Just as September marks the beginning of a new year for students and teachers, it’s the same for TV programmers, executives and viewers. Forget any failed programs from last season; it’s a new dawn with a whole new crop of shows. Below are my best bets among this month’s premieres.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS, premieres Sept. 8)
Recently we have seen little of Stephen Colbert on television, minus some guest appearances on programs like The Mindy Project and The Daily Show. Colbert ended a nine-year stint as the host of Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report in December to begin preparations to succeed David Letterman as the anchor of CBS’s late-night programming. We finally get to see what he’s been working on when The Late Show with Stephen Colbert premieres Sept. 8. As the alter ego who shares his name, Colbert was cutting, brash and explosively funny as a Bill O’Reilly-esque pundit. But now the question is: What is Stephen Colbert really like? While I am a bit frustrated that CBS passed on the opportunity to inject late-night with some diversity, Colbert is a skilled entertainer and a logical replacement for the legendary Letterman.
Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris (NBC, premieres Sept. 15)
His ill-fated stint as host of the 2015 Oscars notwithstanding — to be fair, that’s the toughest room in show business — Neil Patrick Harris could host the opening of an envelope and make it the event of the season. Best Time Ever is a live, hour-long variety show that will presumably feature musical numbers, sketches and a series of games involving the audience. If anyone could carry a show by himself, it’s Harris. We’ve seen him as a child doctor (Doogie Howser, M.D.), a notorious lothario (How I Met Your Mother), a mid-transition rocker on Broadway (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) and even a fictionalized version of himself (Harold & Kumar), and now we get to see what he does best: host. This format can be tough for anyone, as it relies so heavily upon one person. But if you have any feelings for NPH in your heart, you should at least try this show.
Keith Richards: Under the Influence (Netflix, premieres Sept. 18)
Any glimpse into a musical legend’s existence is usually pretty cool, but especially when the subject is Keith Richards. He is, of course, best known as the guitarist for the Rolling Stones and maybe less prestigiously for his excessive substance abuse. While Richards has cleaned up his act, his rogue image still remains. Under the Influence follows Richards throughout the creation of his first solo record in over 20 years. I am interested to see how he operates on a day-to-day basis; he’s co-written some of the best songs in music history alongside Mick Jagger, and it would be fascinating to learn how he puts ideas together. Netflix is the perfect distributor because of the lack of censorship requirements. Just a man and his music; what could be better?
The Muppets (ABC, premieres Sept. 22)
If you didn’t grow up with the Muppets in your life, I feel a little bit sad for you. Puppeteer Jim Henson created a world where adults and children felt like they had friends in these witty, felt adorned creatures. With Sesame Street, The Muppet Show and countless films, the Muppets have created a lasting legacy that’s only going to continue. In 2011, Jason Segel helped create a Muppets film that engaged a whole new generation. Now there’s a mockumentary sitcom coming to ABC, and I couldn’t be happier. We’ll get to see our favorite characters mingling with celebrities and musicians on a weekly basis. No matter how the world around us changes or how fast we grow up, it is comforting to know that the Muppets will always bring us the same heartwarming joy we first felt as children. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go YouTube Kermit singing “Rainbow Connection” and ugly-cry, because it’s that damn touching.
Scream Queens (Fox, premieres Sept. 22)
This is Ryan Murphy doing what he does best, at the intersection of camp, comedy, horror and vanity. Scream Queens stars Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween), American Horror Story mainstay Emma Roberts, Lea Michele (Glee) and pop stars Ariana Grande and Nick Jonas, among a bevy of other young Hollywood beauties. The show is about a college campus with a serial killer running rampant, specifically targeting a sorority. The key for this show, like any Murphy project, is finding the right balance between the genres (see AHS) and not amping up the camp to the point where it gets lame (sorry, Glee). But this show looks deliciously entertaining, and a slasher dramedy is pretty different for network television.
The Grinder (Fox, premieres Sept. 28)
If there’s a new show coming to TV starring Rob Lowe, what am I supposed to do? Ignore his perfectly symmetrical, dreamy face? The Grinder stars Lowe as a former television lawyer who’s now trying to act as a real attorney at his brother’s firm. I have to admit that this show looks like a mixed bag: The Wonder Years’ Fred Savage plays his brother, but the premise is a little iffy, and just recently the program’s showrunner Greg Malins (Ground Floor) departed. But as we’ve seen repeatedly from Lowe, in everything from Wayne’s World to Parks and Recreation, he’s both believable and talented in comedic roles. My only hope is that they have some decent writers on staff to give the solid cast something clever to do and say. Maybe I’m just in post-Parks depression and thirsty for some Rob Lowe.
