Fall TV Preview - Wednesday

Here we go with a look at Wednesdays lineup.

8:00 PM
ABC

 

The Middle (September 22nd, 2nd Season)

 

This is the one ABC Wednesday night comedies that I never caught last year, must have been something else in it's timeslot or catchup time.

Just read this interesting production note:
The series was originally developed in the 2006–07 development cycle and was to star Ricki Lake. Sounds like it would have been a much different show with Ricki leading it.

 

Promo:

 

Where we left off: Parent-Teacher conferences cause Frankie to worry about the kids. In them she's told Axl is gifted but not applying himself, that her teachers still do not know who Sue is, and Brick may have to repeat the second-grade due to failure to return over 30 library books. Guest star Betty White as the school librarian.

 

NBC:

Undercovers (September 22nd, 1st Season)

 

New Show!

Another JJ Abrams creation, I was kind of fond of another show he did about an Island, what was it called again? This one is getting a lot of hype and a lot of press just because it's from Abrams and the Bad Robot crew, can it live up to the hype?

Premise:
From acclaimed writer/producer/director J.J. Abrams and executive producer/writer Josh Reims comes a sexy, fun, action-packed spy drama that proves once and for all that marriage is still the world's most dangerous partnership. Outwardly, Steven Bloom and his wife, Samantha, are a typical married couple who own and operate a small catering company in Los Angeles - with help from Samantha's easily frazzled handful of a sister, Lizzy. Secretly, the duo were two of the best spies the CIA had ever known, until they fell in love on the job five years ago and retired. When fellow spy and good friend Leo Nash goes missing while on the trail of a Russian arms dealer, the Blooms are reinstated by boss and agency liaison, Carlton Shaw, to locate and rescue Nash. With assistance from resourceful CIA field agent Bill Hoyt, whose professional admiration for Steven isn't hard to miss, the pair is thrust back into the world of espionage, disguises and hand-to-hand combat. Following leads that take them to cities spanning the globe, Steven and Samantha quickly realize that perhaps this supercharged, undercover lifestyle provides exactly the kind of excitement and romance that their marriage has been missing.

 

Production Notes:

• J. J. Abrams directed the Undercovers pilot. It was the first time he had directed a pilot since 2004's Lost premiere and the first episode of television he has directed since a 2007 episode of The Office. Abrams said of the show, "This show does have ongoing stories as well but they are much more personal based and character based. But I'm trying to do a show that has a more fun energy and a little more comedic..." And on his decision to direct the pilot, Abrams explained that "I just enjoyed the idea of it. I enjoy the script… I enjoyed the chemistry of these two people and it became clear as we were working on it, rather than be sitting on the set every day with someone else directing it, being annoying, I’d rather just take the burden on myself."
• The show's fun-loving central characters the Blooms bear a passing resemblance to the husband/wife spy team the Blues in the movie "Undercover Blues".
• The show has been described as a "stand-alone adventure every week" and a "modernized "Hart to Hart"".

Cast:

• Boris Kodjoe as Steven Bloom
• Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Samantha Bloom
• Gerald McRaney as Carlton Shaw
• Mekia Cox as Lizzy Gilliam, replacing Jessica Parker Kennedy
• Carter MacIntyre as Leo Nash
• Ben Schwartz as Bill Hoyt

Cast Photo:

 

 

 Promos:

 

 

 

 

 

Scoops:

• We first meet main characters Samantha and Steven Bloom as they prepare for a wedding. These retired spies are married and own a floundering catering business. She's the chef, he's the business man.
• We meet Gerald McRaney's Carlton Shaw. A cynical CIA agent, he's worked for the agency for over 30 years and is described in the script as a guy who "could gut you faster than you could soft-boil an egg." At the conclusion of the pilot, he asks Samantha and Steven to join the spy business again.
• The ongoing storyline involves Operation Black Swan. It's explained as: "An ongoing mission to find and capture Alexander Slotsky," a weapons dealer on the blackmarket.
• The Blooms own a dog named Waldorf.

CBS:
Survivor (September 15th, 21st Season)

 

This move is really messing with my schedule, I don't like it one bit.

 

Take a look at TvGuides preview:

 

 

FOX:

 

Fox is splitting the season here, From September 22 - October Hell's Kitchen will appear in this time then starting November 10th Lie to Me will be here.

 

Hell's Kitchen(September 22nd, 8th Season)

 

I used to love this show and couldn't miss it and now, I haven't watched it in years. Reality television is often very repititive and it's the contestants make each season. But with this, the contestents are always the same, they can't cook and Gordon yells at them. Got it, moving on.

 

Lie To Me(November 10th, 3rd Season)

 

Never got into this show from the start, which is too bad because I love Tim Roth.

Where it left off: Zoe and Lightman fear they sent an innocent man to his death when a man they prosecuted 17 years ago is executed.

 

Other Networks:
The CW: America's Next Top Model (September 8th, 15th Season??)

 

8:30 PM

ABC
Better With You

 

New Show!

 

Premise:

The series revolves around three different relationships that are tightly intertwined in one family, as it follows a couple, Maddie and Ben, who had been dating for nine years and are happy despite not taking the next step, marriage. Maddie's life is thrown for a loop when her younger sister Mia announces that she is pregnant and is about to marry Casey, a guy that she has only known for seven weeks. To make matters worse, Maddie is stunned that their parents, who've been married for 35 years and have their issues, approve of the union, leaving Maddie and Ben questioning themselves about their own relationship.

 

Hmmmm...sounds like another ABC Comedy that's on Wednesdays that was very successful last year, weird.

 

Cast:

• Joanna Garcia as Mia Putney
• Jennifer Finnigan as Maddie Putney
• Josh Cooke as Ben
• Jake Lacy as Casey
• Kurt Fuller as Joel Putney
• Debra Jo Rupp as Vicky Putney

Cast Photo:

 

 

 Promo: 

 

9:00
ABC:
Modern Family (September 22nd, 2nd Season)

 

By far the funniest comedy to come out of last season! Can they continue, that will truly be the challenge.

 

How we left this family: Claire makes an effort to take a new family portrait, but everybody is too busy to cooperate: Gloria and Manny go with Phil and Alex to a Los Angeles Lakers game and share an awkward moment on the jumbotron, Cameron gets a job as a wedding singer while Mitchell takes care of Lilly and a stray pigeon, and Luke interviews Jay for a school project.

 

Promo:

 

 

Scoops:

• Cameron's mom will make an appearance. A minor earthquake spins into separate stories; one of the characters does sleep through it or is not aware of it. There will be an episode where part of it takes place at Jay's work. The scene involves a forklift. There are dock people doing dock things.
• Fred Willard is also set to return for a second season as Frank Dunphy, Phil's father; the staff says he's a part of the family now.
• In an upcoming episode, Phil has this line: "Sorry, I burnt my ladyfingers." In other Pritchett news, who would watch a documentary series about Cameron as an overbearing stage parent? [Raises hand.] We'll get a taste of that program when Lily lands a small role in a commercial that pays homage to a classic B movie. 

NBC:
Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (September 22nd, 12th Season)

 

How we left the Unit: The detectives search for a young boy who has been kidnapped by his mother (Isabelle Huppert) in response to the boy's father, Paul (D. W. Moffett), having full custody. The mother is an anthropologist named Sophie Gerard who wants her son to travel the world with her through her anthropological exploits. This orchestrated kidnapping goes wrong, however, and the boy dies in an automobile accident when the kidnapper tries to evade police. This makes Sophie hysterical, and she winds up taking Detective Benson, Paul and ADA Marlowe hostage and shooting ME Warner. It is revealed that Paul was the one behind the kidnapping and the ultimate death of his son.

 

Promo:

 

 

Scoops:

• Actress Maria Bello will appear in two episodes as a woman with a secret past who becomes involved in one of Detective Olivia Benson's investigations.
• 'Precious' star Paula Patton will join the cast as Assistant District Attorney Mikka Von in multiple episodes, beginning with Episode 5.
• Joan Cusack will guest star as the mother of a girl who disappeared some years earlier. When her other daughter goes missing, she becomes the focus of an investigation. Cusack's episode will be the same in which Erik Weber, the character to be played by Henry Ian Cusick, will be introduced.
• Henry Ian Cusick, who played Desmond on 'Lost,' will appear in at least two episodes as a graphic artist named Erik Weber. Erik will meet Olivia when he comes to someone's aid. There might be some flirtation between the two.  

CBS:
Criminal Minds (September 22nd, 6th Season)

 

How we left the BAU: The BAU team hunts a serial killer in Los Angeles who preys on his victims in the dark, killing entire families except for one left alive to remember. Tim Curry, Eric Close, Linda Purl, and Robert Davi guest star in the cliffhanger finale.

 

I don't remember that finale at all! The writers of Criminal Minds usually do leave it with a bang.

 

Scoops:

• Hill Street Blues star Daniel J. Travanti is headed to the other side of the law: The Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor will guest-star as a serial killer in upcoming episode of Criminal Minds, TVGuide.com has learned exclusively. Travanti will play Mr. Mullens, a crotchety 75-year-old whose brutal murders 20 years ago earned him the nickname "The Butcher." Now suffering from Alzheimer's and depending on the live-in care of his adult son, Mullens crosses paths with Hotch (Thomas Gibson) and the rest of the Behavioral Analysis Unit when he comes out of retirement in a desperate attempt to reprise his violent past — a past he can no longer remember. Travanti, 70, is best known for playing the intense, somber Capt. Frank Furillo on Hill Street Blues, a role for which he earned two Emmys and Golden Globe. He also starred on ABC's short-lived Missing Persons in the early '90s and more recently guest-starred as President Richard Mills on Fox's Prison Break.
• Ed Bernero explained that future episodes will be focused on secrets. “We will learn that every member of the team has a secret that they try to keep from the others,” he said. “In some cases, they’re successful. In other cases, it threatens the trust and fabric of the group.”
• AJ Cook will not be returning as a series regular in season 6, due to the production company opting not to renew A.J. Cook's contract, but she will return for two episodes to wrap up her storyline.
• Because of CBS's decisions regarding the Criminal Minds Cast, Paget Brewster will be in a limited amount of episodes for season 6. It has been reportedly stated that the sixth season will be her last season on the show. 

Episode Listing so far:

• Episode 1 The Longest Night (Part 2)
• Episode 2 "Memento Mori"
• Episode 3 "Compromising Positions"
• Episode 4 "Remembrance of Things Past"

9:30
ABC
Cougartown

 

The show that almost got it's name changed is back.

 

How Florida last looked according to Jules: Jules and Grayson hatch an elaborate plan to break the news to Bobby they're dating, and Travis sees the wrath of a truly angry woman for the first time when he forgets his momentous seven-month anniversary with Kylie.

 

Scoops:

• On August 23, 2010, ABC announced that Aniston will make a guest appearance on the Season 2 premiere. She will play Bonnie, Jules' shrink
• On August 9, 2010, it was confirmed that Ryan Devlin will be back for multiple episodes as Smith, newbie lawyer and love interest of Laurie.

10:00
ABC
The Whole Truth (September 22nd, 1st Season)

 

New Show!

 

When I first saw this title I assumed it was some sort of game show. Turns out it's a legal drama with a couple of former tv heavyweights.

 

Premise: This unique legal drama chronicles the way a case is built from the perspective of both the defense and prosecution. Showing each side equally keeps the audience guessing, shifting allegiances and opinions on guilt or innocence until the very final scene.

 

Kathryn Peale, the product of a New England background and a sheriff father, is the Deputy Bureau Chief in the New York State District Attorney's office. Jimmy Brogan, born and raised in Hell's Kitchen and a friend of Kathryn's since their days at Yale Law School, is one of New York's rising criminal attorney stars. Buoyed by their respective teams, these evenly matched lawyers—each with a strong streak of competitiveness, a fervent belief in their clients and an equally intense passion for the law go about creating two different stories from the same set of facts. As this up-close, behind-the-scenes look at the legal process mirrors the excitement of a championship match, it becomes evident that truth has nothing to do with innocence or guilt—at the end of every trial, the only thing that matters is what the jury believes.

 

Cast:

• Rob Morrow as Jimmy Brogan
• Maura Tierney as Kathryn Peale
• Eamonn Walker as Sr. ADA Terrence "Edge" Edgecomb
• Sean Wing as Chad Griffin
• Anthony Ruivivar as Alejo Salazar
• Christine Adams as Lena Boudreaux

Cast Photo:

 

Promo:

 

 

NBC:

Law and Order: Los Angeles

 

New Show!

 

Is it really new? Since they cancelled Law and Order and replaced it with L and O: LA, didn't Law and Order just move cities?

 

Premise:

There's a place where crime has reached celebrity status. Welcome to Los Angeles, home of the rich and famous, and the completely unscrupulous. They say this is the place where anyone with the right attorney can get away with murder. We say this is the place that needs some Law & Order.

 

From Dick Wolf, the acclaimed producer of the powerful Law & Order franchise, comes a foray into the glitz, glamour and guilt of Los Angeles. From the tony Beverly Hills to the seedy side of Hollywood, LAPD's elite Robbery Homicide Division is on the case. Fusing classic ripped-from-the-headlines storytelling with the backdrop of LA, the series delves into the high-profile crimes of the West Coast.

 

These are their stories.

 

Cast:

• Detective Rex Winters: (Skeet Ulrich) A handsome, rugged former Marine with keen intuition whose work style is heavily shaped by the Rodney King riots that took place within his first two months on the job. Winters's personal life is a bit more complicated: his first marriage ended because of an affair with his former-partner-turned-wife.
• Detective Tomas "TJ" Jaruszalski: (Corey Stoll) A mid-30s Hollywood native.
• Lieutenant Arleen Gonzales: (Wanda De Jesus) Commanding Officer of the LAPD Robbery Homicide Division.
• Deputy District Attorney Ricardo Morales: (Alfred Molina)
• Deputy District Attorney Jonah "Joe" Dekker (Terrence Howard) He and Morales will be splitting the workload, each appearing in roughly half the episodes.
• Deputy District Attorney Evelyn Price: (Regina Hall) She works principally with Morales.
• Deputy District Attorney Lauren Stanton: (Megan Boone) She works principally with Dekker. 

Promo:

 

 

CBS:

The Defenders (September 22nd, 1st Season)

 

New Show!

 

Premise:
THE DEFENDERS is a drama about two colorful Las Vegas defense attorneys who go all-in when it comes to representing their clients. Nick and Pete are the local go-to guys with an eclectic client list who are still looking to hit their own jackpot. Leading the law firm of Morelli & Kaczmarek are Nick Morelli, an earnest, hard-charging attorney who represents his clients to the best of his ability, no matter how big or small the case; and his partner, Pete Kaczmarek, whose passion for the law is matched only by his love of fast cars, beautiful women and expensive clothes. Joining them in their growing law practice is new associate Lisa Tyler, an enthusiastic young attorney looking to put her exotic dancing days behind her; and their young assistant, Zoe Waters, a spunky and sweet ingénue who is eager to please her bosses. While Lady Luck shines on their legal careers, the partners have their hands full when it comes to their personal lives. With Pete busy cruising the Vegas Strip for his latest romantic conquest, Nick is focused on repairing a fractured marriage to his estranged wife and remaining present in the life of their young son. No matter the offense, Nick and Pete aim to prove that when the stakes are high, they're willing to bet the house on the clients they defend in Sin City

 

Cast:

• Jerry O'Connell as Pete Kaczmarek, a free-wheeling playboy
• Jim Belushi as Nick Morelli, Pete's partner, who is very passionate about his work and the clients he helps
• Jurnee Smollett as Lisa Tyler, a former stripper turned lawyer
• Gillian Vigman as Jessica, Nick's estranged wife
• Tanya Fischer as Sophie, Pete and Nick's assistant 

Cast Photo:

Promo:

 

 

Scoop:
Episode 1.02 will be called "Nevada vs. Carter"

 

Other Networks:

Comedy Central - South Park(October 6th, 14th Season)
USA Network - Psych (November 10th, 5th Season)

 

And finally, what will I be watching Wednesdays this fall? This is a tough one as Wednesday has certainly filled up quite a bit.

 

Survivor, I'll check out Undercovers just because of Abrams, Modern Family, Criminal Minds, Cougar Town, Law and Order: LA.