Monday, September 10th
Katie, series premiere at 3pm on syndicated ABC
Since leaving CBS she has made the move to ABC News and even guest co-anchored for a week on Good Morning America. She’s back today with her new syndicated talk show, where we expect she’ll work her interview magic on guests Jessica Simpson and Sheryl Crow, who wrote and performs the show’s theme song. ”We’re going to try to do a really good mix of different things,” says Couric. ”Some days are going to be very fun and light, and other days will be much more serious.” Future September guests include Barbra Streisand, Fifty Shades of Grey author E L James, and Amanda Knox’s ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito. Oprah who?
The Voice, 2-hour season premiere at 8pm on NBC
– Part 1 of the hyped 3-night premiere of the most popular singing competition on TV nowadays returns with our favorite panel of coaches battling each other to discover and cultivate America’s next great Voice. The Voice returns with the strongest vocalists from across the country invited to compete in the blockbuster vocal competition show’s third season. Celebrity musician coaches Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton return along with Carson Daly as host. R&B singer Christina Milian is the Social Media Correspondent who hangs out in the awkward Sprint lounge with the contestants as they tweet and whatnot. Mary J. Blige, Matchbox Twenty’s Rob Thomas, Michael Buble and Green Day’s Billy Joe Armstrong sign on as this season’s advisors to the coaches’ contestants. The show’s innovative format features three stages of competition: the blind audition, a battle phase, and finally, the live performance shows. Members from each of the coaches’ team compete against each other to get the chance to represent their coach in the finale where America will vote on which contestant and their respective coach wins The Voice title.
The Crimson Petal and the White, 2-hour miniseries premiere at 8pm on Encore
– Set against the dark underbelly of Victorian London, The Crimson Petal and the White is a tale of seduction, power and class conflict centered around the vibrant prostitute Sugar. Played by Golden Globe nominee Romola Garai, Sugar is intelligent, sexually adept and determined to escape the brothel run by the contemptible Mrs. Castaway (Gillian Anderson). This beautifully filmed four-part drama takes a drastic turn when Sugar meets wealthy businessman William Rackham (BAFTA Award winner and Screen Actors Guild nominee Chris O’Dowd). As regular visits from the invasive physician Doctor Curlew leave his sickly wife increasingly disturbed, William finds Sugar a thrilling antidote to his dreary existence. Separated by class and bound by sexuality and ambition, their relationship grows deeper yet more dangerous. As Sugar ingrains herself into William’s family business and charmed life, the two find themselves in a power struggle that ultimately reveals Sugar’s heroism.
All on the Line With Joe Zee, season premiere at 9pm on Sundance
– Sundance Channel is taking fashion rescue coast-to-coast with the third season of the network’s All on the Line with Joe Zee. The critically-acclaimed docu-series starring the fashion powerhouse and ELLE Creative Director will, for the first time, expand its purview to include the LA fashion scene and LA-based designers who could truly benefit from Joe Zee’s fashion design master class.
The New Normal, series premiere at 10pm on NBC before moving to Tuesday nights at 9:30pm the very next day
– These days, families come in all forms – single dads, double moms, sperm donors, egg donors, one-night-stand donors… It’s 2012 and anything goes. Bryan (Andrew Rannells, Girls, “The Book of Mormon”) and David (Justin Bartha, “The Hangover”) are a Los Angeles couple, and they have it all. Well, almost. With successful careers and a committed, loving partnership, there is one thing that this couple is missing: a baby. And just when they think the stars will never align, enter Goldie (Georgia King, “One Day”), an extraordinary young woman with a checkered past. A Midwestern waitress and single mother looking to escape her dead-end life and small-minded grandmother (Emmy and Tony Award-winner Ellen Barkin), Goldie decides to change everything and move to L.A. with her precocious eight-year-old daughter. Desperate and broke – but also fertile – Goldie quickly becomes the guys’ surrogate and quite possibly the girl of their dreams. Surrogate mother, surrogate family. Real Housewife of Atlanta turned brilliant actress NeNe Leakes also stars as Rocky, the fierce assistant of father-to-be Bryan.
Tuesday, September 11th
Go On, series premiere at 9pm on NBC
– In case you missed the pilot that aired after the Olympics and 10 times since then, catch the repeat Monday night at 10:30pm. Matthew Perry (Friends, Mr. Sunshine) stars as Ryan King, a recent widower and sports talk radio host ready to get back to work after the loss of his wife. Ryan’s alpha-male boss, Stephen, played by John Cho (“Star Trek,” “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle”), has a different plan in store for Ryan, making him attend grief counseling before returning to the air. A reluctant Ryan finds himself in a support group for “life change,” where he meets an oddball cast of characters, all with their own backstories filled with varying degrees of loss. On his very first visit, Ryan convinces the group to deviate from their normal session and starts a tournament-style competition (March Sadness!) to find out whose story is the worst. Ryan’s total lack of interest in “the healing process” proves distracting and he soon butts heads with the by-the-books group leader, Lauren, played by Tony Award-winner Laura Benanti. Back at work, Ryan is confronted with the fact that he hasn’t really processed his grief and realizes Lauren and the other members of the group might be key in helping him move on.
Parenthood, season premiere at 10pm on NBC
– NBC’s underrated drama inspired by the box office hit of the same name comes from executive producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer. This re-imagined and updated production follows the trials and tribulations of the very large, very colorful and imperfect Braverman family. Sarah Braverman (Lauren Graham, Gilmore Girls) is a financially strapped single mother trying to raise two teenaged kids, the bright but rebellious Amber (Mae Whitman, “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”), and sullen and sensitive Drew (Miles Heizer, ER). On the home front, Sarah and her kids live with Sarah’s larger-than-life, headstrong father, Zeek (Craig T. Nelson, “Family Stone,” “Coach”), and pillar-of-strength mother Camille (Bonnie Bedelia, “Heart Like a Wheel”), who are dealing with their own marital issues. Meanwhile, Sarah’s sister and complete antithesis, Julia (Erika Christensen, “Traffic”) is a successful corporate attorney trying to juggle work and motherhood, alongside her loving but increasingly restless stay-at-home husband, Joel (Sam Jaeger, “Eli Stone”). Commitment-phobe Crosby (Dax Shepard, “Hit and Run”), Sarah’s younger brother, is helping raise a five-year-old son he had out of wedlock with former flame Jasmine (Joy Bryant “Antwone Fisher”). However, it’s Adam (Peter Krause, “Six Feet Under”), the oldest Braverman sibling, who has had to relinquish his expectations about what constitutes a “normal” family, as he, his quietly forceful wife Kristina (Monica Potter, Trust Me) and independent-minded teenage daughter Haddie (Sarah Ramos, “American Dreams”), struggle to cope with their eccentric son and Haddie’s little brother Max (Max Burkholder, Brother and Sisters), who has Asperger’s Syndrome. Although each sibling and family has its own share of everyday challenges to grapple with, they still manage to be there for each other in their hours of need.
Wednesday, September 12th
The X Factor, 2-hour season premiere at 8pm on FOX
– Pop icon Britney Spears and former Disney star Demi Lovato join Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid at the judges’ table for the singing competition’s second season. Don’t feel bad, Paula Abdul, Nicole Scherzinger, and Cheryl Cole. You still have…wait, I’m sure you have something…no…okay, just get a tub of ice cream and wallow in self-pity tonight. You deserve it. The results show follows Thursday nights at 8pm.
Guys With Kids, sneak peek at 10pm on NBC
– This new comedy from Emmy Award-winning executive producer Jimmy Fallon about three 30-something dads who try to hold on to their youth as they face the responsibilities of having kids. Thankfully, Gary (Anthony Anderson, Law & Order), Chris (Jesse Bradford, The West Wing) and Nick (Zach Cregger, “Friends with Benefits”) have each other to help navigate the highs and lows of fatherhood – while still trying desperately to remain dudes. Balancing work or staying at home, happily married or happily divorced, taking care of the “littles” while maintaining a social life is a daily challenge. Whether it’s hosing down their babies in the kitchen sink or hitting the bar strapped with “babybjorns,” these guys are taking on fatherhood in ways no one has ever seen before. Nick and Gary’s wives – Emily (Jamie-Lynn Sigler, The Sopranos) and Marny (Tempestt Bledsoe, The Cosby Show) also offer their own parenting advice. Dads today are more involved in their kids’ lives than ever, and these guys are no exception. No tantrum is too loud, no diaper is too dirty – Nick, Chris and Gary are up to the challenge. Official premiere date is September 26th at its regular time slot at 8:30pm.
Family Guns, series premiere at 10pm on Nat Geo
– Family Guns is a new series from Firecracker Films (Big Fat Gypsy Weddings) that follows that action within a family-run military warehouse. The program stars Christian and Alex Cranmer, a father-and-son team that owns and operates New Jersey-based International Military Antiques, and follows the team as they bid on rare firearms and test the items on the firing range.
Thursday, September 13th
Glee, season premiere at 9pm on FOX
– Lea Michele’s Rachel gets off to a rocky start at NYADA because of her tough dance teacher (guest star Kate Hudson). I guess right there is where she starts paying. In sweat.
The Real Housewives of Miami, season premiere at 9pm on Bravo
– Season 2 gives viewers an inside look into the aspirational lives of seven women as they juggle family, work, and a spicy social scene in the hottest city in the world. Whether shopping on Ocean Drive or out on the town in South Beach, these ladies prove that in Miami the skirts are short and so are the tempers. Returning Housewives Lea Black, Adriana de Moura, and Marysol Patton are joined this season by bombshell Lisa Hochstein, supermodel Joanna Krupa, successful lawyer and chef Ana Quincoces, and celebrity dentist Karent Sierra. Also returning in a recurring role is Alexia Echevarria, who has made her son, Frankie, her number one priority following a bad automobile accident earlier this year.
Friday, September 14th
Shark Tank, season premiere at 8pm on ABC
– Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the remote control! The Sharks are back to continue their search to invest in the best products and businesses that America has to offer. The critically acclaimed Shark Tank gives budding entrepreneurs the chance to make their dreams come true, and possibly make a business deal that will make them a millionaire. Season Three continues to make TV history, with the Sharks offering over $6.2 million of their own money in investment deals to bankroll a creative array of innovative entrepreneurs. Billionaire Mark Cuban, owner and chairman of HDNet and outspoken owner of the 2010-2011 NBA championship Dallas Mavericks, returns as a Shark and appears in all 13 episodes. Returning “Sharks” joining Cuban and Greiner are real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran, technology innovator Robert Herjavec, fashion and branding expert Daymond John and venture capitalist Kevin O’Leary, who we all know has also been called Mr. Wonderful (by himself, of course). The panel of five Sharks will hear pitches of the best business and product ideas from some of America’s brightest entrepreneurs, ranging from start-ups from stay-at-home moms and dads, to simple yet brilliant ideas in a wide range of areas including children’s products, music, sports, automotive, and even the nightclub scene.
The 9th Annual Style Awards, special awards show at 8pm on Style
– Catherine Malandrino, Prabal Gurung, Joe Zee, Katharine McPhee, and Ivanka Trump are scheduled to attend tonight’s awards show that honors designers, models, and stylists. Alas, no love for the little mice that stayed up all night sewing Cinderella’s dress.
Touch, special episode at 8pm on FOX
– A never-seen episode from last season about Martin’s car breaking down in the town where he first became a reporter. I just hope J.T. Walsh doesn’t help him out.
Saturday, September 15th
Bayou Billionaires, season premiere at 9pm on CMT
– In the season 2 premiere, Gerald Sr. and the boys work overtime to build a giant float to surprise Kitten at the “Holiday in Dixie” Parade. Things get complicated when a curious Kitten catches on. Valerie and Kitten are determined to find Jessica a better class of man — so they hire a high-end matchmaker.
Redneck Rehab, series premiere at 10pm on CMT
– Each week a former redneck is confronted by friends and family members that believe he or she should return to their country roots.
Saturday Night Live, season premiere at 11:30pm on NBC
– Seth MacFarlane stars in the premiere episode of the 38th season aka the season after Kristen Wig left.
I Watch Anything On TV 