Fall 2011 Network TV – Wednesday’s New Hits and Misses

Each day this week we’re taking a look at all of the new shows that joined the network TV lineup this Fall. Wednesday nights introduced more new shows than any other night of the week and will host the lone show that has yet to air, Jaime Presley’s I Hate My Teenage Daughter coming November 30th. We’re not waiting for that to run down what’s on Wednesdays! We’re judging a many of these shows based only on the pilot episode. While that may be unfair it should be a show’s best effort to show us what it has to offer.

Read on to see what’s getting screen time here at MLD.

American Horror Story

KevinMLD: This one is on FX, but worth mentioning. The pilot didn’t quite work, but it was weird and interesting enough that I intend to go back and give another episode a try. It was definitely more creepy than most horror-inspired shows, but I’m just not sure how you do a weekly series about a haunted house where people regularly die. Wouldn’t the owners move? Maybe they’ve addressed this by now.

Free Agents

PTB: I like Hank Azaria but other than The Simpsons, he seems to get attached to nothing but failures. This show (which I believe is another adaptation of a British series) wasn’t necessarily bad, but it brought nothing to a competitive Fall line up against the likes of The X-Factor and Suburgatory.

H8R

PTB: I had no expectation of enjoying this show on any level, but given its early premiere in September and for the sake of this site, I turned it on. It’s mindless pseudo-celebrity “reality” TV for the TMZ set, but I still couldn’t get over how contrived and unauthentic it was. Anything up against it is safe provided it isn’t already gone.

Revenge

KatieD: I can’t believe no one else watched this pilot.  I was kind of on the fence about watching it, but wow.  It was the best pilot of the season (on network TV) and I’m absolutely hooked. Each episode has so much tension and its own little payoff. Plus I’m pretty excited that the first mystery will be wrapped up by episode 13 and then will focus on another storyline.  Hooray for answers!!

PTB: I’m not going to lie, I want to watch this. I’ve seen opening recaps a few times after the credits of Happy Endings and it has me intrigued. Hearing your reaction only further piques my interest. Plus Madelyn Stowe still gets a lot of 12 Monkeys love from me.

KevinMLD: I really liked the billboards that ABC put up for this show. In the end, the knowledge that ABC just ruins everything it touches was enough to keep me away. I didn’t realize it until this moment, but I think I’ve given up on network dramas. There are just too many that I skipped this year simply because I couldn’t imagine them being handled competently. Great. I’m THAT guy now. Ugh.

Suburgatory

PTB: Honestly, this is my favorite new show of the season. It’s not in the league of comedies that I truly love like Arrested Development or Modern Family, but it hits a lot of the right notes with me. It has a definite Mean Girls vibe and I really enjoy the cast.

KatieD: I agree totally. Really like the cast & the show.

Angelique: I don’t know if I should be concerned about Pete’s appreciation for Alan Tudyk when he’s such a creeper.

KevinMLD: Is it wrong that I can’t see past Modern Family being compared to Arrested Development here in terms of quality?

PTB: Probably.

Up All Night

KatieD: I thought the pilot and first few episodes tried WAY too hard, and Maya Rudolph needs to bring it down a notch.

KevinMLD: I liked this show more when it first launched than I do now. I have a great deal of fondness for the cast, but I just don’t think the content lives up to their talent.

PTB: I have a lot of the same feelings about this show. It seems like it could and should be so much better, but they’re holding back. I hope it’s just trying to find itself, but I don’t like its chances of surviving.

Angelique: I just don’t like it and I thought I would.

KatieD: I really liked the “birth episode” so I’m hoping that they’ve turned a corner. I’m impressed NBC is giving it the time to find itself.

KevinMLD: I read in the New York Times this is one of NBC’s highest rated new shows and yet it’s not really doing well compared to other networks.

Wednesday’s show that no one made time for:

The X-Factor

Along the most new shows this Fall, Wednesdays have had the most success. Revenge, Suburgatory, and Up All Night have all been picked up for full seasons. I Hate My Teenage Daughter has a chance following The X-Factor, but Free Agents is already long gone.

Read more about TV’s new offerings for 2011 on MyLatestDistraction.
and keep up with our reactions to what’s on each night all this week.

Tuesday’s New Hits and Misses / Thursday’s New Hits and Misses