Television is kicking it up a notch. With “Lost” writers coming back to tangle our brain cells and Zooey Deschanel out to conquer the small screen, it’s time to make sure your DVR is ready to record our picks this fall.
Photo from MCT
Alcatraz, Fox
Midseason, 9 p.m.
Say J.J. Abrams and we’re in. This mystery drama about FBI agents tracking down Alcatraz prisoners that disappeared 30 years ago sounds intriguing, a bit creepy and just what we expect from Abrams.
Grimm, NBC
Oct. 21, 9 p.m.
The Grimm brothers’ tales were all real, and their relatives have the ability to see the big, bad creatures that haunted their stories. We’ll buy it, if it looks as cool as this new cop drama that has the latest Grimm descendant chasing after the actual “Big Bad Wolf,” among others.
New Girl, Fox
Sept. 20, 9 p.m.
Deschanel’s new comedy on Fox looks downright hilarious, with Deschanel starring as a zany, awkward girl who finds herself living with three men after her boyfriend dumps her.
Once Upon a Time, ABC
Oct. 23, 8 p.m.
This other fairy tale-based show has “House” star Jennifer Morrison in Storybrooke, a town where the tales are real, and Snow White and the Evil Queen reside. Expect some twists; the idea comes from two “Lost” writers.
Pan Am, ABC
Sept. 25, 10 p.m.
We’ll admit, they’re riding the “Mad Men” popularity wave. If this show about the alluring stewardesses is even half as clever, we’ll be hooked.
The Playboy Club, NBC
Sept. 19, 10 p.m.
This new NBC drama also is riding the “Mad Men” wave, but this time in bunny suits. It looks as far away from “The Girls Next Door” as possible, and the plot seems more enticing than the costumes.
Terra Nova, Fox
Sept. 26, 8 p.m.
Dinosaurs, the space-time continuum and dystopian Earth. No, it’s not going to be for everyone, but it will be epic. We already can hear the fanboys eagerly setting their DVRs.
Up All Night, NBC
Sept. 14, 10 p.m.
Anything Will Arnett does has us sold. This new NBC comedy is no different. Arnett and Christina Applegate star as two new parents working out their new life.
American Horror Story, FX
Oct. 5, 10 p.m.
The co-creators of “Glee” are making a horror-story TV show. Yes, this sounds skeptical. Then we watched the ten trailer-clues for the show that had us as terrified as small children. Go to YouTube and watch now.
The X Factor, Fox
Sept. 21, 8 p.m.
Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul return as co-judges for the American adaptation of the hit British series. We’re ready. The prize money is what’s truly surprising about the show: $5 million, the largest bounty in television history.
Hopefully your GPA can survive the amount of new TV shows to which you’re about to become addicted.
