The New Season (2022)

[ClarkKent_DC]

It's that time of year again!

Continuing the tradition started by Doctor Hmmm? back in 2010, and followed inconsistently since (2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021), here's a catchall thread about any and all shows debuting or returning this fall, with an emphasis on the shows that don't generate their own threads.

[ClarkKent_DC]

We are also barreling to the end of The Flash; the series finale airs next week. It's closing out its run with a four-part story in which Eddie Thawne -- who sacrificed his life several season ago to save the timeline from the Reverse Flash -- is somehow alive again. It's confusing, but if it was clear it wouldn't be a mystery, would it?

I'll be sorry to see The Flash go; it's the only one of the Arrowverse shows I found reliably entertaining. And it's up in the air if Superman & Lois will return for another season, but signs don't look good.

[ClarkKent_DC]

Here's TVLine's cancellation scorecard: 

"2023 Renewal/Cancellation Scorecard: What's Coming Back? What's Already Axed? What's Still on the Bubble?"

[ClarkKent_DC]

Another casualty is the revival of Fantasy Island, per Deadline: "'Fantasy Island' Canceled by Fox"

Too bad, I enjoyed it. They were building a mythology there with a focus on the regular cast as much as on the visitor of the week. Elena Roarke's dalliance with the hunky pilot Javier gets complicated when the daughter he never knew he had shows up, and Elena breaks up with him so he can learn to be a father. Then Ruby gets seduced by a siren, at the cost of her memories and knowledge of self, so Elena has to take drastic measures to rescue her. 

Plus, there's all that eye-poppingly gorgeous scenery from Puerto Rico. I'll miss it.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

CSI ended on a cliffhanger. I've felt guilty about continuing to enjoy this show after our discussion of "copaganda" last fall, but I do like this show's characters and stories.

Young Sheldon ended on multiple cliffhangers, and next season is likely to be quite different in tone.

I hope the WGA suit is settled to the writers' benefit. 

[Richard Willis]

My post in Anything and Everything from last Thursday:

Librarians Sequel Series Ordered at The CW

Story

This is interesting. The CW is starting a sequel to the former TNT fantasy/adventure series. This is encouraging in that it seems to reverse the CW's push for sports shows*.

In another TVLine email, the guy in charge of The CW spoke about his "bubble" shows (Superman and Lois, Gotham Knights and Walker). He says it will likely keep two of them, and that he'd like to go forward with one DC show. He goes on to say that there are two problems with Superman and Lois: (1) It's very expensive and (2) they have no ownership of previous seasons, which belong to HBOmax.

It sounds like the best we can hope for is The CW continuing the less-expensive Gotham Knights and potentially HBOmax (soon to be just MAX) funding future seasons of Superman and Lois.

*The LIVGOLF feature is a creature owned by Saudi Arabia and tied to our recent former president, both of which are troubling.

[ClarkKent_DC]

Jeff of Earth-J said:

CSI ended on a cliffhanger. I've felt guilty about continuing to enjoy this show after our discussion of "copaganda" last fall, but I do like this show's characters and stories.

I expect that at some point I might start watching cop shows again, but I don't know when. But it might be like Rick Moranis; he basically retired from acting after his wife died and he had two young children to raise. He didn't intend to quit acting, but the longer he went without doing so, the easer it was to keep not doing so.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

Also, I don't tend to think of CSI as a "cop show" so much as I do a "police scientist show." 

[Richard Willis]

Except they go out in the field with sidearms and arrest people. 

College students thinking of taking classes to become CSIs were dissuaded when they found out they would just be working in laboratories. 

Jeff of Earth-J said:

Also, I don't tend to think of CSI as a "cop show" so much as I do a "police scientist show." 

[Jeff of Earth-J]

"Except they go out in the field with sidearms and arrest people."

They are supposed to carry sidearms but often don't, and I can't think of a time a CSI made an arrest. Usually that's up to the uniformed cops or detectives (although the CSIs do collect the evidence which leads to the arrests). Also, some of them work strictly in the lab and never go into the field at all.

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

I'm sorry to see The Flash go, too, but I feel like the show's been on its last legs for a while now. While watching the season finale last night, I realized the last season I was really all-in for it was the last one with Ralph, season 6. I'm not sorry that actor was drummed out of the show, but he brought a style of charm that was never really replaced. Cisco left a year later, another bad blow. I think the showrunner changed around that time, too, which brought new strengths (splitting the season into smaller arcs) and weaknesses (the dialogue was much less crisp and clever), making the emotional beats seem much more obvious. 

But there's a very nice nod to new speedsters for comics fans right at the end, letting the show go out on a high note.

ClarkKent_DC said:

We are also barreling to the end of The Flash; the series finale airs next week. It's closing out its run with a four-part story in which Eddie Thawne -- who sacrificed his life several season ago to save the timeline from the Reverse Flash -- is somehow alive again. It's confusing, but if it was clear it wouldn't be a mystery, would it?

I'll be sorry to see The Flash go; it's the only one of the Arrowverse shows I found reliably entertaining. And it's up in the air if Superman & Lois will return for another season, but signs don't look good.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

[SPOILERS for The Flash series finale] Tracy was doing okay with it... right up until they brought Kaitlyn back, then she started bawling. Right around this time she said, "You know what would make this perfect? If cisco dropped by." I agreed, but that didn't happen.]

[ClarkKent_DC]

Jeff of Earth-J said:

Also, I don't tend to think of CSI as a "cop show" so much as I do a "police scientist show." 

Richard Willis said:

Except they go out in the field with sidearms and arrest people. 

College students thinking of taking classes to become CSIs were dissuaded when they found out they would just be working in laboratories. 

Jeff of Earth-J said:

"Except they go out in the field with sidearms and arrest people."

They are supposed to carry sidearms but often don't, and I can't think of a time a CSI made an arrest. Usually that's up to the uniformed cops or detectives (although the CSIs do collect the evidence which leads to the arrests). Also, some of them work strictly in the lab and never go into the field at all.

It depends on the locale. As I recall, on the original CSI series set in Las Vegas the CSIs are scientists only and are not police officers. The ones in the spinoff shows set in Miami and New York are police officers.