Four New Fall 2009 TV Shows We Already Love

I'm not what you would call a casual watcher of television. I don't flip through channels, catching a random episode of a new show. If I'm going to start watching a series, I'm going to start from the beginning and either give up quickly or catch every single episode. This summer, I've been devouring The Wire and Mad Men, plus I still want to start Dexter and Breaking Bad. And I'm looking forward to Lost, The Office, Chuck and 30 Rock returning. But while we're working on our Fall TV issue coming out this October, I've watched several pilot episodes of new shows, and I'm pretty sure there are four new ones I'll be adding to the mix—two comedies and two thrillers. In short, I'm going to be watching way too much TV.

1. Community (Premieres 9/17 on NBC)
The scoop: The Soup's Joel McHale stars as a fast-talking lawyer who faked his undergrad degree and must return to community college.
Why we love it: While having an unscrupulous, skirt-chasing lawyer on an NBC sitcom doesn't move the bar much past Night Court, McHale has been sharpening his tongue for years on Talk Soup/The Soup. Chevy Chase doesn't shine as much as I'd hoped in the pilot, but The Daily Show's John Oliver and the Breakfast Club references already make it funnier than NBC's previous two Thursday night additions, Parks and Recreations and Kath & Kim.



2. Bored To Death (Premieres 9/20 on HBO)
The scoop: Writer Jonathan Ames' new series features Jason Schwartzman as a writer named Jonathan Ames, who decides to advertise his private investigative services on Craig's List.
Why we love it: Aside from the fact that our favorite comedian Zach Galifianakis plays Ames' best friend, Ted Danson quickly makes us forget he was ever in Becker, and the guest stars in the first few episodes include Kristen Wiig and Jim Jarmusch, its Schwartzman's absurd mix of self-obsession and sincerity that makes the show so fun to watch.



3. Flash Forward (Premieres 9/24 on ABC)
The scoop: Everyone across the globe blacks out for two minutes and 17 seconds, experiencing a vision of their lives six months in the future.
Why we love it: The premise sounds more clever than compelling, but the pilot delivers the kind of brain-straining drama that reaches into Lost territory. And in a season packed with new procedural cop/doctor/lawyer shows, I'll give this one bonus points for originality.



4. V (Premieres 11/3 on ABC)
The scoop: The 1400 creator Scott Peters revives the classic 1983 miniseries about beautiful, smiling alien invaders.
Why we love it: Unlike Ronald D. Moore's brilliant Battlestar Galactica remake, Peters actually has good source material to work with. Lost's Elizabeth Mitchell is more than capable handling the lead duties, and even in the pilot, the plot grows plenty thick.