Fall is Here: Time for New and Returning Shows

 What to Expect from this Blog in the Coming Weeks

The best time of year for TV fans is almost here.  The traditional launch of a new TV season usually begins in Autumn.  This mean the old Networks are going to be launching a whole new slate of programs, most of which will be cancelled before the mid-season break.  Fortunately, there are plenty of cable favorites that are returning as well including Homeland, The Walking Dead, Boardwalk Empire, and Dexter for those who still care (I'm looking at you brother Jimmy).  Sorry, Mad Men won't be back until next Spring.  I won't be writing up on all these shows.  After all, according to Entertainment Weekly's cover of their Fall Preview issue, there will be 104 shows this fall.  104!! Too many for one man.  But based off what I've read from some critics and my own personal taste, there are definitely a fair number of new shows that I will be writing about in the coming weeks.  After the jump, a truncated calendar of key premiere dates.

'Bates Motel' Casts Female Lead

Norma Bates (Norman Bates's mother) will be played by Oscar nominated actress (Up in the Air) Vera Farmiga in the upcoming A&E series that will serve as a prequel to the Alfred Hitchcock directed 'Psycho.'   (THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER)

The article from The Hollywood Reporter's LIVE FEED blog mentions that the series has been described as a "contemporary exploration of Norman Bate's formative years.  So if the series is set in the present and not a period piece, referring to it as a prequel may be a bit misleading.

Some commentators have expressed their displeasure with television making yet another prequel.  They've even singled out A&E specifically for abandoning the Arts and Entertainments that it originally stood for back in the '90s.  However, isn't scripted television a step up from the reality garbage that has aired on the network for the past decade.