How To Improve 15 New Fall TV Shows (2019)

Now that the fall TV season's new shows have premiered, we've got a few suggestions for the freshman class. Scroll down to see the tweaks we'd make to 15 newbies, including Fox's Prodigal Son, The CW's Batwoman, ABC's Stumptown, NBC's Perfect Harmony and more.

ALL RISE (CBS)

WHAT WORKS: The legal drama has one very important thing going for it: an extremely likable ensemble. Simone Missick and Wilson Bethel, in particular, have an easy, breezy chemistry that makes their characters' friendship feel genuine. 

WHAT NEEDS WORK: While engaging, the legal aspects of the show sometimes veer into "No way would this fly in real life" territory, like when Missick's Lola Carmichael gets far too involved in her cases for someone who's a judge. And someone — anyone — please give Marg Helgenberger more to do.

ALMOST FAMILY (Fox)

WHAT WORKS: Though we imagine she's exhausted from carrying this entire show, Brittany Snow remains charming enough to keep us invested in the family feud.

WHAT NEEDS WORK: The show's tone has been all over the place from the jump, and it's only gotten more uneven as the season has progressed. Also, can Snow's character please start talking about something — anything! — other than how she unknowingly had sex with her own brother?

BATWOMAN (The CW)

WHAT WORKS: The backstory (surrounding Kate and Beth's tragic separation, and cousin Bruce/Batman going missing three years ago) is compelling, though it's just that — in the past. Ruby Rose is a great physical fit in the title role and gets to have more fun as Kate starting with Episode 3, during which Rachel Skarsten brings delicious layers to Alice and Meagan Tandy finally gets to play Sophie's internal conflict. Among the supporting cast, Nicole Kang and Camrus Johnson bring a much-needed, quippy sidekick vibe as Mary and Luke.

WHAT NEEDS WORK: Even through the third episode, Jacob Kane remains a gruff drag, while even a whiff of duplicity hasn't made us interested in Catherine. No stuntwork thus far has dropped our jaws, and this is possibly the most vanilla Gotham City that TV has ever seen.

BLUFF CITY LAW (NBC)

WHAT WORKS: There's a nice cast here — Jimmy Smits is as dynamic as ever (and Elijah thus should be arguing more cases), Caitlin McGee is playing just the right blend of warm/prickly, and Michael Luwoye is quite engaging as Anthony. And very thankfully, the "I have a secret brother?!" twist from the premiere wasn't overly annoying and has segued into some sweet moments.

WHAT NEEDS WORK: Four weeks into the season, Barry Sloane's Jake is still living on his own little storyline "island," never meaningfully involved in the A-story — and at this point that is just bizarre. Some of the cases are real wish-list stuff (a 62-year-old man "identifies" as 42?). Also, can we talk about the Memphis area accents — lack thereof, and half-hearted stabs at?

BOB HEARTS ABISHOLA (CBS)

WHAT WORKS: Billy Gardell and Folake Olowofoyeku have an undeniable chemistry, and we appreciate that the show has decided to play the long game versus rushing Bob and Abishola into a relationship. 

WHAT NEEDS WORK: The show manages to be quite sweet without ever being saccharine (which is good!), but any time Bob's family enters the picture, the humor gets unnecessarily crass, and it starts to feel more like Lorre's Two and a Half Men.

CAROL'S SECOND ACT (CBS)

WHAT WORKS: Patricia Heaton.

WHAT NEEDS WORK: Just about everything else. The cast lacks a certain cohesion, and everyone feels like they're trying way too hard to get a laugh. This wouldn't be an issue for a broad multi-camera sitcom if any — and we mean any! — of the jokes landed. Also, a word of advice to whomever is in charge of punching up the laugh track: Stop adding laughter where there's no joke! It makes the whole production feel like a bad Disney Channel sitcom.

EMERGENCE (ABC)

WHAT WORKS: Allison Tolman nicely anchors the drama and all of its sci-fi absurdity, bringing a watchable mix of skepticism, humor and determination to Jo. Of the ensemble cast, Owain Yeoman is most compelling as enigmatic journalist Benny. And, to the show's credit, we are getting some answers faster than we are accustomed to with shows like this.

WHAT NEEDS WORK: Even though its central mystery is unfolding briskly, none of Emergence's reveals thus far have gotten our jaws dropping, and it's difficult to stay invested in a story we feel like we've seen before. Meanwhile, the lack of chemistry between Tolman's Jo and Donald Faison's Alex is problematic. 

EVIL (CBS)

WHAT WORKS: The show is legitimately scary in a way that most broadcast dramas — even supernatural ones — aren't. Leads Mike Colter and Katja Herbers have crazy chemistry, despite the fact that her character Kristen is married, and his David is training to be a priest. Forbidden fruit, anyone?

WHAT NEEDS WORK: Christine Lahti is underused as Kristen's freewheeling mom. Sometimes the cases of the week just kinda... end. And the show is going to have to convince fans of the genre that its "demons gathering and conspiring for some future pandemonium" story isn't merely a rehashing of an Exorcist Season 1 subplot.

MIXED-ISH (ABC)

WHAT WORKS: The kids are cute and funny without being look-at-me precocious. Mark-Paul Gosselaar's wardrobe, as hippie dad Paul, is so heinous it's kinda great. But the best part of the show, hands-down, is Gary Cole's coked-up Grandpa Harrison, whose un-PC asides provide some of the funniest bits.

WHAT NEEDS WORK: Voiceover is a common device in the ish-verse, but it feels overused here. (No offense, Tracee Ellis Ross!)

NANCY DREW (The CW)

WHAT WORKS: Kennedy McMann brings the perfect balance of sass and smarts to the iconic role, and the show does a nice job of weaving in an outlandish subplot (murderous ghosts?) without ever going too far off the rails.

WHAT NEEDS WORK: As invested as we are in the show's season-long murder mystery, it might be fun to see Nancy and her friends crack a few smaller cases along the way.

PERFECT HARMONY (NBC)

WHAT WORKS: Bradley Whitford and Anna Camp's odd-couple dynamic is surprisingly enjoyable, and the show's diverse ensemble of supporting characters is really starting to grow on us.

WHAT NEEDS WORK: We get that this show takes place in a rural town, but those musical numbers could stand to be a little less corny.

PRODIGAL SON (Fox)

WHAT WORKS: Michael Sheen and Tom Payne are both excellent in their respective roles of wicked father and tortured son, especially when they get to share screen time. (Sheen's darkly comedic moments are particularly fun to watch.) Plus, Malcolm's exploration of his childhood trauma is well-paced, and the FBI team has an enjoyable, casual chemistry.

WHAT NEEDS WORK: Frankly, there's just not enough Sheen for our liking — and while we totally get why Martin is locked up, his involvement in each episode feels frustratingly isolated from the rest of the plot. Also, we're far more invested in the serialized father-son arc than we are the cases of the week, which have thus far failed to keep us on the edge of our seats.

STUMPTOWN (ABC)

WHAT WORKS: The role of Dex Parios feels tailor-made for Cobie Smulders, who gets to show off her dramatic chops, her comedic prowess and her ability to kick ass. And her chemistry with Jake Johnson and Michael Ealy is off the charts! Also, kudos to music supervisor Gabe Hilfer; the soundtrack is a character of its own.

WHAT NEEDS WORK: The supporting cast. Camryn Manheim and Tantoo Cardinal are solid performers, but it's hard to say what Lt. Cosgrove and Sue Lynn really add to the show at this point. The same goes for Adrian Martinez's Tookie, a character we'd entirely forgotten about after the pilot, only for him to resurface midway through Episode 4.

SUNNYSIDE (NBC App, NBC.com)

WHAT WORKS: Kal Penn brings a certain laid-back charm to disgraced politician-turned-citizenship test tutor Garrett Modi. And the cast plays off each other incredibly well, no matter which combination of characters is in a scene. Relative unknown Samba Schutte is an early standout in the role of Ethiopian immigrant Hakim.

WHAT NEEDS WORK: Too little, too late... but on the off-off-off chance that Sunnyside does find a new home, the supporting characters could stand to be fleshed out a bit more. Despite solid performances from Joel Kim Booster and Poppy Liu, half-twins Jun Ho and Mei Lin feel like caricatures straight out of 2 Broke Girls.

THE UNICORN (CBS)

WHAT WORKS: The widower comedy is sweet-natured and full of genuine emotion, the cast is an embarrassment of riches. 

WHAT NEEDS WORK: The laugh quotient. All that emotion makes the show feel more like a drama with some comedy mixed in vs. a true comedy.