Fall TV preview: 48 great shows to watch

Welcome to fall TV 2022 — and before we go another word further, let us assure you that, yes indeed, there will be a fall TV season. It just might not be the kind of fall TV season you have grown accustomed to.

As usual, there will be reboots, or at least a show called "Reboot," while prequels have become Hollywood's latest obsession; there have been two notable ones so far ("The Rings of Power," "House of the Dragon"). Expect more. 

Meanwhile, the broadcast networks will be heard from as well, although what you hear may be closer to a whisper than a roar. They're back in force, but mostly with established series.

Here are 48 documentaries, movies, limited series and regular series to help fill out your fall (all times p.m.).

SEPT. 18

THE U.S. AND THE HOLOCAUST (WNET/13, 9)

Per PBS, this three-parter airing over three nights "dispels competing myths that Americans either were ignorant of the unspeakable persecution that Jews and other targeted minorities faced in Europe or that they looked on with callous indifference." From Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein.   

SEPT. 19

DANCING WITH THE STARS (Disney+)

Yes, 31 seasons in, "DWTS" will be back but you'll need a Disney+ subscription to watch. Contestants include Wayne Brady, Selma Blair, "Bachelorette" Gabby Windey, Cheryl Ladd and WABC weather forecaster Sam Champion. (Tyra Banks and Alfonso Ribeiro co-host.)

QUANTUM LEAP (NBC/4, 10) 

One of the great camp series of all time (1989-93) returns — and by "camp" we don't mean that thing you do with the tent. Recall (because once seen, who could forget?) Scott Bakula's Dr. Sam Beckett — trapped in a time warp, forced to jump from body to body, with some of those (many) featuring Bakula in drag. Can this reboot top that? Good luck. Raymond Lee stars as Dr. Ben Song who — as part of a team restarting the old science time travel project in an effort to understand it — takes his own unapproved leap into the past/future. Ernie Hudson also stars. 

SEPT. 20

REBOOT (Hulu)

Steve Levitan ("Modern Family") avenges Hollywood's reboot culture with this sendup about (any guesses) a reboot of a fictional early aughts sitcom called "Step Right Up." Pretty good cast (Keegan-Michael Key, Judy Greer, Rachel Bloom, Paul Reiser) and from what I've sampled, amusing too. 

SEPT. 21

ABBOTT ELEMENTARY (ABC/7, 9)

 Returning for its sophomore season, network TV's (only) critical breakout of last season.

ANDOR (Disney+)

This 12-episode prequel to 2016's "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" brings back Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, onetime thief who becomes a rebel and takes on the Empire. (Forest Whitaker is back too, as Saw Gerrara, leader of the insurgents.) Three episodes drop today, then weekly. thereafter.

 ESCAPE FROM KABUL (HBO, 9)

 This first-rate film from Jamie Roberts and Dan Reed charts the U.S. withdrawal from Kabul, Afghanistan over 18 chaotic days in August 2021. Of special note: Along with many of the Marines leading the operation, top Taliban commanders are also interviewed. 

MEET CUTE (Peacock) 

This straight-to-streamer rom-com re-imagines "Groundhog Day" — or is it "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind?" Hard to tell, but it does star Kaley Cuoco and Pete Davidson; her character has a tanning bed that's also a time machine, which she uses to perfect her first date with Davidson's character. 

SEPT. 22

NORMAN LEAR: 100 YEARS OF MUSIC AND LAUGHTER (ABC/7, 9) 

Lear, who turned 100 on July 27, gets a full-scale tribute that celebrates a brilliant career. (But why isn't this airing on CBS, where so much of that career was spent?) 

SEPT. 23

LOU (Netflix) 

This high-octane thriller about a kidnapping certainly has a good cast (Allison Janney, Jurnee Smollett). but worth checking out because of the director: Anna Foerster, a longtime collaborator of Roland Emmerich and shares his incendiary style.

ON THE COME UP (Paramount+)

Sanaa Lathan ("Succession") steps behind (and in front of) the camera to direct this movie about an aspiring rap star. Method Man and Mike Epps (recently in "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty") are also in this. 

SIDNEY (Apple TV +) 

Veteran filmmaker Reginald Hudlin celebrates the life and career of Sidney Poitier, who (Hudlin observed upon his death this past January) "defined excellence, class and elegance. He represented the best of the Black experience, the immigrant experience, the artistic journey and the American dream."

SEPT. 25

CELEBRITY JEOPARDY! (ABC/7, 8)

The classic heads back to prime-time — and no, not to be confused with the "SNL" classic of the same name — for an hourlong 13-episode tournament. The host is Mayim Bialik and the celebs: Simu Liu, Michael Cera, BJ Novak, Iliza Shlesinger, Ray Romano, Constance Wu, Aisha Tyler and Patton Oswalt. ("Celebrity Wheel of Fortune" follows at 9). 

SEPT. 27

REASONABLE DOUBT (Hulu)

Yes, there have been two other similarly titled series in years past (1991 and 2017) but neither was directed by Kerry Washington or starred Emayatzy Corinealdi ("Ballers"), did they? Think legal thriller and "steamy." You know — the usual. 

THE MUNSTERS (Netflix) 

 Rob Zombie — yes, the Rob Zombie — directs this movie adaptation of the '60s TV camp-o-rama, and we think it's going to be funny, but don't hold us to that. Zombie's significant other, Sheri Moon Zombie, plays Lily while Jeff Daniel Phillips — the GEICO "cave man," along with much else — is Herman. Another fun fact: Pat Priest, the original Marilyn Munster, has a cameo as a "Transylvania Airlines Announcer." 

THE ROOKIE: FEDS (ABC/7, 10)

Yes, this spinoff feels/sounds drearily familiar but the lead — Niecy Nash-Betts — should easily compensate for that. 

SEPT. 28

BLONDE (Netflix) 

Ana de Armas (most recently "The Gray Man") channels "Norma Jeane" in this Andrew Dominik ("Killing Them Softly") adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates' novel about Marilyn Monroe. Bobby Cannavale, Julianne Nicholson and Adrien Brody also star. Not all the reviews out of the recent Venice Film Festival, where it was screened, have been kind. 

SEPT. 29

SO HELP ME TODD (CBS/2, 9)

 A relatively quiet network TV front will offer a few flashes of newness this fall, including "Todd" which stars Marcia Gay Harden who runs a law firm, and her wayward private eye son — "Pitch Perfect's" Skylar Astin — who is forced to take a job working for mom. 

SEPT. 30

THE GREATEST BEER RUN EVER (Apple TV +)

John "Chickie" Donohue was a former Marine who came up with a crazy/good idea — get beer to some friends (including other childhood pals) serving in Vietnam. He did and the year was 1968, the worst of the war. Peter Farrelly has adapted the book that resulted, while Zac Efron stars as Chickie. (Bill Murray and Russell Crowe are in this too.) 

OCT. 1

THE GABBY PETITO STORY (Lifetime, 8)

A little after the anniversary (Sept. 11, 2021), the quickie movie arrives, along with the obvious question: Too soon? (Or will it always be "too soon?") Lifetime promises a responsible look at the tragedy, and "will bring to life Gabby [Skyler Samuels] and Brian [Laundrie]’s [Evan Hall] doomed love story," 

OCT. 2

EAST NEW YORK (CBS/2, 9:30; 9 starting on Oct. 9)

Yeah, go ahead and groan — another CBS procedural! how original! — but the cast is terrific, so at least there's that ("Dickinson's" Amanda Warren, Jimmy Smits as an NYPD cop again, Kevin Rankin, Richard Kind and Ruben Santiago-Hudson).

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (AMC, 10) 

If the 1994 movie wasn't creepy — or exploitative — enough, there's always this to make up for that lost opportunity. Anne Rice's novel gets another exhumation, this time over eight episodes with Jacob Anderson (Grey Worm on "Game of Thrones") as Louis de Pointe du Lac and "Billion's" Eric Bogosian as the journalist who interviews him. (Aussie actor Sam Reid is Lestat.)

OCT. 4

HARRIET TUBMAN: VISIONS OF FREEDOM (WNET/13, 10)

Acclaimed New York filmmaker Stanley Nelson and PBS promise "a rich and nuanced portrait of the woman known as a conductor of the Underground Railroad, who repeatedly risked her own life and freedom to liberate others from slavery." This year is the bicentennial of her birth. 

OCT. 5

THE REAL LOVE BOAT (CBS/2, 9) 

As further proof that the network TV business may be in deeper trouble than assumed, "The Love Boat" (1977-'86) gets this update as a reality series — hence the "real."   Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O'Connell host this dating competition series aboard a cruise ship.

OCT. 6

WALKER: INDEPENDENCE (CW/11, 9)

The Western returns, albeit as part of the Western prequel craze. Here's the latest — based on events predating "Walker, Texas Ranger," going back to the frontier days, when proper Bostonian and recent Texas transplant Abby Walker (Katherine McNamara, "Arrow") witnesses her husband's murder. Revenge must be taken. 

ALASKA DAILY (ABC/10) 

"Alaska Daily" — actually shot in Burnaby, British Columbia (tax breaks, you know) — stars Hilary Swank, last seen on a TV (streaming) series as an astronaut in Netflix's short-lived "Away." In this one, she's a New York newspaper reporter who moves to Anchorage for the weather. OK, not quite: She's seeking "redemption." 

A FRIEND OF THE FAMILY (Peacock) 

Veteran actor Jan Broberg ("Everwood") was kidnapped twice as a child — by the same person, a next-door neighbor in Pocatello, Idaho. Now, the limited series, starring Jake Lacy ("The White Lotus") as child molester Robert Berchtold (who died in 2005) and Anna Paquin as her mother, Mary Ann (who is a producer here) Anyone who has seen Netflix's seriously creepy doc "Abducted in Plain Sight" knows what they're in for here. 

OCT. 7

THE MIDNIGHT CLUB (Netflix) 

Mike Flanagan ("The Haunting of Hill House") strikes again! This 10-episdoe series is based on Christopher Pike's 1994 novel about five terminally ill kids who try to outdo one another with scary stories. Two stars from Flanagan's "Midnight Mass" — Zach Gilford and Samantha Sloyan — have reunited for his latest. 

CATHERINE CALLED BIRDY (Prime Video) 

"Catherine Called Birdy," was a 1994 children's novel by Karen Cushman, about a young woman from 1290 England who kept birds as pets, hence — well, you know — and whose father wants to marry her off for money. Lena Dunham ("Girls") has adapted this as a movie starring Bella Ramsey, Billie Piper and Andrew Scott (but not Dunham).

FIRE COUNTRY (CBS/2, 9) 

This firefighting drama is set in northern California — no stranger to fires, of course — but what's interesting here is that it stars Max Thieriot who will also continue to star in CBS' "SEAL Team." That's unusual, far from unprecedented — heck, Margo Martindale once starred in three series at the same time ("Sneaky Pete," "BoJack Horseman," "The Americans").

OCT. 9

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (Showtime, 10)

 It's vampire season on TV, clearly, explaining yet another adaptation of the 2004 novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist, in which the prevalent bloodsucking may be the least of its horrors. This series is about a young girl (Madison Taylor Baez) who's the vamp. Also stars Demián Bichir and Anika Noni Rose. 

OCT. 11

BECOMING FREDERICK DOUGLASS (WNET/13, 10)

Stanley Nelson also produces this "inspiring story of how a man born into slavery transformed himself into one of the most prominent statesmen and influential voices for democracy in American history."

THE WINCHESTERS (CW, 8)

Because prequels are now the flavor of the month in Hollywood — reboots being just a tad overdone — we now have the long-awaited one to "Supernatural." Set in the1970s, this is the story of how the parents of Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Sam (Jared Padalecki) Winchester met, and also how they battled the assorted demons and ghosts. John (Drake Rodger) and Mary (Meg Donnelly) are said parents. 

OCT. 14

SHANTARAM (Apple TV+) 

Gregory David Roberts was a convicted bank robber serving time in Australia who then broke out of jail and fled to India. There sounds like a book somewhere in here (and there was — his 2003 novel) and a TV series, too. This one stars "Sons of Anarchy's" Charlie Hunnam.

OCT. 16 

MAGPIE MURDERS (WNET/13, 9)

At long last, the adaptation of Anthony Horowitz's acclaimed 2016 mystery novel, starring Lesley Manville ("Phantom Thread") as book editor-turned sleuth Susan Ryeland; and Tim McMullen ("Shakespeare in Love") as famed fictional sleuth Atticus Pünd who gives her an assist. I've seen three of six episodes and it's grrrreat. 

OCT. 21

FROM SCRATCH (Netflix) 

Tembekile "Tembi" Locke has an unusual back story: You may know her from TV (she was Dr. Grace on "Eureka") or her 2019 memoir, "From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily and Finding Home." This 8-parter (with Zoe Saldana and Eugenio Mastrandrea) comes from that; it's about her marriage to a Sicilian chef. 

OCT. 25

GUILLERMO DEL TORO'S CABINET OF CURIOSITIES (Netflix) 

Think cabinet full of creepy, disgusting, horrific curiosities. But then what else would you expect from this master of horror ("The Strain," and for the big screen, "The Shape of Water" and "Pan's Labyrinth.") There are eight episodes in this anthology. 

OCT. 28 

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (Netflix)

Daniel Brühl stars in this latest (movie) adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque's novel about a German soldier on the front lines during the "Great War." 

NOV. 3

BLOCKBUSTER (Netflix) 

Once upon a time, people used to get their movies from stores called "Blockbuster" Hey, wait, I'm "people" too and I actually miss Blockbuster; so presumably does this comedy (series) about the last Blockbuster in the whole wide world. Stars Randall Park, Melissa Fumero and J.B. Smoove. 

NOV. 4 

LOPEZ VS. LOPEZ (NBC/4, 8) 

In this very quiet fall for NBC, George Lopez is back in a family comedy with his daughter Mayan. (That "vs." should offer a hint about the family dynamic.) 

 WEIRD: THE AL YANKOVIC STORY (The Roku Channel) 

The Roku Channel gets on the boards with this, and it's easy to see why. First, there's that title, then that star — Daniel Radcliffe as "Weird Al" Yankovic himself.

NOV. 6

MOOD (BBC America; time to be determined) 

British actor/writer Nicôle Lecky stars as up-and-comer rap star Sasha in this 6-part series (that's already aired in the U.K.). IIt'sbroadly based on her one-woman play from 2018, which had a title that was apparently too hot for prime-time. 

NOV. 10

FALLING FOR CHRISTMAS (Netflix)

While "Falling For Thanksgiving" might be the better title, the hard cold fact remains — Lindsay Lohan is back. Her last movie was 2019's werewolf flick, "Among the Shadows," and this rom-com will be different. The throughline  — rich heiress (guess who) suffers amnesia after skiing accident on Utah slope, comes under the care of no-nonsense hotel proprietor ("Glee's" Chad Overstreet). Lohan's younger sister, Aliana, 28, is expected to appear, while both siblings will sing a duet or two.

THE CALLING (Peacock)

This David E. Kelley limited series might have been better served with the original name — "The Missing File," or the D.A. Mishani crime novel from which this has been adapted. It's about NYPD Det. Avraham Avraham — played by Jeff Wilbusch of "Unorthodox."

NOV. 11

THE ENGLISH (Prime Video)

 Did we already mention that the TV Western is making a comeback? Here's more proof: This 6-parter set in Wyoming of the 1890s, or one town in particular that's had a spate of murders. "The English" has a particularly notable cast — Emily Blunt, Chaske Spencer, Rafe Spall, Toby Jones, Ciaran Hinds, Stephen Rea and Tom Hughes — and (unusual for Prime) all six episodes drop today.

NOV. 13

TULSA KING (Paramount+)

Two words, or rather two names: "Sylvester" and "Stallone." Sold yet? In his first starring TV role in a career that goes all the way back to 1969, he plays Dwight "The General" Manfredi, a Mafia capo freshly released from prison — also a serial recidivist who goes to Tulsa to start a new criminal enterprise. Why Tulsa? Why not — I dunno — Dubuque? We'll all find out together. This comes from one of TV's biggest hitmakers — "Yellowstone's" Taylor Sheridan, while "The Sopranos" Terence Winter is also a producer — and so with Sly aboard, this has to be one of fall TV's surest of bets. (Speaking of "Yellowstone," the 5th season also arrives Nov. 13 on the Paramount Network.) 

NOV. 22

WELCOME TO CHIPPENDALES (Hulu)

Chippendales was founded in 1975 by India-born Somen "Steve" Banerjee (Kumail Nanjiani), and a male erotica empire based on little more than bow ties, collars and shirt cuffs followed. This based-on-a-true-story limited series has been stripped down to eight episodes. 

NOV. 30

 WILLOW (Disney+)

Disney+ rounds out our 2022 fall sweepstakes with this 8-episode remake of Ron Howard's 1988 high-fantasy adventure film of the same name, with Warwick Davis reprising his role as dwarf sorcerer Willow Ufgood. Joanne Whalley is also back as the warrior Sorsha.