Your trusted EW TV critics, Kristen Baldwin and Darren Franich, watched all the previews.
(Check out the full fall schedulehere.)
Thank you, TV, for validating my existential crisis!
Credit: CBS; The CW; NBC; ABC
KRISTEN:Also a good sign: There are more brown people than white people in this pilot.
Good job, NBC!
KRISTEN:Hey look, its Paul Adelstein!
Hes always a good sign.
DARREN:Discussing feminism at a videogame company for wry comedy: Also a good sign!
DARREN:This looks fun!
I feel good aboutI Feel Bad.
(DEFINITELY FIRST TO THAT JOKE, DONT GOOGLE IT.)
2.All-American(CW):
KRISTEN:FOOTBALL!
Im havingFNLflashbacks, which makes me happy.
DARREN:A shooter at a football game!
Well, that took a bleak turn.
DARREN:His family is concerned its not the best thing for him.
Will he lose himself when he leaves his neighborhood?
KRISTEN:But its a better, safer school, says Coach Taye Diggs.
DARREN:Did someone just describe a character as my tortured alt-left sister?
Not a great intro, white kids.
DARREN:Hes is suddenly being invited to pool parties in Beverly Hills.
Some great Los Angeles cross-cultural race/class drama.
KRISTEN:Wow, so this is likeFNLmeetsThe OCmeetsBoyz in the Hood?
DARREN:If you might make something of yourself, maybe I can too.
KRISTEN:Yes, I am for sure in.
Damn you, Greg Berlanti youve done it again!
3.The Rookie(ABC):
KRISTEN:Nathan Fillion as a 40-year-old police rookie.
DARREN:Youre about to hit the street with a loaded handgun and no idea what happens next.
KRISTEN:Side note: Nathan Fillion doesnt really look 40.
His colleagues dismiss him as a walking midlife crisis, so hes got to prove them wrong.
DARREN:This looks like a darker, more emotionally bruised Fillion than we got onCastle.
I like emotionally bruised Fillion!
KRISTEN:I like Fillion in any form.
DARREN:And I have a policy to watch any Los Angeles crime show for at least four episodes.
So I like this, though think we can lose the bodycam/found-footage stuff.
KRISTEN:Murphy leftFYIbut now shes back, because Trump.
DARREN:Embarrassing TV critic confession: I never watched the originalMurphy Brown.
But a college roommate once explained the whole series to me in a two-hour speech.
So I FEEL like I had aMurphy Brownexperience.
KRISTEN:Was your roommate Andy fromParks & Rec?
DARREN:Similar, but with twice my IQ.
KRISTEN:TYNE DALY!
Murphy says shes back to take on this crazy new world of alternative facts because its our civic duty.
DARREN:I didnt laugh at all during this trailer except during the clips of the original series.
KRISTEN:The original creator, Diane English, is back so Im optimistic.
5.Grand Hotel(NBC):
KRISTEN:Five-star hotel, five-star secrets!
Now thats a tagline.
DARREN:Is this a show about a wacky hotel where people have sex with each other?
KRISTEN:Correction, its asoap operaabout a wacky hotel where people have sex with each other.
DARREN:Set in the last family-owned hotel in Miami Beach.
Demian Bichir is the patriarch, and hes selling out the family hotel to a higher bidder.
KRISTEN:Is his sexy new wife making him do it?
His kids think so.
DARREN:So its a modern-dayMagic Citywith a Latino cast.
I AM SO GODDAMN IN.
Until … WHITE FOLKS MOVE IN.
DARREN:Potentially, a comedy of gentrification?
KRISTEN:Cedrics character, Calvin, is not amused.
DARREN:Dreama Walker sighting!
Shes now married couple on a sitcom age, which means I am also that age.
KRISTEN:Cedric does a good white guy voice.
DARREN:Him imitating a white guy saying I really find Rihanna attractive madethiswhite guy laugh.
For CBS, this qualifies as edgy.
Ill admit it, Darren, that looked kind of funny.
You really cant go wrong with Cedric.
DARREN:I wish the Midwestern guy didnt seem so bland.
But I like the basic setup here.
DARREN:And he just parted ways with his fiancee!
I remember that J.J. Abrams pitchedAliasas, basically, a show about Felicity fromFelicitybecoming a spy.
Now we have a show where Noel fromFelicitybecomes a spy!
And then Keri Russell was a spy onThe Americans.
KRISTEN:Hey, itsThe Walking Deads Lauren Cohan as a relentless CIA operative.
What are the odds that theyll get together?
So maybe this isMr.
and Mrs. Smith, on a broadcast TV budget.
KRISTEN:Hey, its Ana Ortiz fromUgly Betty!
This looks fun, not just in a trying-to-look-fun kind of way.
DARREN:Yes, and also in a the-pilot-will-look-10-times-more-expensive-than-the-rest-of-the-show way.
Ill stick around to see if they have chemistry.
DARREN:Mom is unsurprisingly, given that this is aCharmedreboot a witch.
The power of three!
DARREN:The three sisters start noticing strange, magical things happening around them.
The magic looks a little moreX-Men-y than on the originalCharmed, but I like the X-Men.
KRISTEN:Freezing time!
Moving things with their mind!
DARREN:Oh hey, its the guy fromHellboybut notHellboy 2.
KRISTEN:He tells them they are the charmed ones, and that mommy was a witch.
And that witch mommy was murdered.
DARREN:They are tasked with protecting the innocent and vanquishing demons.
KRISTEN:Yes, as will the reboot ofRoswell, coming next year!
This looks like a competent remake, but Im not sure it was entirely necessary.
DARREN:I think its harder now for any superpower team show to stand out.
9.Manifest(NBC):
DARREN:A group of people on a flight disappear.
Quite a concept for a new show in 2004!
DARREN:My vastly more meager worst nightmare: turbulence!
KRISTEN:Their flight experiences rough air, and when they land its five years later?
KRISTEN:Or a polar bear.
KRISTEN:Time travel via turbulence.
So its kind of likeLostmeets all those shows where people come back from the dead and havent aged.
I dunno, Im intrigued.
So I am less intrigued.
DARREN:Who wouldve ever thought my wife wouldve slept with my barber?
Sinbad??????
DARREN:This trailer has a lot of wife-with-the-barber jokes, which makes me nervous.
KRISTEN:But it also has Sinbad as Rels dad, so that soothes my nerves.
So I wont weep for Lil Rel Howery yet.
(CBS):
DARREN:This is a remake ofMagnum P.I.It starts with Magnum in space.
KRISTEN:Oh God, he has a goatee, not a mustache.
Oooh, the red, black, and yellow helicopter is back!
KRISTEN:And Higgins is a female yoga instructor.
But she IS British.
DARREN:The bolder move wouldve been to make Magnum the woman.
ABC wouldve made Magnum a woman.
OH MY GOD, SUNG KANG.
DARREN:Sung Kang, who played cinemas best Han in theFast & Furiousmovies, is in this show.
And its directed by Justin Lin?
Who directed the bestFastmovies?
Shut up and take my money, CBS!
KRISTEN:I just wish that Jay Hernandez, the new Magnum, had a bit more … charisma?
DARREN:I also wish this show didnt look like another high-tech military procedural?
This could just be a chill show about a charming guy solving sexy problems in Hawaii.
Magnum just jumped from a car to a helicopter.
I will absolutely watch this pilot, but I worry about what happens on a weekly stunt budget.
DARREN:PETE CAMPBELL!
By which I mean, VINCENT KARTHEISER IN CONTEMPORARY CLOTHES!
KRISTEN:My brain cant process that.
DARREN:Im tuning in.
KRISTEN:Youre a cheap date!
KRISTEN:The Cry Machine, coming to Fox in 2019.
KRISTEN:Fake Harry Styles (character name: Cooper) loves the simple life of these suburban dullards.
DARREN:On CBS, thirtysomething married couples still have landlines!
(And young people are still joking about not knowing what landlines are.)
KRISTEN:like note that Real Harry Styles is an exec producer ofHappy Together.
Where does that young man find the time?
KRISTEN:Yes, hes gotta show up in the first three episodes, right?
I can season-pass it until then.
KRISTEN:The Wonder YearsmeetsMalcolm in the Middle.
It is quite literally narrated by the middle child.
DARREN:One son doesnt want to be a priest anymore.
Several sons have red hair the color of flames at sunset.
KRISTEN:The trailer ends on a joke about rickets.
Thats sufficiently weird enough for me to want to give it a few episodes.
), but there are moments like that that feel eccentric and personal.
DARREN:Less than a minute until a huge explosion, and a building falling down!
KRISTEN:Darren, did that mom just watch her son die in the explosion?
DARREN:Yes, and now theyre all listening to a slowed-down, emo version of Wonderwall.
KRISTEN:Im too upset to be excited that Jeremy Sisto is on the show!
KRISTEN:Spoiler alert: The former undercover agent wants to bend the rules.
But the Boss Lady says no.
DARREN:Wait, this shows about a rich Nazi racist who bombs people?
Never mind, its a left-wing nightmare!
KRISTEN:The nightmare part is correct.
Itll be a hit for CBS.
DARREN:Its Missy Peregrym fromReaper!
KRISTEN:WHY WAS THERE JUST A TARANTULA CRAWLING ON SOMEONES FOOT?
Welp, looks like a solid timely procedural.
Itll run for six-17 seasons?
KRISTEN:Taran Killam plays an overzealous class parent.
DARREN:The greatest part of parenting is it gets you out of your comfort zone.
Is that true, parent?
The greatest part of parenting is when your child falls asleep.
KRISTEN:I cant quite grasp whats going on here.
A group of cynical single parents venture to get uptight single parent Taran Killam to loosen up, yes?
DARREN:Yes, and lots of child hijinks are sliced together with single-parents-being-single-and-funny hijinks.
Unfortunately, God is not voiced by the ghost of George Burns.
DARREN:I hope the twist is that God is a Russian bot.
KRISTEN:Thats a left-andright-wing nightmare!
DARREN:Wait, wait, wait, is this like social mediaEarly Edition?
KRISTEN:Yes, you are correct!
God suggests friends for Brandon Micheal Hall to find and help.
DARREN:Early Edition, except newspapers are dead.
KRISTEN:FYI, the show just name-dropped Tinder and Bumble, because CBS is hep with the lingo.
KRISTEN:Joe Morton as the preacher dad!
DARREN:And Miles mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.Anddied in a car crash.
KRISTEN:So glad that CBS is getting back to its Jesus-y roots.
(Pour one out forTouched By An AngelandHighway to Heaven).
KRISTEN:Who Miles saved earlier in the episode.
ITS ALL CONNECTED, DARREN.
One tough question: How much can you buy a show about God using Facebook?
KRISTEN:Listen, God never got that Cambridge Analytica poll.
His profile is LEGIT.
But I imagine this will be a favorite show of moms and grandmas across the nation.
DARREN:And a potential hate-watch for agnostic millennials who think social media destroyed this decade.
18.The Fix(ABC):
KRISTEN:Mr. Eko!
DARREN:Oh man, I love Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje.
KRISTEN:Adewale is Fake O.J.
This time, Robin/Marcia is going to send him to prison for GOOD.
KRISTEN:Hey, Scott Cohen, as Fake O.J.s lawyer!
DARREN:Wait, is Fake O.J.
literally giving his friend a duffel bag to dispose of?
DARREN:Yes, and also a classic case of a shownot being as good asMurder One.
But look, Los Angeles crime, Im in for four.
19.A Million Little Things(ABC):
KRISTEN:Hey, Ron Livingston!
KRISTEN:Guy fromPsych!
DARREN:Does he have cancer too?
Is cancer, like, a trend?
KRISTEN:Cancer is always on trend.
(Sorry, sorry.)
Oh no, Ron Livingston killed himself!
And now all his old friends are together again at his funeral.
DARREN:Hes the Kevin Costner FromBig Chill.
They all met when they were stuck on an elevator?
So THIS is kind of likeThe Ninetoo!
Does anyone but me rememberThe Nine?
I watched a lot ofThe Nine.
KRISTEN:I dont thinkThe Ninewas a real show.
I think youre making it up.
DARREN:Tim Daly.
KRISTEN:Oh, right!
Anyway, now all Ron Livingstons old friends are reconnecting to venture to piece together why he killed himself.
DARREN:The last time we said anything deep was when we were in that elevator, someone says.
KRISTEN:ABC wants in on thatThisis Usemotional-catharsis action.
DARREN:I worry that theyve overthought the model a bit?
Like,This is Usis a family show told in a unique way.
KRISTEN:You never know, the trapped-elevator genre could become a thing.
20.The Cool Kids(Fox):
DARREN:A comedy about a retirement community!
DARREN:From Charlie Day???
KRISTEN:ThinkIts Always Sunny in the Retirement Home.
While it didnt make me laugh, that did feel very on-brand for Fox, circa theMarried With Childrenera.
It could work nicely with Tim AllensLast Man Standing(now on Fox).
And I support any project that employs Vicki Lawrence and/or David Alan Grier.
ButThe Cool Kidsdefinitely wins the prize for Most Unexpected Conglomeration of Talent.
21.The Passage(Fox):
KRISTEN:MARK-PAUL GOSSELAAR.
Oh Lord, he plays a government agent who wants to perform an experiment on a black prisoner.
DARREN:The Passageis based on Justin Cronins series of novels about, like, vampire-apocalypse-dystopia stuff.
KRISTEN:Looks like this drug experiment has some kind of vampire side effects?
And now they want to experiment on a little black girl.
DARREN:Were looking at a global pandemic, says some scientist.
You get exposed by breakfast, youre dead by dinner.
But what a lunch, though!
DARREN:I feel like this is a hot new subgenre?
Like, tough guy going on a road trip with little girl?
Like,LoganandThe Last of Us?
Are they fleeing to Canada?
KRISTEN:If they arent, theyre fools.
That said, Im glad MPG ended up being a good guy.
22.Last Man Standing(Fox):
KRISTEN:The shows fans loved and the characters they missed.
DARREN:Ohhh, are they rebootingHannibalfinally?
KRISTEN:Sadly, no.
But the good news is,Last Man Standingstill has the same attitude.
DARREN:Sorry, wait, was that a bear?
KRISTEN:Yes, and two men dressed as Donald Trump.
DARREN:Im excited for the bear and nothing else!
KRISTEN:And Im excited that I missed Tim Allen doing a stand-up set at the Fox upfront presentation.
23.New Amsterdam(NBC):
DARREN:Wait, wait,New Amsterdam?
This was already a show!
KRISTEN:Yes, it was a show with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, about a time-traveling cop.
DARREN:I think he was an immortal guy who solved crimes.
Was he immortal, or a vampire?
KRISTEN:I think that wasForever, with Horatio Hornblower.
DARREN:I thinkForeverwas about time travel, andNew Amsterdamwas about a curse?
[Quick critical Googling confirms that2008sNew Amsterdamand 2014s Foreverwere both shows about immortals solving crimes in New York.]
KRISTEN:So there have now been TWO shows about immortal cops, and TWO shows calledNew Amsterdam.
Yes,New Amsterdamis not a New Title.
DARREN:Baldwin, crushing it!
Watch out, 2018-2019 TV season!
Lets watch the trailer for the newNew Amsterdam.
KRISTEN:Its the guy fromThe BlacklistandThe Blacklistspinoff!
He just fired a bunch of doctors.
Is the rest of the show about the lawsuits that follow?
DARREN:New Amsterdam hospital is a city unto itself, were told.
DARREN:Between him and Peregrym, its aReaper-ssance!
Also onNew Amsterdam:Freema Agyeman, a favorite fromDoctor Who,The Carrie Diaries, andSense8!
DARREN:The Main Character has cancer.
So itsBreaking BadmeetsThe Good Doctor, finally.
KRISTEN:Even after finding out he has cancer, I still find Main Doctor Guy insufferable.
This is a pass for me.
This show seems likeThe Residentfor people who wish there was aBlacklistspinoff about fixing healthcare with great chins.
