While to the rest of the world September means back to school, changing of leaves and the reintegration of pumpkin spice lattes into the diet, for TV nerds it means only one thing: the return of network TV. September is the gold mine month of the calendar year, when most of your favorite shows return with brand-new episodes. Below are my best bets among this month’s returning premieres.
OWN
Oprah: Where Are They Now? (OWN, returns Sept. 19)
Like many people in the millennial generation, I grew up watching The Oprah Winfrey Show over my mother’s shoulder. I enjoyed seeing the glamorous celebrities sit down to talk about their latest films, and I learned about all kinds of problems in the world. While her series ended in 2011 after 25 years, Winfrey continues to create and produce programming on her network, OWN. Oprah: Where Are They Now? is returning for its seventh season, and it packs a sentimental and informative punch. The program features Winfrey and her producing team checking in on guests who have frequented the show over the years. Many public figures have appeared, from Sheila E. to Betty White, countless now-grown-up child actors. and victims and delinquents involved in some of the most fascinating crimes of our time. Not only do you get to see Oprah in action, but you essentially have an epilogue to all of those famous interviews. If you have premium cable and a curiosity about celebrities, this show is for you.
Fox
The 67th Primetime Emmy Awards (Fox, Sept. 20)
While award shows in recent years are mostly snooze-fests — with the exception of endeavors by Amy Poehler and Tina Fey —this year’s Emmy host, Adam Samberg, has the ability to really tear it up. A Saturday Night Live alumnus, a member of the comedy trio the Lonely Island and the lead on Fox’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine, he’s a natural entertainer. At last year’s Emmys, he had a glorious turn as King Joffrey in a Game of Thrones-themed musical number led by “Weird Al” Yankovic. Besides Samberg’s hosting potential, the crop of fresh new shows and talent are making the competition fiercer than ever. It will be interesting to see what the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences selects as winners. Modern Family is trying to win Outstanding Comedy Series for the sixth year in a row, which would break Frasier’s record for most wins in that category.
FOX
Empire (Fox, returns Sept. 23)
Empire is one of the first shows in years to get people really excited. Nielsen estimated that over 20 million people watched the show’s first season finale last spring, and for good reason. Empire has everything a person could want in a drama: passion, mystery, a touch of humor, solid music and a narrative that is cultivated directly from pieces of hip-hop history. Created by Lee Daniels (The Butler) and Danny Strong (Game Change), the show centers on a musical family and its patriarch, Lucious Lyon. While he is primarily a mogul now running his own music label, in his younger days he was a successful rapper. However, this only happened after having his wife and mother of his three sons, Cookie, sent to prison for his drug dealing. The narrative begins 17 years later, when Cookie is released from jail, Lucious is diagnosed with ALS and the three Lyon sons all begin to compete for his empire. The music, executive produced by Timbaland, weaves perfectly into the narrative and sometimes tells us more about the characters than their dialogue does. Terrence Howard is able to capture both the dark and light sides of Lucious, handling the task of portraying this moving target of an anti-hero. Trai Byers, Jussie Smollett and Bryshere Y. Gray are fantastic as the three archetypical sons, but the crown jewel of Empire is Taraji P. Henson as Cookie. She brings drama, laughter, attitude and strength to every scene she’s in. Plus, she has some of the best writing in the series (“The streets ain’t made for everybody; that’s why they made sidewalks”).
Some critics take issue with Empire because it can be unrealistic at times. While the music industry has been struggling for the past decade or so, Empire artists seem to be flourishing, with album and tour sales only a Taylor Swift or Katy Perry can achieve. And part of the show’s appeal is that it takes place in some sort of alternate universe. The drama can border on soap — Daniels has said he wanted to make a “black Dynasty”) — but that’s what makes it great. It’s challenging not to get sucked into this gold-plated story world, one where our allegiances can shift, our hearts can break and we can be suspended in time.
ABC
The Goldbergs (ABC, returns Sept. 23)
In the last decade, it seems like there are very few shows that people can watch as a family (because too much sex stuff on TV, am I right?). The Goldbergs is a great antidote to television’s “family” problem. Often shows about families are either too hokey and lame or they just repeat what’s been done over and over. But The Goldbergs, part of ABC’s family comedy Wednesdays, is an underrated gem. It’s about creator Adam F. Goldberg’s experience growing up in suburban Philadelphia in the 1980s. The humor on The Goldbergs is razor-sharp, and the writing is some of the best in comedy today. The situations depicted actually happened to the creator, and the pop culture references are authentic to the era (everything from E.T. to Transformers to the 1984 election). I initially started watching because the parental figures, Wendi-McLendon Covey (Bridesmaids) and Jeff Garlin (Curb Your Enthusiasm), are two of my favorite comedic actors. However, it’s the kids who really shine, conveying all the fighting, kicking, yelling and sometimes loving moments of growing up. It’s one of the few shows you can watch with your family, and it will have you doubling over laughing and rewinding the DVR.
ABC
Black-ish (ABC, returns Sept. 23)
Along with The Middle, The Goldbergs and Modern Family, Black-ish rounds out ABC’s family comedy Wednesdays. While this is a solid lineup, Black-ish is perhaps the strongest in its point of view. The show is about an African American family with four children and, like sitcom predecessors The Cosby Show (now forever tainted) and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (still awesome), two working parents in high net-worth jobs. Andre “Dre” Johnson (Anthony Anderson) is an advertising executive and Rainbow “Bow” Johnson (Tracee Ellis Ross) is a doctor. Bow and especially Dre want their children to recognize how they grew up, in a time with less “stuff” and when black culture was different. However, their four children are very independent, and the family discussions are often equal parts thought-provoking and humorous. Like in The Goldbergs, the young actors who play the children make the show. They have a great chemistry, making the audience believe this family dynamic. Anderson’s narration is a crucial part of the show, and while the pilot bordered on being preachy, the writers quickly found the perfect amount of social commentary per episode. Also, everyone’s Woman Crush Wednesday should be Tracee Ellis Ross. Not only is she hilarious, quick-witted and relatable, but Ross also portrays a person that could exist in the real world.
ABC
How to Get Away with Murder (ABC, returns Sept. 24)
Two words: Viola. Davis. This powerhouse actress is the driving force as this show returns for a second season. Equal parts soap drama and thriller, it comes from the Shondaland camp and was created by Peter Nowalk (Scandal, Grey’s Anatomy). Yes, there are the trademark sexy people studying the law and overcoming personal emotional issues, but I do not envy the situation those hot people got themselves into. Davis stars as defense lawyer and law professor Annalise Keating, a talented and cutthroat professional woman. At its core, the show is a thriller: Much of the first season was spent getting to know a small group of law students chosen to study with Keating and their investigation into who murdered a young woman on their college campus. Some viewers may find How to Get Away with Murder to be unrealistic. For instance, could a human being physically handle two full-time, high-stress jobs without a time-turner? And what are the chances of all of these events happening in the course of just a few months? Like Empire, sometimes you must accept that this is a story world modeled after the real world, where everything and anything can happen. This show is worth watching purely for Davis, who has a heart-stopping breakdown scene where she removes her makeup and wig to show the audience her true self. How to Get Away with Murder is suspense-filled and pleasingly unpredictable.
