Fall is synonymous with the start of school, the return of football, and most importantly, the release of the fall TV schedule. The pandemic has made television production difficult, but as they say in Hollywood, the show must go on! Television studios have been working overtime to ensure you have plenty of great content this autumn, with both premieres and new seasons of the tried-and-trues competing for our attention. Here’s what we’re keeping our eye on this fall.
Zombies vs. Survivors – The Final Round
AMC’s hit series The Walking Dead is back for a final round of zombified suspense, with a final season extending into late 2022. Over its incredible 11-season run, the show has become a cultural phenomenon replete with spin-offs, social-media followings, and tantalizing promises of crossovers with other shows. According to showrunner Angela Kang, the series’ swan song – which is to focus on the survivors’ attempting to rebuild their home base of Alexandria – will include plenty of the emotional, action-packed stories fans have grown to love. “We’re playing with things that are more humorous as well as things that are really just scary, for those hardcore horror fans out there,” says Kang. “So, it’s just all of those things that we love about making the show, which hopefully, the fans will really enjoy too.” No doubt they will, especially as Halloween rolls around.
Power Corrupts
The show that captured the zeitgeist of the nation, Emmy-nominated Succession will be back for a third season on HBO. In a series that has already become famous for exploring the dangerous intersection of wealth, power, and family ties, this new season promises to raise things to new heights as the father-son acrimony between Kendall and Logan Roy threatens to spiral into all-out civil war. With production originally postponed by the pandemic, fans will be relieved to see new episodes on the air. “In today’s world where the intersection of politics and media is increasingly prevalent,” says HBO Executive Vice President Francesca Orsi, “Succession presents an especially piercing look behind the curtain of this elite, influential, and cutthroat community.”
Lord of the Flies Rebooted
In 1954, William Golding’s classic novel portrayed the fate of a group of adolescent boys who survived a plane crash on an abandoned island. This season, Showtime’s new show Yellowjackets updates this premise with the story of a high-school girls’ soccer team that survives its own crash – and its own attempt at group organization. Tacking back and forth between their lives 25 years later and flashbacks of the island, the show’s all-star cast including Tawny Cypress, Juliette Lewis, Melanie Lynskey, and Christina Ricci will showcase a gripping storyline that will reel viewers in.
Avengers and Beatles at Disney
Continuing the Avengers’ franchise over at Disney+, the character Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) will get a series of his own with the same name, teaming up with fellow archer and protégée Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld). And while we’re on the subject of Disney+, don’t miss its three-night series The Beatles: Get Back. Directed by the legendary Peter Jackson, this recounting of the creation of the group’s final album Let It Be will harvest 56 hours of never-before-seen footage and has received the blessing of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and the families of John Lennon and George Harrison. Over 50 years after their break-up, the Fab Four is back together again – at least in this not-to-be missed documentary series.
Hide and Sing
And if reality competition is what you crave, don’t miss the FOX premieres of the reality singing show The Masked Singer, where celebrities wear costumes and facemasks to conceal themselves, and Alter Ego, in which singers create dream avatars in order to reinvent themselves and perform like someone new. Both shows boast a combination of hidden identities and emerging talents.
The fall lineup looks like it will pack a punch (or a pumpkin?) for all genres and tastes, thanks to the continued efforts of our industry to provide quality programming that educates, informs, and entertains. To find out more about our campaigns to protect privacy, promote diversity, and ensure that all Americans have access to high-speed internet, click here.
