For the first time in a while, I’m cautiously optimistic about fall TV’s new shows.
It’s not that I think these broadcast shows will win Emmys (let’s be real, broadcast doesn’t really make a play at awards these days), but there are some compelling storylines.
The Big Leap
9 p.m. Mondays on Fox
You know how “UnReal” was a dramatic, behind-the-scenes look of “The Bachelor”? “The Big Leap” is basically that but for “So You Think You Can Dance.”
“The Big Leap” is the show within the show that a hotshot producer, who has problems of his own, is trying to make. Everyone is supposed to get a second chance through the show, and we’ve got three storylines to prove it.
It’s probably one too many on top of the producer (Is he good or bad? It’s unclear from the pilot.) and the judges/coaches, one of whom is Billy Porter-esque and the other is some British villainess type.
Try it with caution
Ordinary Joe
10 p.m. Mondays on NBC
Like NBC’s soon-to-be-ending show, “This Is Us,” “Ordinary Joe” has multiple timelines. The difference? It’s alternate timelines based on one man’s choice at his college graduation. Each timeline has a different color palette to help distinguish them since it’s the same actors but with very different outcomes.
I assume it’s an acting challenge for the core cast to play a slightly different character across the timelines, but it’s hard to root for Joe when his character is just different enough in each timeline.
Plus, I have two major flaws to point out from the pilot: 1. You can’t have an outdoor concert during a hailstorm, and 2. not that many people come to a school reunion, especially for someone Joe’s age (30s).
Skip it
Our Kind of People
9 p.m. Tuesdays on Fox
You may recognize some people in this soapy drama (even Olivia Pope’s dad plays a role). Yaya DaCosta is owning her role, and she’s a delight to watch.
Everyone in this Martha’s Vineyard town has a secret, so it could be interesting to see how it’ll play out since we know secrets don’t stay that way. Unfortunately, most of the characters are unlikeable, so it’s hard to root for them.
What confused me is this show is clearly set in summertime, so why didn’t Fox air it during the summer months?
Try it with caution
Alter Ego
9 p.m. Wednesdays on Fox
This competition show is “The Voice” plus “The Masked Singer.” Each contestant performs as a motion capture, AI alter ego avatar, so the judges don’t see them, only their movements through the avatar.
Unfortunately for the contestants, you don’t get a recording contract (they win $100,000), and the celebrity judges are way more interested in the technology than the contestants.
Skip it
La Brea
9 p.m. Tuesdays on NBC
This show had me on the edge of my seat.
A sinkhole decimates La Brea, an area of L.A., but the people who fell in aren’t dead … at least, for now. The question of where and when they are now is to be determined. Hopefully, it’s determined quickly, since they may not survive the extinct animals that also exist in this land.
The pilot does a great job setting up the two dynamic worlds as the military and a father tries to figure out what happened and if they can reach the people who fell in.
Try it
The wonder years
8:30 p.m. Wednesdays on ABC
There is so much nostalgia in this reboot, but I’m here for it.
The pilot takes place on the day Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, but the show balances touching on history without overdoing it.
The cast equally performs to bring the charm of the original, and with Fred Savage as an executive producer, I think this reboot could be more fun (and better) than others.
Try it