What I'm Watching in the 2018/2019 TV Season (with a LOT of asterisks)

It took me forever to make this season's list. While I believe we're in a golden age of TV, it horribly difficult to plan how I'm going to watch these shows. I don't have cable, so I don't have a DVR that I can just set and and watch. I've got to keep up with everything I want to watch by adding them to their various network app watchlists, hope they don't mysteriously disappear (I'm looking at you, Hulu), and keep track with what episodes I have or haven't seen because sometimes I can't watch them right away.

So this is going to be a weird list. I'll start it off with the standard season list, go into the weird releases, then hit the random streaming stuff I want to get to. Because of the aforementioned breakdown of the conventional TV season, some of these programs have already started, or have just ended. Some won't start until sometime in 2019. Whatever. Enjoy!

Standard 2018-2019 TV Season (Thank you Wikipedia)

ABC
The Kids Are Alright
Splitting Up Together (review from the first season = meh)
The Rookie (I loves me some Nathan Fillion, so I'm really looking forward to this one)
Modern Family
Single Parents (Best quote from the trailer: "We're single parents. We don't volunteer. We just try and survive until a time in the day when it's appropriate to open wine." Amen, sister friend.
A Million Little Things (I am totally watching this because of James Roday)
Whiskey Cavalier
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The CW
Legends of Tomorrow
Arrow
Flash
Black Lightning
Supernatural
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Sueprgirl
iZombie

Fox
9-1-1
The Gifted
Bob's Burgers
Family Guy
The Passage
The Orville
Gotham
Cosmos

NBC
Manifest
This is Us
Superstore
The Good Place
I Feel Bad
Midnight, Texas
Abby's
The Blacklist
Good Girls
A.P. Bio
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Timeless

Cable Networks

AMC
Walking Dead
Fear the Walking Dead
Preacher
NOS4A2

Disney XD
Star vs. the Forces of Evil

IFC
Brockmire

TBS
Detour
Guest Book

TNT
Alienist

USA
The Sinner

Syfy
Nightflyers
Happy!
Krypton
Wynonna Earp

FX
What We Do in the Shadows
Legion
Mayans MC
American Horror Story
Atlanta
Better Things
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
You're the Worst
Archer

Freeform
Cloak and Dagger
Alone Together

Cartoon Network
Rick and Morty

AT&T Audience
Mr. Mercedes

Premium Cable Networks

Showtime
Billions
Homeland
I'm Dying Up Here
Shameless
SMILF
Kidding
City on a Hill
Black Monday

HBO
The Deuce
Ballers
Last Week Tonight
Barry
Crashing
Camping
Watchmen
Divorce
True Detective
Silicon Valley
New Pope
Game of Thrones
Big LIttle Lies
Veep

Starz
American Gods
Counterpart

Cinemax
C.B. Strike (yeah, this isn't new, but I just learned it's an adaption of J.K. Rowling's Corman Strike novels)
Outcast

Streaming

Hulu
Castle Rock
Future Man
Runaways
I Love You America
Into the Dark

Netflix
Atypical
Iron Fist
Punisher
Jessica Jones
The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmit
Easy
Santa Clarita Diet
Glow
Friends from College
Lucifer
Designated Survivor
Stranger Things
The OA
Ozark
Haunting of Hill House
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Narcos: Mexico
Daredevil
Bojack Horseman
Castlevania
Big Mouth
Umbrella Academy
Black Mirror
Arrested Development

DC Universe
Doom Patrol
Swamp Thing
Stargirl

Amazon Prime
Jack Ryan
Man in the High Castle
Sneaky Pete
Homecoming
Marvelous Mrs. Mazel
Good Omens
Too Old to Die Young
Carnival Row

So, if you were brave enough to make it through this list, you'll notice that there are shows listed that have already come and gone. I included late summer/early fall shows. This whole thing was pretty nerve wracking for me. I had to take a nap after finishing it. Not really, naps make me cranky. 

What I'm Watching in the 2017/2018 TV Season (with a LOT of asterisks)

After not doing a "What I'm Watching This Season" post for the past couple of years, I thought I'd give it another try this year. Previously, when I had cable and limitations, it was easy. I'd have a set schedule, plug in the shows I want to watch, and there you go. I could watch one show live, and depending on how long ago this was, I could record another show that aired at the same time, either on my VCR or later on my DVR.

Things have changed, though. I no longer have cable; I stream everything. This means that except for the rare occasion (HBO), I can't watch a show until the day after it airs. I'm perfectly fine with that. I'm also not limited by the constraints of a recording device. If I want to watch 10 shows that air at the same time, I can do that...because I don't watch them as they air. Because of that and with streaming and on-demand access and the standard fall-to-spring "season" gradually breaking down, it's more difficult to make a list.

So this is going to be a weird list. I'll start it off with the standard season list, go into the weird releases, then hit the random streaming stuff I want to get to. Because of the aforementioned breakdown of the conventional TV season, some of these programs have already started, or have just ended. Some won't start until sometime in 2018. Whatever. Enjoy!

Standard 2017-2018 TV Season (Thank you Wikipedia)

ABC
Modern Family
Designated Survivor
Inhumans (ComicBookMovie.com is already reporting that the show is cancelled before it even airs)
Agents of SHIELD
Splitting Up Together,
Alex, Inc.

NBC
This is Us
Blacklist
Superstore
The Good Place
Will & Grace (maybe...I gave up on this midway through the original series, not sure if I want to pick it back up)
Great News
Timeless
Rise (I like Jason Katims' previous stuff)
Reverie (I have no idea what it's about, but Sarah Shahi and Dennis Haysbert? Sold.)
Good Girls
Champions
A.P. Bio
Trial & Error

Fox
Ghosted
Family Guy
The Last Man on Earth
Bob's Burgers
Lucifer
The Gifted
The Mick
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Gotham
The Orville
The Exorcist
X-Files (I absolutely HATED the most recent season, but I like Anderson and Duchovny, so...)
New Girl

The CW
Supergirl
Flash
Legends of Tomorrow
Supernatural
Arrow
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Black Lightning
iZombie

ALL of the OTHER stuff:

AMC
The Walking Dead
Fear the Walking Dead
Preacher
Loaded

HBO
Ballers
Crashing
The Deuce
Divorce
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Room 104 (Very meh on this right now)
Silicon Valley
True Detective
Veep
Westworld
Sharp Objects
Barry

Syfy
Dark Matter
Wynonna Earp
Con Man

Netflix
Documentary Now!
Atypical
Gypsy
Friends from College
Narcos
Bloodline
Bojack Horseman
Arrested Development
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Sense8
Punisher
Black Mirror
Jessica Jones
Stranger Things
Santa Clarita Diet
13 Reasons Why

Hulu
Locke & Key
Welcome to Sweden
The Mindy Project
The Handmaid's Tale
Casual
The Path
Chance

Cartoon Network
Rick and Morty
Robot Chicken

FX
American Horror Story: Cult
You're the Worst
Better Things
Archer
Legion
Atlanta
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Starz
The Girlfriend Experience
American Gods
Ash vs. the Evil Dead

TBS
Angie Tribeca
The Detour
The Guest Book

Amazon
Comrade Detective
Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan
Catastrophe
Sneaky Pete

Spike
The Mist

Cinemax
Outcast

DirecTV
Mr. Mercedes

TV Land
Teachers
The Jim Gaffigan Show

CBS shows I'll eventually watch once they're on something other than CBS's pay-to-watch app
Big Bang Theory (I'm a season or two behind)
Star Trek Discovery
SEAL Team
Elementary
The Odd Couple

Shows I eventually want to watch but I haven't even started yet, or I started but never finished:

Carnivale
The Comeback
Curb Your Enthusiasm
The 100
Six Fee Under
Treme
Better Call Saul
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
The Strain
Fargo
The Americans
Broad City
Gravity Falls
Stephen Universe
Star vs. the Forces of Evil
Continuum
Mad Men
Gracepoint
Broadchurch
Portlandia
Doctor Who
Orphan Black
Mr. Robot

Can the Structure of Network Television Completely Change?

Let's have a discussion about TV.

I'm going to throw out a bunch of crazy ideas, and let's talk about them.

I like TV. I LOVE great TV shows. I hate being a TV lover during the summer. Why? Because the landscape of network television is nothing but a sea of reality shows and reruns, sparsely dotted with islands of original programming provided by cable and premium networks.

As I think about the summers of my youth, lo the many years ago, I remember the summers as a time for reruns. You could catch up on many of the episodes of your favorite shows that you might have missed for some reason during the normal "season."

But that's not necessarily the case anymore (same basic outline with occasional changes to the details), and really, I don't think it SHOULD be the case. At least from my point of view (a viewer, not a network exec or an advertiser or an actor), I think that method of programming should be totally scrapped.

Will it ever be feasible for the major networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and, to a lesser extenet, The CW) to adopt a similar programming schedule as cable and premium networks (FX, AMC, A&E, HBO, Showtime, etc.)? If so, what would this mean? Would sweeps months disappear? Would reruns? With Netflix, Hulu and network website streaming, is there even a need to air reruns? Would it be possible to for a network to air 22-24 consecutive weekly episodes of a show, then replace that timeslot with a different show? They already do this with reality television, and channels such as FX, AMC, HBO, Showtime, etc. do it with episodics. Over the past 5-10 years, we've already started to see the breakdown of the standard television viewing season, September-May. Would a system like this force a network to choose their shows more carefully rather than just greenlighting a ton of shows, throwing them on air and seeing what sticks? Would the networks have to have faith in their programming choices and allow a show to build an audience rather than canceling a show after one episode of less-than-pleasing ratings? Or would this scare network execs and we'd only get statistically "safe" shows, more Chuck Lorre produced sitcoms and less Community or Parks & Rec, more CSI spin-offs and less Firefly or Fringe. How would this affect advertisers? Hell, how would this affect actors? The shows we see this happening to now have an average of 13 episodes per season. Would networks shorten their episode loads in order to save their actors from burnout, and would this in turn force writers to tighten story arcs and give the viewers more "meat" and less "filler"?

Could a plan like this actually make TV better (imagine a TV landscape where EVERYTHING is on par with Justified or Mad Men). Could it make TV worse (playing it safe rather than taking chances). Would it change anything at all? Or will the major networks forever be content letting the FXes and AMCs take all the risks, even if it means never being able to take credit for the next critically acclaimed masterpiece?

I know there are only a handful of people who occasionally glance at this blog, but I'd like to get as much of a discussion going about this as possible. I'm not saying WE could effect any change, but it'd be nice to know that I'm not the only person who has thought about this.

I Don't EVEN Know Where to Begin

So, obviously, regular updates of the blog aren't going to happen. Between work being hectic at times and wanting to do nothing but crash once the kids are in bed, I haven't even thought of this thing since the end of June.

I'm going to get back into it, but I'm making no promises as to the frequency of posts, let alone a posting schedule. Hell, September is crazy busy for me. I'll be announcing for two marching band contests, I've got a beer fest to go to (hard life, I know), and a wedding to attend. That might not sound like a lot, but the only free time I ever get is every other weekend and that's not even guaranteed.

I'll TRY to post once a week, but like I said, I make no promises.

I'm just going to throw a bunch of stuff at you. Things I saw, things I liked, things I'm looking forward to, stuff like that.

MOVIES

First off, because it's fresh, is Red State. This is the most un-Kevin Smith Kevin Smith movie I've ever seen, and I've seen Gigli and Jersey Girl. It was a good movie, but man, it was hard to watch, and I wasn't expecting that. The violence is graphic and extremely believable, and that always makes it more difficult to watch. And there was one scene where this little girl, about 3 or 4 years old, the same age as my youngest son, and she was just howling, crying these little kid sobs because of what she had just seen. As a parent, it hit me hard. This wasn't a movie that I enjoyed watching, but I'm not upset that I spent the time to watch it. The acting was good, as was the story, although I'm not really sure it had much of a point. There was no happy ending here, there were no winners, and I don't think there were any good guys. Had I not known Kevin Smith wrote and directed it, I never would have guessed it.



MUSIC

I've got a new jam, homies. It's "Thrift Shop," by Macklemore. I don't know why I listened to this song the first time. Maybe a recommendation somewhere on Reddit? Whatever the reason, I love the song, and I immediately hit up Spotify and listened to all of his stuff that's available on there. This guy is awesome. This is the type of hip hop that I like. Give me more of this guy, Childish Gambino, and the Flobots.

















Now, even with all my new-found love for Macklemore, I can't forget my Scottish rock overlords Biffy Clyro. They dropped a new song, "Stingin' Belle," and the new album will be available for preorder on Sept. 17. If this new song is any indication, the new CD will be as good as if not better than Only Revolutions.



Bleu has a new song out! Here it is!



Seth Timbs and the Hot New Singles has (have?) a little EP out. The songs apparently aren't new, but that doesn't mean they aren't good and totally worth your $3.99.


honeyhoney has moved to Nashville. What are the chances I'll randomly run into Suzanne Santo, enthrall her with wit and chivalry, and we fall madly in love? Probably not all that great, right? Well, a guy can dream.


COMIC BOOKS

I might have mentioned it before, but I'm just getting back into collecting comics. I've never fully left the hobby, keeping up with titles through websites and message boards, but I've started rebuilding my collection in the past year or so. I now have roughly 1/5 the number of comics I had when I first sold them all (just shy of 1,200 as opposed to the 5,600 I used to have). With DC's revamp and Marvel's upcoming "revamp," I'm really streamlining my new purchases. I'm trying to get out of my old habit of sticking with a title in the hopes that it gets better even though I haven't enjoyed it for awhile. The main offenders of that little problem have been Avengers and New Avengers. I love Brian Michael Bendis' writing, but since AVX has begun, these two titles have been shit. Absolute shit. In truth, the whole crossover has been shit. There has been little to no continuity between the main series and the tie-ins. There have been some great moments, sure, but as a whole I'm extremely disappointed in it.

My hold box currently looks like this:

Batman
Anything having to do with Locke & Key
The Boys
Avengers Assemble
Avengers vs. X-Men (I know, I know)
Avengers
New Avengers
Amazing Spider-Man
Wolverine & the X-Men
X-Factor
Invincible Iron Man
Journey into Mystery
Uncanny X-Force
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man
The Shade
Dark Avengers
Spider-Men

The Boys is almost over, and The Shade and Spider-Men are ending this week and next week respectively. Locke & Key begins its final mini-series next month, I believe. Here's what's going to happen when Marvel NOW gets ramped up:

Dropping Avengers Assemble when Bendis leaves, and I'm sticking with Avengers and New Avengers until Bendis wraps them up. I'm sticking with Invincible Iron Man through its demise, and I'm dropping Journey into Mystery when Gillen leaves. I haven no idea if Uncanny X-Force is continuing or not. If it is, I'll stick with it as long as Remender stays on the book, but with him going on to Uncanny Avengers and Captain America, I don't see that happening.

I'm going to be adding All-New X-Men (crossing my fingers that Bendis will be awesome with a book that's new for him) to my pull list, and I'm going to give Uncanny Avengers a try. Truthfully, though, the preview artwork by Cassaday I've seen isn't all that great.

I'm excited about attending the Nashville Horror and Comic Festival next month. I've already got a stack of comics I'm going to get autographed.

TV

This is the best time of the year. New TV season, yay!!! Here's my tentative schedule:

Sunday

7:00 Simpsons

8:00 Dexter, Family Guy, Boardwalk Empire

9:00 666 Park Ave., Walking Dead, Homeland

Monday

7:00 How I Met Your Mother, Bones

8:00 Mob Doctor

9:00 Castle

Tuesday

7:00 Raising Hope

7:30 Ben and Kate

8:00 Happy Endings, Go On, New Girl, White Collar

8:30 The Mindy Project

9:00 Covert Affairs, Sons of Anarchy

Wednesday

7:00 Animal Practice

7:30 Suburgatory

8:00 Modern Family, Supernatural

9:00 Nashville, American Horror Story, Soup

Thursday

7:00 Last Resort, 30 Rock, Big Bang Theory

8:00 Office, Person of Interest

8:30 Parks and Recreation

9:00 Elementary, Archer

9:30 The League

11:00 Childrens Hospital

Friday

7:30 Community

8:00 Fringe

Saturday

8:00 Doctor Who

Right now I'm catching up on Parenthood. I'm almost done with the second season. For me, this is a show I have no desire to watch live or DVR, but I'm loving it on Netflix.

BEER

Right now I'm 24 beers away from getting my plate at The Flying Saucer. Eight more visits. My plan right now is to hit the mark a couple weeks before my birthday. That way, I'll be able to have my plate party and combine it with my birthday, the end of the world (the Mayans were right!) and the Winter Solstice. At least, that's the plan. It all hinges on actually being able to visit the Saucer when I'm supposed to.

This is my mostly complete beer list.

MISCELLANEOUS

I've been introduced to Reddit. No good will come of this.

My kids' old babysitter has a new side business up-and-running. They make covers for daycare sleep mats. They're kind of awesome. Order one now!

What You Should Have Watched #17

My Final Thoughts 
on the 2011-2012 Season

If you want a quick refresher, here were my plans at the beginning of the regular TV season that just ended, and here are my thoughts about how it started.

So, what changed between last August and now? Out of the 50 shows I had listed (which didn’t include Mad Men or any of the premium cable shows like Game of Thrones, Californication, etc.), I either dropped or totally ignored 11 of them. A couple (Glee, Burn Notice) were shows I had watched for a while but lost interest in by the end of the season’s premiere. Some (Grimm, Once Upon a Time, Ringer) had me deleting the show before the series premiere was halfway done. Alcatraz is still on my DVR. All of it. I don’t have the heart to delete it without watching the first episode, but I find myself not caring about it, especially since it was cancelled.

Most of the old stuff was solid this year. Shows like Family Guy, How I Met Your Mother, Modern Family, and The Office were reliable. Some good episodes, some bad, but nothing earth-shatteringly great or awful.

Some shows, however, were incredible each and every week. Fringe and Castle didn’t let me down at all. I loved the way Fringe successfully did somewhat of a soft reboot of the show. I loved how the will-they/won’t-they interplay between Olivia and Peter had to be revisited. I loved Walter. I can totally understand why this show isn’t a ratings hit, because it’s not something that you can really casually watch. I am happy that the show is getting a final (albeit shortened) season in order to wrap everything up.

The worst thing Castle had going for it was the introduction of the new Captain, Penny Johnson as Victoria Gates. She wasn’t bad, it’s just that I didn’t much care for her character. Everybody else was consistently great, though. I started watching the show because of Nathan Fillion, but I stayed because of the entire cast and their characters. Again we’ve got the will-they/won’t-they, but it’s much more urgent this season. I don’t know how much to say about the finale without totally spoiling everything. My biggest hope about the next season is that they don’t sweep everything under the rug, that it doesn’t start a few months after the finale with…well, everything back to status quo. I have faith in the writer’s, though, that more good stories will come out of it.

There were some great comedies that I found it difficult to NOT watch the night they aired, despite whatever time I was able to relax in the evening. The best new comedy of the season, and quite possibly my favorite overall comedy of the season, was New Girl. As with a lot of the shows I enjoy, the main character is not the draw. Well, she got me there, but Jess’s roommates, especially Max Greenfield’s Schmidt, kept me around and gave me many cackling, laugh-out-loud moments. Lump in New Girl with great shows like Happy Endings, Cougar Town, Suburgatory, Community, Parks and Recreation, Big Bang Theory, The League, Louie, Archer, and Don’t Trust the Bitch in Apt. 23, this was a great time to be a fan of smart and wonderfully written situation comedies.

The biggest surprise for me was my first real foray into reality television. I tend to shun any and all reality shows. They all just come across as creepy. Watching people attempt and more than likely fail at their dreams, or watching so-called celebrities “live” their “lives,” it’s too tawdry for me. I can’t even get into educational shows on Discovery or The History Channel because, well, when I watch TV, I’m relaxing. I don’t want to learn. I don’t want to work. Then I found out about Drinking Made Easy, and my embargo on reality shows was lifted. It’s a fun show that follows host Zane Lamprey and bearded sidekick Steve McKenna as they travel the country and sample local brews, spirits, and cocktails. It’s two guys getting paid to get drunk. Awesome.

My biggest disappointment this season was Supernatural. It wasn’t bad, but it was probably the weakest season they’ve had. Season 6’s overall storyline was weak, but it had some great episodes. This season, though, was weak on all fronts. They got rid of Castiel in the first episode and waited too long to bring him back. They got rid of Bobby. Not enough Crowley. Too much Meg. The Leviathan as villains didn’t seem quite so…immediate. Although I liked the way James Patrick Stuart played Dick Roman, I just didn’t feel the urgency that I’ve felt in past seasons to defeat the Big Bad. The highlights of the season had to do with the guest stars, three women who are on or who have spent time on “The List”: Jewel Staite, Charisma Carpenter, and Felicia Day. I’m single, ladies! Call me! Day’s character is still alive, so I’m hoping she’ll show up again next season. Oh! And James Marsters was there, too!

I realize I’ve not mentioned any offerings from Showtime, Starz, or HBO. Quickly, then. Dexter was awful this season. The Deb/Dexter stuff was creepy, and not in a good way, and I groaned, sometimes out load, whenever Colin Hanks came on screen. He is not a good actor. Most of the other stuff that I watched (Californication, Shameless, Spartacus) was solid. Nothing great, but always enjoyable. HBO debuted Girls and Veep, and I’m really enjoying Veep. Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays somewhat of a combination of Elaine and Old Christine, and that’s comedy gold when you put the character as next in line to the presidency of the United States. Girls, though, is harder to get behind. It comes off a lot like a hipster version of Sex and the City, and I hated Sex and the City. The four main women were all awful people in some way, and I felt incredibly bad for the men that fell for them. With Girls, the main characters are a bit more likeable and the men slightly less likeable than their SatC counterparts. I’m still watching it, though. I heard Donald Glover will be on next season, so that right there is a way to keep me around.

And we’ll end with HBO’s Game of Thrones, which airs its season finale this Sunday. Holy crap. This season has been phenomenal. There’s just not enough room to talk about how awesome Tyrion and Arya are, or how much I hate Joffrey and Theon. I read the first book when the first season ended, and that was going to be my plan with the other seasons and books. I’ve since decided that I can’t wait, and I’ll be doing my best to catch up on the rest of the series this summer.

Now that the main season is over, I’ll be cleaning out my DVR. I’ve got some Mad Men, Magic City, Shameless, and Alcatraz that I need to get through. After that, unless AT&T brings my monthly bill down back to where they said it would be, I’m getting rid of cable all together. I’ll be reliant on Netflix, Hulu+, and Amazon Prime. I’m pretty sure the only way this’ll affect me is that I won’t be able to watch the premium stuff as it airs or stuff on CBS. The premium stuff I’ll be able to watch on Netflix, but CBS kind of pisses me off. The other major networks are great about offering their shows online, but CBS is really hit-or-miss, and for the shows I watch (Big Bang Theory and Person of Interest) it’s miss. I’ll even be able to watch Supernatural by hooking my netbook up to my TV. Yay!

Also, in case you've forgotten: When I can remember to add this to the bottom of my posts, I’m going to whore myself out with an impassioned plea: click on the ads. PLEASE click on the ads. I don’t care if you exit out of it immediately or actually look around. This isn’t some professional blog where I believe in the products I’m shilling. These are automatic ads placed by Google. But when you click ads, I get a little bit of money, and as a single father of three, every penny from every source helps. So I’m going to keep this tiny bit of begging at the bottom of my posts, and I hope you’ll take an extra 10 seconds after reading my blog to click on an ad. The only thing it costs you is time. :) Thanks so much!

What You Should Have Watched #16

Hope
(or Shows That I Might Watch Next Season)

The major networks have announced their line-ups for the 2012-2013 season. Here’s a quick run-down of what I’ll probably be tuning into. I’m not going to list the proposed air dates/times, because a LOT of things can happen between now and the fall. I will, however, provide the preview clips that the networks produced for the new shows.

Here are the returning shows I’ll be watching:

NBC

Community is back for 13 episodes. On Friday nights with Whitney.

30 Rock will have a final season of 13 episodes.

The Office

Parks and Recreation

ABC

Modern Family

Suburgatory

Castle

Don’t Trust the Bitch in Apt. 23

Happy Endings

Fox

The Simpsons

Family Guy

Bones

Raising Hope

New Girl

Fringe

CBS

How I Met Your Mother

The Big Bang Theory

Person of Interest

Rules of Engagement (Only one that hasn’t been renewed or cancelled)

AMC

Breaking Bad

Walking Dead

Mad Men

FX

Justified

Sons of Anarchy

American Horror Story

Archer

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

The League        

Louie

Wilfred

CW

Supernatural

TBS

Cougar Town

USA

Psych

Covert Affairs

White Collar

Comedy Central

Tosh.0

HD Network

Drinking Made Easy

Showtime
Californication
Dexter
Shameless
Weeds


HBO
Boardwalk Empire
Game of Thrones
Girls
True Blood
Veep


Starz
Magic City
Spartacus


Here are the new shows I’m going to give a shot:

CBS

I’ll give “Vegas” an episode. I like Dennis Quaid, and I like Michael Chiklis, and Carrie Anne Moss isn’t all that bad. I LOVED Chicklis as an anti-hero in the Shield, and now he’s playing an out-and-out villain, so I hope he can pull it off. CBS seems to be a “safe” network, and I don’t know he’ll be able to pass the Vic Mackey litmus test of evilness.

Although I have yet to watch Sherlock (it’s on my to-do list for this summer), I don’t WANT to like the reimagining of the character in “Elementary.” It just seems so….wrong. But I like Lucy Liu and Aiden Quinn, and Johnny Lee Miller looks pretty decent in the preview clip. So I’m going to give it an episode. Why the hell not.

ABC

 So the guy who brought us “Terriers,” “The Unit,” and “The Shield” has a new show on ABC? I don’t need to hear anymore, I’m already setting my DVR. Also, Beau Johnson, a random homeless man I bought a paper (The Contributor) from on the corner on my way to work this morning, had this to say about “Last Resort”: “It sound like ‘The A-Team’ in a sub.”

The only reason, the ONLY reason, that I’m going to give “Nashville” one episode is Connie Britton. You might know her better as Mrs. Coach Taylor from “Friday Night Lights,” or you might know her from last season FX show “American Horror Story.” She is a dream to watch, so whatever she’s in will garner at least a one-episode commitment from me. Now, while I wouldn’t watch a show BECAUSE of her, I will say that I’m looking forward to seeing more of Hayden Panettiere. And I’m positive that I saw Charles Esten, who I haven’t seen since “Who’s Line Is It Anyways,” as a character in the show, but he’s not listed on IMDB as being on the show, so I’m confused. Also, somebody said this is pretty much the plot of Country Strong. I haven’t seen it, so I can’t comment.

I’ll be watching “How to Live with Your Parents (for the Rest of Your Life)” because of Sarah Chalke, the same reason I watched Mad Love last year. Ugh. That was a bad one, even with Judy Greer and Tyler Labine. This one looks a little better.

Have you seen The Devil’s Advocate? Did you wonder about the other people who lived in Al Pacino’s building? That’s what “666 Park Avenue” looks like. It stars Terry O’Quinn, and he seems to be channeling the more manipulative aspects of John Locke in order to play the devil. I’m in.

“The Family Tools” has two things going for it: J.K. Simmons and Kyle Bornheimer. And Adam Arkin isn’t a slouch in the acting department either. Sitcoms are easier for me to add or remove from my schedule than dramas, so if one has a weak premise (this) but actors I enjoy, I’ll give it more than one episode to find its footing.

Fox

“The Mindy Project” looks like it could be fun. It’s got Ed Helms and Bill Hader in the pilot, so that’s good, and I liked Richard Schiff in “The West Wing” and “House of Lies,” so his inclusion here is also good. After watching her in “The Office” for eight years, I just hope I can separate Mindy Kaling from her character Kelly Kapoor.

A serial killer mystery starring Kevin Bacon? Why yes, “The Following,” I will watch you. And I agree with what Dustin Rowles at Warming Glow said about the show, “The actually does look like an FX show that Fox stole from them.”

“Ben and Kate” looks corny, but the trailer had me chuckling, so I’ll give it an episode or two. I’m slightly disappointed that Lucy Punch left the “Powers” pilot in order to do this.

“The Mob Doctor” gets one episode to win me over. I’m not a huge Michael Rappaport fan, so that’s going against it, but I do like Jordana Spiro and Zeljko Ivanek, and hey! Lookit that! QB1 is in it. Maybe this’ll get two episodes from me.

You’re killin’ me here, Scott Foley. “The Goodwin Games” does NOT look good at all, but you’re a damn good actor. Why are you doing this? Why are you making me watch something that’ll hopefully be cancelled quickly (and the premise suggests it should have no life after one episode). At least there’s some eye candy (Becki Newton) as I watch this crash and burn (if it actually airs…it’s scheduled as a mid-season replacement).

NBC

If Justin Kirk is going to be starring in “Animal Practice” next season, does that me he was the one killed at the end of “Weed’s” season finale? Boo. He and the prospect of seeing Mary Louise Parker’s boobs were pretty much the only things keeping me interested in the show. So, this new one looks funny. I’m in. And hey, Tyler Labine is back.

“Revolution” looks like it has promise. Just like “FlashForward” did. Just like “The Event” did. Just like “Jericho” did. Although it looks good, I don’t have high hopes for it lasting more than a season. Genre shows like this don’t typically last long on NBC. If I end up liking the show, this’ll be the only NBC drama that I’ll be watching.

Matthew Perry is back in the game with another sit-com. I wish him luck, and I’ll be tuning in to “Go On.” Granted, the guy plays Chandler Bing in everything he does, but I like Chandler, so that’s why I watch everything he does.

The preview clip for “1600 Penn” had nothing to do with the synopsis I read. The synopsis sounds horrible (“Jenna Elfman as a step-mother in the White House married to the President [Bill Pullman] trying to win over the kids). The clip looks pretty funny. I’ll give it a shot.

I’ll watch “Next Caller” despite it starring Dane Cook. Why? Jeffrey Tambor. He was most of the reason I tuned into “Bent,” and that turned out to be a decent show that NBC threw in the crapper.

HBO

I will watch any show that Aaron Sorkin creates. "Newsroom" is a no-brainer.

Trailer #2