Ultimate Guide to the Fall TV Schedule – 2014

The fall TV season begins this week, so better late than never to start preparing for the onslaught of new shows and returning favorites. The fall TV schedule gets into full swing as of tomorrow, Monday, September 22nd with a few FOX shows having started last week and The CW waiting until October to get underway. To help you find the “Prime” in the primetime fall schedule, I’ve put together this guide for you of links to resources and reviews. Whether you like to listen, read or watch, we’ve got everything you need to know to plan your fall TV viewing.

2014 Fall TV Premiere Dates

Find out when your favorite show returns or when that new fall show you’ve heard so much about will start. This section has links to calendars, lists and schedules in various forms.

• Fall 2014 Primetime TV Grids – Kyle Nolan (@kyool) of NoReruns.net (@NoReruns) has put together daily grids with premiere dates.
• Fall 2014 TV Premiere Dates – Sandrine Sahakians (@sosandrine) of TVEquals.com (@TVEquals) has the premieres listed by month, date and then show.
• Get Your Printable Fall TV Schedules – 2014 – I (@theTVaholic) have put together a one page printable TV schedule with premiere dates for both broadcast networks and cable channels, so you can see what is playing when and up against what, all on one page.
• New Fall TV Shows – TVGuide.com (@TVGuide) has all the new fall shows listed alphabetically and then by date.
• New TV fall preview, with Canadian and American Debut Dates – Bill Harris (@billharris_tv) of Canoe.ca (@Canoe) provides new fall TV show premiere dates for Canada as well as the U.S. by date and then show and then network.
• Your Fall TV 2014 Primetime Calendar – Daniel Malen (@theTVaddict) from theTVaddict.com has put together a printable calendar that gives you the fall premieres by day and then show.

What New Fall 2014 TV Shows Look Good?

There is so much TV these days that it is impossible to watch everything. No matter how much I try, it’s difficult to even sample everything these days to see what is good. So, what is a TV fan with limited time supposed to do? Well, in this section you will find links to opinions from around the web on what new fall TV shows are worth your time. I chime in with where I agree/disagree with the following fall picks.

• 7 New Fall Shows to Watch – Todd VanDerWeff (@tvoti) gives you his seven best bets coming this fall. Other than Transparent, I’ll be watching all of them.
• 15 Most Anticipated New Shows for Fall 2014 – Alan Sepinwall (@sepinwall) and Daniel Fienberg (@HitFixDaniel) of HitFix.com (@HitFix) tell you why these 15 shows might be good and worth watching. I’m only anticipating half of them, least of all the last one on the list.
• Critics’ Picks 2014: Best New Comedy (VIDEO) – Yahoo TV (@yahootv) interviewed various TV critics, including their own Maggie Furlong (@maggiefurlong), at the recent Television Critics Association Press Tour about the best new comedies coming this TV season. All pretty good choices, except for Amazon’s Transparent
• Critics’ Picks 2014: Best New Drama (VIDEO) – Yahoo TV (@yahootv) interviewed various TV critics, including their own Maggie Furlong (@maggiefurlong), at the recent Television Critics Association Press Tour about the best new comedies coming this TV season. Not sure how FOX’s Red Band Society got mentioned and haven’t seen Showtime’s The Affair.
• Fall 2014 TV Guide: The Good Shows – Laurel Brown (@DocBrown_TV) of DocBrownTV.com gives her picks for the 12 new shows worth checking out fall. This is the one list that puts Stalker on the watch list. While I wouldn’t put it on an avoid list, not sure I’d put it on a watch list either.
• Fall TV: Our Top 10 New Shows – Melanie McFarland (@seattletv) and the editors of IMDb.com (@IMDbTV) give their 10 best bets for fall 2014. We have the same top pick, but severely differ on the second choice.
• Fall TV: Robert Bianco’s Top 10 New Shows to Watch – USAToday.com (@USATODAY) TV critic Robert Bianco (@RobertBianco) gives his 10 best bets for fall 2014. Solid list of choices, well other than Scorpion.
• FOX’s Gotham Named The Most Promising New Fall Series By The Television Critics Association – The results of the TVCritic.org (@TCAOfficial) 2014 survey includes picks for the most promising new show, new comedy, new drama, and potential breakout star.
• Top 5 New Network Series Picks for Fall 2014 – TVMediaInsights.com (@TVMediaInsights) contributor Douglas Pucci (@sonofthebronx) gives his picks for top fall shows. Of his top 5, the only one that would make my top 5 is The Flash.
• Top 5 New TV Shows Fall 2014 (Video) – Americ Ngwije (@itsameric) and Sandrine Sahakians (@sosandrine) from TVEquals.com (@TVEquals) and HappyCool (@HappyCoolOnline) give you their picks for the five new shows they each are most looking forward to watching.
• The Top 10 New Fall 2014 Series to Watch – Danielle Turchiano (@danielletbd) for SSNInsider.com (@TSSNews) gives her 10 best bets for fall 2014. I would drop the first two listed from any top 10 lists for good shows, but otherwise the list is pretty good.

What New Fall TV Shows Should I Avoid?

In this section you will find links to opinions from around the web on what new fall TV shows are worth skipping. I chime in with where I agree/disagree with the following articles.

• Critics’ Picks 2014: The Worst New Shows (VIDEO) – Yahoo TV (@yahootv) interviewed various TV critics, including their own Maggie Furlong (@maggiefurlong), at the recent Television Critics Association Press Tour about the worst new shows coming this TV season. Some pretty bad shows make this list, but not sure I’m ready to put Selfie on mine. And, need to see a few more Stalker episodes to see if it really is going to be what @moryan and @tvoti think it is.
• Fall 2014 TV Guide: Avoid These Shows! – Laurel Brown (@DocBrown_TV) of DocBrownTV.com gives her picks for the four new shows to avoid this fall. Can’t really argue too much with any of them, but I will probably give Mulaney and Scorpion a couple more episodes. Follow the link at the bottom of the page for her picks of shows with weak pilots that may end up okay.
• Fall TV 2014: 5 New Shows to Avoid – Chuck Barney (@chuckbarney) of MercuryNews.com (@Mercnews) gives his picks for the five shows to stay away from this fall. I really liked Cristela, but him not so much.
• Slim Pickings at the Network TV Bazaar – Slate.com (@slate) TV critic Willa Paskin (@willapaskin) writes about three talented actresses in three terrible shows. While I liked Madam Secretary a bit more than she does, I totally agree on the other two.
• These 5 Fall Broadcast TV Frosh Fail to Impress – Frazier Moore (@tvfrazier) for AP.org (@AP) gives his picks for new falls shows destine to fail. I hope he is wrong on the second and fourth shows listed, as I liked them quite a bit.

What About Shows Returning to the Fall TV Schedule?

In this section you will find links to opinions from around the web on what returning fall TV shows are getting critics excited. I chime in with where I agree/disagree with the following articles.

• 10 Burning Questions for Returning Shows – Alan Sepinwall (@sepinwall) and Daniel Fienberg (@HitFixDaniel) of HitFix.com (@HitFix) go over some of the big questions, like can Homeland and New Girl bounce back from subpar seasons and more.
• 12 Returning Shows to Watch This Fall – Todd VanDerWerff (@tvoti) of Vox.com (@voxdotcom) gives picks for the best returning shows to watch. I don’t get the appeal of Bob’s Burgers, but other than that I’ll pretty much be watching all of them.
• Critics’ Picks 2014: The Returning Shows We’re Most Excited For (Video) – Yahoo TV (@yahootv) interviewed various TV critics, including their own Maggie Furlong (@maggiefurlong), at the recent Television Critics Association Press Tour about the returning shows they are most looking forward to having back. Can’t really argue with any of these, although have never seen The Comeback.
• Fall TV 2014: 5 Returning Shows We Can’t Wait to See – Chuck Barney (@chuckbarney) of MercuryNews.com (@Mercnews) talks about the five, 10 really, shows he is most looking forward to having back. I’ll be watching all of them.
• Fall TV Preview: Who’s In? Who’s Out? Your Guide to 100+ Casting Moves – TVLine.com (@TVLine) has put together a slideshow of all the new faces coming to your favorite shows and who has moved on.
• Top 5 Returning TV Shows Fall 2014 (Video) – Americ Ngwije (@itsameric) and Sandrine Sahakians (@sosandrine) from TVEquals.com (@TVEquals) and HappyCool (@HappyCoolOnline) give you their picks for the five returning shows they each are most looking forward to having back on their TVs. While I’ll be watching some shows on Sandrine’s list, I’ll be watching all but Shark Tank on Americ’s.

Overall Looks at the 2014 Fall TV Season

In this section you will find links to opinions from around the web on all the new fall TV shows, interesting articles about fall TV surveys, photos of new faces coming to our TV screens, and much more.

• 2014 Fall Network TV Preview: Mondays – Kate Kulzick (@TheTeleverse) and Deepayan Sengupta (@deanepay) of SoundonSight.org (@SoundonSight) give their initial impressions of each new show by day starting with Monday. Find links to the rest of the week at the bottom of the article.
• ABC’s New Fall Shows – Maggie Furlong (@maggiefurlong), Breanne L. Heldman (@BreanneNYC), Dave Nemetz (@Dave_Nemetz), Chrissy Le Nguyen (@chrissylenguyen) and Kimberly Potts (@tvscreener) of Yahoo TV (@YahooTV) give you their watch, watch later and avoid picks for each new ABC show. Also find links on the page to their CBS, The CW, FOX and NBC rankings.
• Adobe: Five New TV Shows Getting Most Online Buzz; It’s Crickets For The Rest – David Bloom (@DavidBloom) of Deadline.com (@Deadline) writes about a study done by Adobe about the few shows that are getting social media buzz and what that may or may not mean.
• All of Fall’s new television shows, in one chart – Alex Abad-Santos (@alex_abads) from Vox.com (@voxdotcom) posts a chart that puts every show in a quadrant on the spectrum of Empty Calorie to Deep Dive and Boring to Fun. I might move a couple things around a bit, like A to Z on the fun side of things, but overall just about covers it.
• The Best and the Worst: Ranking the 24 New Fall 2014 Shows – BuddyTV.com (@BuddyTV) put together a slide show ranking all the new shows from worst to first.
• The Biz: Forecasting Fall’s New Hits – Stephen Battaglio (@SteveBattaglio) of TV Guide Magazine (@TVGuideMagazine) writes about the TV Dailies Study from research firm Ipsos MediaCT, which surveys viewers each week over the summer to find out how familiar they are with the name of a new show and whether they plan to watch it.
• Every Single Show, Previewed – Todd VanDerWerff (@tvoti) and more from Vox.com (@voxdotcom) preview each new show categorized by day. They give you the premise of the show, answer whether you should watch, and give you how many episodes they’ll give it to get good. As far as their watch recommendations go, only disagree with Red Band Society.
• The Faces of 2014 Fall TV – Rueben (@ruebenrambling) of NiceGirlsTV.com (@NiceGirlsTV) gives you a look with photos and character descriptions of all the new faces or old faces in new places coming to TV this fall.
• Fall TV 2014: Quick Takes on All the New Shows – Chuck Barney (@chuckbarney) of MercuryNews.com (@Mercnews) gives you his very brief review of every new show for each day of the week.
• Fall TV Guide: New Dramas To Follow And Shows To Skip – HuffingtonPost.com (@HuffPostEnt) TV critic Maureen Ryan (@moryan) gives some overall thoughts on the fall season and then provides capsule reviews of all the new fall dramas. Agree mostly, except I really liked Forever and didn’t find Stalker as terrible. The latter is pretty much Criminal Minds, if all the bad people were stalkers.
• Fall TV: Which New Shows to Watch and Which to Skip – Jeanne Jakle (@Jaklej) of MySanAntonio.com (@mySA) gives you her best bets in comedy and drama, the best of the rest, what might be worth a peak and what to skip this fall. Well, Manhattan Love Story would be in my skip it category instead of best bet for comedies and Scorpion certainly would not make my best drama list, but no other big disagreements here.
• FOX Fall 2014 New Shows – Final Impressions (Video) – Sandrine Sahakians (@sosandrine) of TVEquals.com (@TVEquals) and HappyCool (@HappyCoolOnline) gives her overall thoughts on all of FOX’s new fall shows. Also look for her thoughts on The CW and I’m sure ABC, CBS and NBC will be uploaded soon as well. Not as in love with Gotham as she, but can’t really disagree with her overall assessment.
• Rapid-Fire Reviews: NBC – Kristin Dos Santos (@KristinDSantos), Tierney Bricker (@tbrick2), Chris Harnick (@chrisharnick) and Sydney Bucksbaum (@sydneybucksbaum) of EOnline.com (@eonline) give their quick takes on each of NBC’s new fall shows. Find links at the bottom of the article to their rapid reviews for ABC, The CW, CBS and FOX.
• Selling Fall TV: The Most Important Shows to the Networks – Find out what shows are getting early traction with potential audiences and which shows are very important to their networks given how much promotion is behind them.
• TiVo: Gotham and NCIS: New Orleans Most Anticipated Fall TV Dramas – Check out the results of the 2014 TiVo Fall TV Survey. Find out what shows are most anticipated and what shows rate on awareness.

Fall TV Preview Podcasts

This section is for those that like to listen. You will find links to audio and podcasts from around the web with opinions on what new fall TV shows are worth watching and which ones are not. I chime in with where I agree/disagree with some of the following picks.

• Competition Highlights Importance Of Fall TV Season – Eric Deggens (@Deggans) of NPR.org (@nprnews) gives his picks for best and pick for worst new show of the fall season. I would choose the other new show from The CW has my top pick, but his worst pick is right on.
• EHG 42: The Fall Guys – Hosts of Extra Hot Great (@ExtraHotPodcast) from Previously.TV (@PreviouslyTV) preview the fall TV season, which starts at the 1:45 mark.
• Fall 2014 TV Preview – SR Underground Ep. 160 – Hosts Ben Kendrick (@benkendrick), Rob Keyes (@rob_keyes), Anthony Ocasio (@anthonyocasio) and Kofi Outlaw (@ppnkof) preview the fall TV season, which starts at the 1:35:25 mark.
• KIRO Pop with Zak Burns: Fall TV Preview – Jason Rantz Show – Zak Burns (@ZakBurnsKIROFM) previews the coming fall TV season, including what to watch because it’s good and what to watch because it is bad.
• The Televerse 2014 Fall TV Preview – Host Kate Kulzick (@TheTeleverse) covers the new fall season, which starts at the 37:10 mark.
• TV Rewind 2014 Fall Preview – TV Rewind Podcast (@tvrewind) host Stephanie Zimmer (@angelsteph) brings on a bunch of guest hosts to go through the fall TV schedule.
• TV times Three Fall TV Previews 2014 – I (@theTVaholic) am joined by various guests (@anthonyocasio, @CarlaDay, @danielletbd, @DocBrown_TV, @kyool, @mekeishamadto, @mytakeontv, @PrlsofLizdom and @raelee) to cover the fall season. Find links to individual fall preview episodes covering ABC, CBS, The CW, FOX, NBC and Cable.
• We Take the Bullet – Tim Goodman’s TV Talk Machine – Hosts Jason Snell (@jsnell) and Tim Goodman (@bastardmachine) talk about the best and worst the fall TV season has to offer.

Official Network Fall Previews

In this section you will find links the official fall preview shows or sites for each broadcast network.

• ABC Fall Preview – Find links to the official sites for all their new shows where you can find interviews, photos and trailers for many of them.
• CBS Fall Preview – Find links to behind the scenes videos, interviews, promos, photos and recaps of returning shows.
• The CW Fall Preview – Find links to the official sites for their new and returning shows, where you can find trailers and more.
• FOX Fall Preview – Find links to show descriptions and trailers for new and returning shows.
• NBC Fall Preview (Video) – Link to their fall preview episode with Ken Marino and Casey Wilson (Marry Me) taking you through NBC’s fall primetime schedule.

What new fall show are you most looking forward to seeing? Is there a returning show you are excited to have back? Read a great review or found a fall TV schedule resource we should know about? Let us know in the comments.