It’s no wonder I nearly forgot about the formatted Fall TV preview I’d regularly do each year since it’s been two years since I did the last one. Nonetheless, we’ll spend the week looking at the new broadcast offerings, night by night, weak as they may be, in a quest for normalcy during the pandemic if nothing else. A lot of the new shows this season will merely be knockoffs of established franchise procedurals; others will be remakes of old shows. And tonight’s best show plays on the tropes of reality shows from the same network.
NEW SHOWS
“The Big Leap” (Fox, 9 p.m., starting tonight), a scripted series about a handful of hopeful everyday people trying out for a reality dance show in Detroit set to stage “Swan Lake.” The primary story is an ugly duckling — or at least non-standard sized (newcomer Simone Recasner) who gets her chance, but there are a lot of side stories to cheer as well from characters played by Teri Polo, John Rudnitsky and Piper Perabo. Scott Foley is a standout as a deeply cynical producer, who reveals the underlying casting secrets of such shows. It’s cute enough in a way early “Glee” was cute. How long will it stay so?
“Ordinary Joe” (NBC, 10 p.m., tonight). James Wolk stars in the high-concept new series in which a guy on his college graduation day has to decide whether to go to the summer house of his girlfriend, pursue a new woman, or stick with his family traditions. We see how each path may have gone: becoming a rock star, a cop or a nurse. The flipping between possibilities, and the playing on heartstrings, will remind some of “This is Us.” I tended to get whiplash moving between universes. Elizabeth Lail and Natalie Martinez also star.
“NCIS: Hawai’i” (CBS, 10 p.m.), a third offshoot of the original franchise (which precedes it with its season 19) has a surprisingly engaging lead in Vanessa Lachey as special agent in charge of NCIS Pearl Harbor. Jason Antoon, Yasmine Al-Bustami and Noah Mills also star. And I’m thinking the network probably got a deal for the abandoned set of “Hawaii Five-0.”
“4400” (CW, starts Oct. 25), a wholesale remake of the USA sci-fi series “The 4,400” that ran from 2004 to 2007, does more than remove “The” and the comma from the title. The story of four thousand forty people who had disappeared over the previous century and suddenly reappear without having aged but with having some extra powers, as in the previous series. But this time all of the returnees are from marginalized communities; the show’s subtext is showing the history of white supremacy. Joseph David-Jones and Khailah Johnson star. Not reviewed yet.
RETURNING SHOWS
“9-1-1” (Fox, 8 p.m., returns tonight), “The Voice” (NBC, 8 p.m., tonight), “Dancing with the Stars” (ABC, 8 p.m., tonight), “The Neighborhood” (CBS, 8 p.m., tonight), “NCIS” (CBS, 9 p.m., tonight), “Bob (Hearts) Abishola” (CBS, 8:30 p.m., tonight), “NCIS” (CBS, 9 p.m.), “The Good Doctor” (ABC, returns Sept. 27), “All American” (CW, 9 p.m., Oct. 25).
OF NOTE ON CABLE
“Wakefield” (Showtime, starts Oct. 18). An eight-episode Australian import about the sanest person in a psych ward, starring Rudi Dharmalingam and Sam Simmons.