At the start of the summer, Empire provided a series of guides to new comedies, dramas and sci-fi shows coming to America in the 2016-17 season. How can we top that, you're probably wondering. Well, how about this: a comprehensive guide to 50 – FIFTY! – new shows debuting between September and December of this year. Mark your diaries for these...
Mary + Jane
5 September, MTV
This single camera, half-hour comedy is the first in a number of drug-related comedies coming this season. Comedian Scout Durwood and Jessica Rothe play Jordan and Paige, a pair of twentysomething best buds (geddit?) running an all-female weed delivery service in LA. The show is rumoured to be ram-packed with "funny, raw and bizarre adventures". Fans of Broad City and Weeds should keep eyes peeled next week.
Atlanta
6 September, FX
Created by and starring Donald Glover - the Childish Gambino himself – this one is a semi-autobiographical comedy-drama in which with two cousins who navigate their way across the Atlanta rap scene in an effort to improve the lives of themselves and their families. Not so much The Get Down as The Get Up?
Queen Sugar
6 September, OWN
Based on the novel of the same name, the series follows the life of two sisters, Nova Bordelon (played by Rutina Wesley), a New Orleans journalist and activist, and Charley Bordelon (Dawn-Lyen Gardner). A modern woman, Charley and her teenage son leave their upscale apartment in LA and moves to the heart of Louisiana to claim an inheritance from her recently departed father – an 800-acre sugarcane farm. Fish-out-water toils presumably await. With Oprah Winfrey and Ava 'Selma' DuVernay behind it, this one has serious pedigree.
Better Things
8 September, FX
Created by Louis C.K. and Pamela Adlon, Better Things focuses on a divorced actress's efforts to raise three daughters on her own. With zero filter and a snappy temper, Adlon's thesp is also supported/provoked by her ex-pat mum (Celia Imrie) across the street. Expect much of Louis' unsparing and observational style to be an influence here.
Quarry
9 September, Cinemax in America, Sky Atlantic in UK
Based on the novels by Max Allan Collins, the focus is on Mac Conway, a Marine who returns home to Memphis from Vietnam in 1972 and finds himself shunned by those he loves and demonised by the public. As he struggles to cope with his memories of war, Conway is drawn into a web of killing and corruption that spans the Mississippi River. Well, some of it.
One Mississippi
9 September, Amazon
This comedy-drama created by and starring US comedian Tig Notaro deals with a woman returning to her hometown in Mississippi after her mother’s sudden death, carrying some ailments of her own. It's already built positive buzz, with early word suggesting that it'll be raw and emotional in the spirit of Transparent. Louis C.K. is one of its executive producers.
High Maintenance
15 September, HBO
Based on the web series of the same name, the show follows a nameless weed deliveryman called 'The Guy' (played by co-creator Ben Sinclair) as he delivers his product to clients in New York City. He is the only constant in the series as each episode focuses on a new set of characters procuring weed from him. Let's hope the comedy isn't too, well, blunt.
Kevin Can Wait
15 September, CBS
Kevin James, whose previous sitcom was the long-running King Of Queens, stars as a newly-retired police officer looking forward to spending carefree, quality time with his wife and three kids, only to discover he faces tougher challenges at home than he ever did on the streets. Could this be the most Kevin James thing ever? Quite possibly.
The Good Place
15 September, NBC
After she is struck and killed by a lorry carrying erection pills (seriously, what are the odds?), Eleanor (Kristen Bell) wakes up in heaven, her salvation assured thanks to the selfless work she did getting innocent people off death row. Unfortunately, heaven has mixed her up with someone else. Can she find her way back to the land of the living and its menu of sweary fun? Its _Heaven Can Wait_y premise should give Bell plenty of chances to flaunt her comic chops. Her co-stars include Ted Danson, Jameela Jamil and William Jackson.
Bull
20 September, CBS
Before Dr. Phil was a popular daytime TV host, he was the founder of one of the most prolific trial consulting firms of all time. Inspired by those true events but reinvented as 'Dr. Bull', Michael Weatherly's character is brilliant and charming. We'll see him using psychology, smarts and data to learn what makes jurors, lawyers, witnesses and the accused tick, and then presumably manipulate the bejeezus out of them.
This Is Us
20 September, CBS
This series follows an ensemble cast whose paths cross and life stories intertwine in curious ways. Given that several of them share the same birthday, this happens much more than you might expect. Expect more cake-construction than The Great British Bake Off and a cast that includes Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore.
Speechless
20 September, ABC
Maya DiMeo (Minnie Driver) is a mum on a mission who goes above and beyond for her husband, Jimmy, and her kids Ray, Dylan and JJ, her eldest son with special needs. As Maya battles with injustices both real and imagined, the family works to make a new home for themselves and searches for just the right person to give JJ his 'voice'.
Designated Survivor
20 September, ABC
After spending years working for the president, Kiefer Sutherland is finally getting the chance to see what it's like to be President. He plays Tom Kirkman, a lower-level US cabinet member suddenly appointed President after a catastrophic attack during the State of the Union speech kills everyone above him in the line of succession. Will he get to torture anyone? Watch this space.
Lethal Weapon
Fox in America, Sky 1 in the UK
Riggs and Murtaugh are back, back, back. After losing his wife and child, ex-Navy SEAL turned LA detective Martin Riggs (Clayne Crawford) is paired with veteran detective Roger Murtaugh (Damon Wayans, Sr.). If chaos and maverick policing doesn't ensue, someone will have got this remake very wrong indeed. It's based, of course, on the Mel Gibson/Danny Glover film franchise, McG serves as executive producer and directs episode 1.
Notorious
22 September, ABC
Inspired by the true-life stories of famed criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos and cable news producer Wendy Walker, the series is a provocative look at the ever-blurring lines between criminal law and the media. Daniel Sunjata and Piper Perabo star as Geragos and Walker.
Pitch
22 September, Fox
This one tells the story of a young pitcher who gets the chance to play Major League Baseball. The twist? She's a woman. Kylie Bunbury's Ginny Baker is vaulted into instant fame when she’s called up by the San Diego Padres to make her MLB debut. Like any rookie, she has to impress her teammates while also representing her gender under the glare of the white-hot media spotlight.
Easy
22 September, Netflix
Joe 'Drinking Buddies' Swanberg’s anthology series which takes on a wide diversity of Chicago characters as they fumble through the modern maze of love, sex, technology and culture. All of these are topics that Swanberg deals with in his dramas, which are mico-budgeted features.
MacGyver
23 September, CBS
The reboots continues with this reimagined take on the '80s series. The focus is on twentysomething MacGyver, who creates a clandestine organisation where he uses his knack for solving problems in unconventional ways to help prevent disasters. Give the man a cucumber, straw and a basketball and he'll stop a nuclear bomb from detonating. Lucas Till stars in the title role made famous by Richard Dean Anderson.
The Exorcist
23 September, Fox
Directed by Rupert Wyatt (Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes), The Exorcist, subject of the classic 1973 film of the same name, follows two constrasting priests tackling one family’s case of demonic possession. Father Thomas Ortega (Alfonso Herrera) is the progressive new face of the Catholic Church; Father Marcus Brennan (Ben Daniels) is a modern-day Templar Knight. Together, they must work to battle an evil force that has been mobilising for centuries. Let's hope this demonic movie spin-off fares better than the recently cancelled Damien.
Van Helsing
23 September, Syfy
Vanessa "Van" Helsing, the daughter of Abraham Van Helsing, is resurrected in a post-apocalyptic world, five years in the future, to lead a resistance against the vampires that plague it. Hopefully this one will be significantly less terrible than the 2004 shocker.
Son Of Zorn
25 September, Fox
A hybrid live-action/animated comedy featuring the voice of Jason Sudeikis, as He-Man knockoff Zorn – an animated warrior from a faraway island in the Pacific Ocean (where everything and everyone is animated) who returns to Orange County, CA, to win back his live-action ex-wife and teenage son. Produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, Son Of Zorn is heavy on the fish-out-of-water laughs as Zorn tries to transition from slaying monsters to climbing mountains of paperwork.
Channel Zero: Candle Cove
27 September, Syfy
An anthology series where each season is based on another story, this Syfy show kicks off with a 12-episode run. In the first instalment, adults reflect on a television program from their childhood that was far more sinister than they remember. It's not The Word.
Aftermath
27 September, Syfy
Starring James Tupper and Anne Heche, this show follows the Copeland family as they battle for survival when civilisation has pretty much lost its battle with such apocalyptic elements as earthquakes, unrelenting storms, meteor strikes, a plague and, oh yes, the rise of supernatural creatures.
Luke Cage
30 September, Netflix
Introduced on Jessica Jones, Mike Colter is the reluctant – and troubled – titular hero. When a sabotaged prison experiment gives him super strength and unbreakable skin, Luke Cage becomes a fugitive attempting to rebuild his life in Harlem and must soon confront his past and fight a battle for the heart of his city. As with Daredevil, Jessica Jones and the forthcoming Iron Fist, expect seeds to be planted for The Defenders crossover series.
Crisis In Six Scenes
30 September, Amazon
There is little known about Woody Allen’s first television series, except for the fact that he found it incredibly difficult compared to filmmaking, that there will only be a single season. Oh, and that it stars Allen, Elaine May and Miley Cyrus. And that Woody's character is unlikely to be joining The Defenders anytime soon.
Westworld
1 October, HBO
Produced by J.J. Abrams and Jonathan Nolan from the Michael Crichton novel of the same name, this eagerly-anticipated HBO shows promises a dark journey into the dawn of artificial consciousness and "the future of sin". Intrigued? Us too. The stellar cast includes Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Evan Rachel Wood, James Marsden, Thandie Newton and Jeffrey Wright. Relentless droid Yul Brynner will be missed from the 1973 original, but the modern take should provide plenty of robo-consolations.
Conviction
1 October, ABC
Agent Carter's loss is Conviction's gain as Hayley Atwell finds herself playing Carter Morrison, the brilliant but ne'er-do-well daughter of a former president. Blackmailed into taking a job as the head of LA's newly created Conviction Integrity Unit, she and her team of lawyers, investigators and forensic experts work to examine cases where there's credible suspicion that the wrong person might have been convicted of a crime.
Timeless
1 October, NBC
From Eric Kripke (Supernatural), Shawn Ryan (The Shield) and the producers of The Blacklist comes this action-adventure series in which a mysterious criminal steals a secret state-of-the-art time machine, intent on destroying America by changing the past. Hey-up, you'll be thinking, that sounds serious. Luckily, an unorthodox team, comprising a scientist, soldier and history professor, are on hand to take the machine’s prototype back in time, too. Can this handpicked team end the time-bending destruction before it’s too late? Will Jean-Claude Van Damme show up and do the splits, a la Timecop? The show stars Abigail Spencer, Matt Lanter, Malcolm Barrett and Goran Visnjic.
No Tomorrow
4 October, CW
A straight-arrow female procurement manager at an Amazon-like distribution centre falls in love with a freewheeling man. He lives life to the fullest because he believes the apocalypse is imminent, hence the title. But is it? The pair embark on a quest together to fulfill their individual bucket lists just in case. Don't do anything rash people! Tori Anderson and Joshua Sasse (Galavant) co-star.
Frequency
5 October, CW
In this reimagining of the 2000 film, a female police detective discovers she is able to speak via a ham radio with her estranged father (also a detective) who died in 1996. They forge a new relationship while working together on an unresolved murder case, but unintended consequences of the "butterfly effect" wreak havoc in the present day. They'd have known this if they'd seen the original.
Divorce
9 October, HBO
Sex And The City star Sarah Jessica Parker returns to HBO in this comedy. She plays Frances, a woman who suddenly begins to reassess her life and her marriage. What she ultimately learns is that a clean break and a fresh start is harder than she thought. Also starring Thomas Haden Church, Molly Shannon and Talia Balsam.
Insecure
9 October, HBO
This series of eight episodes is an adaptation of star/creator Issa Rae's web series, The Misadventures Of Awkward Black Girl. The half-hour comedy is focused on Issa Dee and follows her life in Los Angeles as she does her best to balance friends, work and romance. Also starring Yvonne Orji, Jay Ellis and Lisa Joyce.
American Housewife
11 October, ABC
Katie Otto (Katy Mixon of the recently departed Mike And Molly), a confident, unapologetic, plump wife and mother of three, raises her flawed family in the wealthy town of Westport, Connecticut, filled with perfect mothers and their perfect offspring. She lets us in on her deepest, most unfiltered thoughts through voiceover as she lives her life as the second fattest housewife in Westport (the show's original title, but that was considered rude). The series also stars Diedrich Bader, Johnny Sequoyah, Daniel DiMaggio, Julia Butters, Carly Hughes and Ali Wong. Written by Sarah Dunn.
Falling Water
13 October, USA
This series revolves around three strangers who realise they are dreaming separate parts of the same dream. Each of them has their own quest: one is searching for his missing girlfriend; another, her lost child; the third, a cure for his catatonic mother. Luckily, their collective dream offers a guide on where to look...
Haters Back Off
14 October, Netflix
The series centers around the oddball family life of Miranda Sings, an incredibly confident but utterly talentless star on the rise who continues to fail upwards by sheer power of self-belief. The show is said to be autobiographical and will feature other YouTube sensations like Colleen Ballinger.
Goliath
14 October, Amazon
David E. Kelley (The Practice, Boston Legal) takes his writer/producer hats from network TV to Amazon, and the odds are he’ll never go back. Goliath sees a disgraced lawyer, now chasing ambulances, getting a case that could bring him redemption, or at least revenge on the firm that expelled him. The very promising cast includes Emmy-nominee Billy Bob Thornton, Maria Bello and William Hurt.
Eyewitness
14 October, USA
Based on a Norwegian crime thriller (yup, another one), this ten-episode series explores a grisly crime from the point of view of two innocent teenaged boys who stumble on it in a forest. After witnessing a shooting, they barely escape with their own lives. Desperate to keep their relationship a secret, and fearing they’ll be found by the killer, they remain silent. Luckily, everything works out nicely for them... OR DOES IT?
Berlin Station
16 October, Epix
In this espionage thriller, Richard Armitage plays Daniel Miller, the cerebral, newly anointed CIA officer who goes from being an analyst at Langley to an undercover officer in Berlin, tasked with finding a security leak. Michelle Forbes is his no-nonsense station head. Expect dead drops, double agents and people called 'Red Squirrel'.
Graves
16 October, Epix
Nick Nolte plays former US Prez Richard Graves, a role he was born for. Unfortunately, 20 years after his spell in office, it dawns on him that his policies have done serious damage to the country. In response, he goes on a “Don-Quixote-like” journey to set things right. Timing sucks, though, because the former First Lady has decided to get into politics herself. Sounds House Of Cards-like on, well, growlier.
Chance
19 October, Hulu
Hugh 'House' Laurie returns to the medical profession as San Francisco-based neuropsychiatrist Eldon Chance. He soon finds himself ensnared into a dangerous world of mistaken identity, police malfeasance and mental illness. It's all based on a novel by surf-noir specialist Kem Nunn.
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency
22 October, BBC America
Based on the Douglas Adams novel series, this science-fiction detective series, written by Max Landis, stars Samuel Barnett as the time-travelling detective Dirk Gently and Elijah Wood as his reluctant sidekick Todd. Expect gentle Adams-y weirdness and a subtle Sherlock-meets-Doctor-Who vibe.
Man With A Plan
24 October, CBS
Matt LeBlanc stars in a new family comedy about a contractor who learns that parenting three wee'uns is the toughest job of them all. When his wife goes back to work, he’s soon overwhelmed by his new domestic responsibilities. Man With A Plan charts the former Joey-from-Friends' efforts to get to grips with this new situation, while presumably finding room at least for some fussball.
The Great Indoors
27 October, CBS
Star reporter for The Great Outdoors magazine Jack (Joel McHale) has to swap his The Revenant-like lifestyle for something a lot more sedentary when he's hit by an injury. Instead of wrestling bears, he finds himself working in the digital and social media team, surrounded by millennials who see him as, well, a bit of a dinosaur. The Great Indoors also stars Stephen Fry – expect him to help McHale mastery the technical doohickery – as well as Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Christine Ko and Susannah Fielding.
Pure Genius
27 October, CBS
A Silicon Valley tech titan (played by Kick-Ass 2's Augustus Prew) enlists a veteran surgeon with a controversial past in starting a hospital with a cutting edge, “new school” approach to medicine. Dermot Mulroney plays that surgeon, a maverick whose crazy ideas might just work. Expect this one to pitch itself firmly at House fans.
Good Girls Revolt
28 October, Amazon
Inspired by award-winning journalist Lynn Povich’s book The Good Girls Revolt, this series is set in the late 1960s and follows a trio of women who are breaking into the news world and attempting to achieve something approaching equality in the workplace. Roger Ailes-alikes will no doubt abound.
People Of Earth
31 October, TBS
This TBS show is centered on skeptical journalist Ozzie Graham who investigates a support group to write about the members’ supposed alien encounters. His doubts fade when he realises that there might just be some truth to their crazy stories. This one sounds like the exact midway point between Paul and All The President's Men.
Freakish
October, Hulu
Created by Beth Szymkowski, the story focuses on a group of students at a small-town high school. All is cheeky cigs behind the bikeshed and illicit snogs until, well, a bunch of predatory mutant freaks take over after a meltdown at the local chemical plant. As can happen. The cast is a mix of celebrities of the Hollywood and internet kinds. A millennial The Faculty then? Maybe so.
Stan Against Evil
2 November, IFC
An ageing police sheriff (John C. McGinley) who has recently lost his position due to an ill-judged shouty moment, reluctantly joins an alliance with the new sheriff to battle angry demons haunting their small New Hampshire town.
The Crown
4 November, Netflix
Reportedly the most expensive show that Netflix has ever produced, The Crown traces the life of Queen Elizabeth II from her wedding in 1947 to the present day. If the producers have their way, there will be a total of 60 episodes over six season. Yes, SIXTY. Claire Foy will need a bloody good lie-down at the end of all that.
Good Behavior
15 November, TNT
Letty Dobesh is a thief and con artist who's fresh out of prison and attempting to stay afloat. Which, with a well-established self-destructive streak, she frankly struggles with. So when she overhears a hitman being hired to kill someone’s wife, she sets out to derail the job, sending her on a collision course with the killer, and entangling them in a dangerous relationship. Michelle 'Downton Abbey' Dockery is the behaviorally-challenged one.
Incorporated
25 November, Syfy
Set in a future where companies seemingly have unlimited power, a young executive named Ben Larson (Sean Teale) attempts to infiltrate this controlled world to save the woman he loves. To do so, he has to take on the entire system, the results of which could be deadly (as these things usually are). From executive producers Batman… uh, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.
Shut Eye
7 December, Hulu
Charlie Haverford (Jeffrey Donovan) is a scammer with a small chain of fortune-telling storefronts and contracts building tricks for a family that controls the business in the greater chunk of Los Angeles. A blow to the head from a client's angry boyfriend during a hypnosis session just might have changed everything as a guy whose entire life has been based on fraud may be "seeing" things very differently.
Shooter
** Late 2016, USA**
Based on Stephen Hunter’s novel Point Of Impact and the 2007 Paramount film starring Mark Wahlberg, Shooter stars Ryan Phillippe as a deadshot marksman living in exile who's lured back into the ol' shooting-people game after learning of a plot to kill the Prez. Sounds like the kind of thing Amanda Waller might have cooked up. Find out sometime at the tail end of the year.