Geek TV! The Best Of The Fall 2017 TV Lineup

1.7K

The rundown on what to watch! The best of the best of the fall 2017 geek TV lineup!

This fall, a whole host of new and returning sci-fi and horror shows are hitting the airwaves. Each year, it seems to get bigger and better, and the fall 2017 TV lineup is no exception.

It’s time to clear the schedule and set the DVRs!

There is a good mix this year. New shows debuting, the favorites continuing and some headed towards their series finale. Most of the major networks have some form of genre series, including the streaming services Hulu and Netflix.

So without further adieu, here is a summary of some of the big ones on the horizon.

The CW

Over the last few years The CW has put together an impressive lineup of DC Comics shows. They’ve crafted their own mini cinematic universe, and with the addition of Supergirl, which they picked up from CBS after they ditched it after one season, it’s even better.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GOY-4vLRxc[/embedyt]

• The show that started it all for CW, Arrow, will enter its sixth season on October 12th. With the death of the main antagonist of season 5, Prometheus, the Green Arrow and team are stuck on the island of Lian Yu as the season closes. Ending on a major cliffhanger, the island pretty much exploded with no sign as to who survives.
• The Flash is speeding into its fourth season on October 10th. It’ll be interesting how they handle Wally West as the new Flash, Barry having entered the Speed Force willingly during last seasons finale. But judging by the Season 4 trailer, Barry Allen is back in some capacity.
• Legends of Tomorrow is back for a season three, premiering the same night as The Flash on October 10th. Some villains slated for this season are Gorilla Grodd from The Flash and Damien Darhk from Arrow.
• Supergirl will be the first out the gate on October 9th, entering its third season (second on CW). This has been a great addition to CW’s lineup. Kevin Smith, of Clerks fame, will be directing an episode this season also.

Fox

• September 21st sees Gotham season four kick off. This season looks to focus on the classic Batman villain Scarecrow, while undoubtedly mixing in others from his Rogues Gallery. This show gives an interesting look into Bruce Wayne’s journey towards taking on the mantle of The Dark Knight.
• A brand new one from Fox is The Gifted. This is based in the X-Men universe, although it will stand on its own. It focuses on a group of teenage mutants and their families who are on the run from mutant hunting organizations. As of right now the show is slated to run 10 episodes. I covered the show and what to expect in a previous article. The Gifted debuts on October 2nd.
• By the time this article comes out, this show will have already debuted for Fox; The Orville. From the mind of Seth McFarlane (Family Guy) comes a comedic take on episodic science fiction. Think of Star Trek meets Galaxy Quest. Taking place 400 years in the future, Captain Ed Mercer (McFarlane) commands the Orville, an exploration ship. This should be one worth checking out, the first episode aired on September 10th.

AMC

• A personal favorite, The Walking Dead returns to AMC on October 22nd. The previous season ended on somewhat of a high note, with Rick and the rest of the surviving groups standing up to Negan and his Saviors. After a season of being squarely under his thumb, Rick, Maggie, and Ezekiel’s respective groups are ready to bring the fight to Negan. What’s great about this live-action version of Robert Kirkman’s ongoing comic is that although it borrows heavily, it has not been afraid of switching things up. Certain events and deaths are straight from the pages, while some have been shifted out of order, or changed entirely. New show-only characters have garnered immense fan love, and not knowing what will happen from week to week is what has helped drive this show for 8 seasons.

CBS

• It’s been over a decade, but the wait is just about over. A new Star Trek show! Star Trek Discovery takes place about 10 years before the events of The original series and will center around a sort of cold war between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire. The show has a very diverse cast with some big names like Sonequa Martin-Green (The Walking Dead) and Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter). The first episode will air on September 24th on CBS, but the remainder of the season will air on CBS’ streaming service CBS All Access.

ABC

• Spinning off of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (which is also returning for a fifth season) is The Inhumans. Sharing continuity with that show and also with Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, the show focuses on beings known as Inhumans, super powered beings from the kingdom of Attilan on the Moon. A family consisting of Black Bolt, Medusa and others will find themselves victims of a coup, and wind up on Earth. The season kicks off with a two-part premiere on September 29th. Also, check out RetroZap’s newest podcast addition, Terrigen Dreams. 

FX

• American Horror Story: Cult is already a few episodes in having started on September 5th. This is the seventh season for this horror anthology, and like the others, has a new theme but brings back many of the actors from previous seasons. This time around, the show starts off on the night of the 2016 presidential election, and looks to be exploring phobias and cults. AHS has a solid creepy factor that has maintained itself since the beginning, and Season 7 is shaping up to be no different.

Disney XD

• Star Wars fans rejoice, Star Wars Rebels is returning for its fourth and final season. As the action ramps up, and the time frame edges close to Rogue One, the fate of the Ghost crew remains mostly unknown which adds to the suspense. The trailer gives fans a lot to process. There looks to be a siege on the planet Lothal and the action apparently picks up again on Mandalore. By the time of the original Star Wars trilogy, Luke is supposedly the last Jedi. So where will the series leave Kanan and Ezra? Here’s hoping for some answers, and maybe some more questions too. The final season begins October 16th.

Hulu

•  A little later this year Hulu will launch a new series based off of a very popular Marvel comic series. The Runaways centers on a group of teenagers all with special abilities that discover that their parents are part of an evil cabal known as The Pride. Now on the run, hence the clever title. The comic debuted in the early 2000s and has been a fan favorite. The 10 episode run starts November 21st.

BBC America

• This Christmas Day, an era ends with Peter Capaldi’s final episode of Doctor Who in the Christmas special “Twice Upon a Time”. It also marks show runner Steven Moffat’s final episode. Peter who has played the twelfth Doctor since 2014 will regenerate in true Who fashion into the thirteenth, played by Jodie Whittaker. A monumental event, as this is the first female Doctor since the show’s inception in 1963.

Netflix

• Smash success Stranger Things is back on October 27th with a full second season. It’s an amazing show set in the 80’s, with all the nostalgia you could ever want. Using common tropes of horror and sci-fi from that era, they crafted an awesome story of a group of kids battling unknown forces from the Upside Down. The main cast is returning, along with some new cast members like Paul Reiser (Aliens) and Sean Astin (Goonies, Lord of the Rings). The show is filled with lots of call backs to earlier films and shows, and has a great retrowave score only helps to enhance the atmosphere.
• Netflix has had a lot of success with their Marvel shows Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and Iron Fist. Spinning right out of the second season of Daredevil, Punisher is taking the spotlight in his own run this fall. The series looks to mostly take place chronologically after his stint on Daredevil, although there are some flashbacks to Frank Castle’s time in the military. In an odd move, neither Marvel or Netflix have announced a release date for the season, only saying that it is in 2017 and that it will be soon.

The fall lineup is pretty impressive, and this list is nowhere near complete, so make sure to be on the look out.