Fall 2016 TV Shows 2
Matt Seinberg

Now that a few weeks have passed, I had the chance to watch some more of the "highly" and not so highly anticipated new television shows. These are my thoughts only, no matter what other critics and websites might say.

Comedian Kevin James returns to television.

"Kevin Can Wait," on CBS, marks the return of comedian Kevin James to network television. It's also filmed right here on Long Island and we're hoping to get tickets to a taping in November. Erinn Hayes stars as his wife who suddenly has to deal with retired cop husband Kevin, as he makes play dates with his other retired friends. The pacing and writing has gotten better, and CBS ordered it for a full season. I can see this showing surviving for at least 5 years, and right now, I'll give it a B+.

"Bull" stars Michael Weatherly, formerly of "NCIS," as Dr. Jason Bull, loosely based upon Dr. Phil McGraw's career before television. He's a top trial consultant that hates lawyers, but will do almost anything to help his clients. The show is a little slow moving and after seeing Weatherly for so many action packed seasons on NCIS, this slower pace is hard to watch. Maybe NCIS will take him back, if the show doesn't last. I'll give this one a C.

"Speechless," on ABC, is just plain painful to watch. Minnie Driver and John Ross Bowie star as the parents of a special needs child, played by special needs actor Micah Fowler. The problem is that Fowler can't tell us how much he actually wants off this show. It’s not funny, bad stereotypes abound and if I have to watch it again I'm going to hurl. This one fails, with an F.

"American Housewife" is an embarrassment.

"American Housewife,” also on ABC, is just plain embarrassing. It stars Katy Mixon and Diedrich Bader as middle class parents trying to fit into VERY Upper Class Westport, CT. Their rental home is the orphan on the block, and her claim to fame is that "she is the second fattest housewife in Westport." Sure, she can joke about it, but it's not making anyone feel good about it. Her youngest daughter is a bit odd, the son is trying to be like Alex P. Keaton and the daughter suddenly got boobs over the summer is now popular. This is another wasted 30 minutes that I'll never get back. This one also fails with an F.

"Westworld," on HBO, is the winner here! While it shares the same name as the 1973 movies, not much else is the same. The producers invested a key role. In the movies, the killer cowboy, played by Yul Brynner, was a robot known as The Black Knight. A very evil Ed Harris, who is human, now plays the Man in Black.

The Black Knight wasn't supposed to kill humans, but he managed to kill almost all of them in his Old West Town. Today, Ed Harris can only kill robots with his gun and, if given the chance, he'll kill humans with his hands.

Watch for the little hints of the movie, including the old geezer that was on the porch. Look for where he is now. This show gets a big rousing A+!

More shows to come; longest roll-out in recent television history.

Believe it or not, there are still more shows to come. For television seasons, I remember, this longest fall premiere.