Sept. 23 at 9 p.m. CDT on NBC

Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader) is a government agent turned FBI's Most Wanted. When he surrenders himself in exchange for using his connections to hunt down mobsters, spies and international terrorists, the FBI turns upside down. The catch? Red refuses to communicate with anyone except Elizabeth Keen (Megan Boone), a naive FBI agent who has yet to prove herself in the field. 

Verdict

Keen needs to convince both herself and her colleagues that she can handle high-profile cases and take down Red's blacklist in order to survive in the FBI, but she won't have to convince you of her intelligence. This is one premiere that needs to be on your list.

 

Boardwalk Empire

Returns Sunday, Sept. 8 at 8 p.m. CDT on HBO

What would you do with enough money and swag to make you king? Mobster Enoch "Nucky" Thompson, ruler of Atlantic City, New Jersey, knows exactly how to deal with mobster-rivals, corrupt politicians (is there another kind?) and inner-city gangs. Set in the 1920s, this year's season of Boardwalk Empire will start in February 1924 and introduce the newest threat to the delicate balance of power: Dr. Valentine Narcisse, the most powerful gangster in Harlem. Much like a war, it is hard to say exactly how everything will play out until the dust settles. 

Verdict

Flappers, illicit booze and enough money to swim in? Count me in.

 

Almost Human

Starts Monday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. CST on Fox

Set 35 years in the future, Almost Human tells the story of a society in which crime is fought by not just humans, but also human-robot teams. When Detective John Kennex wakes up from a coma, he is forced to cope with prosthetic limbs, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, difficult work relationships and, of course, his android partner whose disability is that he is equipped with human-like emotional responses. This tale of a "good robot" is brought to you by J.J. Abrams and is unlikely to disappoint. 

Verdict

With a leading cast from Star Trek (2009), Friday Night Lights and Pirates of the Caribbean, Almost Human is likely to be a big hit-if it can displace fans from The Voice or How I Met Your Mother. 

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