My Top 24 Must-Watch List for September TV

With Fall TV nearly upon us – how is that even possible, by the way? – it’s time to take a look at what September has in store for TV viewers, ranging from specials to honor the 25th Anniversary of 9/11, movies that will be debuting on streaming, new and returning TV dramas and more.

While our full September TV calendar, focusing on TV dramas, movies, specials and more, will go live at the end of this week, I wanted to share my top 24 viewing choices for next month.

First let’s take a look at the 9/11 specials that will air:

The two-hour ABC News Special 9/11: United We Stand – 25 Years Later will air on September 1 at 9 PM. Led by Michael Strahan, this look back at that devastating day in American history will explore how sports, music, Broadway and comedy helped us rediscover joy and begin to heal in the wake of those horrendous attacks.

Then on September 11 itself, ABC News will air another special – 9/11 Tribute in Light: Live From Lower Manhattan – at 8 PM (this special will also be available via Disney+ and Hulu), featuring Diane Sawyer, David Muir and Robin Roberts, honoring the victims lost, reflecting on the lasting impact of that date and commemorating the resilience of the survivors, the families and communities and the first responders.

That same night, the CBS News Special: 9/11: We Remember will air at 8 PM followed by the two-hour special Daughters of 9/11 at 9 PM. The first special will focus on ground zero, focusing on three stories tied to the tragedy while the second special will follow two daughters of victims and FBI special agent Frank Pellegriono who interrogated the mastermind of the attack.

There are several brand-new streaming movies that will debut throughout the month as well as a box office movie finally making its streaming debut. Those include:

The Mandalorian and Grogu finally arrives on the streaming screen via Disney+ on September 2.

Also on September 2, the new Amazon Prime movie The Runner will debut, starring Wonder Woman herself Gal Gadot as a successful London-based attorney, who is thrust into a tense and dangerous chase across the city after her son is abducted. Forced to obey a series of cryptic commands from a mysterious Caller (Damian Lewis from Homeland and Billions), she races against time through a web of secrets and threats in a desperate bid to save her son.

Then over on Apple TV on September 4 is the new movie Mayday, which will be set in 1987, focusing on a US Air Force Pilot (Ryan Reynolds) who is forced to eject from his plane – a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird on a mission over Soviet Russia. In the Russian wilderness, he meets and befriends a Russian ex-KGB carpenter (Kenneth Branagh) who agrees to help him escape enemy territory.

Here is a trailer for Mayday:

Then for a bit of a lighter fare, the Netflix comedy, Bollywood-fusion dance movie Best of the Best will debut on September 18, starring Never Have I Ever lead Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Priyanka Kedia (who was just seen in the box office movie Disclosure Day). They play childhood best friends, who join UCLA’s competitive dance team.

As for the returning dramas that will air during September, I am most looking forward to watching the following:

* The Gentlemen are back for a second season on Netflix on September 3
* R.J. Decker is back on ABC for its second season on September 15 at 10 PM
* The much anticipated second season of Outlander: Blood of My Blood will hit Starz on September 18 at 8 PM
* And, Doc will be back for a third season on FOX on September 22 at 9 PM

And on the other end of things, we have the finales for the following dramas to watch next month:

* Silo on Apple TV on September 4
* The Librarians: The Next Chapter on TNT on September 7 at 9 PM
* Hudson & Rex on UP Faith & Family on September 10
* Reacher on Amazon Prime on September 16
* Lioness on Paramount+ on September 20

Lastly, there are not quite a dozen new dramas debuting on linear TV and streaming throughout September. Among those, these are the shows I am most interested in seeing:

Crew Girl on Netflix on September 10. This is another drama, in a long line of dramas, that focuses on young adults, but once I saw Hallmark hunk and Eureka alum Niall Matter in the trailer, I was sold. The show focuses on Teagan Tao, who after being disgraced by her father’s financial fraud, she escapes with her mother (who SEAL Team fans will recognize as Jessica Pare) to a small town where she ends up being the only female rower on the team at her new prep school.

Here is the trailer for Crew Girl:

Cooper and Fry is a new police drama that will debut on Britbox on September, starring Downton Abbey alum Robert James-Collier as DC Ben Cooper, an affable local, who is thrown together with guarded newcomer DC Diane Fry (Mandip Gill, best known for her role on Doctor Who), to investigate a string of mysterious deaths.

High Value Target: The Hunt for Saddam will debut on TNT at 9 PM on September 13 with Joel Kinnaman (The Killing, Altered Carbon and For All Mankind) in the lead role of John Nixon, the first American to interrogate Saddam Hussein, who slowly starts to realize that the US invasion of Iraq is not as cut and dry, nor its outlook as positive, as Washington believes.

Agatha Christie’s Tommy & Tuppence on Britbox on September 15. This version will be a modern take of the characters created by the legendary writer. It will be set in upscale London with the duo, to be played by The Good Doctor alum Antonia Thomas and The Buccaneers cast member Josh Dylan, tackling murders and mysteries. It should be noted that Imelda Staunton and Alice Krige will also appear in the show.

Neagley, the spin-off series of Reacher, on Amazon Prime on September 16. Maria Sten, who has been seen in 20 episodes of the Alan Ritchson-led drama, reprising her role of Frances Neagley, better known as just Neagley. She puts her experience with Reacher and the 110 Special Investigators to use as she embarks on a perilous mission to expose a sinister threat, risking her life to unravel the mystery. Greyston Holt from Bitten and Rebbeca Liddiard from Frankie Drake Mysteries will co-star.

American Hostage on MGM+ on September 20 at 9 and 10 PM (as two episodes will debut back-to-back). This period piece drama set in the 1970’s will focus on Fred Heckman (Jon Hamm), a beloved Indianapolis radio reporter, who is thrust into the middle of a life-or-death crisis when hostage-taker, Tony Kiritsis (Giovanni Ribisi from Sneaky Pete), demands to be interviewed on his popular radio news program. The cast includes Mireille Enos (The Killing), Jonathan Tucker (I Will Find You and Westworld), William Jackson Harper (The Good Place), and – the main reason why I’ll be watching – Kristoffer Polaha (Hallmark Channel movies, Condor and Wonder Woman 1984).

Line of Fire on NBC at 10 PM on September 21, which will star 9-1-1 alum Peter Krause and Hope Davis (About Schmidt and Your Honor), as the heads of a family of law enforcement agents who become targets of a mysterious assassin after a U.S. Marshal falls in the line of duty, forcing them to use their expertise to protect each other.

Here is the trailer for Line of Fire:

Needless to say, there are a lot of viewing options on both linear TV and streaming all throughout the month next month. What will you be watching?

[Featured Image Photo Credit: Amazon Prime Video]