Obsessively watching TV has never been more of an acceptable pastime than it is now, with an endless stream of top-notch shows seemingly rendering the cult of Netflix, streaming and reading articles like What to Expect from Your TV Favourite Shows this September is part and parcel of our daily lives.
As we enter the month of September, new seasons of our favourite series await, and these seven in particular are promising big things.
Modern Family (Season 8)
When we last left the Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker clan, the three families wrapped up season 7 at the airport, with everyone heading off for the summer, with one of the biggest questions waiting to be answered concerning Haley & Andy – will their relationship be able to withstand the distance as he re-locates to Utah?
This upcoming season, Castle vet, Nathan Fillion, will make a cameo as “a local weatherman who gets involved with the Dunphys,” in a multi-episode arc, according to executive producer Steven Levitan. In previous seasons, Modern Family has guest-starred other prominent TV stars, such as Steve Zahn, Elizabeth Banks and Nathan Lane.
Modern Family will return for Season 8 on Wednesday, September 21.
How to Get Away with Murder (Season Three)
The finale of the second season of the hit drama series was a cliff-hanger, as the killer of Wallace Mahoney was not revealed. Is Frank too-obvious a culprit? Perhaps it was Mahoney’s son, Charles, in an act of vengeance? Where does this leave Wes Gibbons, who flew to New York after finding out the business magnate was his father, only to watch him be shot point blank? Was Mahoney actually his father, or could it be that Charles is? How will Professor Annalise Keating feel, now that her son’s murderer has been eliminated?
Executive producer Peter Nowalk stated that only one thing is sure for the hit series: Annalise will continue doing her job whether it is the case of the week or the case of the season. The drama series would not be the same without the highly-esteemed lawyer.
Season three of How to Get Away with Murder premieres on Thursday, September 22
New Girl (Season Six)
New Girl barrelled through its fifth season, airing all 22 episodes in just four months. The finale fulfilled its seasons-in-the-making promise of a Schmidt-and-Cece wedding, while teasing a future for another relationship on the comedy, as Jess revisited old feelings for Nick in the last two episodes – just as he seemed to be finally getting together with Reagan.
Creator and showrunner, Liz Meriwether, confirms our suspicions, claiming that Nick & Jess, for her, are the “heart of the show.”
“We’re trying to figure out a way to reintroduce the dynamic but in a new way,” says Meriwether. As for Winston, she hints – he has “options.”
New Girl returns for its sixth season on Tuesday, September 20
Gotham (Season Three)
The crowd-puller crime series wrapped up its second season with a major cliffhanger finale, bringing back Fish Mooney, and with a literal bus-load of bad guys from Arkham now free to wreak havoc on Gotham City. With the return of Fish, we predict Penguin to have two thoughts, given their history: First, there’s ‘Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God! I’ve got to kill her before she kills me!’, and then there’s ‘Why didn’t she kill me when she had the chance? What game is she playing?’
Actor Robin Lord Taylor recently described just how dark his character will get in the upcoming season. “Now he has the means and knowledge, he knows what it is to be the king of Gotham and how difficult it is. On the death of his mother, Nygma told him, ‘You’re free to do whatever you want now’. He can be as ruthless as he wants, and I think he will take that advice.”
Executive producer John Stephens recently revealed we can expect to see Mad Hatter, The Tweedle Brothers, Talon, and Solomon Grundy in the upcoming third season. The show is also rumoured to be adding another series regular role, described as “a young villainess who uses her sexuality to entrap men.”
And finally, yes, you can get your hopes up about the Joker-esque Jerome Valeska returning; that laugh you heard in the finale was totally legit. Executive producer Ken Woodruff explains,“[The laugh] was really to keep Jerome and that threat of the Joker alive. We wanted to make sure fans don’t feel that we’re completely done with [the mythology of the Joker] because we are 100 percent, absolutely not.” Actor Ben McKenzie (who plays Jim) adds, “I’ll put it this way: almost nobody that you’ve seen go away is dead. They are all able to come back.”
Gotham is back with season three on Monday, September 19
Once Upon a Time (Season 6)
When last we tuned into Once Upon a Time, Mr. Hyde, through a deal with Rumplestiltskin, had laid claim to Storybrooke, so that those from the Land of Untold Stories could relocate there.
While season five ended with a happily ever after for Emma and Hook, could the return of the Evil Queen and Mr. Hyde mean the residents of Storybrooke shouldn’t expect to stay happy for too long? What will go down in the battle between Regina and the Evil Queen?
Co-creator of the series, Eddy Kitsis, has hinted at what expect in the upcoming season, explaining, “You’re going to see that a lot of people went to the Land of Untold Stories because they wanted to literally push ‘pause,’ like they were watching their own life on TiVo.”
So whereas the first season explored what happened after the fairytales people know and love came to a close, “This is a tweak on that idea,” explains co-creator Adam Horowitz.
Once Upon a Time continues with season six on Thursday, September 25
Narcos (Season Two)
The hunt for notorious cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar continues into its second season. Last we left off, Escobar was escaping from ‘The Cathedral’ after battling it out with the Colombian army. Judging from the season two trailer, we can expect Escobar to take his wrath out on every officer he can get a hold of. The megalomaniac drug lord is ruthless, merciless and brutal on any given day, but Escobar is never more callous than when he is being hunted by authorities. An alliance is formed between the DEA, the Search Bloc, Los Pepes and the Cali Cartel with the sole purpose of putting Pablo behind bars.
The show, based on a true story, continues into 1993 – the year that Escobar died. We may know how it all ends, but we don’t know exactly how; he was never put behind bars or hanged. Was the drug lord shot by an enemy, or did he commit suicide, realising there’s no escape? Something tells us the ending will not disappoint…
Narcos airs season two on Friday, September 2
Grey’s Anatomy (Season Thirteen)
Long-time favourite medical drama, Grey’s Anatomy, continues into its thirteenth season this fall. The show last left off with Amelia and Owen tying the knot, while Jo and Alex were at odds after a misunderstanding that resulted in Alex pummelling Andrew DeLuca. Will Jo decide whether or not to tell her boyfriend that she’s already married? Then there was the love triangle brewing after Meredith slept with Nathan, just as her sister Maggie declared her feelings for the same guy.
Speaking about the upcoming season, actress Caterina Scorsone (who plays Amelia) says, “It could be a literal explosion, but in this case, it’s emotionally explosive. It’s going to be a key story this year that a lot of people are going to be interested in.”
This season, the show is set to focus on its original cast, Meredith, Alex, Bailey and Richard. “We love them so much and there has been such a renaissance with the show that it’s nice to focus on the core pieces that have been there since the very beginning,” says Scorsone.
Season 13 of Grey’s Anatomy debuts Thursday, September 22
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By Salma Thanatos Rizk