The new TV season begins Monday, and it's deja vu all over again.
Did you like Danny Glover and Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon? We have a TV version of that. How about Kevin James in The King of Queens? James has essentially a new version of his old show with a different title and some minor tweaks.
Did you like Richard Dean Anderson in MacGyver? There's a remake of that starring a fellow 10 years younger than Anderson was when his series began.
Did you like Michael Weatherly in NCIS? Well, he's back with a new show based on the early career of Dr. Phil. Yes, that Dr. Phil.
Did you enjoy The Time Tunnel back in the day (1966)? We have a modern twist on that with Timeless.
The Exorcist? Yep, there's a TV version of that, too.
Gee, even Matt LeBlanc is back trying to head his own sitcom again. Remember Joey? I'm betting even LeBlanc hopes you don't.
Is the point here that there is a woeful lack of imagination in Hollywood? Maybe, but my guess is that with so many choices and a fractured audience, the networks just want something familiar that maybe will get a few more eyeballs to tune in.
It's hard to stand out in the crowd when almost 50 new and returning shows hit the airwaves this week. The TV Column will take them up as they come, breaking the introductions down into smaller, more digestible units.
First of all, there's tonight when TV is pausing to honor the best and brightest from last season. See today's Style section front for my Emmy predictions.
Ignoring the Emmys, CBS launches Part 1 of its six-hour miniseries The Case Of: JonBenet Ramsey at 7:30 p.m. today. The docudrama examines the unsolved 1996 murder of the 6-year-old beauty pageant participant.
The series continues at 8 p.m. Monday and wraps up at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 25.
Monday brings two new series and the return of four veteran favorites. Here's the info.
NEW MONDAY
• The Good Place, 9 p.m. NBC. This is actually a sneak peek following the new season debut of The Voice. NBC will promote The Good Place heavily during The Voice in the hope that millions will hang around to check it out instead of switching over to the second episode of Dancing With the Stars on ABC (which begins at 8 p.m.).
Make a note: The Good Place is one of the best new comedies on the schedule.
The comedy stars fan favorites Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars, House of Lies) and Ted Danson (Cheers, Becker, CSI, Fargo) and comes from Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine co-creator Mike Schur.
It tells the tale of Eleanor Shellstrop (Bell), a telemarketer who bilked senior citizens, who finds herself dead and mistakenly sent to the Good Place instead of, well, the Bad Place, where she belongs.
Danson is Michael -- maybe an angel, maybe not. He's described as "the architect" of the Good Place neighborhood who has mistakenly allowed Eleanor in. She's determined to fake it until she makes it by hiding in plain sight. Comedy ensues.
This is a high-concept series full of witty satire, pop culture references and wacky characters that'll win your heart.
The Good Place will only have 13 episodes the first season and debuts in its regular time slot at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
• Kevin Can Wait, 7:30 p.m., CBS. As stated above, this new comedy is basically a rehash of The King of Queens. James has moved from Queens to Long Island; he's a retired cop instead of a deliveryman; he's still fat and there are lots of fat jokes; he still has a hot wife and wacky buddies.
See today's TV Week insert cover story for more information on Kevin Can Wait.
RETURNING MONDAY
• The Big Bang Theory, 7 p.m., CBS. It's Season 10 and the best comedy on TV is still going strong. When last we saw them, Leonard's father, Alfred (Judd Hirsch), and Sheldon's mother, Mary (Laurie Metcalf), had hit it off just a little too well. What now?
• Gotham, 7 p.m., Fox. Season 3 begins with Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) heading off to find Lee Thompkins (Morena Baccarin) while the city struggles with an influx of escaped patients of Hugo Strange (BD Wong).
• The Voice, 7 p.m., NBC. Miley Cyrus and Alicia Keys join fellow judges Adam Levine and Blake Shelton.
• Lucifer, 8 p.m., Fox. If you believe the bored "Lord of Hell" is TV fodder, then this comedy/drama police procedural is for you. In Season 2, Lucifer's (Tom Ellis) mom (Tricia Helfer) has escaped from hell. What now?
Tuesday: A look at CBS' problematic new Michael Weatherly series, Bull, and the interesting NBC drama This Is Us.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:
mstorey@arkansasonline.com
Style on 09/18/2016