For us collegiettes, watching some quality television is a go-to escape from the constant schoolwork grind. Our choice as to what we are going to watch becomes a habit – when we open Netflix, we are inclined to click on popular staples such as Friends, Suits or Orange is the New Black, since it is the same show we’ve been watching for the past two months or so (yes, I can confirm that that is my Netflix queue at the moment). Then, the fall television season arrives, and it comes with a new list of options that could become our new staples in due time. I particularly see plenty of exciting choices this television season alone, that we should consider for a variety of striking reasons.
Both the mainstream and cable networks have been offering a very interesting selection of new shows that are causing quite a buzz in the entertainment industry. Yet, there is something quite peculiar that I have noticed about the 2015 fall television season that stands out from previous years. Many of these new shows are amalgamations of exciting new faces and voices to televisions, combined with aspects of timeless television that we have already familiarized ourselves with. Everything old is new again, in many different respects.
Some new fall shows are simply the newest installment of a popular format, like American Horror Story, which has updated itself this season by adding the star-power of Lady Gaga, and selecting the setting of a dingy hotel as its playground for disaster. Other popular television staples have experienced a change in leadership, most recently seen with Stephen Colbert taking over CBS’ The Late Show and just this week, Trevor Noah taking over Comedy Central’s The Daily Show. Both new hosts are providing revitalization in their respective franchises, to a lot of critics’ praise. Noah’s Daily Show debut was commended by Entertainment Weekly for “[being] confident and charismatic and full of joy for the job,” and The New York Times saw a new direction for the long-standing show, saying: “A Daily Show hosted from a place of chipper confidence could become very different from [old host Jon Stewart’s] world-weary shiva for humanity’s lost marbles.”
Meanwhile, other shows use similar tones and themes of old favorites; while they present new storylines and concepts, there is something about that show that reminds you of another. A great instance of this would be FOX’s Scream Queens. If your preference is to watch a scripted show that will provide a thrilling, yet comedic storyline to contrast your endless days of studying, this comedic spin on the horror genre may just be what you’re looking for. The show just so happens to come from the production team that created Glee and American Horror Story, and critics have been quick to remark that its throwback elements make it a delight to watch. Critics from Buzzfeed are calling the show “the ideal mix of Heathers and 80s slasher movies,”, while those from The L.A. Times pointed to the traces of its predecessors: “[Creator Ryan Murphy] has been deconstructing pop culture for years: Nip/Tuck‘s savage look at the cult of beauty, Glee‘s caustic, poignant view of high school, American Horror Story’s paean to our delight in horror. In a way, Scream Queens is a combination of all these shows.” Furthermore, shows such as Heroes: Reborn and Limitless are bringing back previous film and television franchises, and adapting them to new television series. So whether a new show is simply reminding you of another, or whether it is actually continuing the storyline of an older installment, it remains clear that remnants of the old are very in style right now.
What’s most entertaining, evidently, is to refresh what was once popular, and the innovators behind these aforementioned television shows and more, are surely finding ways to do so that will keep us intrigued. With all the hype and encouraging reviews these shows have been getting, perhaps it is time for us to explore new options during our precious TV time. Surely, there are many more buzz-worthy new shows out this fall, and others that are returning for another season of pure entertainment. My wish is that we find a fine balance between the old and the new, as well as between the fictitious and the all-too-real in the precious time we spend watching television amid our hectic schedules.
Information and quotes obtained from:
http://www.ew.com/article/2015/09/29/daily-show-trevor-noah-ew-review
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/30/arts/television/trevor-noah-daily-show-debut.html
http://www.buzzfeed.com/kateaurthur/2015-tv-fall-preview-what-to-watch#.ilOqw9bd8
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-scream-queens-review-20150922-column.html
Images obtained from:
http://cdn3-www.comingsoon.net/assets/uploads/2015/04/ScreamQueensBar640…
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/30/arts/television/trevor-noah-daily-show…