TV's best 10

Batman prequel, Debra Messing dramedy among new fall shows

Gotham, from Fox, is getting the lion’s share of pre-season buzz as the best new series. The Batman prequel stars (from left) Robin Lord Taylor, Jada Pinkett Smith, Erin Richards, Zabryna Guevara, Donal Logue, Ben McKenzie, Cory Michael Smith, Camren Bicondova, David Mazouz and Sean Pertwee.
Gotham, from Fox, is getting the lion’s share of pre-season buzz as the best new series. The Batman prequel stars (from left) Robin Lord Taylor, Jada Pinkett Smith, Erin Richards, Zabryna Guevara, Donal Logue, Ben McKenzie, Cory Michael Smith, Camren Bicondova, David Mazouz and Sean Pertwee.

Warm up the DVR, fellow couch potatoes; it's time for the annual fall rollout of TV's freshman class. The 2014-'15 season officially begins Monday.

History tells us that of the 23 hopefuls that debut between September and the middle of November, only four or five will make it to a sophomore season. Some will limp along until May before disappearing; others will drop out before the Christmas break. Maybe one or two will be big enough hits to enjoy long and honored success.

Still, TV keeps plugging away and each new series arrives with all the bells and whistles the network publicity mills can muster.

With the advent of digital recorders, On Demand and other time-shifting viewing methods, it's not as crucial as it once was for a show to be an instant hit. Nonetheless, frugal networks are still quick to pull the plug on a program that shows little promise and send in the subs.

And there are plenty of substitutes already warming the bench. Some are redshirted first-stringers being held back to plug the inevitable holes in the schedule. Others look good on paper but will wait for the less chaotic midseason to shine.

At any rate, between returning favorites and the new stuff, it's always a mad scramble for attention this time of year. Viewers can use all the help they can get to cut through the clutter, and I'm glad to help.

I've been on the TV beat for more than 20 years now and realize it's always a gamble to pass judgment based on a pilot episode alone, but that's what TV critics usually get to work with. We rely

on experience, a program's pedigree and the occasional Magic 8 Ball. You'd be surprised how many times that works as well as anything else.

That said, here are my Top 10 must-see recommendations for the new fall season. By all means, record any new show that appears promising, but be sure to at least check out these 10. I enjoyed them all and plan to add them to my weekly DVR schedule.

FALL TV's TOP 10

Fox's delightful Red Band Society debuted at 8 p.m. Thursday and we featured it in Sunday's TV Week insert. That new series is definitely in my Top 10.

That leaves nine others to round out the list. Here they are for your consideration in order of preference.

1. Gotham, 7 p.m. Monday (Fox). This is a sort of prequel to the familiar Batman landscape. Southland's Ben McKenzie stars as future Gotham police commissioner Jim Gordon. Here he's a younger police detective partnered with the cynical Det. Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue).

Their first case is the brutal murder of the parents of young Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz). We all know how that affected Bruce in later years when he became Batman.

Lavishly cinematic in a distinctive noir style, the series also stars Jada Pinkett Smith as gang boss Fish Moony, and reveals the origins of Catwoman (Carmen Bicondova), the Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) and the Riddler (Cory Michael Smith).

Gotham scored the coveted preseason "Most Promising New Program" vote from the Television Critics Association and I heartily agree with my fellow TCA members.

2. Jane the Virgin, 8 p.m. Oct. 13 (The CW). Based on a Venezuelan telenovela, this will be your favorite new comedy-drama. It's the best telenova adaptation since Ugly Betty and stars delightful 30-year-old Gina Rodriguez (The Bold and the Beautiful) in the title role.

The premise: Jane Villanueva is, indeed, a virgin. The religious and effervescent 23-year-old waitress works in a luxury Miami hotel. One day during a routine examination she is accidentally artificially inseminated by her gynecologist with a specimen meant for the woman in the next room. And the baby daddy just happens to be Jane's married new boss and former summer crush.

What to do now? And what will Jane's fiance do? Prepare to laugh along.

3. Black-ish, 8:30 p.m. Wednesday (ABC). Versatile comedian Anthony Anderson (Treme) stars as Andre "Dre" Johnson, a black family man who is determined to instill a sense of black culture in his four kids who, he fears, have no ethnic identity in their middle-class suburban lives.

Example: Dre's son Andre prefers to be called Andy and wants a bar mitzvah (they're not Jewish) so he can have a party.

Tracee Ellis Ross (Diana Ross' daughter and star of Girlfriends) portrays Dre's biracial wife, Rainbow, and the incomparable Laurence Fishburne stars as Dre's father, Pops.

Bonus points: Although a comedy, the series has a lot to say about race and society.

4. Gracepoint, 8 p.m. Oct. 2 (Fox). Inspired by the outstanding British crime drama Broadchurch, Gracepoint is a 10-episode limited series that follows the murder of a 12-year-old boy in an idyllic seaside town in northern California.

It's a small town with big secrets. Suspect everyone.

The series features David Tennant (Doctor Who) reprising his role of lead Detective Emmett Carver from the British version. His partner is the Emmy-winning Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad) as Detective Ellie Miller.

Also on board are Nick Nolte, Michael Pena, Jacki Weaver and Kevin Rankin.

The series will keep you guessing. If you happened to have seen Broadchurch, watch Gracepoint anyway. The producers promise several significant differences.

5. How to Get Away With Murder, 9 p.m. Thursday (ABC). This legal thriller is the latest from master producer Shonda Rhimes (Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Scandal) and stars the marvelous Viola Davis (The Help) as "the brilliant, charismatic and seductive" Annalise Keating, a legendary defense lawyer and fearless criminal law professor.

Keating represents the most hardened criminals -- people who've committed everything from fraud to murder. She seems to have it all. She also has secrets.

An overachieving group of her top students is chosen to work with Keating at her firm and all become involved in a murder plot that has plenty of twists and turns. Little do the four know that they will have to apply what they learned to real life.

6. Scorpion, 8 p.m. Monday (CBS). Based on the experiences of eccentric real-world computer genius Walter O'Brien, this smart, fast-paced comedy-drama follows the adventures of a team of socially awkward geeks who band together to help Homeland Security fend off evildoers.

Katharine McPhee plays a waitress and single mom to a special kid acting as a sort of liaison between the team of nerds and the real world. Robert Patrick portrays gruff federal agent Cabe Gallo.

7. A to Z, 8:30 p.m. Oct. 2 (NBC). If you enjoy romantic comedies, this witty offering will be just the thing. A to Z follows a budding relationship from beginning to end.

A and Z also stand for Andrew Lofland (Ben Feldman, Mad Men) and Zelda Vasco (Cristin Milioti, the mother in How I Met Your Mother). He's a guy's guy and secret romantic. She's a no-nonsense lawyer who likes to be in control and prefers online dating.

Andrew works at Wallflower Online Dating and meets Zelda when she comes in to fix a glitch in her profile. Sparks fly. Is it chance or fate?

The couple will date for eight months, three weeks, five days and one hour.

Katey Sagal (Sons of Anarchy) narrates.

8. The Mysteries of Laura, 7 p.m. Wednesday (NBC). This series actually had two "special previews" last week, but officially begins Wednesday with the second episode. You can read the cover story in today's TV Week insert, but here's what you need to know in two words: Debra Messing.

I love Messing. Her charm and versatility have kept her in memorable roles over the years -- Grace Adler in Will & Grace, Molly Kagan in The Starter Wife, and Julia Houston in Smash.

Now Messing is back in this promising comedy-drama as "brassy, disheveled" Laura Diamond, a brilliant, Columbo-esque New York homicide detective by day and frazzled mother of twin boys by night. She's also dealing with her husband, Jake Broderick, who just can't bring himself to sign the divorce papers. Jake also happens to be her boss.

Local connection: Jake is played by Josh Lucas (Sweet Home Alabama, A Beautiful Mind, Glory Road). The 43-year-old Lucas is a Little Rock native who grew up in several Southern cities and headed to Hollywood after high school.

9. Madam Secretary, 7:30 p.m. today (CBS). Speaking of old favorites, Tea Leoni (The Naked Truth) is back as Elizabeth McCord, a former CIA analyst appointed by the president (Keith Carradine) to be secretary of state following the suspicious death of her predecessor.

The president values McCord's shrewd and stubborn apolitical leanings, her deep knowledge of the Middle East, her flair for languages and her ability to not just think inside the box. All that comes in handy in the minefield that is Washington.

Meanwhile, back at home are her supportive husband, Henry (fan favorite Tim Daly, Wings, Private Practice), and their two kids. Home is where politics and compromise take on new meanings.

If you enjoy watching strong women in leading roles, Madam Secretary is the drama for you.

Added bonus: Bebe Neuwirth (Frasier) stars as Nadine Tolliver, McCord's chief of staff.

Style on 09/21/2014

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