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The new ‘fall’ TV shows you need to know

The coming weeks are arguably the most important in the US television calendar as the “fall” (autumn) season kicks off.

In the next three weeks, American channels will launch 19 new shows. Australia is currently scheduled to see three of them in that time – none will be broadcast on the same “day and date” let alone “within hours” of their debut.

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Local networks know that at best only one or two of these will be genuine prime time ratings winners – Revenge was the last real breakthrough – so the focus on X Factor, The Block and footy finals continues.

So what just are the networks holding onto? Just what is America (and the internet) about to be talking about?

NINE

Nine have the rights to a trio of DC comic-based series that are the real talking point in the USA. At the other end of the scale, they have two being panned by critics as well.

Gotham

GOTHAM-bodyThe box office figures confirm that comic-book adaptations are king at the moment, and when it comes to superheroes on the screen, no one is bigger than Batman (though some are pretty close rivals).

Put simply, Gotham is Smallville for the caped crusader, following a young detective James Gordon – long before he became Commissioner – and the first case he investigates with his legendary partner Harvey Bullock: The murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne, parents to young Bruce Wayne. Many of the future Batman characters are set to appear over the series.

The much anticipated show – RogerEbert.com called it “solid, confidently made television, the kind of programming that has me interested in where it’s going next thanks to high production values and an expertly assembled cast” – starts over there on Monday night, September 22.

No local air date yet, but don’t be surprised if you see Batman symbols all over the rugby league grand final.

The Flash

the-flashNine were pleasantly surprised when the ab-tastic adventures of Arrow proved a neat little rater – if no night winner – for them last year. Now they get a spin-off with a more widely known hero.

Central City forensic assistant Barry Allen finds he has superhuman speed after the choosing the wrong stormy night to be standing near a particle accelerator. Soon he is The Flash – already a TV series in 1990 – and dashing around town at breakneck speeds.

He will speed onto North American televisions on October 7 and has a very similar feel to Arrow. Crucially, this series is also a key part of DC Comics plans to take on the screen monster that is Marvel.

Constantine

constantineRemember the fim with Keanu Reeves? Same thing. Based on the DC Comics series Hellblazer John Constantine is a demon hunter with a past. He is tasked with protecting humanity from Hell. Literally. This doesn’t debut overseas until October 24, so is unlikely to play in Australia until the new year.

The Mysteries of Laura

themysteriesoflauraDebra Messing – yes Grace of Will and Grace, most recently a Broadway writer in Smash – takes on Columbo (eek!) in this adaptation of the Spanish series Los Misterios de Laura. Laura Diamond balances life as a New York Detective with being the mother of twin boys.

This show has the lowest accumulated critic score (37/100) our of all the new series on critic aggregator metacritic with The Hollywood Reporter noting “it would be a maddening exercise to list all the elements in The Mysteries of Laura that are, at their core, asinine.”

While Hitfix said “in a fall season with a lot of mediocre shows … here’s one of the few truly awful ones.”

Nine could well give this a Christmas debut. It premiered last week in America.

Stalker

stalkerAlso struggling with critical reception (“desperate and torture porny” said the Boston Globe) is psychological thriller Stalker which stars Maggie Q and Dylan McDermott as members of LA Police’s Threat Assessment Unit. It debuts on October 1 in the US.

TEN

Madam Secretary

madam-secretaryTen hope that this will be a new Homeland and the buzz says they may get their wish. Tea Leoni plays an ex-CIA operative college professor (and of course wife and mother) Elizabeth McCord, who is unexpectedly made Secretary of State following the suspicious death of her predecessor.

It launched on their Sunday night just gone. It launches here at 9pm Thursday October 2nd.

NCIS: New Orleans

NCIS--New-OrleansWait. Stop. Yes, it’s another investigative-initialisation with a colon then a geographic location BUT this has buzz. Scott Bakula (he who used to make Quantum Leaps) stars and the interest seems to come from the clever choice of new location. It premieres in the US on September 23rd. Ten may try it over Christmas or next year.

Scorpion

scorpionA surprise early debut – in fact the first new show to hit our screens goes to this light-weight action hour about a team of genius geeks assembled by a federal agent to fight high tech national threats. It launches on Sunday September 28 less than a week after it kicks off in the US on Monday.

Reckless

RecklessThe final new show with an airdate for Ten is Reckless, which debuted on June 29 in the States. Obviously not considered much of a winner, it will start at 10:30pm following the return of The Good Wife. More a Southern-flavoured soap opera than a legal show, it is notionally about two lawyers on opposite sides of a police sex scandal.

SEVEN

How To Get Away With Murder

How-To-Get-Away-With-MurderThe other entirely new series with a lot of buzz, this one comes from Midas Touch TV producer Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal) and stars Oscar nominee Viola Davis as a law professor who selects a handful of students to help at her law firm only for them to become involved in a murder.

It is likely to explode in America on September 25, and if it rates well there, expect Seven to get it out here soon.

Red Band Society

red_band_societySeven also have the rights to Red Band Society which started last week. Notably New Zealand’s TVNZ played it within 24 hours. A coming-of-age dramedy based on the popular Spanish series Polseres Vermelles, it is set in an LA paediatric ward of all places, where six teenagers explore the life of the medical staff. Think Party of Five in scrubs.

Marry Me

marry-meThe sitcom given the best chance of replacing How I Met Your Mother in fans hearts is Marry Me, written by David Caspe, who scribed Happy Endings and starring Casey Wilson from the same show. It’s a rom-com about Annie and Jake who are at the point of marriage proposal when it all goes awry. Seven are likely to give it a late night spot if anything.

ELSEWHERE

Black-ish

blackishThe comedy most anticipated in America doesn’t look like it will even find a home in Australia. On Wednesday 24 September, this Laurence Fishburne led series, which rates an impressive 84 on metacritic, will challenge America over the results of multi-racial assimilation. It is a smart, funny look at America’s “post-racial” Obama age. It will of course air within 24 hours in New Zealand.

Gracepoint (a.k.a. Broadchurch, USA)

GRACEPOINTAiring on Foxtel’s Universal Channel from Friday, October 3, the only show to get an Australian release within a fraction over 24 hours, this is the American remake of the hit British series Broadchurch. It is very similar to the original, including the re-casting of David Tennant as the grumpy detective.

The Leftovers

the-leftoversThis will finally air in Australia from Tuesday October 14 on Showcase, four months after it’s US debut. The hit HBO series examines how society would react if 2 per cent of people suddenly disappeared, Rapture-style.

Salamander

SalamanderHoping that the list of countries that comprise Scandinavia is more a guideline than a rule, SBS are hoping that 2012 Belgian series Salamander will be the next Scandi-noir hit for the cultured, Euro-thriller audience.

With an English remake in the works, Salamander is in the Borgen ouvre (ish), featuring a dark political conspiracy, kicked off by an impressive bank robbery, all set in Brussels the capital of Europe where the top tier of society run a secret organisation – Salamander. Wednesday 8 October, 9.30pm on SBS ONE.

Transparent

transparentEW called it “simply transcendent” and it rates an extraordinary 93 on metacritic, making it easily the highest rating of the new American shows. Australia has no home as yet for Mort Pfefferman (Jeffrey Tambor) who brings his grown family together for a huge revelation at the end of episode one.

The dysfunctional dark comedy is likely being eyed by the clever people at SBS Two.

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