2013 Fall TV Top Five
Forget January: For me, the New Year starts on September 1. Along with the fact that my nerd brain will forever follow the school calendar, the arrival of fall also signals the start of the new TV season. Even with streaming on-demand and year-round network premieres becoming more common, the sheer quantity of new stuff that hits the air come autumn still makes it the most wonderful time of the year.
As a kid, I would pore over the Fall TV Preview issue of TV Guide and carefully contemplate which shows were worthy of taking up one of the five program slots available on our VCR. Today, we have the luxury of casting the DVR net over the whole season and sorting through our weekly catch to see what’s worth keeping and what we’re gonna throw back.
Here’s what’s made its way to the top for me so far this year:
Trophy Wife (ABC) – Tuesdays 9:30/8:30c
Between this and The Good Wife, it’s clear people have an unfair bias against show titles with the word “wife” in them. Or maybe here it’s the “trophy” part because everyone assumes it’s about a middle-aged guy who marries a ditzy young blonde who’s nothing more than a pretty face. But c'mon, guys, you know Josh Lyman is smarter than that.
And much like Josh Lyman, Trophy Wife is sharp and funny and knows exactly when to turn on the charm. Malin Akerman has built up enough comedy cred on shows like Childrens Hospital and Burning Love to be perfectly cast as Kate, a woman who’s often underestimated because she’s beautiful, until you realize she’s also clever and down to earth and generally not a dummy.
If there’s any single reason to watch, it’s the hilarious breakout performance of 9-year-old Albert Tsai as Bert, the adopted son of Josh Lyman’s second wife. Almost every Rewind Moment of the season has been because of this kid’s unbelievably perfect delivery. I’m sure someday in 2033 he’ll be the subject of a TMZ “What Do They Look Like Now?” list, so savor the cuteness while you can.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX) – Tuesdays 8:30/7:30c
I’m still at the point in this show where I don’t know any of the characters’ names, just the actors who play them. Which, frankly, is enough when those actors are Andy Samberg, Andre Braugher, Terry Crews, Joe Lo Truglio and Chelsea Peretti. There’s nothing high-concept or crazy original here–just solid, funny sitcom writing. I don’t know if it’s a show I’m going to find myself quoting week in and week out, but so far there’s been something that makes me laugh in every episode.
Masters of Sex (Showtime) – Sundays 10/9c
Masters of Sex has quickly trumped Homeland as the Showtime series I look forward to seeing on Sunday nights. And not just because Homeland has taken a dive this season. (Watching Saul’s beard grow in real time would be less tiresome than any scene involving Dana Brody.)
What Masters of Sex can sometimes lack in subtlety (“Thank you for coming”), it more than makes up for in the, ahem, firm grasp it has on the story and its characters. It also feels original; it’s difficult to think of another show quite like it. It has thematic parallels to Mad Men, but with more warmth and soul. Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan are also effortlessly appealing, giving Masters and Johnson each a depth that makes you as interested in them as they are in each other.
American Horror Story: Coven (FX) – Wednesdays 10/9c
The latest installment of American Horror Story centers on a group of young witches learning from the older generation who have come before them. And it’s a fitting theme for this cast, because Jessica Lange, Angela Bassett and Kathy Bates are putting on a damn master class for how to own the screen.
(Spoilers follow)
It helps that the scripts each week give them a hot new cauldron of crazy to deal with. But somehow American Horror Story: Coven never feels like weird for weird’s sake. And that’s saying something for a show that features a 180-year-old minotaur, a butler who cut out his own tongue and a character reconstructed from body parts of the dead. It’s a fantastical, grotesque story–but it’s still a story. I stopped watching True Blood a couple of seasons ago because it felt like the narrative was unraveling into a series of catty punchlines and blood-soaked scenery. Coven has its share of both, but so far manages to keep a tighter rein on everything, even as all hell breaks loose.
@midnight (Comedy Central) – Mondays-Thursdays 12a/11c
A late arrival to the list! But I have to confess to being immediately smitten. Granted, I was an easy sell since the premise is right up my alley: comedy + Internet + game show. (My husband described it perfectly as “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me!” for social media, with a dash of “You Don’t Know Jack.”) But @midnight is also well-produced TV: perfectly paced and polished from the get-go. Chris Hardwick is much more at ease here than on the Talking shows on AMC, free to run and riff and trade rapid-fire punchlines with smart people who can keep up. I doubt I’ll be able to stay up every night, but @midnight has quickly earned a permanent place in the weekly DVR net. #secondparagraphcallback #howdoiendthisblogpost #iknowhashtagjoke