A Fall TV Season for the Trump and Bernie Era
You know how Donald Trump seems to say or do something unexpected almost every day? And you know how, with each succeeding news cycle, Bernie Sanders continues to throw the Democratic Party establishment off balance? To some people, that’s exciting; to others, it’s alarming. Either way, it’s startling and, ultimately, exhausting. I’m sure an awful lot of people are wondering, why can’t things just calm down for a while? Well, network television, in unveiling its fall lineup this past week to advertisers, is banking on the idea that you desire some entertainment that’s not too exciting — some that is, instead, comforting, familiar, easy to enjoy.
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If I were a betting man, I’d put some money on these potential hits: CBS’s Bull (NCIS’s Michael Weatherly as a trial consultant, based on the early career of Dr. Phil) and Kevin James’s comfy sitcom Kevin Can Wait; NBC’s This Is Us (a positive-vibe drama about the unity of very different kinds of people, from Jason Katims, who brought you Parenthood); and ABC’s American Housewife, with Mike & Molly’s Katy Mixon as a sassy mom who’s not intimidated by the people in her posh new Connecticut suburb. These shows (or, at least, their trailers) exude a kind of friendly populism — an optimistic, all-inclusive view of life — that I sense the mass TV audience (read: folks who aren’t likely to seek out more daring or dark fare on Netflix or premium cable) might be craving.
The fall season features a lot of escapism: time-travel and fantasy shows like the CW’s Frequency and ABC’s Timeless and The Good Place. The network schedules are front-loaded with big-tent sitcoms like Joel McHale’s The Great Indoors, Matt LeBlanc’s Man With a Plan, and Kevin Can Wait. After a few seasons of trying to make stars out of people and concepts the public is steadfastly resisting (goodbye, Heartbeat, Agent Carter, Unforgettable), the 2016 schedule is heavy with well-known stars.
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Will people want to see Kiefer Sutherland as an unlikely new president of the United States in Designated Survivor, or will viewers wait for Fox’s mid-season, Kiefer-less reboot of 24? Will viewers take to a new, “origin story” version of MacGyver? Will folks tune in to see two charming, familiar TV stars — Kristen Bell and Ted Danson — in a whimsical new comedy like The Good Place?
One of the running jokes in The Good Place trailer is that Bell, transported to a heaven-like world, can’t utter four-letter words: When she tries to say f***, it comes out “fork.” It’s a small joke, but a not-insignificant one to viewers who’ve grown tired of last year’s vulgarity trend, in which seemingly every network sitcom deployed the words “penis” and “vagina” as punch lines instead of actually writing funny jokes.
Look, I know the pilots that were picked up by the networks were in development long before the presidential race became so contentious. But as has been true of so many fall TV seasons, pop culture has an uncanny way of providing Americans with the entertainment they want before they know what they want. The public didn’t know it wanted a Cheers or a Friends or a Grey’s Anatomy until a network gave it to the audience. Now, I’m not saying there’s a single show on the 2016 fall schedule that looks as good as any of those sitcoms — but who knows? One of the rookies may end up surprising me — and you.
But if there’s one message that comes through loud and clear when you look at the fall schedule as a whole, it’s this: “Get me outta here!” People are yearning to find an escape hatch from the barrage of bad news about politics, terrorism, the economy, and long lines at the airport. They want to be transported elsewhere. Maybe you or I really love shows like AMC’s Better Call Saul and FX’s The Americans, shows that delve deeply into the glum truths of hidden sides of our lives. But for most of the millions of people who still make network television a profitable enterprise, dark and gritty is something to be avoided now. An awful lot of people want to flop down in front of their TVs and just have a laugh or shed a sentimental tear.
For them, setting up a season pass for Bell and Weatherly and Sutherland might very well seem like a nice alternative to the fall’s upcoming, undoubtedly acrimonious presidential debates and election.
Related:
Judging the Fall Season: NBC’s New Shows
Judging the Fall Season: CBS’s New Shows
Judging the Fall Season: ABC’s New Shows