11 Lesbian-Approved Fall TV Premieres

Hostages

You could call a show "Toni Collette is in This" and immediately have my viewership. She and her many counterparts won my heart on United States of Tara, and now she’s back in a much less quirky series about a doctor hired to operate on the President of the United States, whose family is held hostage and mortally threatened unless she does the President in instead. Oh, the tension! The potentially nail-biting cliff hangers! Marissa Cooper’s dad from The O.C.! Honestly, I have no idea how this plot will hold up for its 15 planned episodes, but I am so very excited to find out. It’s a tight premise with a killer cast that, even if it doesn’t live up to dangerously high expectations, will still involve Toni Collette, and what more could you really ask for? Check out CBS' "First Look" below, and tune in to Hostages on Mondays starting September 23.

American Horror Story: Coven

I’m a little apprehensive about another season of AHS after last season’s Asylum took such a randomly disturbing and disjointed turn that I had to drop out. However, no matter how much I thought I’d be staying away, I know I’ll be tuning in for another round of Jessica Lange delivering mysterious dramatic monologues in mystical settings.This time she’ll be delivering monologues as a powerful diva-witch Fiona who returns to New Orleans and must get along with her estranged daughter, Cordelia (played by the always welcome and out Sarah Paulson). Cordelia is also the headmistress of a school for witches, whom she is currently preparing to face some sort of impending doom and gloom. The students are a fantastically random group played by returning cast members Taissa Farmiga and Jamie Brewer, as well as the potentially glorious new additions of Emma Roberts and Gabourey Sidibe. In case that wasn’t a cool enough cast, Kathy Bates will also appear as a sadistic slave owner and Angela Basset as a ‘voodoo queen.’ As for the dudes, it wouldn’t be an season of AHS without Evan Peters, who plays as a Tulane frat boy with a crush on Taissa’s character. After a season I liked and a season I would have been happy to never have existed, I’m hoping Coven will finally hit the tone I’ve been waiting for since the show started. It certainly has the cast for it. AHS: Coven premieres on FX October 9.

The 100

That a CW show is not the first on a list written by me is a testament to my growth as an adult. But this list would not be complete without The 100, easily one of my most anticipated shows about 100 hot rebel teens sent to be the first people on earth 97 years after a nuclear apocalypse. The CW’s been trying to get a Hunger Games-esque show for years, and since their attempts with The Selection seem to be falling through, The 100 is what we’re getting. It looks like the Real World if the Real World was a nuclear post-apocalyptic world where lots of cute kids fall in love and try to kill each other while trying to live off an earth that’s fighting back. Also new to the CW is the Mary, Queen of Scots-centered Reign (I personally can’t wait to see how the CW pulls of period), The Vampire Diaries spin-off The Originals, and a couple shows about aliens/super-people. Don’t worry, everyone’s sexy. Now, to tune in and see what’s got substance.

Dracula

I really want to want to watch this show, as its female leads Jessica De Gouw and Katie McGrath were both in other programs that I tried to watch and just couldn’t get into ( Arrow and Merlin, respectively). The trailer looks grand, violent, and sexy, but the allure of vampire shows seems to be on its last legs. Jonathan Rhys Meyers of Tudors fame (or as I like to call him "The Coach from Bend it Like Beckham") is going to need a particularly unique spark to stand out from the brooding bloodsucking brotherhood of Edward Cullen, Bill Compton, and the many model-faced boys on Vampire Diaries. Still, perhaps I’m only on the fence because I’m imaging just how much better the show would be if Katie McGrath where starring as Dracula instead. Watch the trailer below, and get vampy on NBC Fridays starting October 25.

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland

I’ll be honest, I’ve barely seen Once Upon a Time. I love fairy tales, but there’s something about the way they’re approached in that show that just does not gel with me. However, I’m intrigued by this sequel/prequel/related-somehowquel? that follows the famed Alice of Wonderland, who has now ended up in a mental hospital after divulging the secrets of her impossible, tripped-out journey. I think. The promo goes on about genies and pirates, like a fairy tale smoothie that has a few too many ingredients. I’m loving the mental hospital, the maybe it’s not real at all! idea, but the promo answers far too quickly that it is indeed real, and the magical creatures are going to take Alice away on an adventure. More then anything, however, I am intrigued by Sophie Lowe, who plays Alice with a fragility that seems like it will satisfyingly transform into a strong willed, semi-violent independence. Maybe it’s far too dark of me to wish the whole thing was about a crazy girl who dreamed up a magical world and the struggle of trying to return her to reality. Perhaps that is the show in which Katie McGrath could be playing Dracula...Oh well, a girl can dream. Get lost in Wonderland Thursdays on ABC, starting October 10.

Witches of East End

I apologize for all the supernatural shows on this list, but I dig shows about powerful women and that genre seems to be where that’s at. If Witches of East End is as spooky-special as the Lifetime Channel Original Horror films are, we are all in for a treat. Based on a novel by Melissa de la Cruz, WoEE stars Julie Ormond as the mom of two adult daughters who don’t know they’re witches but are soon to find out, lest the show be incredibly boring. The promo has some hints of being a sleeker, modern Charmed and Jenna Dewan-Tatum is involved, so basically it’s good to go. My only hope is that the CGI is as entertaining as the kind used in Lifetime’s original films. I also have a belief that when you are in the mood for the Lifetime Channel, it can do very little wrong, and Witches of East End seems like the best reason to get in that mood more often. Get witchy on the East End Sunday, October 9 on Lifetime.

Sean Saves the World

I like Sean Hayes so much that even if this show was terrible I would probably try to be nice about it. That’s not to say that the show about a gay man named Sean raising his 14-year-old daughter full-time by himself following a divorce looks terrible. It actually seems rather cute (if maybe a little clichéd), a bit touching, and incredibly reliant on Sean Hayes’ often trusty comedic stylings. With The New Normal gone, it’s up to Sean to uphold the quota of gay men raising a family sitcoms (is this becoming a genre now?), and he certainly seems up for it. Watch Sean (try to) Save The World every Thursday night on NBC, starting October 9, and in the trailer below.

The Crazy Ones

Yes, most people are probably excited to see Robin Williams starring on a TV show, but I personally am thrilled that Sarah Michelle Gellar will finally be back in comedy-land. Despite what people maybe just never thought about in their lives, Sarah Michelle Gellar is rather funny, and the promo for this show about a father/daughter advertising team trying to get a celebrity to sing a jingle for a McDonald’s commercial actually has some genuinely giggle-worthy moments. If that doesn’t get you, Kelly Clarkson cameos as herself in one of her rare acting moments since From Justin to Kelly, and I’m sure that’s what you’ve all been secretly waiting for. Get Crazy on Thursdays on CBS starting September 26. Get a preview of the Crazy below.

The Michael J. Fox Show

Next up on the big return to TV trend is Michael J. Fox in this sitcom where he basically plays himself (aka Mike Henry), a retired news anchor and family man with Parkinsons who decides to return to his job. A comedy about living with Parkinsons may not exactly seem like the most hysterical of fodder, but there’s a light-hearted realness about the promo that proves this isn’t a PSA and more just a different, personal take on the traditional family sitcom. In addition, I happen to love Marie on Breaking Bad, so I’m thrilled to see Betsy Brandt starring as Mike’s wife. I wasn’t expecting to want to tune into this, but now that I’ve done some research I’m glad it’s on my queue. Watch the trailer below, and see Fox every Thursday on NBC starting September 26.

Mom and Dads

Sitcoms this year seem to be relying less on premise and mostly on cast, and that’s fine because Mom stars Anna Faris and Allison Janney, and that’s all you need to know. Anna stars as the newly sober mom of two younger kids who bumps into her estranged mom (Allison Janney) at an AA meeting, and I’m so excited to watch these woman go at each other every week. Dads, however, produced by Family Guy’s Seth Macfarlane, has a promo comparing the critic’s negative reviews to the fan’s positive ones, and from what I’ve seen (granted not a lot) I’ve gotta side with the critics on this one. Maybe it’s the racism, maybe it’s that none of the jokes in the promo were funny, I don’t know. Clearly it’s not just me, however, as the show felt the need to make a promo saying the critics were wrong. Whether you watch Dads is up to you, but I’ll be over at CBS with Mom on Mondays starting September 23. Get maternal in the trailer below.

Returning Contenders

Oh, how I am looking forward to Revenge this season, and talk about a killer promo. Emily Thorne will survive that bullet wound if I have to break into the writer’s room and make some edits myself. Also, the perfect marriage of two amazing TV series' will occur on Parks and Recreation when Orphan Black’s Tatiana Maslany guest stars as Tom’s new love interest. Orphan Black doesn’t return till January, so I’ll be super glad to see her on my TV in the meantime, not to mention in what has consistently been one of the funniest sitcoms on TV for years now.

Also, for the three of you who miss (or probably forgot you missed) Don’t Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, apparently Dreama Walker will be guest starring on the season of New Girl. For fans of both shows, like me, this is... dare I say it... a Dreama come true.

Now, this is just a small faction of the new and returning shows on TV this season. There’s a lot to look forward to and a lot that looks embarrassingly terrible, and I for one am excited to differentiate between the two first-hand. Yes, it’s probably a beautiful day outside, but it’s always a beautiful day for television, so channel-surf on viewers, and have a great season!