Even there’s too much TV. The number of scripted dramas in particular has exploded. So let’s make this season simple.
With dozens and dozens of pilots begging for attention this fall, on conventional broadcast networks, cable and streaming services, our mission is to select the 10 most intriguing newcomers. Also, .
Here are the shows you’ll be talking about as standouts, good or bad.
The list doesn’t cover those guaranteed large audiences (sorry, “Muppets”) or those with buzz based on heavy promotion (lookin’ at you, “Heroes: Reborn”) .
It specifically doesn’t include unscripted fare from the two biggest names of the season: Neil Patrick Harris doing an NBC variety show in primetime (“Best Time Ever” premiering Sept. 15) and Stephen Colbert lighting up CBS in late night.
The most violent new hours — “The Bastard Executioner” on FX, a medieval gore fest, and “Wicked City” on ABC, a titillating view of serial murder — don’t fit in either the best or worst categories. They’re not badly made, but objectionable on grounds of taste and overt violence against women.
With those caveats, here are the Top 10 shows for Fall 2015, with premiere dates:
(CW) Musical production numbers interrupt this scripted comedy starring Rachel Bloom, a musical-comedic talent who makes the leap from YouTube. She plays Rebecca Bunch, a driven New York career woman who drops everything to follow a guy to California. Specifically, to West Covina (cue the big showstopping number in the mall parking lot). Oct. 19.
(FX) New story, new cast for season 2. Patrick Wilson, Ted Danson, Jean Smart, Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons are on board for a not-too-distant period piece set in 1979 Sioux Falls, S.D., and Luverne, Minn. The story involves a strange crime, a local gang and a crime syndicate. There’s also a reference to a Ronald Reagan campaign stop. Creator Noah Hawley feels the movie and these stories all connect somehow, if not quite literally. Oct. 12.
(CBS) Sweetly feminist and empowering, with a sharp sense of humor — plus flying! Colorado’s plays Superman’s niece, an unassuming superhero just discovering her powers. Calista Flockhart plays her overbearing boss who knows only the shy Kara. A fun dip into the DC Comics universe. Oct. 26.
(AMC) The most eagerly anticipated spinoff of the year, the suspenseful prequel benefits from a slow build. Currently in the midst of a six-episode run, the storytelling structure is more Hitchcockian than strict zombie gore: We know what’s coming, the characters don’t. “They don’t know, it may be a virus…From reports in five states, it’s spreading!” And it works, a suspense tale reflecting all-American decline and decay, built around the drama of a dysfunctional family.
(Fox) A single-cam family comedy in which Rob Lowe hams it up as the pretty-boy TV star who plays a lawyer on screen and assumes he can translate that winning charm to a real courtroom. Fred Savage plays his brother, an earnest, hard-working attorney. William DeVane plays their dad, who sees no reason the charismatic actor in the family shouldn’t serve as a trial lawyer. Cute chemistry. Sept. 29.
(PBS) Not an instant classic like “The Jewel in the Crown,” but beautiful and engrossing. The decline of the Empire in 1932 Colonial India is dramatized in an epic British co-production starring Julie Walters (“Harry Potter”). Great attention to detail marks this lavish 10-part series on “Masterpiece.” Sept. 27.
(NBC) You know, the one with the tattoos. An amnesiac Jane Doe (Jaimie Alexander) is discovered in Times Square, her tats hold a mystery. The pilot is intriguing, the pacing is similar to “Blacklist.” Co-star Sullivan Stapleton told critics, “it’s a procedural for people who don’t like procedurals and a character drama for people who don’t like character dramas.” for you to hit pause and try to figure out the ink. Sept. 21.
(Hulu) This snide comedy produced by Amy Poehler is sure to offend those seeking traditional sitcom humor. Author-podcaster Julie Klausner and Billy Eichner (Emmy-nominated for “Billy on the Street”) play versions of themselves, judgmental Jewish New Yorkers and best friends; he’s gay, she’s sour. Together they’re mean but funny.
(Amazon) What if the Axis had won World War II? This drama based on Philip K. Dick’s alternate history novel, produced by Ridley Scott, drops viewers into a 1960s U.S. that has been divided by Japan and Germany, where stormtroopers keep order and minorities live in fear. Imaginative and bold. Ten episodes starring Rufus Sewell (“John Adams”), Luke Kleintank (“Pretty Little Liars”) and Alexa Davalos (“Mob City”). Nov. 20.
(Amazon) Ron Perlman trades the motorcycle for the gavel in this psychological drama about a corrupt judge who, in a state of nervous breakdown, believes God is giving him personal instructions. Dana Delany co-stars as his classy wife. Despite the title, it’s about power and politics more than religion.
Joanne Ostrow: 303-954-1830, jostrow@denverpost.com or twitter.com/ostrowdp
