The new season start now … or maybe later

Right about now, shouldn’t we be celebrating a new TV season?
Perhaps, but two questions loom: When does it start? And is it worth celebrating?
For that second one, the answer is “sort of.” It’s a modest start — no new shows on ABC or Fox, three each on CBS and NBC — but with bright spots.
One new fall show is terrific (CBS’ “Cupertino,” shown here), some others are promising. One mid-season show is excellent (NBC’s “Rockford Files” reboot), others could be. And six of last year’s mid-season shows are on the fall schedule, one of them (Fox’s “Best Medicine”) outstanding.
But when does the season start? Take your pick:
— Fox says now. It’s entire season starts in one gulp, from a so-so “Name That Tune” Sept. 21 to a delightful “Simpsons” and other comedies, Sept. 27.
— CBS says wait two more weeks. Its scripted shows start Oct. 4-9.
— ABC sprawls over a month, from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. NBC goes even further, from Sept. 17 to Oct. 23.
— PBS persists, despite budget cuts. It already has strong Sunday dramas; on Sept. 21-22, it has the terrific “New York: A Documentary Film.”
— Streamers and premium networks don’t worry about seasons; they keep rolling, as shows pop in and out with short (8-10 episodes) years.
November, for instance, will bring a streamer surge, with the return of “The Gilded Age” (Nov. 1, HBO Max), “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” (Nov. 11, Amazon Prime), “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” (Nov. 20, Disney+) and “Blade Runner 2099” (Nov. 25, Prime). Then “Only Murders in the Building” returns Dec. 8 on Hulu.
And new streaming shows keep pouring out, from Sept. 24 (Netflix’s ambitious “A Different World” reboot) to the Christmas Day debut of a series that re-tells “Harry Potter” from the beginning.
But for now, we’ll focus on those broadcast networks, which are serious about having a new fall season.
Their shows try to have it both ways. Like the streamers, they want to have longer stories that wrap through the season; unlike them, they also want a specific story that starts and ends in one episode.
“An audience can come and drop into your show and be satisfied, but also come back for the relationships,” said Ben Spector, a showrunner for NBC’s “In the Line of Fire.” For writers, he said, it’s a “fun challenge.”
Matt Lopez, of CBS’ “Sheriff Country,” talks about a three-tiered plan — wrapping up one key story each week … having “chapters” that might span three or four weeks … and having “stories that span the entire season.”
But what about half-hour comedies? This fall, there will only be seven of them on broadcast networks (not counting cartoons), only two of them new.
“There are so few made now, it feels nostalgic in the most positive ways,” said Ignacio Diaz-Silverio, a young co-star of NBC’s “Newlyweds.”
That show will feel especially nostalgic, because it’s one of only three comedies this fall shot in front of an audience. “This gives you the experience of performing in front of live people and that special energy,” said Tim Daly, who stars with his wife, Tea Leoni.
Comedies and dramas also have more range these days. Just look back a decade, to when Joe Port and Joe Wiseman wrote a pilot script about a vampire couple, slogging through their sixth century together.
One executive, Port said, told them: “Well, that was bat (poop) crazy.”
That was a no; CBS did buy the script, but never filmed it. But then came “What We Do in the Shadows” on cable and the original “Ghosts” in England. Port and Wiseman were hired to create the American version.
Now “Ghosts” will be back at mid-season — a busy time for all the networks. This fall, its Thursday slot goes to “Eternally Yours” — the same vampire comedy that was rejected more than a decade ago. “It’s less of a hill to climb, to convince people,” Wiseman said.
Their show will be part of a Thursday line-up that has CBS at its best: The comedies “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage” and “Eternally Yours” will be followed by “Elsbeth” and “Cupertino,” both featuring whip-smart lawyers and both from Robert and Michelle King.
“Broadcast shows don’t get lost,” Michelle King said. “There are a few streaming shows that one hears about, but there are so very many that … no one has heard of.”
And broadcast shows get more episodes and more latitude, Robert King said. “I like doing 20 episodes, because you can be intuitive in the writing.”
You can even write something that’s sort of bat-poop crazy.