There are a lot of new and returning TV shows to talk about this fall – as well as a couple important anniversaries I’m excited to celebrate. Let’s just get into it – here’s what you can look forward to at Processed Media this fall:
Continuing
Second Look: Friends season 4 (concludes in October) – Friends episode reviews continue later today with “The One Where They’re Going to Party!”, and continue through October, mostly publishing on Mondays and Thursdays. Plans for season five, and ‘remastered’ reviews of seasons 1 and 2 are in the works!
Episode reviews: Batman: Caped Crusader (concludes September 25) – Though my feelings on the Bruce Timm’s return to the Dark Knight remains mixed – particularly with the show’s embarrassingly undercooked animation – but as the stories of Gotham’s familiar faces draw closer together, the last five episodes could set up this series for a fantastic second season (which it’s already been renewed for).
September
Second Look: Community season 1 (September 17, continues Tuesdays) – This fall marks 15 years since Community made its debut on NBC. TV was different in 2009 – and little did we know, was on the verge of changing dramatically over the course of the next decade and a half. Given that, it’s time we take an extended look back at the debut of arguably the most influential sitcom of the 21st century. Episode reviews will publish on Tuesdays.
Season premiere review: Agatha All Along (September 18, continues Thursdays) – After years in production and what feels like a billion name changes, Disney Plus’s quasi-sequel to WandaVision appears to be more typically modern Marvel fare, leaning hard into its supernatural and mystical elements with Agatha, a “goth teen” and a coven of witches she forms for some unknown journey. Though I mostly checked out on the MCU after WandaVision (save for Deadpool & Wolverine, of course), anything with Kathryn Hahn is worthy of attention. Will I make it through the entire season? We’ll find out!
Season review: The Penguin (September 26, continues Fridays) – Matt Reeves’ moody The Batman is a fascinating, messy film – and Colin Farrell’s performance as The Penguin is one of my favorite parts of it, which is why I’m fully on board with this series, where Penguin faces off against Sofia Corleone (Cristina Miloti!!!) for control of Gotham’s underworld. I’ll have a review of the season after its finale in November.
Second Look: LOST season 1 (September 22, continues Sundays) – What else can I say about LOST‘s iconic, almost untouchable first season? Turns out a lot, and every Monday, I’ll be publishing those thoughts.
October
TV review: Disclaimer (October 11, Apple TV) – Alfonso Cuarón steps into the world of TV with an adaptation of the 2015 psychological thriller written by Renée Knight. I’m intrigued by the early rumblings coming out of the Venice International Film Festival, and by the show’s cast (led by Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, and Sacha Baren Cohen). Not sure I’ll cover all seven episodes of the miniseries yet, but we’ll see!
TV review: Happy’s Place (October 19) – Reba McEntire returns to TV? Though I’m not the biggest fan of Reba (the series), I’m certainly on board for anyone still trying to keep the network sitcom alive. I’ll be checking out the premiere (… maybe the First Impressions column returns for the first time in 11 years?), and may check in throughout the season.
TV review: Like a Dragon: Yakuza Episodes 1 – 3 (October 24), Episodes 4 – 6 (November 1) – anyone who knows me knows my feelings on the Yakuza/Like a Dragon game series. Though I have a lot of trepidation about the tone this series will try to strike, I’ll have a review of the six-episode first season in early November.
November
TV review: The Day of the Jackal (November 7) – the Frederick Forsyth novel has been adapted numerous time, but this modern interpretation, featuring Eddie Redmayne (doing another silly voice) and Lashana Lynch in the central roles could be a really interesting new direction for Peacock’s original programming slate. We’ll find out, when the Sky Atlantic co-production premieres in the first week of November.
Episode reviews: St. Denis Medical (November 12) – all you have to say is “new sitcom from Justin Spitzer” and I’d be in. American Auto never quite found the audience it should’ve, but I’m all in on Spitzer’s latest attempt at American workplace comedy, this time following a group of nurses at an understaffed, underfunded hospital. From early previews, this series might be the marriage of Superstore‘s poignant reflections on the American economy and its corporate satire from Auto – either way, I’ll be here for every episode of the first season, beginning with November 12th’s premiere.
TV review: Silo season 2 (November 15) – I still haven’t had a chance to watch the first season of Graham Yost’s adaptation of Hugh Howey’s Silo novels, but with the second season coming November 15th, the time to procrastinate has passed. Depending on what I’m able to see before it premieres, coverage of this show will appear mid-November.
TV review: Interior Chinatown (November 19) – in a fall full of novel adaptations, Interior Chinatown‘s high-concept – background actor yearning for more becomes embroiled in underground conspiracy – could make for a really hit or miss series. However, I’ve got a good feeling about the Charles Yu adaptation, which is being produced by the author and features Jimmy O. Yang in the role of Willis Wu.
TV review: Dune: Prophecy (November 17) – I’m not super confident this series is still going to make its debut on time, but after the raucous, weird spectacle that was Dune: Part II, you better fucking believe I’m on board with a prequel series following the beginnings of the Bene Gesserit.
Second Look: Ground Floor (November) – why does nobody remember this delightful little TBS sitcom? We’re going to resolve this atrocity when I cover the show’s brief 20-episode run through the winter, with new reviews publishing each Friday.
Other shows on my radar (AKA you might see me write something about these shows at some point):
Before (Apple TV+, October 25)
How to Die Alone (Hulu, September 13)
Man on the Inside (Peacock, November)
Matlock (CBS, September 22)
Slow Horses season 4 (Apple TV+, September 4)
Teacup (Peacock, October 10)
… and more to come in December!