TV Feature: The 10 Most Promising Network Shows of Fall 2013

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Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Photo credit: FOX

5. “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” (FOX, Tuesdays, 7:30pm CST)

It’s a hipster “Barney Miller” on another show that makes the list purely because of its potential and not the strength of its mediocre pilot. There’s a lot of set-up required in the first episode of this “The Office”-esque look at life in a wacky police precinct but the cast is excellent, especially the always-great Andre Braugher. Joe Lo Truglio, Terry Crews, Andy Samberg — this show is the most likely to be “The Mindy Project” of 2013, another program that started slowly but had the talented ensemble to get over the growing pains and turned into a great group piece. I hope the same happens here.

The Michael J. Fox Show
Photo credit: NBC

4. “The Michael J. Fox Show” (NBC, Thursdays, 8:30pm)

How can NBC save the once-great Thursday night line-up? Bring back the people who made it great in the first place. And, so, right in the middle of the night, comedy fans can see if Sean Hayes (“Sean Saves the World”) and Michael J. Fox can save the peacock network (before leading into the “why didn’t they put it there years ago” Thursday night premiere of “Parenthood”). It makes perfect sense. Bolster the night with one of the biggest comedy stars of all time. And the way that Fox has slowly come back into the spotlight with guest appearances on “Rescue Me,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and “The Good Wife” has made this feel like a natural progression. He’s well-matched with Betsy Brandt (“Breaking Bad”), who proves she can do comedy as well as drama. The pilot is overly self-referential in that Fox plays a newscaster returning to TV after dealing with Parkinson’s, but I believe this show, already ordered to a full season, is likely to be a breakout hit. It could easily be on for years.

The Blacklist
Photo credit: NBC

3. “The Blacklist” (NBC, Mondays, 9pm CST)

The sheer star power of James Spader combined with the production values brought to the pilot by director Joe Carnahan (“The Grey”) makes this the most surprisingly entertaining hour of the new season. I didn’t see it coming but this “Silence of the Lambs”-esque tale of a notorious criminal (Spader) and the new, young, sexy female recruit (Megan Boone) who is the only person he’ll talk to is incredibly well-paced to the point that its flaws and cliches become easy to overlook. Like the other two shows above it (and, remember, these are really the only three that I feel strongly about on the entire list), it passes the ultimate test of the pilot — I want to see what happens next week. With “The Voice” as its lead-in, NBC has a hit on their hands.

Hostages
Photo credit: CBS

2. “Hostages” (CBS, Mondays, 9pm CST)

A great cast, a clever premise, and strong production values combined with the fact that we’ve been told that this limited series will wrap up satisfactorily before winter ends? Sign me up. Like some other programs that seemed to defy multiple seasons — “24,” “Prison Break” — “Hostages” seems to be more of a mini-series but even if it only gives us one great season, I’ll take the ride. The GREAT Toni Collette stars as the President’s surgeon. She’s kidnapped (along with her husband played by Tate Donovan) by Dylan McDermott and some other masked men, who order her to abuse her position. “Hostages” is well-paced but could easily devolve into cliched silliness in a week or two. I hope the writing and pacing stays consistent throughout its limited run. And then we can figure out what the Hell they do in season two.

Almost Human
Photo credit: FOX

1. “Almost Human” (FOX, Mondays, 8pm CST)

The pilot for this FOX series was directed by the great Brad Anderson (“The Machinist,” “Session 9”) and produced by J.J. Abrams. It just doesn’t seem fair, does it? Especially not this season. The sheen brought to it by Abrams feels more like the confident, genre-busting material he did on “LOST” or “Fringe” than a lackluster misstep like “Alcatraz”. The pitch is simple — a buddy cop show where one of the cops isn’t all human. It’s the future and Karl Urban and Michael Ealy star as the human and the almost human, respectively. Both stars have great charisma on their own and chemistry together. Add their star power to Abrams & talented people behind the camera like Anderson and you have a likely hit. It doesn’t debut until after the World Series. So it will be awhile before I’m proven wrong.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com