You guys! It’s my favorite TV time of year! And I know a lot of you won’t even think of picking new shows until I tell you what I’m watching, so let’s get right to it! New shows are in italics. Returning favorites are bold.

A couple of notes:

• I use a lot of actors’ names, but I don’t say what shows they’ve been on before or otherwise identify them. I assume you all have access to IMDb, so if you don’t know who someone is, you can look them up.
• I’m only commenting on shows we watch or plan to watch. If you have heard about a show and want to know if it’s any good, Google it. There are plenty of good reviews out there. And just because I’m not watching something doesn’t mean it’s no good. For example, there’s a new show called The Bastard Executioner. It is just not for me (or Vic), so I’m not watching it. But it’s getting really good reviews, so you might want to check it out.

Sunday

• I am excited about the return of Madam Secretary and The Good Wife. I love the relationship between Tea Leoni and Tim Daly on Madam Secretary and though it had a good freshman year. I wasn’t in love with The Good Wife last year—I was really disappointed that Finn Polmar (the hot and delightful Matthew Goode, whom I don’t think is on the show any longer) wasn’t integrated more, and there was too much political intrigue, but I’m hopeful for a creative resurgence in season 6.
• Interesting note: Madam Secretary is the only new show from last year that we are still watching.
• Quantico: It looks a little too soap opera-y for me, but both TV Guide and EW make it one of their picks for the best of the season, and we like things about the FBI, so we’ll give it a shot.
• Agent X: This is a new show on TNT with Sharon Stone. One of my magazines said it was a cross between National Treasure and … something else. (Come on. If I can’t even remember which magazine I read it in, how am I supposed to remember what it’s about?) Whatever the case, it sounded good.

 

Monday

• Castle is getting a little long in the tooth, but (a) they do seem to be able to write the changes that keep a show fresh in a way that is logical and makes sense. They’re not going to have a season where Castle spends a year on the moon. And (b) I’ve been promised that they aren’t going to mess with Castle and Beckett’s relationship—just the normal ups and downs.
• Life in Pieces: This show looks downright hilarious … but the I’m not seeing it on anyone’s favorite list. Still, the reviews have been positive if not glowing, and I can’t wait to see it. It’s one of my most highly anticipated shows. (So it will probably be one of my biggest disappointments.)
• Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: I had lunch with my friend Julie on September 5, and when I reviewed the fall season in anticipation of our discussion, I wrote this: I am not going to watch this—but I’m putting it in here because I kind of want to.” Since then, I see that it is on TV Guide’s and EW’s “best show” lists, so that justifies my tuning in, even if only for one episode. Vic will hate this (don’t ask him about The Last Five Years, a movie that I adored and he despised—so much so that he says it’s one of the worst movies he’s ever seen. Ever. Ever.)
• Minority Report: Mmm. We’ll see. TV Guide really dislikes it, and it’s not an EW pick. I’m guessing we’re better off sticking with the movie.
• Supergirl: I started Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I started Arrow. I started Flash. So I must start Supergirl. Melissa Benoist is from Colorado, so you gotta support her, Calista Flockhart as a bitchy boss is a must-watch. And Supergirl’s sister is played by Chyler Leigh, my beloved Lexie Grey. In watching the preview, it appears that virtually everyone knows her secret identity already, but I actually like that better. This could be a funner (yes, editors, I know that is not a word) superhero show, and it’s a TV Guide Editor’s Choice.
• Blindspot: I dig mysteries like this. Let’s see if they can sustain it. It’s an Editor’s Choice in TV Guide, so it can’t be all bad.
• Fargo: We started last season but didn’t like it, so we dropped it. This season is completely different and is again getting rave reviews, so why not try it?
• Legends: This is a show Vic watches, so I really have nothing to say about it. But it’s on my list as something we watch, so I had to include it here.

Tuesday

• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: This is a Vic show. He keeps dropping it and picking it up, so I suspect an early cancellation in the Love household.
• Chicago Fire: This is the only one of the “Chicago” franchise I watch. I never think of it as one of my favorite shows, but I always like it when I’m watching it. Weird.
• Manhattan: This is another one of Vic’s shows that I feel obliged to mention here because it’s on my list, but I have nothing to say about it. lol.
• The Muppets: I mean, I don’t know if I can watch forever, but I have to start. Plus it’s a TV Guide Editor’s Choice.
• Grandfathered: Looks funny and heartwarming. Good combo. Great people. TV Guide Editor’s Choice
• The Grinder: Rob Lowe. Fred Savage. I don’t even need to know what this is about to add it to my viewing schedule. And when I watched the preview, my thoughts were confirmed—hilarious. Add to that the TV Guide Editor’s Choice pick and a pick as one of EW’s favorite shows, and it’s a no-brainer.
• Scream Queens: I saw some previews for this over the summer. Looks … interesting. TV Guide does not like it—Matt Roush gave it one star in his review—but predicted it would be a “critic-proof hit.” Evidence: EW named it one of the best new shows of the season. I will try it.
• Chicago Med: Vic watches the whole “Chicago” franchise, so he will try this as well.

Wednesday

• Modern Family: All I can say is that I love this show and I’m glad it keeps coming back.
• Criminal Minds: This is another show that’s getting long in the tooth. It’s very dark and very grim, but I will keep watching until it goes off the air.
• Chicago PD: See “Chicago Med” above.
• Code Black: Shoot. I wasn’t going to watch another medical show. In the commercials, this one looks really melodramatic and overbearing, but in the preview on EW.com, it looks … dangit … good. Fortunately, it’s not appearing on any “best” lists, so maybe I’ll be able to drop it.
• Rosewood: I like Morris Chestnut, and he drives a Goat, and the preview looks awesome, so I’m going to watch it. It is not getting good buzz, though, so I’m not hopeful for a long life for this show.

Thursday

• My Beloved Grey’s Anatomy: Look. I don’t want to watch it. She’s killed off George, Lexie, McSteamy and McDreamy (as well as countless other people I love and Jackson and April’s baby, in what was one of the best hours of Grey’s Anatomy of all time). But I have to. Don’t judge me.
• Scandal: Really shaking things up this year as the president’s mistress moves into the White House and the president’s wife starts campaigning for … president. I don’t care how implausible this show is, it’s just a guilty pleasure.
• Bones: Yet another “long in the tooth” show. I’m really only watching now because I’ve been watching for 10 years or whatever.
• The Blacklist: I gave this up after season 1, but Vic still watches. It just wasn’t quite what I wanted it to be. Still, this season looks interesting, so I look forward to Vic’s weekly recaps.
• Heroes Reborn: So, I liked the first season (or two) of the original Heroes, and then it just got … weirder. So we stopped watching it. But I’ll give this another try, if only because Zachary Levi is in it. Plus it’s a TV Guide Editor’s Choice.
• Angel from Hell: I love Jane Lynch and Maggie Lawson. It might get old, but it’s certainly worth a look.

Friday

• Blue Bloods: Yes, I’m still watching this. I find it to be one of the best-acted shows on television. And yes, I know a lot of people think Tom Selleck isn’t a good actor, but he’s Tom Selleck. You watch for the mustache.
• Grimm: Another show I watched in the first season (or two) and then left for Vic, who still loves it.

Streaming

• The Man in the High Castle: This is an Amazon original series based on a Philip K. Dick novel about what if the Axis powers won World War II? That alone intrigues me, but to know it is also a top pick of both TV Guide and EW sways me even further.

Not scheduled yet

• Containment: I love stuff like this—outbreaks of contagious diseases. Totally gonna give it a try.
• The X-Files: Come on. It’s The X-Files. With David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. Of course I’m gonna watch it!
• The Catch: I am opposing this on principle. It’s a Shonda Rhimes show, and she has killed more of my favorite people than I care to think about. But it sure looks good. Maybe Vic will see a commercial for it, and then he’ll want to watch it, and I’ll be all “Oh, OK. If you want to watch it.”
• Update: Just showed the preview to Vic. He’s in! Yea!

Last note:

• WHERE IS MY PERSON OF INTEREST? CBS has confirmed that Sarah Shahi is coming back to the show and that it is “premiering soon,” but it is not on the calendar. What gives??? I assume they’re just waiting for one of their new shows to crash and burn, which is kind of sad. Like they don’t even have enough faith in their own line-up to not have a show waiting in the wings.

See you next week to report on the 12 shows that premiere between now and then. Also, Happy Emmy Night!