There are many reasons that fall is my favorite season and the return of the new television season is one of those reasons. This week is premiere week for the majority of fall shows, which for a television junkie like me means it is a very exciting week. There is a large amount of television airing during the summer these days too. I should probably have written about that at the time, but oh well. The majority of TV still at least premieres in the fall so it’s just easier to think about it at this time of year. I’m ready for the return of my favorite shows as well as excited to check out some of the new shows starting this season.

I’ll still be watching all the shows on this list from last year that are returning this year. I’ll be adding Parks and Recreation to that list of returning shows as well. I watched the first four seasons on Netflix over the summer and fell in love with it just as everyone told me I would, so now it will become part of my regular in season viewing.

In addition I’ll be checking out the following new shows. There wasn’t a whole lot that got me excited when they announced this season’s slate of new shows. There were a couple of shows that I was interested in, but the others I’m giving a chance solely based on the fact that critics I trust gave the pilots favorable reviews. The chances of me making it through the entire season watching all five of these shows is not great, but we will see what happens.

Revolution

This show actually started last week, so it’s the only show on this list of which I’ve seen an episode. The premise of the show is that some mysterious something wiped out all the electricity in the world. Now fifteen years later people are living in a kind of post-apocalyptic return to agrarian society type world being ruled by some militia. The head of the militia is trying to hunt down a particular pair of brothers who he thinks have information about what happened to the electricity. The central characters seem to be the kids of one of the brothers and their uncle, a couple of their friends, and a few militia people. I assume the show is going to feature flashbacks as well since as best I could tell Elizabeth Mitchell’s character didn’t survive to the 15 years later part of episode and she is listed as a member of the cast for all the episodes filmed so far. I’m certainly not sold on this show. The only reason I watched it in the first place is because my husband really likes post-apocalyptic stuff. I on the other hand am not a huge fan of the genre, but really like Elizabeth Mitchell, Giancarlo Esposito, and Billy Burke so I thought I would give it a shot while my husband was watching it. The pilot was as bad as I thought it would be while equally not being so awful that I wouldn’t at least give the show another episode or two to get a better feel for where it’s going. I suspect this will be a show that I quit watching while my husband continues to watch at least for a little while longer than I do.

Ben and Kate

This show I’m watching solely on the recommendation of critics. It’s often really hard to get a feel for what sit-coms will interest me or how they will hold up past their pilots, so I kind of just picked a couple that most of the critics I follow seemed to think had potential. The premise of the show is that Ben and Kate are siblings with very different personalities. Free-spirited Ben moves in with his overly responsible sister Kate to help raise her five year old daughter. Wacky hijinks ensue I’m guessing. As I said the pilot got some good reviews, so we’ll see how the show develops.

The Mindy Project

The Mindy Project is a new sitcom created by and starring Mindy Kaling. She previously wrote for and starred on the American version of The Office, which is a show I never got into. However, based on all kinds of great press I read her book Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (And Other Concerns). I really enjoyed it. Based on that and premise of this show I decided to give it a whirl. Kaling plays an OB/GYN who loves romantic comedies attempting to get her career off the ground while also finding her Mr. Right. The pilot has gotten much more mixed reviews among critics I follow than Ben and Kate did, but it interests me enough that I’m going try it for at least a couple of episodes.

Last Resort

Last Resort is the newest show created by Shawn Ryan. He of the short-lived Chicago Code, which I really enjoyed while it was on, and The Shield, which I have never watched. I’m not entirely sure of the exact premise for this show other than that it involves a nuclear submarine gone rogue somehow. I would have had zero interest in ever trying this show if it were not for the glowing review Alan Sepinwall gave it. According to him it is the best tv pilot of the new season. Since, as I have mentioned, Alan Sepinwall and I share much of the same taste in television I am taking his word for it and giving it a shot. Whether or not a military themed show manages to hold my interest remains to be seen.

Nashville 

Last, but certainly not least is Nashville. It’s only listed last because it doesn’t actually premiere until October 10 unlike the rest of the shows that premiere this week. When the new slate of television shows for this season was announced Nashville is the only show that I was completely sold on. Connie Britton – SOLD. Hayden Panettiere playing a Taylor Swift-like character – SOLD. Country music – SOLD. Soapy drama – SOLD. I was going to say that I love Connie Britton so much that I would watch her in anything, but that’s a lie because even her presence could not get me to watch American Horror Story. There is no bounds to the happiness I have about her being out of that show after only one season and moving on to a show that is right up my alley. In Nashville, Britton plays an aging country star who is being pushed aside by the new hot sensation played by Hayden Panettiere. I cannot foresee a world in which I will not watch and love every second of this show.