My Top Choices for September TV

With the fall TV season nearly upon us, it’s time to take a look at my top choices for September, including returning network shows, more made-for-TV movies, some newcomers and the final episodes of a handful or so summer series.

SO LONG TIL NEXT TIME

The following shows will be bidding adieu (one of them for good – BUMMER!) throughout next month:

Younger on TV Land on September 4 at 10 PM
Grand Hotel on ABC at 10 PM on September 9
Reef Break on ABC on September 12 at 10 PM
Killjoys on Syfy at 10 PM on September 20 [I’m going to miss this crazy-ass fantasy show!]
Pennyworth on EPIX at 9 PM on September 29
Chesapeake Shores at 8 PM on the Hallmark Channel on September 29

SEPTEMBER LOVING

For the past 10 years, the Hallmark Channel has been airing more and more movies, celebrating different seasons of the year. Here are the September Loving (my name, not theirs) movies:

Forever In My Heart on September 14 at 9 PM, starring Merritt Patterson and Jack Turner.

Jenna and Charlie found love in Ireland but their dreams drove them apart. Five years later, they reunite and Jenna has to decide where her heart belongs—back home or in the Emerald Isle.

Over the Moon in Love on September 21 at 9 PM, starring Jessica Lowndes and Wes Brown.

With her match-making business on the verge of closing, Brooklyn finds herself in the unique position to be featured in a magazine, but has to set up the writer with her childhood friend Devin.

Love Under the Olive Tree on September 28 at 9 PM, starring Tori Anderson and Benjamin Hollingsworth.

The prize of Sunset Valley’s annual olive oil contest is a land parcel with disputed ownership. When feisty Nicole and competitive Jake face-off, they never expect sparks to fly.

COMING BACK FOR MORE

The following fall dramas will be back for new seasons on the major networks:

9-1-1 on September 23 at 8 PM on FOX
NCIS on September 24 at 8 PM on CBS
NCIS: New Orleans on September 24 at 10 PM on CBS
This Is Us on September 24 at 9 PM on NBC
New Amsterdam on September 24 at 10 PM on NBC
A Million Little Things on September 26 at 9 PM on ABC
God Friended Me on September 29 at 8:30 PM on CBS
NCIS: Los Angeles on September 29 at 9:30 PM on CBS
The Rookie on September 29 at 10 PM on ABC

WELCOME TO THE FOLD

There are going to be plenty of new shows to watch, but only a couple of struck me as interesting. There is no guarantee how good any of them will be or how well they will perform in their timeslots; but I’ll give them at least a couple episodes of viewing before I make a final decision.

Those dramas include:

All Rise on September 23 at 9 PM on CBS.

This courthouse drama that follows the chaotic, hopeful and sometimes absurd lives of its judges, prosecutors and public defenders, as they work with bailiffs, clerks and cops to get justice for the people of Los Angeles amidst a flawed legal process. Among them is newly appointed Judge Lola Carmichael (Simone Missick), a highly regarded and impressive deputy district attorney who doesn’t intend to sit back on the bench in her new role, but instead leans in, immediately pushing the boundaries and challenging the expectations of what a judge can be. The cast includes Wilson Bethel (Hart of Dixie and Daredevil), Jessica Camacho (Sleepy Hollow), J. Alex Brinson (Travelers) and Marg Helgenberger (CSI and China Beach).

Emergence on September 24 on ABC at 10 PM.

The series is about a police chief (Alison Tolman, Fargo) who takes in a young child (Alexa Swinton, Billions) she finds near the site of a mysterious accident who has no memory of what has happened. The investigation draws her into a conspiracy larger than she ever imagined, and the child’s identity is at the center of it all. The show also stars Donald Faison (Scrubs), Clancy Brown (The Shawshank Redemption and Sleepy Hollow), Zabryna Guevara (New Amsterdam and Gotham) and Owain Yeoman (The Mentalist).

Stumptown on September 25 at 10 PM on ABC.

Based on the graphic novel, the series follows Dex Parios (Cobie Smulders from How I Met Your Mother) – a strong, assertive and sharp-witted army veteran with a complicated love life, gambling debt and a brother to take care of in Portland, Oregon. Her military intelligence skills make her a great PI, but her unapologetic style puts her in the firing line of hardcore criminals and not quite in alliance with the police. The cast also includes Michael Ealy (Almost Human and Secrets and Lies), Tantoo Cardinal (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and Outlander), Camryn Manheim (Ghost Whisperer and The Practice) and Jake Johnson (New Girl).

You can check out our TV calendar for September, which will go live tomorrow morning.

Mark your calendars!