We're into October now, fellow TV lovers, and the new fall season rollout has finally begun to slow down.
There are finally no new or returning shows Wednesday. That night's schedule is now set except for The CW's new lineup that comes next week. Tonight, however, all the action is on ABC, with a couple of new series arriving and three veterans returning.
Here's a look at the two new shows.
• The Mayor debuts at 8:30 p.m. and is getting a lot of worthy preseason buzz for Brandon Micheal Hall, He plays Courtney Rose, a 27-year-old rapper who accidentally gets elected mayor of his northern California hometown, Fort Grey -- population 32,184.
No one was more shocked than Courtney, who only ran for office as a publicity stunt to boost his lagging rap career.
The voters, however, noted Courtney's charisma and optimism and the fact he was a political outsider. He has the smarts, the swagger and the creativity for the job, but can he pull it off?
Every good politician knows to surround himself with the best advisers available and Courtney has the right team. Sort of.
Courtney's No. 1 supporter is his mom, Dina Rose (the delightful Yvette Nicole Brown, Community), who keeps a sharp eye on her son as well as his two "aides."
Courtney's best buds since high school are his fundraiser, Jermaine Leforge (Bernard David Jones), and press secretary, T.K. Clifton (Marcel Spears).
Glee alumna Lea Michele plays the no-nonsense, politically savvy Valentina Barella, former campaign manager for the losing candidate, Councilman Ed Gunt (David Spade). She now serves Courtney as his chief of staff.
The Mayor will air after black-ish and give ABC a solid hour of comedies with predominantly black casts that occasionally delve into deeper societal messages. Those frequently divisive topics can often be better examined with humor than in a drama.
The Mayor is a sweet, charming comedy with witty dialogue that makes subtle -- and very funny -- commentary on the current state of American politics.
• Kevin (Probably) Saves the World, 9 p.m. This promising hour comedy/drama stars Jason Ritter (Parenthood) as Kevin Finn, a depressed and depressing fellow on a downward spiral after an attempted suicide that followed being fired and having his girlfriend dump him.
Kevin shambles back to his childhood home in Texas to regroup "for just a couple of days" with his widowed twin sister, Amy Cabrera (JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Reba), and his troubled teenage niece, Reese (Chloe East, True Blood).
Reese, besides having the usual debilitating malaise of just being a teenager, is still in mourning over the death of her father.
The family reunion is strained, but then (deus ex machina) a meteorite crashes nearby and (surprise!) Kevin meets his feisty celestial guide and guardian, Yvette (Kimberly Hebert Gregory, HBO's Vice Principals). She insists she isn't an angel, but rather "a warrior for God."
Only Kevin can see Yvette. She's kind of like that giant rabbit in Harvey.
Yvette was sent to Earth with a mission from God. It turns out that the unlikely Kevin is the last of 36 righteous souls needed in each generation to protect the world. Kevin's task is to find and anoint 35 new righteous to save Earth.
It'll be a challenge.
The 37-year-old Ritter, who first came to my attention on Joan of Arcadia, is the son of the late legendary actor John Ritter. Like his father, Jason nicely balances the comedic and dramatic in his roles. In addition, Gregory is perfectly cast as the sassy Yvette.
I found the series heartwarming and even a little inspiring. I suggest you check this one out.
RETURNING TONIGHT
These ABC shows will all be back tonight with fresh episodes.
• The Middle, 7 p.m. Season 9 will be a wrap for the network's workhorse sitcom and the Heck family. The creators wanted to bail out while they still had stories to tell and before the kids got too old.
• Fresh Off the Boat, 7:30 p.m. Season 4 for Eddie and the rest of the Huang family.
• black-ish, 8 p.m. Season 4. Did you ever wonder why the title is lowercase and hyphenated? It's how it'd appear in a dictionary and the dad on the show, Dre (Anthony Anderson), used the term in the first episode. He was expressing concern that his kids were losing their cultural heritage by growing up in a predominantly white neighborhood.
"All right, listen up," Dre says to the family. "I may have to be 'urban' at work, but I'm still going to need my family to be black, not black-ish, but black."
Now you know.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:
mstorey@arkansasonline.com
Style on 10/03/2017