It'll be a busy next couple of days on TV, with four new series debuting and 14 fan favorites returning from summer vacation. Let's get right to the new stuff, which (sigh) includes yet another police procedural and another doctor show.
Granted, cops and docs have been TV staples since the beginning. More than 300 crime/police dramas and almost 150 doctor/hospital shows have aired over the years. The first successful cop show was Dragnet (NBC, 1951--1959), and the medical series was City Hospital (CBS, 1952-53).
So much for originality.
Let's begin with the one new series in this list that promises a hint of something fresh.
• A Million Little Things, 9 p.m. Wednesday on ABC. This large ensemble drama follows a group of Boston friends who bond after one of them dies by suicide. The death is a collective wake-up call that it's time to get off their butts and start living life.
Some in the group have apparently achieved success, while others are still struggling with their careers. The one thing they have in common is that they all feel as if they're in a rut.
ABC tells us that "along the way, they discover that friends may be the one thing to save them from themselves." ABC is going for a This Is Us vibe, so keep the tissues handy.
The large cast includes David Giuntoli, Ron Livingston, Romany Malco, Allison Miller, Christina Moses, Christina Ochoa, Grace Park, James Roday, Stephanie Szostak and Lizzy Greene.
• Single Parents, 8:30 p.m. Wednesday on ABC. This is being billed as ABC's "edgy" family comedy. It deals with a group of single parents who meet Will (Taran Killam, Saturday Night Live) and decide to help him learn that "being a great parent doesn't mean sacrificing everything about your own identity."
The large ensemble includes Leighton Meester, Kimrie Lewis, Jake Choi, Marlow Barkley, Tyler Wladis, Devin Trey Campbell, Mia Allen, Ella Allen and Brad Garrett.
• FBI, 8 p.m. today on CBS. The title says all you need to know about this police procedural that breaks no new ground. The series comes from the ubiquitous Dick Wolf (Law & Order, all the Chicago shows) and follows the crime-busting adventures of the New York office of the FBI.
Wolf plans to keep the series apolitical, however, he told TV critics in July that "many agents in the past couple of years have told me they feel under-appreciated for what the real work is."
The cast includes Missy Peregrym (Rookie Blue), Jeremy Sisto (Suburgatory), Zeeko Zaki (24: Legacy) and Ebonee Noel (Wrecked).
• New Amsterdam, 9 p.m. today on NBC. Here's your new medical series. New Amsterdam is an understaffed and underfunded (fictional) hospital based on New York's Bellevue, America's oldest public hospital.
The series stars Ryan Eggold (90210, The Blacklist) as "the brilliant and charming" Dr. Max Goodwin, the new medical director, who sets out to stir things up, baffle the bureaucracy and concentrate on the patients.
Hmmm. Crusading hospital guy. Sounds familiar.
The cast includes English actresses Freema Agyeman and Janet Montgomery, Indian actor Anupam Kher, Canadian Tyler Labine and Jocko Sims.
NBC has high hopes because the series has been given the coveted slot after This Is Us.
RETURNING SHOWS
Today:
• The Gifted, 7 p.m. on Fox. Season 2 for the family adventure starring kids with mutant powers.
• NCIS, 7 p.m. on CBS. Cops. Season 16 for TV's top drama. Diona Reasonover replaces Pauley Perrettein the lab.
• Lethal Weapon, 8 p.m. on Fox. Cops. Season 3 finds series former co-star Clayne Crawford fired and SeannWilliam Scott joining as a new character named Wesley Cole.
• This Is Us, 8 p.m. on NBC. As Season 3 arrives, we finally know how Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) died and we've all tossed out our old slow cookers.
• NCIS: New Orleans, 9 p.m. on CBS. Cops Scott Bakula and crew soldier on in Season 5.
Wednesday:
• Survivor: David vs. Goliath, 7 p.m. on CBS (90 minutes). Season 37 (!) is again set in Fiji and will have two tribes comprised "of those who come from a place of privilege and those who have scratched and clawed their way through life."
• Chicago Med, 7 p.m. on NBC. Season 4. Docs.
• Empire, 7 p.m. on Fox. Season 5. The Lyons fight back because "you can't keep Cookie down."
• The Goldbergs, 7 p.m. on ABC. Season 6.
• American Housewife, 7:30 p.m. on ABC. Season 3.
• Chicago Fire, 8 p.m. on NBC. Season 7. Firemen.
• Star, 8 p.m. on Fox. Season 3 for the Empire spinoff.
• Modern Family, 8 p.m. on ABC. Season 10 (!). Be forewarned: A "significant" character will die this season.
• Chicago P.D., 9 p.m. on NBC. Season 6. Cops.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:
mstorey@arkansasonline.com
Style on 09/25/2018