Preparing for the Fall TV Season (September)

The 2012-2013 TV season gets its official start in about two weeks, but that doesn’t mean that the major and cable networks aren’t gearing up for the start of the fall season beginning tonight and throughout the next two weeks.

In an effort to help our readers decide what new dramas to check out this TV season, I wanted to provide a brief rundown of what TV viewers can expect from the major and cable networks this month. [Coverage for the new shows coming out this winter will be covered each month, as they apply.]

Again, this list will only focus on the new dramas – since that is my preferred genre; and the fact that – even according to some of the best-known TV critics – there are little to no worthwhile, new comedies being introduced this TV season.

BOMB GIRLS – This six-episode Canadian period piece drama will debut tonight (September 11) on ReelzChannel at 10 PM. The series is about a group of women who risk their lives in a munitions factory in support of the European front during World War II.

THE MOB DOCTOR – FOX debuts this series on September 17 at 9 PM, telling the story about a top resident at Chicago’s Roosevelt Medical Center where she is heralded as one of the country’s most promising young surgeons; but family ties keep her glued to her Southside roots. To pay off her brother’s life-threatening gambling debt, she makes a deal with the “devil”, working “off Book” for the mafia men she once despised.

REVOLUTION – What would happen if the lights went out all over the world? Without any modern technology, everything stops. And in this series, 15 years have passed and the focus is on Charlie whose life is dramatically changed when a local militia arrives, kills her father and takes her brother Danny. She and some others from their small farming community set out to Chicago to find her uncle, who her dying father says can help them get Danny back. The drama debuts on September 17 on NBC at 10 PM.

VEGAS – The CBS period piece will debut on September 25 at 10 PM, chronicling the story of former Las Vegas Sheriff Ralph Lamb, a fourth-generation rancher tasked with bringing the city into order in the 1960’s. He clashes with Vincent Savino, a ruthless Chicago gangster who plans to make Vegas his own.

LAST RESORT – The U.S. ballistic missile submarine Colorado receive an order to fire nuclear weapons on Pakistan; but the Captain demands confirmation of the orders only to be unceremoniously relieved of duty by the White House. His XO finds himself in charge, facing the same difficult decision. He also refuses the order, causing the Colorado to be targeted, fired upon and hit. The submarine and its crew find themselves crippled on the ocean floor being declared enemies of their own country. With nowhere left to turn, the crew takes the sub to an exotic island to find refuge, romance and a chance at a new life, as they try to clear their names and get home. The series debuts on ABC on September 27 at 8 PM

ELEMENTARY – The series will debut on CBS on September 27 at 10 PM and is a modern-day version of tales of Sherlock Holmes and his sober companion Dr. Joan Watson. Holmes falls from grace in London and after a stint in rehab he escapes to Manhattan where his wealthy father forces him to work with Dr. Watson.

MADE IN JERSEY – A working-class woman, Martina Garretti, uses her street smarts to compete among her pedigreed Manhattan colleagues at a prestigious New York law firm. The series will debut on CBS on September 28 at 9 PM.

666 PARK AVENUE – At this address anything you desire can be yours. When Jane Van Veen and Henry Martin, an idealistic young couple from the Midwest, are offered the opportunity to manage the historic building, they will not only fall prey to the machinations of mysterious owner Gavin Doran and his wife Olivia, who are more than meets the eye. The series debuts on ABC on September 30 at 10 PM.

Regardless of what type of dramatic programming you prefer to watch, there are plenty of new choices on TV this fall.

One suggestion, though, please don’t pass judgment on any of these shows until you watch them because you just might be surprised by what you find.