Wondering what to watch on TV this fall? Some great fall TV shows are on the horizon, including new seasons of hits like Abbott Elementary and Cobra Kai, as well as brand new shows such as Wednesday (starring Jenna Ortega) and a highly-anticipated Lord of the Rings prequel.
Delve into this year's must-watch fall TV shows and enjoy a bounty of trailers as you plan the rest of your queue for 2022.
August
Release date: August 21
Where to watch: HBO
Prepare to head back to where Game of Thrones all began. HBO’s much-anticipated House of the Dragon is a prequel to its popular GoT series. The prequel is set to explore the civil war that tore House Targaryen apart. Staged 200 years before the events of GoT, House of the Dragon will center on a bunch of newcomers to the realm, including Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy), Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), and Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke).
September
Release date: September 2
Where to watch: Netflix
Fake IDs become a means of serious cash for two best friends in this Netflix series. Unfortunately, as the voiceover states at the beginning, “All good things must come to an end,” and that includes a brush with teenage entrepreneurship. Zoe (Emilija Baranac) and Rebecca (Jennifer Tong) find overnight success with the launch of their fake ID business, but when some actual, serious criminals get involved, things go awry.
Release date: September 2
Where to watch: Prime Video
Head back into Hobbit history with the debut of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. This adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy novels takes place thousands of years before LoTR and The Hobbit. Viewers will get their chance to see the formation of Middle Earth’s second age, which includes witnessing the actual creation of those coveted Rings of Power and the rise of Sauron.
Release date: September 9
Where to watch: Apple TV+
Hillary and Chelsea Clinton serve as your guides to the stories of some seriously admirable ladies. The docs-series from the mother and daughter is said to highlight “household names” like Megan Thee Stallion and Jane Goodall as well as newcomers, and in the process of sharing these leaders, viewers will be inspired to embrace their gutsy side, too.
Release date: September 9
Where to watch: Netflix
In the land of Cobra Kai, the stakes have never been higher going into the show’s fifth season. At the end of season 4, our heroes faced some critical defeats — Cobra Kai won the tournament against Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang, so per a years-old agreement, they can’t be dojos anymore. It seems unlikely that Daniel (Ralph Macchio) will let that stand, but safe to say drama will ensue. Meanwhile, a new sensei (played by Alicia Hannah-Kim) is on the scene to shake things up; she’s the first female sensei in the Karate Kid universe.
Release date: September 14
Where to watch: FX, Hulu at 10 p.m. on Thursdays
Early in 2022, about a month before the premiere of season 3, FX announced that the fourth season of Atlanta will be its last. Creator Donald Glover has said that though the show took place in Europe for the majority of season 3 — which just concluded on May 19 — the titular city of Atlanta will “make a very heavy resurgence” in season 4, calling the final season a “homecoming season.” Glover hasn’t revealed much about this season’s plot, but promises that his character Earn, Alfred/Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry), Van (Zazie Beetz), and Darius (Lakeith Stanfield) will “have more fun.” Sounds like the best kind of farewell.
Release date: September 15
Where to watch: Peacock
Based on the Vampire Academy novels, this Peacock adaptation will get some help coming to life via Julie Plec, who you may remember from The Vampire Diaries. Expect drama, romance, and of course some vampire-inspired activities from the series that takes place at a boarding school named St. Vladimir's Academy.
Release date: September 16
Where to watch: Netflix
Classes at Alfea, a magical boarding school, are back in session, and the group of magical beings attending intend to fully come into their own on season two of Fate: The Winx Saga. The four fairy friends are expected to encounter some unfamiliar faces this season, and they’ll also have to contend with The Burned Ones, a group of evildoers.
Release date: September 21
Where to watch: ABC, Hulu
If you haven’t tuned in to Abbott Elementary yet, here’s your chance — the runaway hit mockumentary-style sitcom is coming back for a second season. Abbott follows a group of teachers doing their best within the underfunded Philadelphia public school system. Series creator Quinta Brunson plays second grade teacher Janine Teagues, who’s the optimistic one out of her sometimes eccentric, sometimes incompetent, always hilarious colleagues. Season 2 of Abbott will have 22 “bottle” episodes full of what Quinta describes as “Friends-type, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air-type fun” — episodes that might make you laugh more than contribute something to the show’s thematic satire or full plot arc of the season. Quinta also promised “fun cameos,” and TBH, we haven’t been this excited for back to school in a long time.
Release date: September 22
Where to watch: Hulu
Everyone’s favorite reality television family returns, but this time there will be more Pete Davidson. Following a successful first season of Hulu’s The Kardashians, which featured a lesson in vegetable cutting, the revamped reality show returns. Although Kim Kardashian and her former Saturday Night Live boyfriend have since split, season one ended with promises of a focus on their relationship, as well as the newly married Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker.
Release date: September 30
Where to watch: Netflix
Executive produced by musician Kid Cudi and Kenya Barris, Entergalactic is an adult animated music series that’s an adaptation/television companion to Cudi’s upcoming 8th studio album of the same name. Cudi’s dual project will drop on the same day, and each song on the album will reportedly get a 30-minute narrative within the series, giving each track its own backstory. The show is gorgeously animated, and will follow two young artists navigating love in New York City. The voice cast is stacked, including stars like Cudi himself, Jessica Williams, Timothée Chalamet, Ty Dolla $ign, Laura Harrier, Vanessa Hudgens, 070 Shake, Jaden Smith, Teyana Taylor, and Macaulay Culkin.
October
Release date: October 5
Where to watch: Syfy
Spider-Man breakout star Jacob Batalon will graduate from best friend to antihero as the leading man of Syfy’s Reginald the Vampire. The horror comedy series follows Reginald Baskin, a regular high-schooler who turns into a vampire and is introduced to a hidden world full of “beautiful, fit, and vain” bloodsuckers. As he begins to step into his own power, Reginald turns all of those familiar vampire tropes on their heads. The series is based on Johnny B. Truant’s Fat Vampire book series.
Release date: October 7
Where to watch: Netflix
If the end of Stranger Things has you eager for something supernatural to fill the void, The Midnight Club could be the perfect fit. From the creator of The Haunting of Hill House comes this Netflix series about a group of eight friends that gather for nightly ghost hunts and creepy tales. Of course, with a historic and mysterious hospice as their backdrop, the friends are bound to encounter the unexpected.
Release date: October 10
Where to watch: The CW, Hulu
You had all summer to catch up on All American season 4 on Netflix — are you ready for season 5? The Crenshaw and Beverly Hill kids have found themselves once again embroiled in young adult drama with real world stakes, and we’re loving every minute of it. The show’s college life counterpart, All American: Homecoming, will also make its grand return with season 2, and will follow Simone’s sophomore year at HBCU Bringston University. Good news for Nathaniel stans, as actor Rhoyle Ivy King has been promoted to series regular for the second season! Nathaniel is Simone’s genderfluid multi-talented stylist friend who also happens to be studying pre-law.
Release date: October 11
Where to watch: The CW, Hulu
Supernatural may have ended, but this prequel series will allow fans to better familiarize themselves with the show’s famous Winchester family. The show will focus on Sam and Dean’s parents and give the complete story of how John Winchester and Mary Campbell met and fell in love.
Release date: October 20
Where to watch: Peacock
Season one of One of Us Is Lying left viewers with a lot of questions, and perhaps “The Murder Club” will get some answers with the return of season two. Based on the best-selling novel, the television series is expected to resume shortly after season one ended, and as you may recall, the four friends that experienced an unexpected death during dentition received a startling surprise when the person they thought responsible for the killing was revealed to possibly be innocent.
Release date: Fall TBA
Where to watch: Netflix
One of the spookiest teens in history is back in a whole new way, courtesy of Tim Burton. Jenna Ortega takes on the iconic role of Wednesday Addams in this update, and if the first trailer is anything to go by, her classmates are not ready for her energy. The story follows Wednesday as she transfers from public school to Nevermore Academy, where she can be with her fellow magical people and become the antihero her town needs.