Howdy TV fans! Emily and I are back to talk about returning shows—the good, the bad, and the ones that maybe should have wrapped up a while ago.
SPOILERS AHEAD, natch.
(In case you missed it: Check out our take on some of this season’s new shows in last week's TV Preview: New Friends.)
Name: You’re The Worst
About: Centers on two toxic, self-destructive people who fall in love and attempt a relationship.
Starting Season Number: 2
Watch It: Wednesdays on FXX (premiered Sept. 9)
Marry/Bang/Kill:
Emily—Marry. I'm addicted! As far as dramas go, I can't do purely unlikable characters, but half-hour comedies seem to make them horrible and endearing at the same time. The first season is only ten 22-minute episodes, and I almost watched it all in one sitting (marathoning is something I normally don't do). This is FX at its finest!
Name: Castle
About: After a serial killer imitates the plots of his novels, successful mystery novelist Richard "Rick" Castle receives permission from the Mayor of New York City to tag along with an NYPD homicide investigation team for research purposes.
Starting Season Number: 8
Watch It: Sept. 21 on ABC
Marry/Bang/Kill:
Emily—Kill. I think there should be a limit on number of seasons, and I feel that 7 is the perfect number. I do love Nathan Fillion, but STOP before you run it into the ground! Please, just end in a happy place.
Mandy—Kill. I used to love this show. And I adore Nathan Fillion. But the spark is gone, and it has been for a while. The mysteries have become utterly predictable, and the overarching conspiracy of recent seasons hasn’t been interesting, as intriguing as they try to make it.
Name: Gotham
About: The story behind Commissioner James Gordon's rise to prominence in Gotham City in the years before Batman's arrival.
Starting Season Number: 2
Watch It: Sept. 21 on Fox
Marry/Bang/Kill:
Emily—Kill. I wanted to like this show. I really, really, really did. But it did nothing for me. Maybe I didn't give it enough of a chance, maybe I should go back and watch, but I don't really see that happening. It just wasn't as engaging as I wanted it to be.
Mandy—Bang. I went back and forth a lot with this show last season. I didn’t give up, though, and was rewarded with the occasional episode that blew me away. I can only hope that there are more of those episodes headed our way.
Name: Scorpion
About: An eccentric genius forms an international network of super-geniuses to act as the last line of defense against the complicated threats of the modern world.
Starting Season Number: 2
Watch It: Sept. 21 on CBS
Marry/Bang/Kill:
Emily—Bang. I really enjoy this show. I don't watch it all that often, but every time I do, I remember how much I like it.
Mandy—Bang. I pretty much always have at least one procedural on my schedule, and Scorpion rose to the top during its first season because of the fun chemistry between the characters and the delightful sexual tension between Walter and Paige.
Name: Empire
About: A father, who runs a successful music business, is diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease and has to choose one of his three sons to take over when he dies.
Starting Season Number: 2
Watch It: Sept. 23 on Fox
Marry/Bang/Kill:
Emily—Marry. I got on the Empire bandwagon with most of the rest of the country. It is highly addicting! It's drama, it's comedy, it's soapy, it's just so dang fun! Plus, the music. In the best way possible, it hits on social issues and makes some pretty bold statements without taking itself too seriously. Terrence Howard is the worst, and I love any show where I'm supposed to hate him! And Taraji P. Henson is just as amazing as the headlines say she is.
Name: Brooklyn Nine-Nine
About: Jake Peralta, an immature but talented NYPD detective in Brooklyn's 99th Precinct, comes into immediate conflict with his new commanding officer, the serious and stern Captain Ray Holt.
Starting Season Number: 3
Watch It: Sept. 27 on Fox
Marry/Bang/Kill:
Emily—Bang. The show still makes me laugh. I like the ensemble, I like the jokes, and I find Andy Samberg endearing. But it's really the rest of the cast that steals the show. Andre Braugher, Terry Crews, Joe Lo Trulio … they are amazing.
Mandy—Marry. I haven’t laughed at a show this hard in a very long time. Brooklyn Nine-Nine is an utter delight and oh-so-quoteworthy! And Emily’s right, although Andy is great in the show, it’s the rest of the cast that makes it amazing.
Name: Once Upon a Time
About: A woman with a troubled past is drawn to a town in Maine where fairy tales are to be believed.
Starting Season Number: 5
Watch It: Sept. 27 on ABC
Marry/Bang/Kill:
Mandy—Bang. I really shouldn’t enjoy watching this show as much as I do. But every time I think I’m thisclose to giving up, something *cough*Hook and his guyliner*cough* sucks me right back in.
Name: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
About: The missions of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.
Starting Season Number: 3
Watch It: Sept. 29 on ABC
Marry/Bang/Kill:
Mandy—Bang. You might have heard that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. got really good around the time Captain America: The Winter Soldier was released, and this is very true. But then the Inhumans plotline started playing out, and it got … not so great … again. I will continue to watch this show until it’s canceled—because Coulson—but I often do so begrudgingly. I just really want it to be great, you guys!
Name: Sleepy Hollow
About: Ichabod Crane is resurrected and pulled two and a half centuries through time to unravel a mystery that dates all the way back to the founding fathers.
Starting Season Number: 3
Watch It: Oct. 1 on Fox
Marry/Bang/Kill:
Emily—Bang. I somehow missed a lot of last season, and now need to go back and rewatch it all. But I love the mythology, and I think the characters are incredibly engaging. It's a fun show with just the right amount of darkness for me. Keep it coming!
Mandy—Marry. This show can be so ridiculous and over the top at times, but that’s what makes it so very good. And the relationship between Ichabod and Abbie is a perfect mix of friendship and enemistry. (I don’t think I want them to end up together, but I don’t really want them with anyone else, you know?)
Name: The Blacklist
About: Elizabeth 'Liz' Keen, a new FBI profiler has her entire life uprooted when a mysterious criminal, Raymond Reddington, on the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted List turns himself in and insists on speaking to her.
Starting Season Number: 3
Watch It: Oct. 1 on NBC
Marry/Bang/Kill:
Mandy—Bang. The Blacklist can be a little hit or miss from episode to episode, but for the most part, I really enjoy the various cases the team works on and get pretty sucked into the intrigue and suspense. The villains are all unique, and Redd is a very interesting anti-hero. However, my favorite part about this show is Dembe. If Dembe dies, I riot.
Name: The Flash
About: Barry Allen wakes up 9 months after he was struck by lightning and discovers that the bolt gave him the power of super speed. With his new team and powers, Barry becomes "The Flash" and fights crime in Central City.
Starting Season Number: 2
Watch It: Oct. 6 on The CW
Marry/Bang/Kill:
Emily—Bang. I fell behind last season and have spent the summer catching up. There are certain episodes that I really don't care for the villain, and might fast forward through, but any scenes that have the core cast, I love. Am also a big fan of the Arrow cross-overs, so that'll keep me around for awhile!
Mandy—Marry. Even though it often verges more into camp territory than its big brother Arrow, I adore Grant Gustin, and the larger team of adorable misfits. The Flash makes me smile at least once an episode, and I need that from my superhero shows.
Name: iZombie
About: A medical resident finds that being a zombie has its perks, which she uses to assist the police.
Starting Season Number: 2
Watch It: Oct. 6 on The CW
Marry/Bang/Kill:
Emily—Bang. Got to be honest, April/May are a super busy months for me, and I didn't watch all of the first season, but I have a goal to finish before the second season premieres. It's Rob Thomas, I'll follow him to the end of the earth and beyond. He has yet to fail me, and I don't see this being any different.
Mandy—Bang. I was wavering on my interest for this show, even though I’d really enjoyed certain episodes, until that season finale. I MEAN, REALLY. I have to keep watching now.
Name: Arrow
About: Spoiled billionaire playboy Oliver Queen is missing and presumed dead when his yacht is lost at sea. He returns five years later a changed man, determined to clean up the city as a hooded vigilante armed with a bow.
Starting Season Number: 4
Watch It: Oct. 7 on The CW
Marry/Bang/Kill:
Emily—Bang. Every time I get bogged down by the backstory or mythology and I think I'm going to break up with the show, something happens to suck me right back in. I really like where last season ended, and I have NO IDEA what's going to happen next. Please, don't ruin it by having Oliver and Felicity together!
Mandy—Bang. Arrow definitely tends to drag a bit at times during a season, and makes me slog through certain episodes and situations to find the gold at the end of the rainbow. (Forgive me for all of the mixed metaphors in that sentence.) But I do eventually find that gold, particularly in the last few episodes of last season. (Yes, even with the Olicity DRAMS.) I’m excited to see what’s next. Bonus: Diggle gets an outfit!
Name: Supernatural
About: Two brothers follow their father's footsteps as "hunters" fighting evil supernatural beings of many kinds including monsters, demons, and gods that roam the earth.
Starting Season Number: 11
Watch It: Oct. 7 on The CW
Marry/Bang/Kill:
Emily—Bang. While this has gone WAY past the 7 season limit I think all shows should have, seems like they keep reinventing the show enough that the fans aren't going anywhere. Basically, I have started slowly watching episodes that have been recommended to me, and I have been drawn into the dark side. More please!
Mandy—Bang. I fell in love with this show a few years ago when I watched 6 or 7 seasons in the span of a summer. Since then, we’ve had our ups and downs, but the Winchester boys always find some way to suck me back in. (In the essence of honesty, I only saw a couple of episodes from season 10—long story short, our DVR crapped out and we lost all of the episodes we’d saved up. But I plan on catching up soon; hopefully before season 11 starts!)
Name: Jane the Virgin
About: A young, devout woman discovers that she was accidentally artificially inseminated.
Starting Season Number: 2
Watch It: Oct. 12 on The CW
Marry/Bang/Kill:
Emily—Marry. I love this show. It was my favorite new show of last year, and it was the only one that I wanted to watch as soon as it aired every week. Gina Rodriguez is the most likable person on TV, and this was a world I just wanted to keep living in. Plus, Britney Spears is guest starring this season. Amazing!
Name: Elementary
About: A modern take on the cases of Sherlock Holmes, with the detective now living in New York City.
Starting Season Number: 4
Watch It: Nov. 5 on CBS
Marry/Bang/Kill:
Emily—Bang. I don't watch week-to-week, but I still think it's a good show. Let's put it this way, if I had an unlimited amount of time to watch television, this would be on this list. Unfortunately, I just don't and so it's usually one of the ones that gets cut.
Mandy—Bang. Although the crimes of the week are sometimes a little predictable/boring, I am a huge fan of the relationship between Sherlock and Joan. And the various guest stars that pop in occasionally as various other spins on familiar Sherlock characters never fail to disappoint.
Are you looking forward to these shows returning to your TV? Did we miss any of your faves? Let’s chat in the comments!
All About descriptions from IMDB.