TV

Interview With the Vampire, Reboot, and more make our list of the best new fall shows

Plus, two gems you might have missed!

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Published on September 29, 2022 01:00PM EDT

If the cornucopia of Fall TV offerings has you suffering from option paralysis, we understand. EW's TV critics Kristen Baldwin and Darren Franich will help you get started with their picks for the best new shows of the fall — plus two gems you may have missed.

Reboot

(Streaming now on Hulu)

Steve Levitan takes the show-within-a-show concept to new meta heights with Reboot, a savvy deconstruction of hackneyed sitcom tropes that also delivers smart laughs. When Hannah (Rachel Bloom) pitches Hulu on a progressive reboot of the cheesy 2000s sitcom Step Right Up, the streamer jumps on the idea — provided she works with her estranged father, Gordon (Paul Reiser), who created the original. While Hannah untangles herself from years of resentment and clashes with Gordon over his old-fashioned (slash problematic) comedy instincts, the reunited Step Right Up cast has their own emotional baggage to unpack. Reed (Keegan-Michael Key) and his one-time TV wife/off-screen girlfriend Bree (Judy Greer) reluctantly fall back into their old bicker-flirt patterns; newly sober burnout Clay (Johnny Knoxville) needs the show to work because he can't get arrested in Hollywood (except for disorderly conduct); and former child star Zack (Callum Worthy) has no real-world skills after growing up on sets. With pun-tastic running gags, brutally funny streamer satire, and the fall's best ensemble cast, this is finally a Reboot worth watching. —Kristen Baldwin

The English

(Premieres Nov. 11 on Prime Video)

I've only seen one episode of this Western, and it knocked me sideways. Emily Blunt's the headline name here, taking her first starring role in a TV series since Empire. (No, not that Empire, the one about Rome from 2005.) She plays Cornelia, an English woman whose mission of vengeance takes her to the lawless American West of 1890. There she meets Eli Whipp (Chaske Spencer), a Pawnee scout who leaves the cavalry just in time to get caught up in the bloody plot ensnaring Cornelia. Spencer's done solid work in everything from the Twilight movies to Sneaky Pete, and The English gives him a real showcase as a strong-silent hero with a ruminative edge. I'm fascinated to see these two eccentric characters on an odyssey together, and the premiere wastes no time getting to the business of thrilling empty-the-revolver standoffs. —Darren Franich

Reasonable Doubt

(Streaming now on Hulu)

A steamy, speed-plotted soap built around a morally ambiguous power player whose life is filled with ridiculously attractive men? Sounds like Scandal star — and Reasonable Doubt exec producer/director — Kerry Washington learned a lot working with Shonda Rhimes. Doubt follows Jax Stewart (Ballers' Emayatzy Corinealdi), a ruthless and relentless defense attorney who is married to her job — which is why her frustrated husband, Lewis (Queen Sugar's McKinley Freeman), recently moved out. Though the 9-episode season centers on a sensational murder trial featuring a Black billionaire (Sean Patrick Thomas) and the return of Jax's hottest former flame (Michael Ealy, amen!), showrunner Raamla Mohamed weaves in frank and nuanced stories about the challenges of marriage, parenting, and female friendship. —K.B.

Interview With the Vampire

(Premieres Oct. 2 on AMC and AMC+)

If you watch just one fantasy reboot this fall… well, you're probably watching the Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings spin-offs. Don't miss this Anne Rice adaptation, though, which puts a distinctive new spin on its material. Jacob Anderson stars as Louis, an immortal bloodsucker with a long life story to tell. This first season mostly fleshes out his life in early 20th century New Orleans, where the ecstatically cruel and classy Lestat (Sam Reid) welcomes Louis into the vampire life. Interview's clever twist is to define the central relationship, transforming the Louis-Lestat dynamic into something like a troubled gay marriage. The present-day bookends with Eric Bogosian's endearingly gruff journalist get repetitive, and some of the world-building toward what AMC has boldly called "The Immortal Universe" feels undercooked. But the seven-part season gets an added jolt from the addition of Claudia (Bailey Bass), a teen vampire with extremely poor impulse control. (The show already earned a season 2 renewal, so AMC is clearly bullish on its prospects.) —D.F.

Los Espookys

(Fridays on HBO and streaming on HBO Max)

Okay, so this surreal and sweet bilingual comedy about four friends running a horror-themed business isn't new: The first season premiered on HBO in 2019 and quickly earned a small but obsessively devoted following. Now the series — created by Fred Armisen, Ana Fabrega, and Julio Torres — is back after a three-year break, so if you haven't checked it out yet, brace for a fresh onslaught of pressure from proselytizing fans. While the jobs Renaldo (Bernardo Velasco), Úrsula (Cassandra Ciangherotti), Andrés (Torres), and Tati (Fabrega) take on are completely bizarre — i.e. dressing up as ghosts to defend a lazy and disorganized cemetery groundskeeper from angry mourners — the themes at the heart of Los Espookys are consistently relatable. This season is all about sacrificing for others, taking responsibility, and establishing independence; it also just happens to involve the ghost of a beauty queen who was impaled by an anchor. —K.B.

This Fool

(Season 1 is streaming on Hulu)

Chris Estrada and Frankie Quiñones star in this utterly delightful odd-couple sitcom, which debuted in August and demands more attention now. Co-creator Estrada plays Julio, a well-intentioned guy who works in the non-profit sector and thus lives with his mother. Quiñones is Luis, Julio's much cooler and much more incarcerated cousin, fresh off an 8-year prison sentence. This Fool's first great joke is that, despite Luis' swagger, he might be even more desperate than Julio, adrift in a changed world where all his old gang buddies are either dead or semi-retired (and all his Austin Powers jokes are problematic). Julio's work at a convict-rehabilitation center populates the show with hilarious supporting characters, like Michael Imperioli's Minister Payne and Jamar Malachi Neighbors' Chef Percy. While the plots can tilt toward the absurd, the south L.A. setting gives This Fool a distinct atmosphere. (It's also produced by Fred Armisen, who's on a real executive-producer roll lately.) —D.F.

Make sure to check out EW's Fall TV Preview cover story — as well as all of our 2022 Fall TV Preview content, releasing over 22 days through Sept. 29.

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