(This starts a three-story preview of the new season. For this story, we survey new shows on the broadcast networks; next is a cable/streaming round-up.)
It’s almost time for the fall TV season to arrive.
And don’t worry: There aren’t many new shows to keep track of.
If you add up all the new ones on the four big networks, you have three dramas (each of them a spin-off), three game or competition shows and one comedy.
Yes, one comedy (“DMV,” shown here). Let’s hope you don’t need a lot of laughs.
When you add in the CW network and PBS’ Sunday dramas, you get three more dramas — all from Canada or Europe. You’re still at one new comedy.
Here are the new broadcast-network shows, chronologically in each category:
COMEDY
— “DMV,” 8:30 p.m. Mondays, CBS, starting Oct. 13.
TV’s best new comedy is, alas, its only new comedy. Fortunately, it’s a good one.
It’s a workplace comedy, in the style of “Superstore,” “American Auto” and “St. Denis Medical.” That allows for quick gags — catch Mark Feuerstein as an entitled jerk in the opener — and longer stories about the workers.
They’re fun and contrasting people. Tim Meadows plays a burned-out cynic; Harriet Dyer (who co-starred in “American Auto” and has her own Australian gem, “Colin From Accounts”) plays an optimist, trying to link with a hot new colleague.
DRAMA
— “Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent,” 8 p.m. Wednesdays, CW, Sept. 24.
The original “Criminal Intent” was one of the best shows in the “L&O” world, with Vincent D’Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe digging into motivations. It ended in 2011 after a decade, but keeps resurfacing. There have been versions in Russia, France and now Canada … the homeland of the series creator.
This version — with new actors, but the same concept — has already had two 10-episode seasons there, with a third on the way. Now CW adds it.
— “Maigret,” 9 p.m. Sundays, PBS, Oct. 5.
Like Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot, Jules Maigret has been with us almost forever. The first novel was 94 years ago; the first movie — by famed director Jean Renoir — was the next year.
Maigret has been played by at least 10 men (including Gerard Depardieu) in movies and many more (including Rowan Atkinson) on TV. Usually, he has a hat, a thick overcoat, a wife and a mind that probes human details.
In this new version, the hat is gone (revealing great hair), but the coat, wife and mind remain. As played by Benjamin Wainwright, Maigret has a fashion-model look and an unrelenting approach. Each mystery spans twoepisodes. The first story, except for a few minutes at the end, is terrific.
— “The Gold,” 10 p.m. Sundays, PBS, Oct. 5.
Well, this is almost new, anyway. It already aired (two six-hour seasons) in England and on Paramount+.
Still, it fits PBS, which likes England, real-life events and Hugh Bonneville.
This focuses on all sides of a massive gold robbery in 1983 London. It’s heavy on the rage spurred by England’s class structure. And it’s at its best when Bonneville (Robert in “Downton Abbey”) arrives as an upper-crust police official with a sharp grasp of the lower-crust suspects.
— “9-1-1: Nashville,” 9 p.m. Thursdays, ABC, Oct. 9.
OK this is sorta-new, anyway. The producers of “9-1-1” (which precedes this at 8 p.m.) and “9-1-1: Lone Star” (departed) now head to Nashville.
Chris O’Donnell is the captain, Jessica Capshaw is his wife and — since this is Nashville — LeAnn Rimes is a struggling country singer.
— “Sheriff Country,” 9 p.m. Fridays, CBS, Oct. 17.
In two “Fire Country” episodes, we met Morena Baccarin as Mickey, a no-nonsense sheriff. She’s Bode’s aunt and grew up around these people, chatting with suspects on a just-neighbors basis.
Like most TV law people, her personal life is crumbling. Her ex-husband, a lawyer, pushes for custody of their wayward teen daughter. Also, her dad was a big-time pot grower and dealer, long before any of that was legalized.
The opening episode is overcrowded, as many openers are. Then the second pushes that to extremes, with lots of people shouting and screaming instead of behaving the way humans do under pressure. Let’s hope it calms down.
— “Boston Blue,” 10 p.m. Fridays, CBS, Oct. 17.
This gets so tangled that even the characters seem confused. One extended, inter-racial family includes Boston’s district attorney, police superintendent, ace detective and new cop — plus a Baptist minister, alongside many people who converted to Judaism.
Even Danny Reagan (Donnie Wahlberg) — from a family (on “Blue Bloods”) that was packed with detectives, police commissioners and a prosecutor — seems startled.
Yes, it’s all too much … but it’s also forgivable. “Boston Blue” has the same earnest qualities that propelled “Blue Bloods” to a 14-year run. Discarding the usual bickering-cop cliches, Danny and Lena (Soneqa Martin-Green) quickly respect each other. It’s a promising start.
GAMES AND REALITY
— “Celebrity Weakest Link,” 9 p.m. Mondays, Fox, Sept. 15.
Well, Fox considers this a new show, anyway.
The original “Weakest Link,” with Anne Robinson, goes back 25 years. A new one, with Jane Lynch, was on NBC for three years and 46 episodes.
Now — just 15 months after that ended — Lynch is back. This time, the show has celebrities, assembled into interesting combinations.
— “99 to Beat,” 9 p.m. Wednesdays, Fox, Sept. 24.
The magic number for Fox games has become “100.”
“The Floor” (which precedes this show) starts with 100 contestants. So does “The 1% Club,” a terrific summer show. And now this starts with 100 people playing various games and ends the season with a million-dollar winner.
Hosting are two Fox favorites, sports reporter Erin Andrews and the inevitable Ken Jeong.
— “The Road,” 9 p.m. Sundays, CBS, Oct. 19.
Here’s the reality competition that has a shot at being a break-out hit. It has a clever concept, name stars and lots of country music.
This starts with a dozen performers, traveling on a tour bus as opening acts. Keith Urban is the headliner, Gretchen Wilson is the “tour manager” and other Nashville people offer advice. That includes Blake Shelton, who produces the show with “Yellowstone” producer Taylor Sheridan.