This Week in TV

In a post-Peak TV world, it’s impossible to watch everything that’s airing across all the various streamers, networks, channels, and everywhere else. In our weekly Power Rankings, we look back on the best of the TV week that was, but here, we’re making sure you’re ahead of the game. From the most must-see premieres to our currently-airing favorites to can’t-miss finales, here is your definitive guide for what to watch on TV this coming week. 

For the week of September 22nd:

Premieres:

Matlock

Network: CBS (streaming on Paramount+)

Premiere Date:  Sunday, September 22nd

The original Matlock series ran from 1986-1995 and centered on the exploits of Atlanta-based criminal defense attorney Ben Matlock (Andy Griffith), who rocked seersucker suits, drove Crown Vics, and had a penchant for lulling witnesses into a false sense of security before delivering an end of episode “gotcha” monologue. While Madeline “Matty” Matlock (Kathy Bates) shares a surname with Ben, this new version both is and isn’t the Matlock fans of the original will remember. Matty is a 75-year-old widow left alone to raise her 12-year-old grandson Alfie (Aaron D. Harris) after the tragic death of her daughter. In debt yet still skilled, Matty uses her wits to get a job at the prestigious Jacobson Moor law firm.

Charismatic and clever, the septuagenarian is assigned to work under Olympia Lawrence (Skye P. Marshall), an attorney who takes on challenging cases no one else at the firm views as profitable. Reluctant to have someone on her team who hasn’t practiced law since 1991 but needing the help, Olympia partners Matty with her two young junior associates, Sarah (Leah Lewis) and Billy (David Del Rio). Keeping the original series’ folksy charm and blending it with completely new ideas, CBS’ new take on Matlock is an addictive, fun twist on the classic show. —Terry Terrones [Full Review]

Murder in a Small Town

Network: FOX (streaming on Hulu)

Premiere Date: Tuesday, September 24th

The winningly blunt title of FOX’s first scripted international co-production, Murder in a Small Town, doesn’t just suggest the cozy calm of small town life shattered by vengeance and fatality, it also summons impressions of characters we’re going to see. There’s gonna be burnt-out newcomers from crime-ridden cities, bumbling locals with golden hearts, sparkly love interests not prepared to get hurt again. Someone will be divorced, someone will be unshaven. The big city detective’s sharp skill-set will be welcome for a town not used to two major crimes within a calendar year; the urban expatriates will welcome the slower pace of a sensitive, non-metropolitan life. Rossif Sutherland is Karl Alberg, the new police chief in Anywhere, British Columbia and a mild-mannered divorcee with a tall, broad build and lightly unconfident slouching posture. When he butts heads with retired widower George (James Cromwell), his murder investigation takes a swing for the personal.

Instead of trying to hoodwink us, the folksy joy of this first mystery is letting us soak in the bitterness and indignation of two worse-for-wear men who are suspicious of each other, even if it does all take place in the renovated kitchens of over-lit coastal cottages. If head writer and executive producer Ian Weir makes the series as actor-focused as the slight but charming first episode, then audiences who want to solve crimes and switch their brain off should be thrilled. Thrilled might be the wrong word—they’ll feel a warm, pleasant glow. —Rory Doherty [Full Review]

Everybody Still Hates Chris 

Network: Comedy Central 

Premiere: Wednesday, September 25th

In 2009, Everybody Hates Chris, The CW’s hit live action sitcom loosely based on the Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn based childhood of comedian Chris Rock, closed out its four-season run on a high note. Actor Tyler James Williams (Abbott Elementary) who played young Chris, has since grown up and moved onto other shows, along with his co-stars Terry Crews and Tichinia Arnold. Luckily, animation can defy the boundaries of age and time, which opened the door for an animated reboot of the series, Everybody Still Hates Chris, exclusively streaming on Comedy Central/Paramount+. Actor Tim Johnson Jr. is now voicing young Chris, with series creator Chris Rock returning to executive produce and narrate the episodes as older Chris. Crews and Arnold are also back, joining new voice actors playing Chris’ friends and siblings. Animated by Titmouse, Everybody Still Hates Chris adopts the structure and tone of the live action series, but has the ability to explore more of the city and surrounding areas of Brooklyn. —Tara Bennett [Full Column]

Grotesquerie

Network: FX (Streaming on Hulu)

Premiere: Wednesday, September 25th

I’m not sure that Grotesquerie’s hallucinatory trailer is indicative of what the show will actually look like, but its strange imagery combined with it being co-created by Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story, Nip/Tuck, Glee, etc.) has piqued my interest. It centers on Detective Lois Tryon (Niecy Nash-Betts), who teams up with Sister Megan (Micaela Diamond), a local nun, to investigate a series of occult murders. This one’s teaser comes with heaps of religious iconography, neon purple lighting, and creepy fever dream sequences that indicate it may be a good way to kick off the spooky season and channel some of early American Horror Story’s creepy delights in the process. —Elijah Gonzalez

Doctor Odyssey 

Network: ABC (streaming on Hulu)

Premiere: Thursday, September 26th

Soooo… the tag-line for this new ABC series is “Big Deck Energy.” Do you really need to know anything more? Personally, I’m not a huge fan of cruise ships (way too many stories about norovirus outbreaks). But, if Pacey was my doctor, maybe I would change my mind. Joshua Jackson, who looks very nice in a naval uniform,  stars as the new doctor aboard a luxury cruise ship with Don Johnson as the ship’s captain and Phillipa Soo as the ship’s nurse. The series is from executive producer Ryan Murphy, who has four (that’s right four!) new shows premiering this month. Murphy, the man behind 9-1-1 and American Horror Story, isn’t exactly known for his subtlety. Expect crazy medical crises, fraught romances, and lots of beautiful people. Episodes will be available the next day on Hulu. —Amy Amatangelo

Uzumaki

Network: Adult Swim

Premiere: Saturday, September 28th

Uzumaki is a four-episode adaptation of Junji Ito’s legendary horror comic of the same name, which has been several years in the making. Set in a messed up little town, we watch as the denizens of this community are plagued by a collective, all-consuming obsession with spirals. While the original comic is arguably Ito’s finest work thanks to how it combines absurdist humor with grotesque body horror, previous adaptations of the author’s output have almost always fallen flat due to the difficulties of translating his intricate linework and stark black-and-white imagery into animation. However, based on the several-minute teaser Adult Swim released last year to promote the show, it seems that acclaimed director Hiroshi Nagahama (Mushishi, Detroit Metal City, The Flowers of Evil) and studio Drive may have finally cracked how to make this work by emulating the look of the manga as closely as possible; it’s simple, all you need to do to adapt Ito is give a talent crew of animators more than five years to produce four episodes! If the full series matches what we’ve seen so far, this will be one that horror sickos won’t want to miss. —Elijah Gonzalez

Forever Favorites:

Agatha All Along: After a spectacularly spooky two-episode premiere, Agatha’s journey down The Witches’ Road continues in a spellbinding third episode. With their coven assembled and their journey begun, each of these witches will have to prepare for the dangers that lie ahead on the winding, magical Road.

Only Murders in the Building: After that jaw-dropping cliffhanger, we’ve been on the edge of our seat since Tuesday. With more aspects of Sazz’s past still left to unlock, it’s up to Charles, Oliver, and Mabel to discover just what that suspicious Hollywood producer has to do with her murder.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: With just a few episodes left of this dazzlingly dark season, alliances and betrayals will shake up Middle-earth’s future—for better or for worse.

High Potential: In its delightful premiere, High Potential immediately lived up to its name through a strikingly funny personality and a pitch-perfect performance from Kaitlin Olson. Now that Morgan is officially on board with her new consultant position, it’s time for the weekly murder-mystery shenanigans to ensue.

Slow Horses: After River’s dangerous excursion in France, his personal mission continues to evolve: this week, he must search his grandfather’s house for answers to his burning questions.

Paste Pick:

If you were only going to give your time to one single show this week, it should be Matlock. Ahead of the premiere of the CBS legal drama, Kathy Bates told The New York Times that this would be her “last dance.” As a final outing for one of the most beloved actors of her generation, this classic series-turned-fun reboot is worth giving a shot. Elevated by its beating heart and an incredible performance from Bates herself, Matlock makes for essentially Fall TV viewing. —Anna Govert 

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