Thursday night is traditionally the busiest night of the television week. Here’s our look back at my pre-season thoughts on what’s on the slate for this season.
7:00
Grey’s Anatomy – The medical drama enters its 11th season with a move to an earlier timeslot. There are cast changes aplenty this year, so hopefully the show can continue its recent quality upswing.
I noticed that episodes of the show started piling up on the DVR somewhat this season. I’m all caught up now, but with the big logjam at this timeslot, who knows what will happen when the show returns.
The Big Bang Theory – The show returns to Thursdays in late October, following the midpoint of the NFL season.
The show is much more relationship focused this year, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but there hasn’t been as much interaction between the 4 original nerds without their new-found lady friends.
Bones – The show moves back to Thursdays for its 10th season. Beyond that, there’s not much to say about the show that hasn’t already been said.
Well, the show kicked off the season by killing off John Francis Daley’s character, so there was a bit of a shake up, but the show is pretty much the same as its always been.
8:00
Gracepoint – FOX hopes that taking a successful British mystery, Broadchurch, and remaking it for an American audience while keeping the same star, David Tennant, will make lightning hit twice.
Tweaking the ending of the show ever so slightly did not make the previous 9 1/2 episodes being exact duplicates of their British counterparts a worthwhile watch.
8:30
A to Z – The pilot didn’t exactly reach out and grab me, but star Cristin Milloti, fresh from her turn as the titular mother in the final season of How I Met Your Mother, is exceedingly charming, so I will give this a longer chance to impress.
Well, the show should be wrapping up its 13 episode run soon. If they have Cristin Milioti’s character die and have the lead guy hook up with Cobie Smulders instead, it would give the show a proper sendoff.
9:00
Elementary – Sherlock and Watson return for a third season of helping the NYPD solve their cases.
Sherlock returned from London with a new assistant, so there has been switch up to the status quo.
Parenthood – The show returns for a 13 episode swan song, tackling the one issue they have not to date: the death of a Braverman.
The show’s run should be wrapping up soon, with Vegas odds pointing towards Craig T. Nelson’s Zeek as the Braverman to bite the dust.
How To Get Away With Murder – The latest from executive producer Shonda Rhimes give her the entire Thursday night lineup for ABC. I’m thinking that I might give it a shot, although the timeslot is already a little busy.
It took a while to get going, and I can’t tell you a single character’s name, but I am enjoying the show.
Now it’s time to turn our attention to new shows debuting this winter:
Backstrom – Based on the adds, I’m assuming some exec asked “What if you took House, turned him into a polic detective, and used that guy from The Office?” I wil give it a shot, but don’t feel really good about its chances.
The Odd Couple – Yet another remake of the Neil Simon play returns Matthew Perry to our screens once again next month.