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My Top 10 TV Choices for October

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With all of the programming options on the major and cable networks thanks to the 2016-2017 fall TV season, which officially gets under way this week, it is almost mind-boggling to comprehend all that there is to watch.

Just like I did last month with my top 10 list of September programming that I was most anxious to see, I wanted to do the same for October because there is just so much to watch next month too.

Here is my list (in no particular order):

The World of DC Comics – With the switch-over of Supergirl from CBS to The CW, the network now has nearly all of the DC-based TV series under its belt (except for Gotham, of course)

Over the course of a week in early October the season premieres of those DC-based series will air. Here are the details for each

The Flash on October 4 at 8 PM
Arrow on October 5 at 8 PM
Supergirl on October 10 at 8 PM
Legends of Tomorrow on October 13 at 8 PM

Good Witch Season 2

Good Witch Celebrates Halloween (Again) – Since its debut on the Hallmark Channel back in 2008, Catherine Bell has been charming viewers as Good Witch Cassandra “Cassie” Nightingale, spending the last two TV seasons as a weekly series. While the start of the show’s third season has yet to be announced, the characters in the quaint town of Middleton will, once again, gather to celebrate Cassie’s favorite time of the year: Halloween. That special, which finds Cassie welcoming a popular fantasy author and her editor to Grey House, will air on October 22 at 9 PM

Welcome to the Neighborhood – Every TV season finds new shows debuting all throughout the season. Some are great, some are just okay; some stay on the air for only one season or less while others last for quite some time.

There is no guarantee that either of the following two new dramas will last for more than their respective first seasons, but I enjoyed the pilots and hope the best for each of them:

no-tomorrow

The new drama from The CW – No Tomorrow – is much like its predecessors Jane the Virgin and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: comedic-laced dramas with plenty of funny moments, unusual characters, crazy situations, romantic moments and even intensity. No Tomorrow focuses on Evie (Tori Anderson from Sacred Heart and Killjoys) becomes involved with a free-spirited guy named Xavier (Joshua Sasse from Galavant and Rogue), who inspires her to make an “apocalyst,” a list of things to do before the world ends, which he claims will be in eight months and twelve days. It will debut on October 4 at 9 PM.

frequency

The other new drama on The CW is Frequency, based on the 2000 box office film of the same name, is set in 2016, focusing on NYPD Detective Raimy Sullivan (Peyton List from The Flash and The Tomorrow People), who discovers that she is able to speak to her deceased father Frank Sullivan (Riley Smith from Nashville and True Blood) in 1996 via his old ham radio. Her attempts to save his life trigger the “butterfly effect,” changing the present in unforeseen ways. The debut of Frequency will air on October 5 at 9 PM.

A Medical Drama with Heart – While I am the first to state that I typically don’t like to watch medical dramas (I spend too much time in and out of Children’s Hospital when I was little, and it left a lasting, less than good impression on me), I have to admit that I just might tune in for more than one episode of the new CBS medical drama Pure Genius, which debuts on October 27 at 10 PM. The reason being is this is a medical show that has heart: it focuses on more than just the romantic lives of its bed-hopping doctors, and it actually provides hope that given all the technological advancements in our world today that even some of the most difficult medical cases known to man just might be figured out.

pure-genius

Pure Genius focuses on James Bell (Augustus Prew from Klondike and The Borgias), a Silicon Valley billionaire, who dreams of building a hospital with ultimate cutting-edge technology to treat rare and incurable diseases. He partners with a maverick surgeon, Dr. Walter Wallace (Dermot Mulroney), who leads the effort in clearing out the bureaucracy of medicine, and focus on forward thinking, advancing technology, and saving lives—at no cost to the patient.

Bloodlines

The Longest Running Show on The CW (nee The WB) – That title is reserved for Supernatural, the CW series that is now going into its 12th season on the air when it returns on October 13 at 9 PM. The Winchester Brothers are back once again to fight against those things that go bump in the night, carrying on the cause started by their late father, who wanted revenge for the untimely and horrific death of his beloved wife, who at the end of last season was returned to Sam and Dean by – of all “people” – God’s sister Amara. It’s going to be one helluva ride in the Impala this time around.

jane-the-virgin

How Long Will Jane Be a Virgin – As you can guess, I am really looking forward to the third season premiere of Jane the Virgin on October 17 on The CW at 9 PM, especially given the very unexpected cliffhanger ending from last season with Jane’s newlywed husband Michael getting shot by nemesis Sin Rostro (aka Rose Solano). Let’s just hope that Michael survives and the frivolity of the show continues with plenty of intrigue, romance and drama to boot.

Our full October TV calendar will be posted closer to the end of the month so please make sure to check that out. In the meantime, what shows are you looking forward to seeing in October?

Using her favorite online handle, Rueben is an East Coast-bred gal who is now a permanent Californian and a lifelong tv-oholic. She watches at least 25 TV shows a week, goes to the movies as often as possible, listens to music every waking moment, reads every day and “plays” on the internet every chance she can. Some of her current favorite TV shows are Outlander, Sweet Magnolias, Wednesday, The Mandalorian, The Equalizer, Fire Country, Miss Scarlet, Hudson & Rex, SkyMed, The Rookie, Bridgerton, Cobra Kai, Virgin River, The Witcher, Leverage: Redemption and School Spirits. She is looking forward to the fall TV season, including the return of Outlander, Tracker and The Equalizer and the debuts of the new dramas Matlock, Murder In a Small Town, NCIS: Origins and Cross. Follow her on Bluesky @ruebensramblings.bsky.social or contact her at rueben@nicegirlstv.com. Please also check out Rueben's Ramblings website for even more entertainment news.