 MIKE & MOLLY
SEASON PREMIERE SEPTEMBER 20
Mike & Molly follows Melissa McCarthy (best known for her role as chef Sookie St. James on Gilmore Girls) and Billy Gardell (a longtime stand-up comedian and bit part actor) star as a fourth-grade teacher and a Chicago cop struggling with their weight issues and self-confidence. Executive producer Chuck Lorre (the comedic mind behind Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory) insists “this isn’t a show about weight – it’s a show about people trying to make their lives better and find someone they can have a committed relationship with,” the trailer for the pilot is overloaded with crude fat jokes. That’s problematic, as Lorre admits, “if we’re still talking about this issue come Episode Six, we’ve got a serious problem, because it would get tired really quickly.” So what are we left with? Two leads in a sympathetic but unenviable position, and an unoriginal, weak supporting cast. Despite its big-name producer, Mike & Molly looks likely to fail.
Mike & Molly premieres Monday, September 20th at 9:30 pm Eastern on CBS.
BETTER WITH YOU
SEASON PREMIERE SEPTEMBER 22
Better With You follows three different relationships that are all intertwined within one family: one couple – Maddie (Jennifer Finnigan) and Ben (Josh Cooke) – has dated for nine years but are content not taking “the next step,” while the other couple – Maddie’s sister Mia (Joanna Garcia) and her boyfriend of 2 months Casey (Jake Lacy) – are already pregnant and engaged to marry. While Goldberg-Meehan has written some two dozen episodes of Friends, she’s also written and executive produced more than twice as many episodes of its failed spinoff, Joey. It sounds like pretty run-of-the-mill fare, even by the low standards of the most hackneyed sitcom drivel. And while even the most banal, conventional sitcoms have been known to survive and even flourish (Two and a Half Men), no one wants to watch three couples being three couples for season after season.
Better With You premieres Wednesday, September 22 at 8:30 pm Eastern on ABC.
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THE DEFENDERS
SEASON PREMIERE SEPTEMBER 22
The presence of Jerry O’Connell, for reasons unknown, appears to be a kind of evil omen on television series, a portent of the show’s imminent cancellation. The Kangaroo Jack star seems to have a penchant for picking single season losers, with a resume that includes leading roles in Camp Wilder, Carpoolers, and Do Not Disturb. So O’Connell does not bode well for The Defenders (and vice versa), CBS’ new legal drama about a pair of Las Vegas lawyers that also stars Jim Belushi.
While there’s some possibility of a decent series evolving from that framework – especially if The Defenders taps into Las Vegas’ trademark weirdness – the show’s pilot focused rather heavily on a gruesome murder case, casting a pall over an otherwise inoffensive (if unoriginal) buddy comedy. While there may be a unique, entertaining series somewhere within The Defenders, it’s not yet clear whether we’re going to get to see it.
The Defenders premieres Wednesday, September 22 at 10 pm Eastern on CBS.
HUMAN TARGET
SEASON PREMIERE OCTOBER 1
Human Target stars Mark Valley as Christopher Chance, a unique for-hire bodyguard who protects his clients by integrating himself into their lives and tracking down their assailants. Chance is assisted by his business partner Winston (Chi McBride) and hired gun Guerrero (Jackie Earle Haley). But while the network may have found 24’s successor in Human Target, the action drama is hardly the financial or critical success of its predecessor. Though the series narrowly dodged a bullet and was renewed for a second season, its prospects for a third look dim.
Season 2 of Human Target premieres Friday, October 1 at 8 pm Eastern on FOX.
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BODY OF PROOF
SEASON PREMIERE SEPTEMBER 24
Former neurosurgeon Dr. Megan Hunt (Dana Delany) has carved out a new niche for herself as a Philadelphia medical examiner known to be unusually determined in her quest to solve the puzzle of who or what killed the victims brought to her. Her partner, investigator Peter Dunlop (Nicholas Bishop), tries to keep her in line, while her boss, detective Kate Murphy (Jeri Ryan) admires her passion and her unusual way of getting results.Stock characters, cliched setups, unimaginative story, reportedly shoddy writing in the pilot – haven’t we seen all this before? It’s hard to imagine who could possibly be drawn to this show besides Dana Delany (Katherine Mayfair on Desperate Housewives) enthusiasts, if those exist. That aside, there is absolutely nothing new here to interest or entertain even the most undemanding viewer.
Body of Proof premieres Friday, September 24 at 9 pm Eastern on ABC.
BLUE BLOODS
SEASON PREMIERE SEPTEMBER 24
It does not bode well for a television series when its star and executive producer start butting heads – precisely what happened this summer on the set of CBS’ new fall series Blue Bloods, which follows a family of New York City policemen (and an Assistant District Attorney sister). Trouble began when Blue Bloods’ headliner, 80s television star Tom Selleck, reportedly got into a number of arguments with executive producer Ken Sanzel about the direction the show was taking. Sanzel reportedly had been instructed to move Blue Bloods into the mold of the typical network police procedural, while Selleck felt the show should be more character-driven. After Selleck rejected several scripts from Sanzel, the exec walked off the show. While Blue Bloods, written by two of the writer-producers behind HBO’s award-winning The Sopranos, may yet find its footing and voice, the creative shakeup certainly gives us pause.
Blue Bloods premieres Friday, September 24 at 10 pm on CBS.
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