Well, how did you enjoy the first day of the fall season? Pretty hectic, right?
It promises to get even more frenetic the next couple of days as we have four new shows trying to elbow their way into a lineup heavy with veteran favorites, including TV's most-watched drama (CBS' NCIS) and the second-season premiere of Fox's hugely successful Empire.
Here are the plucky rookies stepping up to bat today and Wednesday.
TODAY
• Scream Queens, 7 p.m. Fox. Did you like Mean Girls? How about the 1996 Wes Craven cult slasher hit Scream?
I won't even ask about Scream 2, 3 or 4, or the MTV series of the same name.
But if you move Mean Girls from high school to college, throw in a masked serial killer and add a dash of Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story), then you have what's being billed "an over-the-top, biting satire" that is "part black comedy, part slasher flick and a modern take on the classic whodunit."
Is it scary? Not really. Is it funny? Sometimes, but the script needs to rise above cliches.
Season 1 revolves around the entitled sisters of Kappa Tau sorority at (fictional) Wallace University. (Exterior scenes were shot at Tulane University in New Orleans.)
The narcissistic Kappa president is Chanel Oberlin, played by Emma Roberts. Chanel's fawning minions are Chanel No. 2 (guest star Ariana Grande), Chanel No. 3 (Billie Lourd) and Chanel No. 5 (Abigail Breslin).
Don't ask what happened to Chanel No. 4.
Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween) portrays imperious dean Cathy Munsch (perhaps an homage to The Scream artist Edvard Munch), who hates the Kappas and orders them to hold an open pledge week where anyone can join.
Two new pledges are scoliosis-afflicted Hester Ulrich (Lea Michele) and Zayday Williams (Keke Palmer) who has a genius IQ.
Shortly thereafter, a devil costume-clad killer begins slashing his (her?) way across campus. There are plenty of characters who have a motive to be the slasher. Or they could just as easily be the next slashee.
This is an anthology, so Murphy promises that the killer will be revealed in the final episode.
• The Muppets, 7 p.m. ABC. What's to say? It's the Muppets and they're hilarious. Ah, but this new series has a twist.
Styled as a mock documentary, this "more adult" presentation will explore the characters' personal lives and relationships at work (a late-night show starring Miss Piggy) and out in Los Angeles. That includes "romances, breakups, achievements, disappointments, wants and desires."
Starting us off is the gut-wrenching news that Kermit and Miss Piggy have ended their relationship.
•Limitless, 9 p.m. CBS. This is your brain. This is your brain on NZT.
What you should be imagining is the hyperactivity and abilities that occur when a drug allows you to access 100 percent of your brain capacity.
That's what happens when Brian Finch (Jake McDorman) pops a pill and becomes the smartest person on the planet.
Limitless the TV series is based on Limitless, the 2011 movie that starred Bradley Cooper. Cooper will reprise his role in the series as Sen. Edward Morra, "who has plans of his own for his new protege."
In the pilot, there's an NZT-related murder and Finch zips around trying to clear his name. Later, the FBI forces him to use his abilities to help them solve complex cases. Finch is partnered with Agent Rebecca Harris (Dexter's Jennifer Carpenter), who has a dark past and secrets of her own.
As one critic put it, think Person of Interest on drugs, with a side order of White Collar.
Returning vets: NCIS, 7 p.m. CBS; The Voice, 7 p.m. NBC; Fresh off the Boat, 7:30 p.m. ABC; NCIS: New Orleans, 8 p.m. CBS.
WEDNESDAY
• Rosewood, 7 p.m. Fox. Here's proof that you can't simply take pretty, pretty people, plop then in a slick locale (Miami) and expect them to be a hit TV show.
In this case, the pretty people are hunky Morris Chestnut (Nurse Jackie) as Dr. Beaumont Rosewood Jr., and sexy Jaina Lee Ortiz as feisty Detective Annalise Villa, whose outfits always seem inappropriately snug. This is Ortiz's first scripted TV series.
Rosewood drives a classic yellow Pontiac GTO convertible. Yeah, he's that cool. But he's also Miami's top private pathologist and solves more crimes than Quincy thought possible. He also has heart issues that he believes will cut him down within a decade.
Alas, there is precious little chemistry at work here. Hopefully that improves before Fox decides the crime-solving duo isn't working and pulls the plug.
Returning vets: The Mysteries of Laura, 7 p.m. NBC; Survivor, 7 p.m. CBS; The Middle, 7 p.m. ABC; The Goldbergs, 7:30 p.m. (ABC); Empire, 8 p.m. Fox; Law & Order: SVU, NBC; black-ish, 8:30 p.m. ABC; Nashville, 9 p.m. ABC.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:
mstorey@arkansasonline.com
Style on 09/22/2015