I have seen worse fall seasons than this one in my time as a TV critic, but it's close. The new fall shows of 2015 are a dire, dreary lot, and even though I've found seven to recommend (as I did last year), only one of those positive notices comes without reservation. There are some shows that have promise this season, but they'll need to do some work to fully live up to it.
And yet this is a fall with lots and lots of question marks. Some of the most exciting new shows of the season (like Netflix's superhero saga Jessica Jones and AMC's martial-arts series Into the Badlands) have only shown critics trailers, and still more (including two that made my list) have yet to screen full pilots for us. So consider this more of an educated guess than usual.
On with the list.
The Best
The Expanse (Syfy)
I didn't know I needed another space opera so much until I watched the thoroughly entertaining pilot for The Expanse, which somehow combines a private detective story, a politically deft tale of the build-up to war, and a bunch of sci-fi tropes into a big, intriguing stew. It's not yet Battlestar Galactica (what is?), but it's the closest any sci-fi show has come since that show left the air to capturing some of its charm. And the cast is full of ringers, including the gruffly exasperated Thomas Jane (as a detective with ridiculous hair) and Oscar nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo (as a politician swept up in a much larger conspiracy). Keep an eye on this one.
What it will need to do to improve: The pilot is a lot of intriguing setup, but it would be all too easy to squander that. Other than that, though, I only hesitate to call this the "best show of the fall" because it debuts in December.
Debuts: Monday, December 14, at 10 pm Eastern.
The Worst
Angel from Hell (CBS)
CBS has never been known for its ability to pull off single-camera sitcoms (the ones that look like movies, not filmed stage plays with live audiences). It's tried many times over the years, but it's always come up wanting. (Its last successful one was M*A*S*H, which went off the air three decades ago.) Angel from Hell isn't going to change that record. In theory, Jane Lynch as a guardian angel, who might be a crazy homeless person, is fun casting, and Maggie Lawson could be a good straight man for Lynch's wackiness. But the whole thing feels like it's trying too hard. Also, this is the key art.
What it will need to do to improve: Tone down about 98 percent.
Debuts: Thursday, November 5, at 9:30 pm Eastern.
Rosewood (Fox)
Unlike the two above shows, Rosewood isn't bad so much as mediocre. But to stand out in this TV landscape, a show needs an immediately arresting pilot, and this one isn't that, even with the endlessly charming Morris Chestnut in the lead role. Putting Chestnut at the center of a medical show isn't a bad idea, but did it need to be one where he solves crimes? Come to think of it, every single new Fox drama not named Scream Queens shoehorns a "crime-solving" plotline into the proceedings. America can handle non-cop shows, Fox. You have Empire. You should know this.
What it will need to do to improve: Maybe have Chestnut's character do something other than solve crimes for an episode or two? Bake brownies? Teach piano? Be a doctor?
Debuts: Wednesday, September 23, at 8 pm Eastern.