Now, Later, or Never: Rating the Week in Premieres, From 'Quantico' to 'Dr. Ken'

For some of the new shows, you’ve been excited since casting announcements first came down (ahem, The Grinder). For others, you just saw a poster on the side of a bus and actually said, “Huh?” loudly enough that others heard you (and were probably thinking it to). Well, the time is neigh. All those new fall TV shows are here. You can stop counting down the days and start setting the DVR. But which ones are worth watching, which ones should you skip, and which ones should you save for a snow day (because they’re coming, whether we like it or not)? We’ve put in the hours of watching pilots on your behalf and came up with a quick and easy ranking system.

Now: These are the best, buzziest shows that you should season pass and watch the night-of.
Later: We recommend watching these… eventually. After you’ve watched all the “Now” shows.
Never: Sorry, but not all shows are must-see!

Here, we break down the second week of new fall shows with premiere info and our brutally honest snap judgments. And we don’t always all agree, but with several takes — from Yahoo TV’s Kristen Baldwin, Ken Tucker, Mandi Bierly, Breanne L. Heldman, Dave Nemetz, and Ethan Alter — hopefully it’ll make deciding what to watch that much easier.

BLOOD & OIL
Premieres Sunday, Sept. 27, at 9 p.m. on ABC

Baldwin: Later. Oh, who am I kidding? It’s never.
I love a good Dynasty manqué, and I really wanted to like this throwback soap, but everything about it — the tycoon with the ne'er-do-well son, the upstart looking to make it big — felt rehashed and uninspired. And Chace Crawford, bless his heart, isn’t a compelling enough lead to elevate such mundane material. (If Don Johnson was the lead, however…)

Tucker: Later
This slick soap opera about an oil baron (Don Johnson) and a young upstart (Chace Crawford) seems as though it’s straining for mythic Dallas status. Maybe wait a couple of weeks to see if America gets hooked before you commit to this saga, since the quality and the hook-ability seem uncertain from the pilot.

Bierly: Later
It’s not Dallas, but my favorite dynamic in the pilot — which I hope continues in the series — is the J.R. type (Johnson) getting screwed over by a young buck (Crawford) and still respecting him for it.

Heldman: Later
Aside from all the obvious Dallas comparisons this is sure to bring, this soapy primetime soap screams, “We want that Revenge audience! You know, all those people who watched Season 1 when it was awesome!” The jury’s still out on this one for me, but it certainly gets bonus points for casting Greek alum Scott Michael Foster (notice, I didn’t say Chace Crawford).

Nemetz: Never
I guess I should be thankful that this new drama, set in the North Dakota oil boom, isn’t yet another cop show or hospital drama. But the characters are blah, the dialogue is riddled with clichés, and the soapy storylines aren’t juicy enough to grab me. I’m predicting this well runs dry by Christmas.

Alter: Now
The uninspired ad campaign has been teasing a lazy Dallas knock-off. Turns out the series is actually the “Dumbass Horatio Alger goes to Northern Exposure” primetime soap you never knew you needed. Enjoy this surprisingly addictive series while you can, because its ratings well will likely dry up very quickly.

Related: Fall TV Preview: The Scoop on 34 New Shows

QUANTICO
Premieres Sunday, Sept. 27, at 10 p.m. on ABC

Baldwin: Now
At first, this show struck me as ABC’s attempt to remake Grey’s Anatomy at an FBI academy. But there were enough surprises in the episode that by the end, I was willing to commit.

Tucker: Now
One of the season’s more interesting action shows, featuring international star Priyanka Chopra in an American-star-launching role. She’s an FBI rookie embroiled in a terrorist plot, and early signs suggest that it’s got both narrative momentum and intriguing subplots about the nature of fighting foreign enemies.

Bierly: Now
It’s a packed pilot with enough of a soapy Shonda Rhimes vibe to keep things moving. It’ll be interesting to see if the writing holds together when the show can slow down.

Heldman: Now
I’ve watched one episode of this and I already have a girl crush on Priyanka Chopra. Easily my favorite network pilot of the fall.

Nemetz: Later
Call it Grey’s Academy, call it Sexy Homeland: This glossy, Shonda Rhimes-y FBI thriller serves up plenty of hot young things and whodunit twists in the pilot to make sure we’re hooked. I’m not sure they can keep it up all season (let alone multiple seasons), but it’s a confident, compelling start. And Priyanka Chopra is a star.

Alter: Later
More like, Plot Twist: The Show. The premiere throws a lot of storytelling gimmicks at the wall to see what will stick. It’s exhausting, but there are enough bright spots — starting with Bollywood star, Priyanka Chopra — to potentially make it binge-watch worthy if it lasts until midseason.

GRANDFATHERED
Premieres Tuesday, September 29, at 8 p.m. on FOX

Baldwin: Later
John Stamos with a cute baby? Perfect everything-else-is-in-reruns-tonight viewing.

Tucker: Later
You know going in whether you like John Stamos (if you love him, move this immediately to the “Now” column), but what no one knows is whether the jokes will get funnier in this sitcom about a restauranteur (Stamos) who suddenly discovers he has both a son and a grandchild he never knew he had. Stamos is charming, of course, but the writing is wobbly.

Bierly: Later
Not as funny as The Grinder, but a welcome return for John Stamos, who gives us what we want: him looking great in suits, holding a baby, and possibly reconnecting with the one that got away.

Heldman: Later
I don’t do well comedies where the jokes revolve around an character so awkward, I want to hide under a pillow every time they come on screen. But, while Josh Peck inspires such a reaction from me, thankfully, he’s not the primary target — John Stamos is — and that I can get behind. A little.

Nemetz: Never
Josh Peck is a charmer, and deserves better than playing second fiddle to John Stamos in this reheated man-boy sitcom. The “committed bachelor” jokes are stale, and the attempts to tug on our heartstrings just feel forced. The baby’s cute, though!

Alter: Later
Is it just me or does John Stamos look legitimately terrified to be acting opposite an infant? A premise this familiar requires a great cast, and while Josh Peck and Paget Brewster are on point, the former (and future) Uncle Jesse just isn’t clicking with the material. Maybe he’ll grow up a little bit with a few more episodes under his belt.

THE GRINDER
Premieres Tuesday, September 29, at 8:30 p.m. on FOX

Baldwin: Now
This is the only new comedy that made me laugh out loud (intentionally, that is). As any Parks and Recreation fan will tell you, Rob Lowe is a born comedian.

Tucker: Now
The funniest sitcom pilot of the season, period. Rob Lowe is an actor who played a flashy lawyer on TV; Fred Savage is his sad-sack brother, who’s a mediocre lawyer in the show’s real life. The two unite to win cases and rekindle a family bond. Sounds sappy, but the first half-hour isn’t: it’s sharply amusing.

Bierly: Now
The best new comedy I’ve seen so far. The role was written with Rob Lowe in mind, and it’s perfect for him — he plays the kind narcissist so well. Also, they can have a lot of fun with clips of the show-within-the-show every week.

Heldman: Never
I can’t totally explain it, but shows like this — comedies where a total egomaniac (Rob Lowe) is paired with a totally awkward foil (Fred Savage) — incites a rage deep within my soul. Since I generally try not to be the horror movie version of myself, I won’t be watching this.

Nemetz: Later
Out of Fox’s two handsome-men-in-their-50s comedies, I’ll take this one: It’s got a winning cast — Fred Savage and Mary Elizabeth Ellis, especially — and it’s always fun to see Rob Lowe play the slightly dopey dreamboat. We don’t get to see him as Chris Traeger anymore, but this is literally the next best thing.

Alter: Now
Casting Rob Lowe as an actor who played a TV-lawyer and is now looking to become a for-real lawyer is a comedy gift that seems poised to keep on giving. While reports of a behind-the-scenes creative shake-up provides modest cause for concern, Lowe’s force-of-nature comedic presence is worth coming back for week after week.

CODE BLACK
Premieres Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 10 p.m. on CBS

Baldwin: Never
Perfectly solid cast and concept, but if I never have to see another doctor/nurse on a hospital drama yell, “Try not to kill anyone!” at a shaky-looking med student, it’ll be too soon.

Tucker: Never
Imagine a network trying to revive the spirit of ER: Poignant patients, noble doctors, hard-working nurses, emergency-room chaos. Now put good Marcia Gay Harden in the middle of it as a hospital “residency director” and wish she had a role that didn’t require her to yell about all emergencies, all the time.

Bierly: Now
I gasped at the beginning and sobbed at the end — which makes any medical show clichés in the middle forgivable. If you’re at the age where medical dramas make you nervous because any of this could happen to you, you’ll be terrified. Marcia Gay Harden will calm you down though. She’s wonderful.

Heldman: Now
The last thing I wanted to like was another hospital drama, but damn if I wasn’t pretty sold by the end of this one. Sure, I was shocked by the beginning — prepare yourself, because there is really a lot of blood — and moved by the ending, but it was the moments between the always incredible Marcia Gay Harden and Luis Guzman that will keep me coming back.

Nemetz: Never
You see, it’s about a high-intensity hospital ER where lives are on the line, every second counts, and zzzzzz… sorry, I dozed off for a second. We’ve seen every last inch of this done before, and better. We finally get Marcia Gay Harden to play a leading role on TV, and we waste her on this?

Alter: Never
Lots of medical shows set out hoping to become the next ER, but Code Black is among the rare few that comes remotely close to achieving that lofty goal. All credit goes to Marcia Gay Harden and Luis Guzman, who play the “Daddy” and “Mama,” respectively, to a crew of somewhat personality-challenged residents toiling in a particularly intense emergency room. Medical show junkies will get hooked right out of the gate.

DR. KEN
Premieres Friday, Oct. 2, at 8:30 p.m. on ABC

Baldwin: Never
Ken Jeong’s manic, squawky, jerk-with-a-heart persona works well in R-rated comedies, but it is weird and disconcerting in a family sitcom.

Tucker: Never
Alas, a case of a good supporting player — Ken Jeong from Community — raised to leading-man status in a sitcom that strains him past his talents. Not that the jokes written for him, playing a wiseguy doctor and hapless family man, are much better.

Bierly: Never
Twenty-two straight minutes of Ken Jeong is a lot to take.

Heldman: Never
You know what would be really awesome? If I just said point-blank that Ken Jeong doesn’t work as a leading man, and then some writing gods wrote something the polar opposite of this and proved me wrong. Make it so!

Nemetz: Never
Ken Jeong is funny on Community. Dave Foley is a comedy genius. Albert Tsai is super cute. And… that’s about all the nice things I have to say about this painfully hacky sitcom.

Alter: Never
Ken Jeong has provided a dash of special sauce to a number of movies and TV shows, but now that he’s a main ingredient, the results are just bland. Diagnosis? Terminally unfunny writing and a star who is just trying way too hard.