Fall TV Preview: The Scoop on 35 New Shows

The 1-Sentence Pitch: Three people from very different walks of life — loan officer Nick (Adam Brody), tech whiz Izzy (Otmara Marrero), and gangster Ronald (Edi Gathegi) — try to launch a Bitcoin-like business with dirty money, which draws the attention of an FBI agent (Martin Freeman) who has secrets, and agendas, of his own.

What to Expect: Things in this Miami-set drama get real crazy, real fast. Freeman's Phil Rask is an FBI financial crimes agent who's sick of chasing rich bad guys, only to see them get away and get even richer, while he chugs along on his government salary. "He’s reached that crossroads where he goes, 'I don’t have the strength of character to not be on the take when everyone in this system is taking shortcuts,'" Freeman says. "With that decision, as well as his frustration at his job, and therefore America and the human race, there’s also self-loathing in him, because he knows he’s given in and taken a shortcut? but he’s going to do it anyway, because he doesn’t wanna be doing this job till he’s 65."

Playing Against Type: Freeman says he was drawn to the Crackle drama because, "It's similar to Fargo, where I was asked to do something that I wasn’t necessarily known that well for. [Rask] is already kind of a sociopath. He goes further and further down that road as the episodes unfold." That provided the Sherlock Emmy winner the chance to add layers to an already-complicated character. "If you’re beautiful and a hunk, and you’ve got great cheekbones, you can probably get away with two dimensions," Freeman says. "I’m not. I’m a small fella with a weird little face, so no one’s going to take that s–t from me." — Kimberly Potts

(Credit: Crackle)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: If Louie starred Donald Glover (Community) and was about rap instead of stand-up, it would be Atlanta.

What to Expect: "You’re in Donald’s experience of Atlanta," says showrunner Paul Simms. "Seeing it through his eyes and feeling it through his mind." Glover plays Earn, a smart but mostly unsuccessful twenty-something who worms his way into managing the career of his cousin, a rapper on the cusp of fame (Brian Tyree Henry). The tone goes from comic to tragic to dream-like and surreal at the drop of a hat and, while it’s unlike anything Glover has done in the past, Simms says, "This is just a further extension of who he is."

But Will He Rap?: Glover left Community in part to work on his music career, under the stage name Childish Gambino. But at a Television Critics Association panel this year, he said that the choice not to play a rapper himself on the show was deliberate, believing that it would take too much suspension of disbelief for the audience. — Robert Chan

(Credit: Guy D’Alema/FX)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: "The show is centered around three siblings, Nova, Charley, and Ralph Angel, who are all facing a family tragedy in New Orleans and the surrounding area," says Dawn-Lyen Gardner, who plays Charley.

What to Expect: Adapted from Natalie Basziles's novel of the same name by Selma director Ava DuVernay and Oprah Winfrey, Queen centers on the three Bordelon siblings with disparate lives who come together to save their father’s sugarcane farm. Nova (Rutina Wesley) is a journalist and activist in New Orleans, while brother Ralph Angel (Kofi Siriboe) returns home from prison to try to reconnect with his child. Meanwhile, Charley is the glamorous wife of a pro athlete living a flashy life in L.A. "Her life is so extreme and the epitome of the American dream," Gardner says. "She’s really got the whole package. But I think what people will relate is when that package falls apart." The siblings cooperate despite the differences among them. "That’s part of what they all have to confront — how estranged they feel and how there is this backbone, this history, that they have all, in their way, abandoned.”

Who Run the World? DuVernay hired female directors for each episode. "It was enormous on how we worked. It was thrilling to work with an all female directorial team," Gardner says. "I think they all brought perspective and intimacy that was different." — Kelly Woo

(Credit: OWN)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: Basically a female Louie, which Better Things executive producer/creator/writer/lead Pamela Adlon also produces and won a guest actress Emmy for. "It is about a single mom and her three daughters just getting through every day and finding funny in the mundane," Adlon explains. "It's just real life."

What to Expect: Sam (Adlon) is a working actress who does voiceover animation work and has three girls and an English expat mom. "Life gives us plenty of material, but we don't always use it in exactly the same way on the show," says Adlon. For example, the pilot features her teenager asking mom to score some "organic nugs" of pot for her. "My daughter and I were looking at a post online. She said, 'Look at those nugs.' And I was like, 'What the f–k are nugs and why do you know that word?'" Adlon calls in cameo favors from IRL friends like Julie Bowen, David Duchovny, Constance Zimmer, Diedrich Bader, and Lenny Kravitz. While Louie C.K. will not appear on screen in Season 1, he did write/co-write several episodes and serves as an executive producer.

Like Father, Like Daughter: Children learn by example so no surprise that Adlon cribbed some of her creative process from her comedy writer/author dad Don Segall (The Jeffersons, Who's the Boss?, The Love Boat). "Anytime, I get an idea or inspiration I jot it down on whatever is around and add it to the Rolodex for possible later use. I call them brain bits. That's how my dad used to write. He would write down his brain bits on little pieces of paper and there were pieces everywhere." — Carrie Bell

(Credit: FX)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: "Here’s the thing that makes this one special," The Case Of executive producer Tom Forman explains, "Twenty years after one of the most [famous] unsolved homicides of the 20th century, frustrated investigators who worked the case the first time around but couldn’t pursue the investigative leads they wanted to pursue, reunite to try to solve it."

What to Expect: The six-hour docuseries is one of several new specials that delve into the case of the six-year-old beauty pageant contestant, who was found murdered in her family's Boulder, Colorado home the day after Christmas in 1996. "I know other networks are doing retrospectives, going back to the archival footage," Forman says. "It isn’t that we won’t use that stuff? but most of what we’re doing is real-time investigating, following a team of investigators as they run the case the way they wish they could have back in 1996. Having watched their investigation? when they got to the end, they had tried on every theory. They had looked at this a million different ways. There is really only one conclusion that fits the evidence. A team of world-renowned investigators all reached that conclusion independently."

Family Affair: The Ramsey family was cleared via DNA evidence of any involvement in the crime, but father John and brother Burke (mom Patsy died of ovarian cancer in 2006) still refused to participate in the CBS series. "There are family members who did cooperate really closely,” Forman teases, "though not John and Burke. They were given every opportunity to talk and chose not to.” The Ramsey family home does make an appearance in the series, courtesy of meticulously reconstructed — right down to the same carpet, wallpaper, windows, and gifts under the Christmas tree — versions of rooms relevant to the investigation. "If they were going to prove that anybody in the upstairs bedroom would have heard a window breaking downstairs in the basement, you needed to have the same windows and the same carpet, and the upstairs needed to be just as far away from the downstairs as it was in the house back in 1996," Forman says. "We were fastidious about the details." — KP

(Credit: CBS)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: "It is a collection of short stories focused on New Yorkers who all order weed from the same central character known only as The Guy," explains Ben Sinclair, who along with his wife Katja Blichfeld, created, writes, directs, and produces the comedy.

What to Expect: The series, which has puffed and passed online for three seasons, will pick up where it left off when it moves to HBO. "We are treating it as a continuation of the work we have already done instead of having to reboot it," Blichfeld says. “We were mindful of the fact that there would be new people watching." If you'd like to catch up, all 19 webisodes will be available on HBO GO. Fans will recognize familiar faces like agoraphobic Patrick (Michael Cyril Creighton), The Assholes (Max Jenkins and Heléne Yorke) and Homeless Heidi (Greta Lee), but this season will also introduce new customers like Gigi and Leo (Amy Ryan and Lee Tergesen), a jaded couple throwing a birthday party.

Breaking The Cycle: The Guy (Sinclair) rides around town from one drop to the next on his fixed-gear bike without a care in the world. The guy who plays The Guy? Not so much. "I only ride that pain-in-the-ass bike as the character and I tried to ride it in a way that he would ditch it by the end of the season because that bike is a piece of s–t," Sinclair groans. "I don't like fixed gears. It feels very unsafe. I like a handbrake. I have weak thighs and what doesn't look cool is a dude trying to stop a fixie with weak thighs." — CB

(Credit: HBO)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: "Kevin James plays a retired police officer who finds that going back home to his family and trying to have a wonderful retirement is way more difficult than he planned," says executive producer Rock Reuben.

What to Expect: James is back to his blue-collar brand, but this time he’s a guy ready to spend more time with his wife (Erinn Hayes) and kids — and his daughter's live-in fiancé. "That’s the basic premise of him coming home from this 20-year stressful job as a cop and now realizing 'I don’t know my kids quite as well as I should,’" Reuben says. Also back: James's real-life brother, Gary Valentine, who will play his TV brother, a firefighter. "There's always that wonderful rivalry between cops and firefighters about who is better, who’s braver, so it’s a funny role for him to have," Reuben adds.

King of Long Island: Kevin Can Wait is being shot in front of a live audience on Long Island. "Kevin is a Long Island guy. He's an icon here. This is where his family is, this is where his friends are, and he always wanted to bring it here," says EP Bruce Helford. "He wants Long Island to be a character in the show, which means we want to go out to location, we want to shoot scenes in different places he knew and loved and grew up with? So we're out here, the first time a live sitcom was ever shot on Long Island." — Victoria Leigh Miller

(Credit: David Giesbrecht/CBS)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: "Kristen Bell arrives in the afterlife and is told by Ted Danson that she was a wonderful person who is in the equivalent of heaven, and she comes to realize that there’s been some kind of a mistake and that she doesn’t in any way deserve to be there," says creator Mike Schur (Parks and Recreation). It combines Bell's two favorite things: "Laughter and discovering what it means to be a good person.”

What to Expect: Wanting to stay in The Good Place, Eleanor (Bell) enlists the help of her alleged soulmate (William Jackson Harper's Chidi) to teach her his ways before her selfish behavior ruins the idyllic neighborhood created by first-time afterlife architect Michael (Danson). It's a bit Lost-like, Schur says, in that there'll be revealing flashbacks to characters' time on earth. "You think you know certain people and then when you get their backstories, you’ll have a different view of what kind of people they were," he hopes. Most episodes end with a cliffhanger. "I swear to God it’s like Alice in Wonderland," says Danson, who enjoys playing a character who’s in way over his head. "We take so many left-hand turns and go down these rabbit holes."

The Good Friends: Danson and Bell first worked together on the 2012 movie Big Miracle and have been known to double date with their spouses, Mary Steenburgen and Dax Shepard. "I took Ted and Mary to their first escape room," Bell says. "It was like a jail cell scenario, and I was trying to explain the concept and they were very excited about it, but I think it became slightly overwhelming and Ted just sat down on the bed and watched." ("I took a little bit of a nap while everyone else was running around trying to figure it out," Danson says. "They're very alpha. I do enjoy my naps.") — Mandi Bierly

(Credit: Justin Lubin/NBC)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: “A highly-provocative character uses behavioral sciences to tip the scale of justice in favor of the average person,” says executive producer Mark Goffman (Limitless, Sleepy Hollow). That character, Dr. Jason Bull (played by NCIS‘s Michael Weatherly), is inspired by the early career of Dr. Phil McGraw, who founded one of the nation’s most prolific trial consulting firms.

What to Expect: Cases will range from the idiosyncratic and fun to the timely and relevant. But what might appeal most to fans missing Weatherly on NCIS, is that Bull’s business is a team effort: His former brother-in-law (Freddy Rodriguez) serves as a defense attorney in the company’s mock trials; there’s a neurolinguistics expert (Geneva Carr); an investigator (Jaime Lee Kirchner); a hacker (Annabelle Attanasio); and a stylist (Chris Jackson). “Bull comes from a difficult family relationship,” says Goffman, “and what he’s done with this company is created the family that he’s always wanted.”

Bull’s Worth: We’ll learn more about enigmatic Bull, too, such as whether he grew up with money. “Everyone is speculating whether he did or not because he seems to not really care about money,” Goffman says. “He takes on the cases that most intrigue him, not necessarily the ones that are going to make him [rich]. It takes a certain kind of individual to live that way.” — MB

(Credit: David M. Russell/CBS)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: A dramedy from the writer and directors of Crazy, Stupid, Love that follows the wildly different lives of four people (Milo Ventimiglia, Sterling K. Brown, Chrissy Metz, and Justin Hartley) who share a birthday and ultimately much more.

What to Expect: "Old-fashioned, realistic, and honest storytelling," according to showrunner Dan Fogelman, who was inspired by '70s and '80s films like Kramer vs. Kramer and Terms of Endearment and the John Hughes and Cameron Crowe oeuvres. "Life is a slog and these characters each have a difficult touchstone issue they're dealing with, like forgiving the biological parent that abandoned them, being overweight and feeling unlovable, career setbacks, raising children, and the evolution of a marriage, but it's not a show for cynical people. These people are relatable in that most of us are flawed and make bad decisions."

Father Figure: To play a Pittsburgh dad and husband, Ventimiglia, who has never been either, looked no further than his own life. "Ironically, it was the easiest role to jump into. I feel like I'm playing my father, and my father is the greatest man I know. [My character is] good-natured, kindhearted and his fun spirit all reminded me of my dad. I could totally see my dad picking up a rectal exam tool at the hospital and trying to make a joke to make my mom less nervous." — CB

(Credit Paul Drinkwater/NBC)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: Forget the later Lethal Weapon movies with Joe Pesci and Chris Rock. Showrunner Matt Miller says that the TV version of the blockbuster film franchise will take the story back to the original film's basics: "It's a buddy action comedy about an LAPD detective, Roger Murtaugh (Damon Wayans), who is terrified of death, being paired up with a guy, Martin Riggs (Clayne Crawford), looking for a way to die."

What to Expect: Miller promises that the series will strive to offer the same thrills as the movies, pointing to a big set-piece in the pilot episode, which takes place at the Grand Prix of Long Beach. "We probably won't be able to do things of that scope every week, but we're not shying away from it. People are jumping off roofs and onto cars!" And while the series is procedural in nature, there will be a season-long arc that takes viewers into the violent world of drug cartels.

Casting Call: Before embarking on the new Lethal Weapon, Miller sat down with the architects of the original film, director Richard Donner and writer Shane Black, to get their blessing. "Richard told me, 'You gotta make sure you have the right guys. You don't have the guys, you don't have a show." That piece of advice led to an intensive casting call for the new Riggs and Murtaugh — roles made iconic by Mel Gibson and Danny Glover — that Miller describes as "brutal." Wayans signed on the morning after his first meeting with the showrunner, but Crawford says he turned down the role of Riggs four times. "When it comes to theater, you're encouraged to take on roles that the greats have taken on," he explains. "The trouble with film is it lives forever. But when I read the script, I saw so much room for new ideas and a new Riggs. I go into this knowing that I can't do what Mel did, but I'm going to try my hardest to bring something fresh to it." — Ethan Alter

(Credit: Richard Foreman/Fox)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: "Speechless is about a normal family with a child with special needs, and it explores how they deal with their challenges — and how they very ably create new challenges for themselves."

What to Expect: Just because creator Scott Silveri also grew up with a brother who had cerebral palsy, don’t expect the show to be too autobiographical. "When I wrote this thing the first time," recalls Silveri, "it was closer to therapy than comedy writing. You get paid for comedy writing; you pay for therapy!" But it turns out, "Letting go of my experience, that was freeing." It allowed him to tell stories, not just report facts. Like Black-ish and Fresh Off the Boat, his show is one that everybody can relate to, but grounded in reality with the specifics of families you don’t often see on TV.

Balancing Act: Much of the show is about what it’s like to live with a family member who has cerebral palsy, and, "We feel responsibility to portray this experience with some reality and a lot of respect," says Silveri. At the same time though, he says they reserve the right to get "unapologetically silly." — RC

(Credit: Kevin Foley/ABC)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: "It’s a show about a man becoming the man he didn’t know he could be, and in the process, giving the nation the leader they didn’t know they needed," showrunner Jon Feldman says.

What to Expect: Here's what not to expect: President Jack Bauer. Yes, Kiefer Sutherland is the titular survivor who becomes the POTUS after most of the nation’s leaders are killed in a terrorist attack, but Sutherland's Tom Kirkman is a mild-mannered, inexperienced HUD secretary who might have a chance to build a better version of the government — and actually get things done. “One of the fascinating things is to watch how this president, who comes in with a lot of idealism, is forced to navigate the political machine,” says Feldman. “Can you be an idealist in Washington, or do you have to start to play ball to get things done?" Kirkman also has to make time for his loved ones, who face their own pressures as the First Family, and with the ongoing developments of the investigation — led by Maggie Q's FBI agent Hannah Wells — into the attack that sparked his new career. "The show does have a lot of parts," Feldman says. "There’s suspense, there's action, there is character and there’s emotion, there's the whole political realm. All these different parts of the show work together to make it pretty compelling."

Making (TV) America Great Again: "Despite the events that kick off the show, and despite the week-to-week challenges [Kirkman] faces, I think the series does have an inherent optimism to it," Feldman says. "Hope that not only can a leader emerge from these events, but that he can rally the country to a greater place. Our hope is that we’re creating a third party candidate.” — KP

(Credit: ABC)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: A powerful defense attorney (Graceland‘s Daniel Sunjata) and a clever TV producer (Covert Affairs‘ Piper Perabo) collude to help his clients and her ratings. Or, as executive producer Josh Berman (Drop Dead Diva) puts it, “Our show shines a light on the intersection of law and media and how the two worlds collide.”

What to Expect: Sunjata’s Jake and Perabo’s Julia are loosely based on Mark Geragos and Wendy Walker, who was the senior executive producer of Larry King Live for 18 years. “They actually are good people,” Berman says of his characters, who have strong moral compasses (and separate, sticky personal lives). “It’s taking cases, whether it’s O.J., or Natalee Holloway, or Scott Peterson, and taking the viewers behind the scenes. The next time they turn on a high-profile case being covered in the news, they’ll have a unique perspective.”

Gender Bender: Julia works for Louise Herrick Live, and has an attractive young ingénue on staff, Ryan (The Boy Next Door‘s Ryan Guzman), who’s looking to prove himself. “It is very deliberate that Ryan is a very sexy guy who’s 25, and Louise [played by Kate Jennings Grant] is a sexually-empowered, gorgeous woman who’s 45,” Berman says. “We’re turning stereotypes on their head.” — MB

(Credit: Kevin Foley/ABC)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: "It’s about the first woman to make it in Major League Baseball? and at a certain point, her celebrity’s going to dwarf her athletic ability," series co-creator Dan Fogelman says.

What to Expect: That groundbreaking MLB player is Ginny Baker (Under the Dome's Kylie Bunbury). "She’s just a regular girl who does have a talent and does have a gift, but works extremely hard and has a lot of focus," says Bunbury, who spent nearly three months boxing and training with former MLB players to prepare for the role. “Her father helps her succeed and pushes her. Her dream and her passion is baseball. Now, all of a sudden, she’s the most famous woman in the world. How does anyone deal with that?" We’re not going to spoil the major twist at the end of the pilot, but Fogelman will drop one hint: "Playing with flashbacks in time is something we’re going to do a lot of in almost every one of the early episodes," he says. "Kind of the past commenting on the stories in the present."

The Real Deal: Ginny is a San Diego Padre, and thanks to Pitch's partnership with MLB, the pilot was filmed in Petco Park, and future episodes will also include real MLB locations (like Dodger Stadium in episode 2), and guest appearances by MLB players. "It was incredibly powerful and emotional for me to walk onto that mound [at Petco] and to be able to pitch from that mound," Bunbury says. "I kept thinking about how many people would dream of being down on this field. I’m not taking any moment for granted, that’s for sure." — KP

(Credit: Ray Micksha/Fox)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: The classic ’80s character is back, revamped for 2016.

What to Expect: Not many people become verbs, but look up "MacGyvered" in the dictionary and there he is — turning bubble-gum, a pile of leaves, and a paperclip into a rocket launcher. Showrunner Peter Lenkov, who also brought back Hawaii Five-0 (currently entering its seventh season) was fascinated by the idea of a hero who uses "creativity as a weapon" and was excited to see what effect today’s technology would have on the idea. The pilot alone has four massive action sequences — any one of which might have been impossible in 1985. And it only gets bigger from there. "That’s the thing about launching a new show," says Lenkov. "You have to live up to the pilot. My job [is] to make sure it [does]."

Rebooting a Reboot: Though the first pilot was scrapped and had to be completely reshot, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The script was re-written to play to the strengths of star Lucas Till (X-Men: First Class) and executive producer James Wan (Furious 7, Aquaman), who had scheduling conflicts that prevented him from directing the first pilot, was brought in to helm the version that will air in September. — RC

(Credit: Ron P. Jaffe/CBS)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: The title pretty much sums it up, but allow creator Jeremy Slater, who has the unenviable task of turning the 1973 horror movie classic into a hit TV series, to point out one crucial element of this new Exorcist: It's not a remake or a reboot, but rather a continuation of a story that began forty years ago. But the basic premise isn't entirely unchanged: "Two priests are called together to come to the aid of a normal American family that's experiencing a terrifying supernatural attack."

What to Expect: Slater says that the first season will tell the complete story of this particular possession, which threatens to destroy the lives of the Rance family, including mom Angela (Geena Davis), mentally impaired father Henry (Alan Ruck), and daughter Casey (Hannah Kasulka), who becomes the gateway for the invading demon. An eerie attic sequence in the pilot points to the kinds of scares this Exorcist will try to pull off on a week-to-week basis. "You have to be strategic when you're going to scare the hell out of your audience," Slater says, adding that he's looking to the horror films of the '70s for his inspiration. "If the storytelling is strong enough, you really don't need more than one or two genuinely terrifying moments per episode to keep people coming back. I hope!"

Cover Your Eyes: Raised in the Bible Belt, Kasulka says that she wasn't allowed to watch The Exorcist as a child, but finally caught up with William Friedkin's scarefest when she learned she'd be following in Linda Blair's footsteps as a demonically possessed daughter. "I was like, 'Is it going to live up to the hype?' But it does! It's iconic for a reason." The actress — who points to Blair's infamous spider walk as her favorite jump scare from the film — says that her family is both excited and frightened to watch her version of The Exorcist. "My mom called me out of breath saying, 'I just watched the trailer! I don't know how I'm going to watch the show.' She's going to have the lights on and invite a bunch of people over." — EA

(Credit: Chuck Hodes/Fox)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: Vanessa, last of the titular line of vampire hunters, wakes up from a three-year coma in a world where vampires have taken over.

What to Expect: Showrunner Neil LaBute (In the Company of Men, Hell on Wheels) wants to do for vampires what The Walking Dead did for zombies. "We set out to do something that felt steeped in as much science as myth," says LaBute about the world ravaged by a virus that leaves only scattered pockets of humanity amongst sea of bloodsuckers. "One of the most interesting parts of the series is that this woman has the ability to turn vampires back into human," which puts her in the position of being both "shunned and desired by two groups of people."

Historical Precedent: While Van Helsing is LaBute’s first on-screen genre work, the playwright actually directed Dracula for the stage some 15 years ago where, he says, "I changed the gender of Van Helsing, the professor in the Dracula story, to a woman. So when I heard [about this show], I was, like, ‘Wow! That’s a weird coincidence. I should see where this goes.’" — RC

(Credit: Dan Power/Syfy)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: Animated barbarian Zorn (voiced by Jason Sudeikis) returns to Orange County in an effort to reconnect with his live-action ex-wife Edie (Cheryl Hines) and son (Johnny Pemberton) after 10 years away defending his war-torn homeland Zephyria. "He finds out very quickly that he doesn't fit in, that Edie is engaged and his son isn't overly excited to see him," says executive producer Christopher Miller. His partner executive producer Phil Lord adds, "It's an entertaining, bizarre way to talk about the hardships families go through like divorce and incorporating a stepparent and everyday stuff like not fitting in at school or work."

What to Expect: Despite Lord and Miller being the guys behind The Lego Movie and Cloudy With a Side of Meatballs, "this animation is not intended for young kids," says Miller. "It's a little raunchy and there's tons of cartoon blood, but there's no penises." Lord jokes, "No on-camera nudity anyways. Don't show your kids the wide-screen version. We have put all the nudity in the black bars."

Absentee Father: After table reads, Sudeikis and the non-animated cast went their separate ways, with Sudeikis recording his lines in a booth solo while the other actors shoot on the set with a stand-in. "Dan Lippert, an actor with UCB who is like 6' 3" or 6' 4," stands in for Zorn and that has made it a lot easier," says Tim Meadows, who plays Edie’s fiancé Craig. "He towers over us so our eyes go to the right spot when we're supposed to be interacting with Zorn. We’ve gotten to know him, so now when we work, we have the chemistry with him." — CB

(Credit: Fox)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: "I'm going to give you the pitch I made in the room when I got the gig," showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker says about Marvel strongman Luke Cage's solo series. "It's City of God meets Belly, as written by the staff of The Wire."

What to Expect: Luke (Mike Colter) made his debut in Marvel's Netflix universe via Jessica Jones, which brought a noir-ish tinge to the title character's superheroics. Coker compares Luke's own show, which transports Cage uptown to Harlem, to another classic Hollywood genre: the Western. "Harlem is our saloon, and Luke is our mysterious man with no name." And because every gunslinger needs a villain, crime lord Cottonmouth (Mahershala Ali) is on hand to stir up trouble. Don't be surprised to see a few familiar faces from other Marvel shows turning up as well as Netflix looks ahead to its team-up series The Defenders, which will unite all four heroes: Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and the still-to-debut Iron Fist.

Binger Beware: Even more than Daredevil and Jessica Jones, Luke Cage feels like a long-form graphic novel brought to the small screen, with a slow-burn structure that incentives binge-viewing. A self-professed comic book geek, Coker followed the storytelling model established by such industry giants as Chris Claremont and John Byrne. "Two days ago, I sat through all 13 episodes," he says. "It felt really vibrant watching it that way. I think people are going to be so jazzed by it that they're going to push through. Basically, if you can get to episode 4, you're staying up for the rest of the night. I apologize in advance for your lack of sleep." — EA

(Credit: Netflix)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: We’ll let husband-and-wife creative team Lisa Joy and Jonah Nolan tackle this together: "It's the exploration of the origin of a new species on Earth," begins Nolan, to which Joy adds: "While also being an examination of human nature from the outside in."

What to Expect: Nolan, who has frequently collaborated with his older brother Chris on such big screen blockbusters as The Dark Knight and Interstellar, promises that Westworld — a remake of Michael Crichton's 1973 sci-fi favorite about an amusement park where human visitors can wantonly kill robot employees — will feel like a "10-hour movie.” We’ll follow characters including unassuming farmer's daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) and visiting cowpoke (James Marsden), as well as the local brothel madame (Thandie Newton). "The idea behind the show is that we come at it through the robot's perspective," explains Joy. "When they see something new, we want it to feel new for them and the audience at the same time."

Playing God: Nolan and Joy stress that they didn't write the pilot script with any particular actors in mind? except one. "It was hard to imagine anyone else but Anthony Hopkins as Robert Ford," Nolan says. As the creator of Westworld and its robot citizenry, Ford's presence in the series is almost of Biblical proportions. "If you're writing God, there are a limited number of actors who can play that role," Nolan points out. "We were very fortunate that he read the script and responded to it." — EA

(Credit: HBO)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: With super-agent Peggy Carter having fought her last bad guy, Hayley Atwell continues to fight for justice, this time inside a courtroom setting as legal eagle, Hayes Morrison. "It's a fast-paced investigative procedural anchored by a sharp, witty and warm character," the British actress says of her new career path.

What to Expect: Every week, Hayes and her team at New York's Conviction Integrity Unit peek into previously closed cases to piece together whether the person convicted of the crime really was guilty. Some of the people they work on potentially exonerating include a variation on the infamous Central Park Five case and a mother accused of poisoning her own child. "There's some interesting, juicy stuff," says co-creator Liz Friedman. "We're in a very unique historical moment where more than ever we know we need law enforcement and the judicial system and yet it's become very clear that the system isn't operating as well as it should." The show's premise is tailor made for fans of the hit true crime podcast, Serial, although Atwell says she hasn't gotten hooked on that series. "What really interests me are the character dynamics," she says. "The crimes are part of the formula that keeps it a procedural." And there are plenty of dynamic characters located inside the CIU office, starting with Hayes herself, who has a history of wild child behavior stemming from her background as a former First Daughter. "I think there's a psychological cost to living in that world; she's seen firsthand the corruption involved in politics. And she missed out on a normal family life–her parents had a political agenda and she saw that."

Get Carter: Agent Carter may be (temporarily) retired in Marvel's television universe, but Atwell says that she and Marvel remain in touch about the popular character's onscreen future. "There's always a fanbase for her," the actress says. "I loved the experience of it, and it's so heartwarming to see the people who still love Peggy." For her part, Friedman hopes that Peggy's fans will find plenty of things to admire about Hayes. "I hope they see that Hayes is a strong, smart woman who is able to work the system. Those two characters would like each other." — EA

(Credit: ABC)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: A time-travel saga poised to prove that history is not this dusty academic thing,” says co-creator Eric Kripke (Supernatural). “It’s visceral and sometimes violent and funny and endlessly fascinating."

What to Expect: When a criminal (Goran Visnjic) steals a time-travel machine, a professor (Abigail Spencer), soldier (Matt Lanter), and scientist (Malcolm Barrett) team up to chase him through history, starting with the day of the Hindenburg crash. Each episode is set in a different era, since the rules of time travel in the show dictate that the team can only visit a certain day once. "Doing a different time period every week is completely insane and really difficult, but I think the viewer will enjoy our insanity," co-creator Shawn Ryan (The Shield) says. "We’re really going to have a big, epic, visual movie every week."

Dino-mite!: The first season will travel to the Lincoln assassination, and the 1750s, and if Kripke's six-year-old son has his way, they’ll go way, way back. “He says, ‘Have you fought dinosaurs yet?’" the showrunner reports with a laugh. "So there’s a clearly a desire for that." — KW

(Credit: Joe Lederer/NBC)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: “A romantic comedy with the ultimate ticking clock,” is how executive producer Corinne Brinkerhoff (Jane the Virgin) describes the adaptation of a Brazilian hit.

What to Expect: Levelheaded Evie (Tori Anderson) falls for free spirit Xavier (Galavant‘s Joshua Sasse), who seizes each day? because he believes an asteroid will destroy Earth in nine months. Though Evie doesn't buy that the apocalypse is nigh, she does follow Xavier’s lead and starts trying to accomplish things on her own “apocalyst” as well. “She starts to recognize that her life could be much more fulfilling and she may have a willing partner to share that with,” says EP Maggie Friedman. “She’s learning to live in the moment.” No risk is too small to take, as Anderson discovered when the pilot required a pogo stick lesson. “I don’t know why pogo sticks were ever invented because they are not fun at all,” says the star with a laugh. “They were like, ‘OK, you’re going to have to go forward and up a hill.’ You have zero control of where you’re going to go. That took a lot of takes.”

Fear Factor: Brinkerhoff is happy to have stars who are up for anything: “I remember Josh saying, ‘I’m really scared of spiders.’ I said, ‘What if we put you in a vat of spiders and covered you?’ He was like, ‘I’ll do it!’ They’re not afraid to conquer their fears on screen.” — MB

(Credit: Eddy Chen/The CW)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: "A father and his daughter discover the means to communicate with each other across time and forever change their collective histories," says showrunner Jeremy Carver. (And yes, it’s based on the 2000 movie.) What to Expect Frank (Riley Smith) suddenly finds he can chat with his daughter Raimy (Peyton List) 20 years in the future — via an old HAM radio. In an effort to save Frank from being betrayed by corrupt cops and killed, he and Raimy race to change the past — with good and bad results. "The show is three parts: crime drama, family drama, genre show,” says Carver. “And those things are wrapped up in a very soulful and provocative package."

Gender Roles: The film was about a father and son, but Carver had reasons for changing it to a father-daughter story. "I think there's this ‘Daddy's little girl’ trope that we see on TV a lot, and I was interested in upending that,” he says. “What happens when the father meets the woman, [and] she's very different than he could have ever expected? It adds a real richness to this relationship." — KS

(Credit: Bettina Strauss/The CW)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: "A couple tries to get a divorce in a gentle and enlightened way and realizes that that is almost impossible," says executive producer Paul Simms.

What to Expect: Not Carrie Bradshaw. Sarah Jessica Parker plays unhappy wife, Frances, who suddenly tells her husband (Thomas Haden Church) that she wants a divorce after more than a decade of marriage. Simms says Parker set out to create a character that was nothing like her Sex and the City alter ego. "It’s interesting because Sarah Jessica is still Sarah Jessica? but she’s definitely making very different choices and not being worried about being effervescent and bubbly the way Sex and the City was," he tells us. "She really wanted to make it a new and different character."

Manolo Who?: Frances's wardrobe is not its own character the way Carrie's clothes were on SATC. Simms says Parker worked closely with the Divorce costume designers to ensure Frances's duds are "realistic to who the character is: a woman with a sense of style but definitely also a budget, and a woman who is a mother and has a semi-corporate job now." — VLM

(Credit: HBO)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: "It is a portrait of friendship between two black women as they navigate love, work, relationships, each other, and life in general," says series creator/star Issa Rae.

What to Expect: Girls keeping it real. Rae, who first gained attention with her The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl YouTube series and New York Times best-selling book, is most excited to "depict dimensional versions of modern black women. Women of color, especially on TV, don't get to be regular human beings who make mistakes." But don't get it twisted. Just because the main character is named Issa and it is shot on location in South L.A. where Rae grew up, this is not a biography. "My real life isn't particularly interesting, and we made the show to entertain people and make them think and discuss."

Worked Over: Issa works for a non-profit trying to help at-risk, underprivileged youth thrive and stay in school. The opening scene shows her making a presentation to a particularly hostile group of potential clients. "In real life, I'm scared to walk by a bunch of kids because anybody is a target. They're ruthless," she says. "Those kids were actors and we wrote the dialogue, but man, they really hurt my feelings. It wasn't until cut was called that the kids were like, 'You're doing so good, Miss Issa.’ I have definitely been cut down by children when I taught nonprofit and you have to do everything in your power not to show them you're ruffled." — CB

(Credit: HBO)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: Katy Mixon plays Katie, a sassy, opinionated, and relatable wife and stay-at-home mother of three trying to navigate the judgey waters of wealthy Westport, Connecticut. Creator Sarah Dunn based it on her life in a similar Hudson River enclave an hour from Manhattan. "She's doing her best to raise real, grounded, happy children against a lot of odds," she says. Mixon took the part because she "loved the message. She's an authentic lady living in an inauthentic world. She is trying to handle living among the Stepford wives. Some days she triumphs and some days she doesn't."

What to Expect: Plenty of meddling on Katie’s part, with her blossoming teenage daughter, her budding young republican son, and her youngest whose special schooling needs is what brought them to town in the first place. Dunn says, "She's trying to get two to fit in less and one to fit in more." Leslie Bibb plays a fitness freak — she wears not one, but two FitBits! — who takes an uninvited interest in Katie. "It's TV so they will of course become unlikely friends, but they will definitely also bump heads and antagonize each other," teases Dunn.

Shape Up! It all started with a phone call between Dunn and producer Aaron Kaplan (Mysteries of Laura). "I told him I was the second-fattest housewife in Garrison and he said, 'Well, that's the show.'" It meant they needed a leading lady with some meat on her bones, and Dunn admits that was a turn-off to some. “There were some actresses who wouldn't even read the script because the character is called fat and a few that would have fired their managers for even bringing it to their attention." Mixon had no such reservations: "I have never let the media or their obsession with weight dictate my identity. There's just too much life to live to get hung up on what people think of you." — CB

(Credit: ABC)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: “It is a story of obsession — a man whose life stands to be either destroyed or rescued by his obsession,” says Hugh Laurie, who stars as San Francisco-based forensic neuropsychiatrist Dr. Eldon Chance in this adaptation of Kem Nunn’s psychological thriller. “He is playing with fire. Gretchen Mol is playing the role of fire in this analogy. Will it warm him or will it burn down the house?”?

What to Expect: The spark occurs when Chance, who’s both overwhelmed with all the suffering he sees in his work and his inability to do anything and adrift in his own divorce and money problems, meets Jaclyn (Mol). She’s a patient who may or may not be suffering from multiple personality disorder but who definitely appears to have an abusive husband who is also, as it turns out, a police detective. “He cannot figure her out, and I hope the audience will have the same sort of response,” Laurie says. “Is she genuinely the damaged creature who’s coming to him for help, or is she a sort of figment of his rather fevered imagination?”

The Doctor Almost Wasn’t In: Laurie, who’s also an executive producer on the show, was hesitant to play another doctor after Fox’s House, but he was drawn to Chance’s melancholy — something so different from what his father experienced as a general practioner. “I remember come Christmas time, some grateful patient would knit him a pair of socks or someone would send him a bottle of wine. I spoke to a forensic neuropsychiatrist in London, and I said, ‘Does that ever happen to you? Do patients send you birthday cards and Christmas cards?’ He said, ‘No, they don’t. Because ultimately I don’t heal anybody.’ There was something so mournful in this confession that the best a psychiatrist can hope for is to manage a problem, not solve it,” Laurie says. “The best you can hope for is the least bad option. That’s the world Chance is in.” — MB

(Credit: Chance)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: Based on Douglas Adams's property of the same name, showrunner Robert Cooper admits he has a hard time coming up with a simple summary of the eight-episode series. "It is about a detective who is not a normal detective and who uses unusual techniques to solve crimes that are generally very special. It's dark, funny, part thriller, has incredibly fun crazy characters. It takes place in Seattle." What to Expect: Despite the suggestive sobriquet, it’s not a porn name. "I hadn't thought about that but Dirk Gently would be the best porn name ever. If this acting thing doesn't work?," Samuel Barnett (Penny Dreadful) jokes. Barnett, who plays the titular private eye, says Dirk is "very much grounded in the real world and seen through the eyes of Todd [Elijah Wood] who becomes Dirk's reluctant assistant and who is quite normal. When we meet him, he is having an exceptionally bad day and Dirk lands in his path."

Song and Dance Men: "Today, to kill time [before shooting a scene] we sang the soundtrack to Dirty Dancing," Barnett says. "We must be quite annoying on the set with all the singing that we do." Unaware before that he had such a musically inclined group, which includes Jade Eshete who toured with The Color Purple, Cooper's already planning ahead: "I guarantee that if this show continues, there will be a musical episode." — CB

(Credit: BBC America)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: "A pretty traditional husband and father finds himself thrown into the front lines of caretaking the children when his wife goes back to work," says Man With a Plan co-creator Jackie Filgo.

What to Expect: Matt LeBlanc, married with children. The Friends alum plays Adam Burns, a construction company owner who tweaks his flexible hours so he can watch the kids while his wife (Liza Snyder) goes back to work. Kevin Nealon plays his brother and business partner, Don. "Don is a guy who has a lot of questionable advice for Adam," co-showrunner Jeff Filgo says. "Every now and then there’s a gem. So Adam is forced to listen to him, hoping that this time will actually be something he can use."

Friends ‘Til the End: The Filgos say they wrote the show with LeBlanc in mind for the Adam character. "We never thought we would get him!" Jackie Filgo says with a laugh. And they're not opposed to the idea of inviting LeBlanc's Friends castmates to guest star on the show — just not right away. "I think for the first season we really want to just establish this as its own world," Jeff Filgo says. "Then after that, of course, it would be great. We’re not against it. I mean they are still friends. I know that Matt talks to those people all the time." — VLM

(Credit: Darren Michaels/CBS)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: "Jack, this character that Joel McHale plays, is an adventure reporter, like a Jon Kraukauer type, and he works for an outdoor adventure magazine. And that magazine is being forced to go all-digital," says creator Mike Gibbons. "The magazine is forced to hire these millennials, who are very savvy digitally and media-wise, but have no outdoor experience. He’s brought in from the field to help them with the outdoor experience."

What to Expect: The comedy is part fish-out-of-water, part culture clash. Jack may know the outdoors, but he needs schooling in the indoors. Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who plays tech nerd Clark, added, "It’s more us showing him the ways of today. In a way, we kind of have the upper hand." Of course, Jack has some stuff to show these youngins. "He takes them camping to teach them the outdoor experience and see how they handle that, which is not well at all," Gibbons teases.

Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation: Gibbons, who's written for The Late Late Show and Tosh.0, came up with the premise of the show after trying to pay a writer's assistant for lunch with cash. "He was like, 'Ugh!' And I'm like, 'Cash is ugh? Since when did cash become inconvenient?' He asked if I could pay him with Venmo. I'm like, 'Ven what?" But Gibbons and the cast faced some backlash from critics this summer about millennial stereotypes. "Nobody likes to be labeled," Gibbons says. "And they have a voice that has reach. Gen X-ers, when we complain, two people heard it if they were sitting next to me. Now, people in other countries can see your complaints." — KW

(Credit: Cliff Lipson/CBS)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: A veteran surgeon (Dermot Mulroney) is recruited by a Silicon Valley billionaire (Augustus Prew) to work at Bunker Hill, a cutting-edge medical center. "What differentiates this [from other medical shows] is the tech world, using new technology as well as big data and other resources," explains executive producer Jason Katims. "It's a look into the hospital of the future."

What to Expect: No medical bureaucracy here, thanks to Dr. Walter Wallace (Mulroney), a forward-thinking doc who uses advanced technology to save lives (for free!) thanks to his partner, tech titan James Bell (Prew). "I think there's something very aspirational about the show tonally — a group of people who refuse to give up on patients that everyone else has given up on," Katims says, adding that Genius will give a reimagined look at real-life medical ideas that are currently in the development stages. "We have four doctors working either full-time or consulting on the show. We are trying to ride that line of having the medicine be realistic, but at the same time give ourselves the poetic license to take a peek into the future of medicine."

The Nose Knows: "One of the gadgets we're introducing is an 'electronic nose,'" Katims says. "It can diagnose diseases by analyzing a patient's breath, inspired by real-life studies showing how dogs can detect cancer by the smell of infected tissue. In the real world, a number of teams around the globe are working on bringing this emerging technology to the masses. On Pure Genius, Bunker Hill hospital just happened to get there first." — Chrissy Le Nguyen

(Credit: Sonja Flemming/CBS)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: The royal drama tells the story of "young Elizabeth Windsor becoming queen much earlier than she ever thought or feared that she would do," says creator Peter Morgan (The Queen). "It’s about the crown landing in the lap of a happily married woman, and it’s like a bomb going off that changes everything."

What to Expect: Queen Elizabeth II is one of the most public figures in the world, but Morgan wanted to explore who she is as a woman. "You’re going to see a young woman struggle with challenges she hoped to she’d never have to struggle with, being condemned to live a life she very much hoped to avoid," he says. Played by Claire Foy (Wolf Hall), young Elizabeth will “struggle with her husband, who has to walk in her shadow; with her sister, who has to obey her; with her mother. You’ll see a woman struggle with every area of her life, because she’s no longer herself — she’s also the person that wears the crown."

Scenes From A Marriage : The drama focuses heavily on Elizabeth's marriage to Prince Philip (Matt Smith). "It’s like a fairy tale; she’s only ever loved one man. She fell madly in love with him the moment she met him as a 14-year-old girl," Morgan notes. But their opposite personalities make their marriage very challenging — as does her position over him. "Divorce is simply not an option for these people, given what divorce had already cost the royal family in terms of the abdication of her uncle," he says. Still, Morgan finds it "rather moving? that their marriage has lasted as long as it has and in the later years been as happy as it has." — KW

(Credit: Netflix)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: Wayward Pines collaborators Chad Hodge and Blake Crouch re-team for a TV series based on Crouch's novellas about an ex-con named Letty (Michelle Dockery). "She's trying to get on a better path, but ends up in a complicated relationship with a hitman who may prove to be the very thing that rescues her," Hodge teases.

What to Expect: "We call it poetic noir," showrunner Hodge says of the show's visual style, which draws on such influences as Alfred Hitchcock and David Lynch. "You're inside Letty's head, and because she's kind of a messed-up person, you feel off-kilter while watching it." "Messed up" is also a good way to describe the burgeoning relationship between Letty and hitman Javier (Spanish movie star Juan Diego Botto), which begins when she interrupts his latest assignment. "This is really an unconventional love story, not a case-of-the-week procedural."

Buh-Bye Lady Mary: Caveat for Downton Abbey fans — Dockery sheds any lingering traces of Lady Mary Crawley in Good Behavior‘s first episode, when she freebases crack cocaine. "Michelle's performance is one of the main reasons to watch the show," Hodge promises. "She's quite unlike Lady Mary in real life. She's very silly and game for anything." — EA

(Credit: TNT)