Best shows to watch this fall: What's new on TV amid dual writers' and actors' strikes
Fall is almost here, but it's far from a new TV season that – according to Nielsen, anyway – kicks off Sept. 25.
Twin strikes by unions representing Hollywood writers and actors linger on, delaying most scripted series on the broadcast networks and depleting reserves of stockpiled shows by streamers like Netflix, which threatens a drought by early next year.
In the meantime, there are still plenty of new and returning fall series to excite us. And broadcasters' schedules will be chock-full of reality shows, which are unaffected by the strikes. USA TODAY's Entertainment staff has picked the best of the bunch based on advance episodes. Mark your calendars!
'The Other Black Girl'
(Hulu; all episodes now streaming)
This suspenseful mystery, adapted from a 2021 novel by Zakiya Dalila Harris, stars Sinclair Daniel as Nella, an ambitious editorial assistant who hopes to modernize and diversify a family publishing company headed by Richard Wagner (Eric McCormack). Nella is thrilled when a second Black editorial assistant, Hazel (Ashleigh Murray), is hired, but the new chapter at the company quickly becomes menacing. Hunter Parrish, Bellamy Young and Garcelle Beauvais also star. — Erin Jensen
'Sex Education'
(Netflix, Sept. 21)
The fourth − and sadly, final − season of “Sex Education” finds British teens Otis (Asa Butterfield), Eric (Ncuti Gatwa) and the gang navigating the idiosyncrasies of their new, shockingly progressive school after the controversial closure of Moordale Secondary. At Cavendish, where the popular kids are queer and socially conscious, Otis competes with a rival, more popular teen sex therapist and balances a transatlantic relationship with newly minted college student Maeve (Emma Mackey). While these high schoolers continue to experience sexual awakenings, search for their identities and seek belonging, unlikely alliances (and splits) happen. Tune in to see whether this acclaimed series finds its, er, happy ending. − KiMi Robinson
'The Fall of the House of Usher'
(Netflix, Oct. 12)
Mike Flanagan's latest Halloween-ready horror show brilliantly blends Edgar Allan Poe tales with a "Succession"-style family that deserves comeuppance. Powerful siblings Roderick (Bruce Greenwood) and Madeline Usher (Mary McDonnell) built a pharmaceutical empire, but the heirs to the morally dubious dynasty are nevermore: Roderick's six children die one by one – via modern reworkings of Poe classics like "The Black Cat" and "The Tell-Tale Heart" – with a raven-haired mystery woman (Carla Gugino) from the Ushers' past as the connective thread. — Brian Truitt
'Frasier'
(Paramount+, Oct. 12, then weekly on Thursdays; first two episodes also air on CBS Oct. 17 at 9:15 EDT/PDT)
Do we miss neurotic Niles Crane (David Hyde Pierce) in the “Frasier” revival? Oh God yes. But nearly nearly two decades after older brother Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) bade farewell to Seattle in the original, Emmy Award-hoovering series (37 wins, a comedy record), the elder Crane brother is starting fresh in Boston without any beloved former castmates. As we see who rises among the newcomers, Grammer’s masterfully comic moments and effortless delivery of tongue-twisting lines will carry the day. And Frasier Crane’s blend of pompousness and vulnerability − and pettiness with bursts of giddy joy − calls for more Champagne, tossed salad and scrambled eggs. — Bryan Alexander
'Fellow Travelers'
(Showtime, Oct. 29, 9 EDT/PDT; streaming weekly on Paramount+ with Showtime Oct. 27)
Get ready for your next steamy-sad obsession. Adapted from Thomas Mallon’s 2007 novel, this intoxicating limited series tells a decades-spanning love story between two closeted government employees (Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey). The show begins during the “Lavender Scare” of the 1950s − a period of intense moral panic around gay people − and culminates with the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. Grippingly paced and emotionally devastating, the series also marks a welcome TV return for “Girls” star Allison Williams and rivals “True Blood” with its sheer number of explicit sex scenes between Bailey and Bomer, who have more chemistry than Walter White's RV lab. − Patrick Ryan
'The Gilded Age'
(HBO, Oct. 29, 9 EDT/PDT; streaming weekly on Max)
The second season of Julian Fellowes' (“Downton Abbey”) series about life in 19th-century New York continues its societal scheming, fights about unions, exploration of class dichotomy and grandly staged dinner parties. And hats. So many hats. Wickedly haughty matriarch Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski) remains in an eternal state of disapproval about Marian’s (Louisa Jacobson) life choices, while Bertha (Carrie Coon) commits even more resolutely to advancing her standing among Manhattan's elite. ‒ Melissa Ruggieri
'A Murder at the End of the World'
(FX on Hulu, Nov. 14)
Netflix’s big-swing drama “The OA” was a short-lived cult favorite. Now, creators Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij are back with another stylish mystery: “A Murder at the End of the World.” The seven-episode limited series is Agatha Christie by way of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” following a hacker-turned-amateur sleuth (Emma Corrin) who investigates a death at a secluded Icelandic retreat. Featuring a killer soundtrack and potent supporting turns from Clive Owen and Harris Dickinson (“Triangle of Sadness”), the nervy thriller takes a chilling dive into our obsessions with true crime and artificial intelligence. − Ryan
'Fargo'
(FX, Nov. 21, Tuesdays at 10 EST/PST; streaming weekly next day on Hulu)
The fifth season of Noah Hawley's anthology, based on Joel and Ethan Coen's 1996 film, returns the series to fine form after a weak Season 4 featuring Chris Rock. This time, another major incident kick-starts the action in 2019 Minnesota and North Dakota, when housewife Dorothy "Dot" Lyon (Juno Temple, "Ted Lasso") has a secret criminal past, and is sought by a vengeful North Dakoka sheriff (Jon Hamm) and suspected by her ruthless mother-in-law (Jennifer Jason Leigh). But Dot has uncanny survival instincts. − Gary Levin
... And more shows we're excited about this fall
"American Horror Story: Delicate" (FX, Sept. 20, 10 EDT/PDT; streams next day on Hulu): The latest chapter in Ryan Murphy's batty anthology, if only to see how well Kim Kardashian can act.
"Survivor" and "The Amazing Race" (CBS, Sept. 27, 8 and 9:30 EDT/PDT): CBS' stalwart reality series, and the new twist of "The Golden Bachelor" (ABC, Sept. 28, 9 EDT/PDT), led by a 71-year-old Indiana widower.
"Gen V" (Amazon Prime, Sept. 29): the first spinoff of hit "The Boys," set at a college for superheroes.
"Lupin" (Netflix, Oct. 5): The third season of the excellent French thriller starring Omar Sy as "gentleman thief" Assane Diop; and Season 7 of "Elite" (Netflix, Oct. 20), the wild Spanish teen soap.
"Lawmen: Bass Reeves" (Paramount+, Nov. 5): “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan returns with a Western epic starring David Oyelowo as the legendary first Black U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi. Also stars Donald Sutherland and Dennis Quaid.
