To the delight of audiences everywhere, television has become a true year round commodity. Thanks to the multitude of viewing options and creative free reign given to auteurs of the small screen, scripted series have increased by 1,000 percent since 1999, according to Variety. That's a whole lot of television.
Amid the handful of binge watching sessions and overwhelming volume of programs, it would be understandable to get lost in a sea of static from time to time. That's why we're here with five shows returning this fall that you should be watching for. You're welcome.
5. "Black-ish" - ABC
Premieres: Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 9:30 p.m. ET
Forget for a second the startling lack of diversity on network television and the important burden that puts on "Black-ish." It's not just that the dinosauric Big Four (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox) should be featuring people of all different ethnicities, genders and backgrounds; they should also be focused on featuring shows that are just plain old fashioned good. And "Black-ish" is good. The Harlem Renaissance finale proved that "Black-ish" can concoct stories from pivotal historic moments that are both unique and entertaining. The rest of the first season prior to that was a blast of fresh air in the otherwise stuffy and recycled network landscape.
Anthony Anderson and Laurence Fishburne are the perfect yin and yang of goofy and stoic, respectively, while Tracee Ellis Ross holds the whole show together with her performance. "Black-ish" may not boast the same type of LOL moments of a "Modern Family," but the show is clever enough to play to its strengths and that's one of many reasons why we're looking forward to its return.
4. "Homeland" - Showtime
Premieres: Sunday, Oct. 4 at 9:00 p.m. ET
For the second time in its run," Homeland" is undergoing a bit of an internal reboot. Following the death of Nicholas Brody a few seasons back, the show became similar to one of its many criss-crossed informants, unsure which path to take. Did executive producers Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa want to recapture the sex disguised as love and love disguised as sex high wire spy act of the first two seasons? Did they want "Homeland" to become more of a straight forward political thriller? Was it a focused character study?
Eventually, the show settled into its new role as a weekly dose of adrenaline that isn't overly concerned with prestige drama and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Season five is ripe with creative possibilities as it kicks off two years after the events of the season four finale.
What in the world could Carrie be up to now?
3. "The Knick" - Cinemax
Premieres: Friday, Oct. 16 at 10:00 p.m. ET
Steven Soderbergh and Clive Owen continued the mass exodus of film stars to the small screen with last year's sleeper hit "The Knick." It's a good thing too, because this series plays like a small scale film, visually differentiating itself from any medical peers it may have on television. Trust us, this is not the early 1900's version of "Grey's Anatomy."
Soderbergh's camera tightens like a closed throat during the show's many indulgences into pure pulp tension while the soundtrack pulses like a beating heart on Dr. Thackery's operating table. Similar to Carrie Mathison, Thackery's genius is paralleled only by his own self-destructive behavior. As the plot keeps pushing ever forward, never taking a moment to catch its breath, so too does his character. Season two will explore the fallout from that kind of lifestyle.
The operating theater is open once again and we can't wait to enjoy our front row seats.
2. "Fargo" - FX
Premieres: Monday, Oct. 12 at 10:00 p.m. ET
Television's other crime anthology may not have generated the same type of buzz as HBO's "True Detective," but the level of quality was similar. While season two of "True Detective" devolved into a convoluted mess this summer, the new season of "Fargo" promises to be as concise and crisp as the first.
This year, we're traveling back to the 1970s where Lou Solverson (the father of season one's Molly) investigates a cryptic triple homicide at a local diner. Of course, things aren't quite what they seem and Lou soon finds himself at the center of a dangerous conflict.
"Fargo" stands apart from other crime shows thanks to its dark sense of humor -- not many shows can squeeze a laugh out of dropping someone into a frozen lake -- and spot on acting. But beyond that, the mysteries at the heart of the series seem to mirror the personal struggles of its central characters and it is in that union that "Fargo" delivers top-notch entertainment.
1. "The Walking Dead" - AMC
Premieres: Sunday, Oct. 11 at 9:00 p.m. ET
Come on, what else did you think it would be? Television's most popular show has never once been its best show. But season five proved that it could be one of TV's most entertaining shows if given the chance.
Scott Gimple, the series' third showrunner, made the smart choice of indulging in "The Walking Dead's" baser tendencies. He reprogramed Rick Grimes into a decisive bearded military leader and gave up on the show's halfhearted attempts to solve the apocalypse and resigned them to merely surviving it. Now each week we are greeted with a simplified story that zeroes in on creative zombie kills and simmering conflict.
We don't need an eye-patched Governor with nonsensical plans to be a good antagonist. We just need someone standing between Rick Grimes and his goal of being the craziest mother f----- on this show. The rest will take care of itself.
Honorable Mentions
"The Leftovers" - HBO
"Brooklyn Nine-Nine" - Fox
"Arrow" - The CW
"Empire" - Fox
"The Flash" - The CW
"Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." - ABC
"Fresh Off The Boat" - ABC
"Gotham" - Fox
