With all the streaming and pay TV options these days, network shows rarely cause excitement. The days when all the new shows premiered the week after the Emmy Awards, and you couldn’t catch them all, disappeared years ago. Is there anything that can excite us on the network schedules this year? We were able to squeeze eight possibilities from the 20-or-so that debut between now and the end of the year…
8.) Son of Zorn (Fox)
Premiere: Sept. 11, 7:00 CT
Plot: Animation and live action collide when a cartoon Barbarian dad leaves his war-torn village to re-connect with his moody, non-animated teenage son in suburbia.
Why we were excited: This 30-minute comedy has already premiered, which changes it from something we’re excited about to something we’re cautiously optimistic about. It could easily be a one-joke show that quickly becomes tiresome. And the novelty of it wears off fast, making it just another family sitcom.
7.) Timeless (NBC)
Premiere: Oct. 3, 9:00 CT
Plot: An unlikely trio travels through time to battle unknown criminals in order to protect history as we know it.
Why we’re excited: It sounds like Legends of Tomorrow without superheroes, but is created by Eric Kripke (Supernatural) and Shawn Ryan (The Shield), so hopefully it will have more edge. The one-hour drama stars Malcolm Barrett, Abigail Spencer and Matt Lanter as the heroes and Goran Visnjic as the villain they’re chasing through history.
