‘FBI: Most Wanted,’ ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ ‘Accused’ & 7 More Favorite Shows Returning to TV
Fall Preview
The are so many favorite shows returning to television this Fall, among which include a selection of must-watch network hits. Whether you’re into dramas or are eager to dive back into a familiar comedy, there is something for everyone.
With titles like ABC‘s Dancing With the Stars, Fox‘s Accused, and CBS‘s FBI: Most Wanted, there’s no better time than the next few months to tune into the channels. Below, find out what’s in store for these titles and more as our Fall TV preview continues to roll out.
It’s finally (almost) fall and that means TV is back! Join us for our Fall TV Preview event, as we give you daily exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes scoops, and more about fall’s new and returning shows, both on broadcast and streaming.
The Neighborhood
Premieres Monday, October 21, 8/7c, CBS
A new resident is shaking up Season 7. “I’m having the grandma blues,” laughs Tichina Arnold, whose hilariously emotional Tina Butler can’t bond with Daphne, the baby her son Marty (Marcel Spears) had with pal Courtney (Skye Townsend) in the suburban comedy’s May season finale. “We find out in the [opener] why.” While hubby Calvin (Cedric the Entertainer) is aces with the newborn, his son Marty is getting fussy. “I love the idea of a character that’s always needy who now has to grow up,” he says of perpetual man-child Marty.
Daphne isn’t the only one joining the scene, so the Butlers and their besties next door, the Johnsons (Max Greenfield and Beth Behrs), might need to warm up the welcome wagon. “You’ll see the neighborhood expand a bit,” previews Cedric. “We have this way of crossing our stories and seeing where the Johnsons and the Butlers have places to grow.” —Damian Holbrook
9-1-1: Lone Star
Premieres Monday, September 23, 8/7c, FOX
With the mothership now at ABC, its Texas-set spinoff really is Fox’s lone star of the first-responder franchise. And things in Austin are hotter than ever, as Season 5 opens with a train-crash crisis so explosive, they needed three episodes to pull it off! “Our production team started doing [research] and said, ‘You guys have no idea how much what you want to do would require!’” new showrunner Rashad Raisani admits.
The storyline was originally set for Season 4’s May 2023 finale, but it had to be postponed till now. “We were like, ‘Oh, we’ll just put some train cars in a field’ and they said, ‘Those things weigh thousands of pounds.’ To move them took cranes and enormous logistics,” Raisani notes.
The heavy lifting has paid off: What initially appears to be just a horrific derailment triggers a series of disasters for Capt. Owen Strand (Rob Lowe) and his Station 126 heroes, including the release of a cloud of toxic chlorine gas. “It’s a crucible for the characters because now, for anybody near that cloud, if the wind changes direction, you’re dead,” Raisani ominously previews. “It goes from being a giant action movie to a horror movie.” —DH
The Irrational
Premieres Tuesday, October 8, 10/9c, NBC
The doctor is back in! Jesse L. Martin returns as Alec Mercer, a professor of behavioral science at a fictional D.C.-area university, and for Season 2, he’s got crime and passion on his genius-level mind. Picking up shortly after the cliffhanger, which saw his ex-MI6 girlfriend Rose (Karen David) being abducted by a band of strangers, Alec realizes he needs some big-time help. So he calls in the troops: his FBI-agent ex-wife Marisa (Maahra Hill) and tech-savvy sister Kylie (Travina Springer), who recently joined the Feds as a consultant. As they begin to piece this mystery together, expect to see a reckless side of the logical Mercer. Says Martin, “This is where he becomes irrational.” —DH
FBI: Most Wanted
Premieres Tuesday, October 15, 10/9c, CBS
Fugitive Task Force leader Remy Scott (Dylan McDermott) reconnects with charismatic attorney Abby Deaver (Susan Misner), “leading to change for both of them,” reveals showrunner David Hudgins. On the crime front, the team deals with an escalating killing spree, radical ecoterrorists and a bank robbery (modeled on a real L.A. heist earlier this year). We’ll also meet the father of Nina (Shantel VanSanten, above), who disapproves of her husband, fellow Fed Scola (John Boyd), and see the newly divorced Sheryll (Roxy Sternberg) trying to reinvent herself. —Ileane Rudolph
Accused
Premieres Tuesday, October 8, 8/7c, FOX
The second season of Fox’s taut courtroom anthology, told in flashbacks from the defendant’s point of view, returns with another roster of top talent. Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy open the season with a missing-child story; Debra Winger gets in too deep with a salsa instructor; and Michael Chiklis returns, this time as a line-crossing wrestling coach.
“Every story this season is [original], not torn from the headlines,” says co-showrunner Howard Gordon. “They’re inspired by challenges we all face at this moment in history.” For Gordon and fellow showrunner Daniel Pearle, ambiguity after the verdicts is intentional. “The show works best,” says Pearle, “when it explores situations where there’s not a perfect solution.” —IR
Night Court
Premieres Tuesday, November 19, 8:30/7:30c, NBC
Could crafty public defender Dan Fielding (John Larroquette) really be the father of Judge Abby Stone’s boyfriend Jake (Ryan Hansen)? Abby (Melissa Rauch, above, with Larroquette) is on the case in the sitcom revival’s third season. But, says executive producer Dan Rubin, “she doesn’t want to get their hopes up.”
Meanwhile, sharp prosecutor Julianne Walters (Wendie Malick), Dan’s vengeful love interest, joins the court full-time. “In addition to being a former arsonist, she’s an accomplished attorney,” Rubin explains. And the show will continue mining its own past. “Longtime fans should keep their eyes open for some upcoming nods to the original,” adds Rubin. —Jim Halterman
Dancing With The Stars
Premieres Tuesday, September 17, 8/7c, abc, disney+
It’s not unusual for host Alfonso Ribeiro to love this long-running competition series. He’d wanted to be involved with the dance show even before he broke the internet with his jazz dance to Tom Jones’ hit in his Mirrorball-winning Season 19. “I was a huge fan, always watched,” he says. “That many years of wanting to do it, and finally getting on — that was a very special moment.” For his third season as host, Ribeiro returns with cohost Julianne Hough and judges Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba, and Bruno Tonioli. But can Season 33’s contestants, like Olympics sensation Stephen Nedoroscik, aka “Pommel Horse Guy,” beat his record for the highest-ever first-week score? The answer is in the Stars. —Emily Aslanian
The Masked Singer
Premieres Wednesday, September 25, 8/7c, FOX
Nights devoted to Barbie, Footloose, and Miley Cyrus, and new costumes such as Dust Bunny, Ship, and Chess Piece (above), highlight the competition’s 12th outing. “The great thing about our show is we’re so bizarre compared to almost [anything else] on TV,” says executive producer Craig Plestis. “We can do whatever we want, but we’re constantly pushing ourselves.”
New additions this year are Masked Ambassadors — past contestants who will deliver clues (masquerading as big hints) during the first appearance of current players. “They are friends of our celebrities,” Plestis teases. “We have [Season 5 winner] Nick Lachey, [Season 11 contestant] Jenifer Lewis, and [Season 6 winner] Jewel.” With promises of “the best singing ever, the best clues ever, and bigger themed episodes,” is there an unlimited shelf life? The EP jokes, “We haven’t run out of celebrities yet!” —Andrea Towers
Lopez vs. Lopez
Premieres Friday, October 18, 8:30/7:30c, NBC
Nuptial planning is in full force for the sitcom’s third season as Mayan (Mayan Lopez) and Quinten (Matt Shively) prepare to tie the knot. It’s no surprise that Mayan’s divorced parents, George (George Lopez) and Rosie (Selenis Leyva), have differing approaches. “Rosie wants drones that light up in the shape of the Virgin Mary,” says exec producer Debby Wolfe. But George’s eyes are on the budget, suggesting the wedding “perhaps takes place in the backyard and swapping doves for chickens,” she adds.
While George and Rosie drunkenly hooked up last season, “there might be some romance, but not between them,” Wolfe hints. And icon Rita Moreno returns as Dolores, the ghost of George’s grandmother, for a Halloween episode. —JH
Shark Tank
Premieres Friday, October 18, 8/7c, ABC
Season 16 will be the last for longtime Shark and billionaire businessman Mark Cuban, who previews that the premiere features mushroom-based mocktails (Cuban calls them “certainly unique!”), a custom-fit mouth guard and a cardio app. “The biggest challenge is to not do all the deals!” says Cuban, who considers his best Tank investments BeatBox Beverages and Dude Wipes. “Both just passed $200 million in sales!”
What’s Cuban learned from the series? “So much—the importance of community to small companies, the importance of kindness, the importance of resilience.”
All Cuban will tease about his possible replacement is this: “There are a few guest Sharks that have been amazing.” —Kate Hahn
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