Big-name stars such as Michael J. Fox, Robin Williams, James Spader and Sarah Michelle Gellar will be appearing on American TV screens this fall. While relying on big names is typically a popular tactic to attract viewers, these stars have found themselves on new shows deserving of their talent.
In his new NBC sitcom “The Michael J. Fox Show,” Fox, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, proves that life is only as serious as you make it. In the show, lead NBC news anchor Mike Henry (Fox) leaves his job after an on- air mishap in which he is unable to stay in the camera shot because he is sitting on a rolling chair. The audience cannot help but laugh with Mike as he wheels in and out of the frame while signing off. In the pilot, he takes a bumpy ride in the 5 o’clock news van, then turns to his motion sick secretary and says, “Car sick? For me, this is perfectly still.” Fox shows the audience how humor can create a format where people can learn about Parkinson’s disease and even a bit about Fox himself without feeling uncomfortable, removing the element of political correctness. His family does not shy away from jokes on his behalf. His daughter takes advantage of his disease to earn easy As in school, and his wife is full of funny quips, like the comment she makes at the dinner table when Fox attempts to serve everyone macaroni and cheese, “Can you not have a personal victory right now? We are starving.”
CBS’s “The Crazy Ones” is exactly how it sounds: crazy. Robin Williams-style crazy. Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar star as Simon and Sydney Roberts, heads of Roberts and Roberts Advertising Agency. In the first episode, Simon Roberts hires Kelly Clarkson to sing a jingle for a new McDonald’s campaign ad. She agrees, on the condition that she can sexualize the song to promote her new racy image. Not surprisingly, a sexy jingle about Big Macs, drive-thrus and french fries is full of uncomfortable, yet hilarious innuendoes. “The Crazy Ones” is different from other comedies in that it is heartwarming at its core. “Take a chance at making people feel,” Simon Roberts says, speaking to the conference room. “You know what I feel right now? Like a guy who’s going to sell an ass-load of hamburgers and some reasonably sized soft drinks.” Gellar and Williams have great chemistry as a father- daughter team. At the Television Critics Association press tour, Gellar described working with Williams as “sort of like when my 3-year-old says something really inappropriate, and it’s really funny, but I can’t laugh.”
Also on CBS, “Hostages” proves that there is a silver lining in even the worst of life’s situations. Sure, maybe you are a 16-year-old girl, whose entire family has been taken hostage, and your mother is being forced to assassinate the president of the United States. But on the bright side, your captors help you hide your pregnancy, provide you with relationship counseling and handle your brother’s threatening drug dealer. That is what makes “Hostages” so intriguing. Ellen Sanders is a doctor, whose home has been invaded by FBI agent Duncan Carlisle. Her family’s safety depends on one thing – killing the president. Carlisle is first shown as a rugged FBI agent and loving father. Only a few scenes later, he appears to be siding with the president’s advisor in an assassination plot. The first episode introduces the characters, takes them hostage and ends with the president on the verge of surgery; all in an hour’s time. The mystery behind it all will have viewers tuning in every week.
James Spader is in his element on the new NBC hit drama, “The Blacklist.” Spader plays Raymond ”Red” Reddington, a less creepy version of Hannibal Lector. The show mixes the adrenaline of the hit series “24” with a strong female lead. Reddington surrenders to the FBI so that he may work with new FBI criminal profiler Elizabeth Keen. Keen’s first day of work changes her life. She walks out of her apartment to find five black sedans waiting for her and a military helicopter hovering above. Reddington is obsessed with Keen and seemingly knows everything about her past, present and future. In the pilot episode, they help save a U.S. general’s daughter from an explosive situation at a Washington, D.C. zoo. It appears that their partnership will not be a one-time deal.
These series certainly are not the only ones looking to draw in viewers this fall. With such a wealth of primetime TV options, TV fans have a lot to look forward to in the coming months.
