The 10 best new TV shows to watch this fall, from 'American Gigolo' to 'Andor'
Blockbuster Video on Netflix? A new "American Gigolo"? An original show about reboots? Welcome to fall TV 2022.
As the days grow shorter and the weather grows colder, your favorite TV networks and streaming services are ramping up their new programming. And while fall TV is not the only time to premiere new shows the way it once was, dozens of new and returning series still hope to gain new fans and cultural cachet.
This autumn's best offerings include a Netflix series set at a Blockbuster video store, a portrait of an irreverent queen, a pizza-making competition, another "Star Wars" series and a funny vampire tale. And that's not to mention some of the big returning shows this season, which include the final seasons of critical darlings "Atlanta" (FX) and "The Good Fight" (Paramount+) and zombie juggernaut "The Walking Dead" (AMC); a new season of everyone's favorite dad show "Yellowstone" (Paramount Network); and onetime ABC smash "Dancing With the Stars," moving to a streaming home on Disney+.
But don't worry, you don't have to watch it all. Here is what is really worth your time:
'The Serpent Queen'
Starz (Sunday; Sundays, 8 EDT/PDT)
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Flippant and fun, this drama set in Renaissance Europe has the trappings of âGame of Thronesâ palace intrigue with the attitude of âFleabag.â Samantha Morton plays Catherine de Medici, whom you might remember from Advanced Placement European history class as an influential Queen of France and member of the powerful Italian Medici clan. But historical know-how isnât a prerequisite for âSerpent,â which offers a very cheeky, raw take on Catherineâs story that doesn't gloss over the very ugly parts of life during this period. Morton is electric, as is Liv Hill, the young actress who plays Catherine as a teen in flashbacks.
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'American Gigolo'
Showtime (Sunday; Sundays, 9 EDT/PDT)
A suave and gleaming Jon Bernthal takes on the role that made Richard Gere a star in this TV remake of the landmark 1980 film. In a slight twist on the filmâs plot, Bernthal plays a male prostitute who was wrongfully convicted of murder and served years in prison before his sentence was overturned. Back in the dangerous world of Los Angeles criminals, he attempts to figure out whether he was framed and to reunite with the one woman he really loves. The soapy setup is sold by Bernthal, who was born to play the role. All moody eyes and knowing smiles, the prolific actor is the reason to tune in.
'Best in Dough'
Hulu (Sept. 19; weekly on Mondays)
With the zany, giggly energy of Netflixâs âNailed It!â but far greater culinary skill among its contestants, Huluâs adorable pizza-baking competition series is a dose of cheesy, saucy joy in a very dark world. Who could resist the episode in which three Nonnas (Italian grandmothers, for the uninitiated) create ridiculous pizza concoctions that originated on social media? âDoughâ is not high art nor particularly deep (unless we're talking about deep-dish pizza), but it is one of the most enjoyable new series this year.
'The U.S. and the Holocaust'
PBS (Sept. 18-20; check local listings)
Ken Burns has never shied away from turning his camera to the less-than-sunny parts of history, and his latest documentary series, produced with Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein, scrutinizes the way the American government and public dealt with (and were complicit in) the horrors unfolding in Nazi Germany. Blistering and educational without lecturing, the documentary is a harrowing must-watch.
'Reboot'
Hulu (Sept. 20; weekly on Tuesdays)
In the age of remakes, revivals and reboots in Hollywood, it was only a matter of time until someone produced a show about the making of one. Keegan-Michael Key, Rachel Bloom, Judy Greer, Johnny Knoxville and Paul Reiser star as the cast and writers who bring a beloved but generic 2000s sitcom back on the air (well, back on Hulu because itâs very meta). The great cast and witty scripts, from âModern Familyâ co-creator Steven Levitan, almost make us forgive the series being titled âRebootâ instead of âRevival,â which is what it actually depicts.
'Andor'
Disney+ (Sept. 21; weekly on Wednesdays)
âStar Warsâ is back with a new TV series, and you wouldnât be faulted for not realizing right away that it is set in a galaxy far, far away. âAndorâ is a new prequel that tells the origin of Diego Lunaâs character from the 2016 film âRogue One: A Star Wars Story.â The series is smart, gripping science fiction, and the âStar Warsâ of it all is almost incidental. Thatâs actually a very good thing, and thereâs an energy and springiness to âAndorâ thatâs lost in some of the other âStar Warsâ shows that are burdened with fan service, canon events and self-seriousness. By striking out on its own, "Andor" creates something uniquely exciting.
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'Reginald the Vampire'
Syfy (Oct. 5; Wednesdays, 10 EDT/PDT)
Quite a few vampire series are due this fall, from AMCâs new adaptation of Anne Riceâs âInterview with the Vampireâ to Peacockâs âVampire Academy,â but only one imagines what would happen if someone who looks less like a supermodel was made into a creature of the night. Enter Reginald (Jacob Batalon, âSpider-Man: No Way Homeâ), an average Joe frittering away his potential by working at a fast-food joint. When a chance meeting with a dashing vampire results in Reginald acquiring some pointy teeth of his own, we get a much more comedic and down-to-earth vampire story than âTwilightâ or âTrue Blood.â
'A Friend of the Family'
Peacock (Oct. 6; weekly on Thursdays)
Based on a devastatingly true story previously told in Netflixâs âAbducted in Plain Sight,â âFriendâ is a fictionalized drama about a child abuser who wormed his way into an Idaho family in the 1970s. âBâ (Jake Lacy) seems like an upstanding father and neighbor, but he is obsessed with the daughter (Mckenna Grace) of his family friends (Colin Hanks and Anna Paquin) and kidnaps her twice over several years. The harrowing drama is produced by its subject, survivor Jan Broberg, and it walks the fine line between telling her story without exploiting it.
'From Scratch'
Netflix (Oct. 21)
Zoe Saldana is the effervescent star of this escapist romance about a young Black woman who finds her soulmate on a six-week excursion to Italy. The story doesnât end when lovebirds Amy (Saldana) and Lino (Eugenio Mastrandrea) finally kiss; the story is also about making sacrifices to form a life together, culture clashes and the work of maintaining a relationship through the bad times.
'Blockbuster'
Netflix (Nov. 3)
This fictional Michigan Blockbuster video store is the last one in the world and the setting for this cheery workplace sitcom starring Randall Park (âFresh Off the Boatâ) and Melissa Fumero (âBrooklyn Nine-Nineâ). Many jokes about the former VHS and DVD rental business populate the series, of course, but it also has a great will they/wonât they relationship at its heart and more than a few quirky supporting characters we could fall in love with, taking its cues from the likes of âParks and Recreation.â The fact that Netflix is pretty much what killed Blockbuster adds a bit of meta-comedy to the whole affair.