This fall is the season of TV mediocrity. There isn’t a single show coming up that I’m over the moon about, as most prestige TV will air in the spring.
I’m also not a huge fan of trying out a new series — I prefer to wait until a show is established and has a couple seasons under its belt before watching.
With that in mind, here are the shows I will be watching live come this fall and the shows I think have enough potential that I might watch in the future.
Watch live:
"Sons of Anarchy: (Sept. 9) — FX’s motorcycle gang drama returns for a seventh and final season. Tune in for your fill of stabbings, mutilations and family drama.
"Transparent" (Sept. 26) — As an Amazon Prime original show, the pilot for "Transparent" was funny and showed great promise. It follows the story of an aging father, played by Jeffrey Tambor from "Arrested Development," and his three grown children once they discover he is transgender.
"The Walking Dead": (Oct. 12) — Dismissed by most critics, I think the most-watched show on TV is actually underrated. Season four had some gripping episodes, and I continue to be invested in Rick’s merry gang of walker-slayers.
"Bob’s Burgers": (Oct. 5) — One of my top three comedies returns for a fifth season. The Belcher family is extremely funny without ever being crass or mean.
WAIT FOR STREAMING:
"Gotham" (Sept. 22) — Fox’s origin story takes place in Gotham when Bruce Wayne is just a child. It also features Batman favorites: Catwoman and the Penguin.
"Scandal" (Sept. 25) — The outrageously popular ABC political drama ratchets up the craziness, tears and yelling each week. It is maybe the most "guilty pleasure" show coming back this fall.
"Red Band Society" (Sept. 17) — A medical drama that takes place from the point of view of a coma patient who can hear everything around him. Starring Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer, this has the potential to be overly hammy.
"How to Get Away with Murder" (Sept. 25) — Shonda Rhimes’ ("Scandal," "Grey’s Anatomy") latest follows a criminology teacher played by Oscar-nominee Viola Davis. Davis is vastly more talented than anyone Rhimes has worked with before, so I’ll give this one a try.
[A version of this story ran on page 7 on 9/4/2014 under the headline "Fall TV preview: what to watch live, what to wait and see"]
