Fall Pre-Gaming (The Six Most Exciting Fall Prospects)

Here comes one of the most exciting seasons for television... ever.

Usually when I write my upcoming TV season blog post, though it takes a little deliberation, as I have 8-10 shows to watch per quarter, the placements aren't incredibly hard to decide. And, other than the Top Fifty TV Villains, this will probably go down as the hardest to write article in some time. The upcoming fall season features a whopping 14 shows to be watched, almost all of which I'm absolutely stoked for. There's new shows, old ones, final seasons, and two new miniseries, which I suppose are somewhere between new shows and old ones. As a little preview, the fourteen shows that are in deliberation are: Narcos, The League, The Bastard Executioner, Survivor, Heroes Reborn, Family Guy, The Leftovers, American Horror Story, The Walking Dead, Fargo, The Knick, Into the Badlands, and The Man in the High Castle. This will also coincide with the end of the Summer shows still airing in Blunt Talk, Fear the Walking Dead, Rick and Morty, and The Strain. Oy Givalt. As excited as I am, this is going to be overwhelming.

So, without further adieu or stupid complaining about the amount of fantastic TV we'll all be subject to in the coming months, here's your Fall Season preview for 2015!


6. The Leftovers Season 2 (HBO) 
The most uplifting show on television is back.

The Leftovers season one was a strange animal. Though the idea was fantastic, many of the actors were great, and it was helmed by Damon Lindelof, the first four or five episodes were so ridiculously depressing it was difficult viewing. As a fan of the slow-burn, mythological TV show, I was willing to stick with Leftovers despite the sadness. In the end, it payed off spectacularly, with the latter half of the season delivering some truly great episodes and concepts. While it wasn't quite the new show to take HBO into the future, The Leftovers still elicits some excitement with the new season airing trailers at long last. It seems our characters will be moving to a town in Texas that claims to have no departures whatsoever. However, as expected, this place will have many problems despite the supposed "miracle," and wherever the Garveys go, trouble will likely follow. Though it falls in sixth place, The Leftovers could still prove itself to be elite television with a strong second showing. I'm certainly rooting for it to succeed, but only time will tell if the show is actually worth getting fully invested in.

 5. The Man in the High Castle Season 1 (Amazon Prime)

This poster outlines the war between Amazon and Netflix.
Amazon Prime is one of the more interesting content producers out right now. Their system of creating several pilots, letting users vote on their favorites, and then producing a few seasons of the top voted shows is quite revolutionary to the way TV is made. The Phillip K. Dick inspired show, The Man in the High Castle has by far the most watched and voted-for pilot ever to be aired on Prime, and it's no secret why. The pilot has just about everything one could ask for in a series. It's interesting and different, already has an established and interesting protagonist, a dark premise, and the possibilities of what could happen in a full season are endless. Thus, after such a good pilot, it's easy to be excited for the full first season of the show. Though it's always possible that the first episode was a good pilot and nothing more, I'll hedge bets that The Man in the High Castle will give Better Call Saul are run for its money for best new drama of the year.


4. The Walking Dead Season 6A (AMC)

Hopefully this goes better than Low Winter Sun for Mr. James.
I've written at length about the fluctuating nature of The Walking Dead. If this show was a politician, it would be ineluctable due to the sheer amount of flip flopping it does. One half season it's some of the best television on, and the next it's a huge mess not worth your time. Nevertheless, with the extremely good quality of season 5B (not to be confused with the awful season 5A,) my interest is once again renewed in the post-apocalyptic zombie drama. With our characters having now converged upon the Alexandria Free Zone, an ostensibly safe haven filled with kind people, for once it's our protagonists that are the ones taking power and putting others in potential danger. Not to mention that Morgan, the fan favorite from the pilot episode of the show is back, seemingly with a new sense of justice, using a kendo stick and refusing to actually kill others rather than just scare them off. All of this combines to make a new season of The Walking Dead that I'm excited to see, despite my fear that it could easily bomb.

 3. The Knick Season 2 (Cinemax)
"Season Twos Aren't Like They Used To Be."
The Knick, without a doubt, was the most underrated show of 2014. The acting was superb, the directing, all by Stephen Soderbergh, was beautiful, and the dark, gritty look at the doctoring world of 1900 was fascinating. The main character, John Thackery, played by Clive Owen, was one of the darkest anti-heroes yet to television, and his drug addiction, now turning to heroin, was a fantastic point to analyze in the show, both for dramatic purposes and for a look at the time period norms. With the second season coming in a little over a month, it'll be interesting to see where the morbid odyssey of perfecting an abortion without killing the mother, race relations, and keeping Knickerbocker hospital alive goes. Should it keep up the quality of the first edition, The Knick could start to be in the conversation for one of the best shows on television.






 2. Survivor Season 31 (CBS)
Get ready for Keith Nale to manipulate everyone.

I'm too goddamn excited for this season. With thirty editions of Survivor now under the belt of CBS, the show has only become stronger and more interesting. And, with the third all-returnee season about to start in just ten days, I could not be any more excited. I've already written about my predictions for the twenty contestants, but really, anything could happen. Some of these players haven't been seen on TV since 2000, while others were here as recently as Survivor: Worlds Apart. Whatever their gender, former season, archetype, etc, all twenty of these people are getting a second chance at winning this game and becoming the 30th winner of the show (counting both of Sandra's wins together.) Much like the premiere of Survivor: Heroes vs Villains, the general strategy will be to slay everyone and trust no one. Then, in the words of Tony Vlachos, get to the "top five, baby," and then, in the words of Survivor: Gabon's Susie, get to that "top three." Though I have personal favorites among the cast, it'll truly be fascinating to see who comes out as first boot, winner, and generally who makes their mark on Survivor in a substantial way.

 1. Fargo Season 2 (FX)
Even without Billy Bob Thornton, I'm still betting on
spectacular television.
I've said it once and I'll say it again, I haven't seen television as good as Fargo since Breaking Bad ended. In only ten episodes, FX's Coen Brothers inspired miniseries got me more obsessed with it than most shows do in three seasons. Everything, from the acting to writing to directing to cinematography to episode titles were just fantastic. With an all new cast, plot, and time period, it'll be a real wonder to see if Fargo lives up to the standards of the first season. Alternatively, it could pull a True Detective and falter in the face of living up to expectation, becoming a shadow of its former self. I like to think that the first option will occur, and Fargo will once again become the best thing on TV. The cast seems up to the task, Noah Hawley is still writing it all, and the directors, especially Wilfred's Randall Einhorn, lined up to direct look great. It'll be hard to get anywhere near the first season in terms of quality, but if anyone could do it, it would be the show that's already done it. Let's see if Fargo is a one-off, or if it truly is the best show on television.

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