Fall TV Preview

Fall TV preview: 8 new shows worth checking out for a Super Fun Night

Fall TV season kicked off last week, bringing with it a plethora of programs with which to fill your DVR. While some of TV’s latest offerings aren’t worth your time, others will bring back some of our favorite actors to the small screen. Here’s our guide to some of what's new this fall, so clear your DVR and get ready to spend a night on the couch. This TV ain’t gonna watch itself.

The Blacklist

Mondays, NBC, 9/8c

Eighties dirtbag James Spader returns to TV in this crime thriller that critics are hailing as “the best new show of the season.” For decades, ex-government agent Raymond "Red" Reddington (Spader) has been one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives. Now, he's mysteriously surrendered to the FBI with an explosive offer: Red will help catch terrorist Ranko Zamani under the condition that he speaks only to Elizabeth "Liz" Keen, an FBI profiler fresh out of Quantico.

Mom

Mondays, CBS, 9:30/8:30c

West Wing vet Allison Janney is trading in her power suits for a new role — motherhood. She joins the sometimes-funny Anna Faris in this new comedy from showrunner Chuck Lorre (Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory). Faris is a newly sober single mom raising two children in a world full of temptations and pitfalls, with Janney starring as her critical, estranged mother. If you’re game for a laugh-track, tune in. But don’t expect Emmy-winning fare here.

Brooklyn 99

Tuesdays, FOX, 8:30/7:30c

Andy Samberg! The goofy Lonely Island-er raised eyebrows when he left his cushy Saturday Night Live gig for television, but I’m happy to report that his decision wasn’t in vain. He joins other such indie comedy names as Joe LoTruglio (Superbad) and Chelsea Perretti (Parks and Recreation, Louie) in this cop comedy, wherein Samberg stars as all-star Detective Jake Peralta, a success story who doesn’t want to follow the rules.

The Goldbergs

Tuesdays, ABC, 9/8c

Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions brings this '80s set comedy, which stars comedy all-stars Wendi McLendon-Covey (Bridesmaids) and Jeff Garlin (Curb Your Enthusiasm) matriarch and patriarch of the Goldberg family. The 1980s were the wonder years for geeky 11-year-old Adam (Sean Giambrone), and he faced them armed with a video camera to capture all the crazy. In the same vein as The Wonder Years and Freaks and Geeks, both of which captured audiences’ hearts, this nostalgic comedy could have legs. Maybe.

Trophy Wife

Wednesdays, ABC, 9:30/8:30c

Malin Ackerman stars as Kate, former party girl turned third wife to Pete, played Bradley Whitford (another West Wing alum). After a wild night at a karaoke bar, she falls into his arms, and a year later is begrudgingly welcomed into a new family, complete with two ex-wives and three stepchildren. The star quality of the show’s cast is enough to bring viewers, so this is worth a shot.

Back in the Game

Wednesdays, ABC, 8:30/7:30c

Maggie Lawson (Psych) stars as Terry, an all-star softball player who returns home after her marriage ends, moving in with her estranged father, played by James Caan. It’s a story we’ve heard before (think Clint Eastwood movie plot), but the cast’s chemistry is at least palpable.

Super Fun Night

Wednesdays, ABC, 9:30/8:30

After her hysterical turn in this year’s Pitch Perfect, it seems the world is eager to see more of Rebel Wilson. This comedy hasn’t been without its pitfalls — another network reportedly passed on the initial pilot — but those just looking for Wilson’s signature comedic style should not be disappointed. Wilson stars as Kimmie Boubier, who, with her two best friends, has a standing date every Friday night for the last 13 years. Trouble ensues when she meets a suitor (surprise, surprise) who causes Friday Night Fun Night to take a backseat. Think Never Been Kissed goes to New Zealand.

The Michael J. Fox Show

Thursdays, NBC 9/8c

Michael J. Fox makes his long-awaited return to TV with this semiautobiographical show, in which he stars as Mike Henry, one of New York's favorite news anchors, who has to put his career on hold in order to spend time with his family and focus on his Parkinson's disease diagnosis. The story picks up after his kids are grown and he's looking to get back to work. Fans of Fox are sure to be pleased, and Breaking Bad fans can take solace in the fact that Marie finally moves on from Hank (Betsy Brandt stars as Fox’s wife).

There you have it. Of course some of your old favorites will be back, some will soon be ending (RIP, Breaking Bad), and some we’ll have to wait for forever (Mad Men, ugh). But at least fall will bring some opportunities to find a new favorite.

Rebel Wilson stars in Super Fun Night.

Courtesy photo

Rebel Wilson stars in Super Fun Night.

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Movie Review

Chilling Australian horror movie Leviticus delivers a timely message

Photo courtesy of Neon

Stacy Clausen and Joe Bird in Leviticus.

One of the most well-known horror tropes of the 1980s was that anyone who had sex in a particular film would inevitably be killed shortly thereafter. The new horror film Leviticus updates that trope for the 21st century, with an added bonus of pointed commentary that unfortunately remains as relevant as ever.

Naim (Joe Bird) and his mother (Mia Wasikowska) have recently moved to a new town in Australia. Naim hasn’t made many new friends except for Ryan (Stacy Clausen), with whom he is exploring a rundown factory as the film begins. The teenage boys discover an attraction toward each other, something they try to keep hidden since the church they both attend abhors homosexuality.

When Naim sees Ryan kissing another boy, he rashly tells a church elder about it, leading to the church forcing Ryan and the other boy — and eventually Naim — to go through a conversion ceremony. But instead of making them believe they’re not gay, the rite conjures a demon, invisible to anyone but them, that takes the form of the person to whom they’re attracted.

Written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Adrian Chiarella, the film is the latest example of Australia being a hotbed for horror movies. Referencing the same-named Bible book that some interpret as forbidding homosexuality, it turns into an intense and clever journey into paranoia. Ryan and Naim still see each other all the time, but they can never trust that the person in front of them is real.

Chiarella makes the most of his limited resources, utilizing dark scenes and dirty locations to complement the already-creepy vibe. But what makes the story hit the hardest is the understanding that boys like Naim and Ryan are almost literally trapped in their small town, unable to find a safe space to be who they are. An unseen demon trying to kill them is one thing, but the unsympathetic people around them feel almost as malevolent.

While the 90-minute film maintains its momentum for the most part, there are times when Chiarella loses the thread on his story logic. At first, it seems as if the demon only attacks when one of the boys gives in to temptation. But as the film progresses, the filmmaker plays a little fast and loose with that reasoning. Certain decisions by the characters also strain credulity, lessening the impact of the story to a degree.

Both Bird (Talk to Me) and Clausen give naturalistic performances that rarely feel as if they’re acting. Wasikowska, who was the “It girl” for a while after starring in two Alice in Wonderland movies, is the only face American audiences will likely know. She does well, especially considering it’s difficult to believe she’s already old enough to credibly play a mother of a teenager.

With a timely theme about the harmful effects of conversion therapy on gay people and a twist on a tired horror trope, Leviticus is another notch in the belt for 2026 as a great horror movie year. With more experience under his belt, Chiarella will likely be able to figure out how to smooth over the bumps in the storytelling he showed this time around.

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Leviticus is now playing in select theaters.

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