Fall TV Worth Watching
The Mindy Project:
Two episodes of this new Fox sitcom have aired and they’ve both been hilarious, especially the second episode. I really hope this show finds a following and sticks around, because it has the potential to be really good. Mindy Kaling, formerly Kelly on The Office, plays a self-obsessed doctor who is looking for love. So far they’ve had guest appearances by Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, and Ed Helms, all of which have been great. But the real strength of the show comes from Chris Messina. He and Mindy have great chemistry. Watch it on Tuesday nights.
The New Girl:
This is the second season, but I wanted to mention it because it started out kind of lame but got funnier and funnier as the season progressed. So far season two has continued that trend as the first two episodes have been strong. It’s too bad that Fox has two of the best comedies on television on Tuesday nights and are last place in the ratings in those timeslots. Hopefully those shows continue to develop strong followings and stay around. Watch it on Fox on Tuesday nights.
Parks & Rec/30 Rock:
Two shows that are starting their final seasons, both underappreciated and never got the viewship they deserved. 30 Rock at least won a bunch of Emmys – Parks and Rec, in my opinion the best comedy on TV over the last two years, never gets any love by the critics or viewers. Part of that is due to an uninspired first season, but it has a great cast and is consistantly laugh-out-loud funny. 30 Rock lasted seven seasons despite never gaining a huge audience on Thursday nights. It’s one of the best sitcoms of the last decade and hopefully will continue to find life in syndication and on DVD. I hate to say it, but it bothers me that a show like Modern Family, which I know everyone loves and no one will agree with me on this, is overrated and reminicant of a decent mid-90’s sitcom, gets universal love by critics and views alike, while smart comedies like Parks & Rec go unnoticed. Not that I don’t like Modern Family, I just don’t love it as much as most and would like to see other shows get some credit.
Watch Parks & Rec/30 Rock on Thursdays on NBC.
Some shows to skip:
Dads With Kids (lame), The New Normal (haven’t seen it, but probably lame), The Mob Doctor (watched it, wasn’t a fan), The Neighbors (really lame concept, wasn’t funny at all).