Fall TV Preview: The 24 Most Anticipated Shows of the Season

Historically, the fall TV season is the busiest tube time of the year, but 2023 is a whole different story. The ongoing actors and writers strikes for fair compensation have decimated network schedules, which are now full of strike-proof programming... better known as reality and game shows. But streaming and cable, despite postponing some big-name series in the hopes that they'll fare better with actor promotion once the strikes are over, still have a number of great shows to get excited for.

The last few months of 2023 (if you can even believe it) will bring us returning champs (Sex Education, Our Flag Means Death, The Morning Show), spin-offs (Gen V), and a whole lot of adaptations (The Changeling, The Fall of the House of Usher, Fellow Travelers). And that's just scratching the surface of what's to come. It's like the old saying goes: TV always finds a way. 

Below, you'll find our preview of the best shows and movies to watch from September through November. For more, here's the ultimate guide to everything coming to Netflix, Hulu, Max, and more in September.

Note: Prime Video's Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Disney+'s Echo previously appeared on this list. Each has been pushed to early 2024.

Summer 2023 guide: Summer TV Preview: The Best Shows and Movies to Watch

The best shows to watch this fall

Virgin River Season 5 (Sept. 7, Netflix) 

Season 5 of the cozy Netflix soap returns and yes, Charmaine (Lauren Hammersley) is still pregnant! Someone please help that woman! That help certainly won't be coming from Jack (Martin Henderson), who recently learned that he is not, in fact, the father of Charmaine's twins as he had been led to believe since Season 1. While that wound will certainly cut deep (yikes, Charmaine!), Jack will have his hands full with his and Mel's (Alexandra Breckenridge) own impending baby as well as some devastating wildfires that look to upend life in Virgin River as we know it. -Maggie Fremont [Trailer]

The Changeling (Sept. 8, Apple TV+) 

One of the most intriguing new series of the year, The Changeling follows Apollo Kagwa (LaKeith Stanfield), a rare book dealer whose life takes a turn for the supernatural after his wife (Clark Backo) commits an unthinkable act of violence and then promptly disappears. Determined to figure out the truth of what happened to her, Apollo is led on a journey through a version of New York City that he never knew existed. Based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Victor LaVelle, The Changeling is the kind of enchantingly spooky fairy tale that's perfect for fall. -Allison Picurro [Trailer | Review]

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (Sept. 10, AMC)

The Walking Dead embarks on its first world tour as Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus), the franchise's best character, heads to France (!!) in the middle of a zombie apocalypse to do his best impression of HBO's The Last of Us. The brooding rebel channels Pedro Pascal when he's tasked with escorting a child who may be the key to saving humanity across an undead-ridden landscape. Hey, if it worked once, maybe it will work twice. Reedus is in his usual hype-man mode for the show, bragging to EW, "We're making art." -Tim Surette [Trailer]

The Morning Show Season 3 (Sept. 13, Apple TV+)

Watching The Morning Show can feel like a fever dream, and we mean that as a full-throated compliment. While the series fronted by Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon has always indulged the more dramatic theatrics of morning television, it has never been anything short of shamelessly entertaining. Following last season's arrival of the spread of COVID, the series shifts back to the politics and power plays of the news media as Aniston's Alex vies for a seat of power at the fictional UBA network and Witherspoon's Bradley finds herself filling some big shoes as the new evening news anchor. But stolen secrets, tempting offers from new cast member Jon Hamm, and new faces like Nicole Beharie will prove that anything can happen in the name of breaking news. -Hunter Ingram [Trailer]

The Other Black Girl (Sept. 13, Hulu)

Based on Zakiya Dalila Harris' debut novel of the same name, The Other Black Girl brings surreal horror movie flair to the real horrors of workplace racism. The series follows editorial assistant Nella (Sinclair Daniel), who believes she's found an ally when her New York publishing house finally hires another Black woman, Hazel (Ashleigh Murray). But as Hazel succeeds at work, Nella's excitement starts to sour, leading her to discover that something sinister is happening at the company. How sinister? Harris has cited Jordan Peele's Get Out as inspiration for the novel, if that's any indication. -Kelly Connolly [Trailer]

More fall TV coverage:

• NBC's fall TV schedule and premiere dates
• CBS's fall TV schedule and premiere dates
• ABC's fall TV schedule and premiere dates
  
• Fox's fall TV schedule and premiere dates
• The CW fall TV schedule and premiere dates

Sex Education Season 4 (Sept. 21, Netflix)

Soon, Sex Education will have nothing left to teach you. For its fourth and final season, the colorfully raunchy British series is literally shutting down the school: Moordale Secondary has been closed, and its former students now find themselves at a school so progressive, Otis (Asa Butterfield) isn't even the only therapist on campus. Meanwhile, Maeve (Emma Mackey) is living her academic dream in America. The cast is getting a shakeup, too; Dan Levy and Jodie Turner-Smith join the show, while some longtime cast members, including Patricia Allison and Bridgerton's Simone Ashley, aren't returning. But Gillian Anderson is back as Otis' uninhibited mother, Jean, and future Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa returns as Eric Effiong, the show's best and most singular creation. As long as we have Eric, we're never skipping class. -Kelly Connolly [Trailer]

Starstruck Season 3 (Sept. 28, Max)

Every day, someone logs online and laments the death of the romantic comedy. It's good news, then, that Rose Matafeo's Starstruck is back for Season 3, which continues to ask its central question of what happens after the romance. The series picks up after Jessie (Matafeo) and Tom's (Nikesh Patel) kiss in the pond, which doesn't end up being the happy ever after it should've been. Instead, Starstruck flash forwards two years into the future, after Jessie and Tom have broken up, Tom has gotten engaged to someone else, and Jessie is still struggling to figure out what she wants the rest of her life to look like. Few shows are better at bringing laughter and tears and existential crises all at once, and that's why we keep coming back. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]

Gen V (Sept. 29, Prime Video)

The wildly weird and delightfully disgusting world of The Boys is headed someplace where things can only get weirder and more disgusting: college. This spin-off of Prime Video's superhero superhit is based on an arc from the comics that sees young people with superpowers competing to be top of the class at the Vought-run Godolkin University, the only institution of higher learning where students exploding into a mist of blood is a normal occurrence. The cutthroat competition is said to be reminiscent of The Hunger Games, word from the set is that things are even grosser than they are in the mothership, and you can bet your butt that some characters from The Boys will make cameos. What if you were hosting a kegger and Homelander showed up? -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Quantum Leap Season 2 (Oct. 4, NBC)

NBC's reboot of Quantum Leap will pick up with, hopefully, some answers about the sort-of-cliffhanger from the Season 1 finale. It very much looked like Dr. Ben Song (Raymond Lee) did not return to the present as promised even though he had, for all intents and purposes, finished his leaping mission, saving his fiancée and leaping guide Addison's (Caitlin Bassett) life. What's tragic for Ben and Addison is great for fans of the show: It means we can expect more of Ben's time-hopping adventures as he and his team work together to right some wrongs of the past. -Maggie Fremont [Teaser]

Bargain (Oct. 5, Paramount+)

When Noh Hyung-soo (Jin Sun-kyu) stepped into a hotel room to meet Park Joo-young (Jun Jong-seo), the last thing he expected was to be blindfolded, tied up, and have his body parts auctioned off. Joo-young helps run a human organ trafficking ring, and Hyung-soo is her latest victim. As if this predicament isn't unfortunate enough, Hyung-soo is hit with another disaster: An earthquake strikes, and he's now trapped in a building with hungry buyers who were vying for his kidney just moments earlier. The Korean drama Bargain, which adapts a short film of the same name from 2015, promises to deliver a horrific punch to the gut. It's already collected accolades including Best Screenplay at Canneseries Festival, and is poised to gain more critical recognition with its North American premiere at this year's Toronto International Film Festival. -Kat Moon [Trailer]

Lupin Season 3 (Oct. 5, Netflix)

Staying undercover is an easy task for Assane Diop (Omar Sy): He's a seasoned gentleman thief and the master of disguises, after all. But keeping out of the public eye may prove a little more challenging when he's the most wanted man in France. That's the case for Assane in Lupin Season 3, thanks to his sworn nemesis Hubert Pellegrini (Hervé Pierre) who framed him for murder. The first two seasons were most delightful to watch when Assane suavely deceived the rich and the powerful and swiftly evaded their pursuit. He is like a magician with a neverending arsenal of tricks, and the curtains are about to rise for what's bound to be a mesmerizing third act. -Kat Moon [Teaser] 

Our Flag Means Death Season 2 (Oct. 5, Max)

It's almost time to set sail again. The David Jenkins-created pirate comedy became a sleeper hit when it premiered in 2022, developing a voracious fan base thanks in no small part to the unexpected friendship turned romance between affluent gentleman swashbuckler Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) and infamous bad boy Blackbeard (Taika Waititi). The end of Season 1 saw their relationship torpedoing before it could even really begin, leaving them both heartbroken as Season 2 begins. As they set off in their own separate directions, Stede keeps busy by captaining The Revenge while Blackbeard is wreaking havoc wherever he goes. Ah, pirate love. -Allison Picurro [Trailer] 

The Fall of the House of Usher (Oct. 12, Netflix)

If anyone can adapt one of Edgar Allan Poe's timeless works, it's Mike Flanagan. The mind behind Netflix's recent string of atmospheric and eerie horror hits The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass, Flanagan is rounding up his recurring band of actors to stage a modern take on Poe's 1839 classic The Fall of the House of Usher. But rumor has it the series will also lean into other Poe properties, evidenced by the "Nevermore" tagline and Carla Gugino's ominous raven-inspired shapeshifting demon. The series will seemingly take inspiration from the infamous Sackler family for the story of the ruthless Roderick Usher (Bruce Greenwood), founder of Fortunato Pharmaceuticals, who must face his past when his heirs start to die at the hands of a mysterious figure. In other words, this Halloween's theme is karma. -Hunter Ingram

Lessons in Chemistry (Oct. 13, Apple TV+)

Brie Larson leads this 1950s period piece, developed by Lee Eisenberg and based on the novel by Bonnie Garmus, about a chemist fighting an uphill battle to be taken seriously as a woman in her field. When she's fired from her lab, she takes a job hosting a TV cooking show, where her no-nonsense attitude and scientific know-how make her a hero for housewives across the nation. The cast also includes Lewis Pullman as a fellow scientist; the two of them might share some chemistry. -Kelly Connolly [Trailer]

Fellow Travelers (Oct. 27, Showtime)

An intense, decades-spanning romance anchors Fellow Travelers. Hawkins Fuller (Matt Bomer) is a slick charmer who advances his career in politics by keeping his private life locked up tight; Tim Laughlin (Jonathan Bailey) is the eager young idealist who gets under his skin, just as Joseph McCarthy and Roy Cohn kick off their Lavender Scare crusade against "subversives and sexual deviants" in the government. Created by Oscar nominee Ron Nyswaner (Philadelphia) and based on Thomas Mallon's novel of the same name, the historical limited series stretches from the height of 1950s McCarthyism to the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, chronicling a period of American history that is both unique and threatening to repeat itself. -Kelly Connolly [Trailer]

Shoresy Season 2 (Oct. 27, Hulu)

I've watched Season 1 of Shoresy four times. That's a nod to my love of the series, but also to the layered, rapid fire humor that takes multiple viewings to truly wrap one's head around. Creator, star, and bona fide TV genius Jared Keeso took the formula he crafted that made Letterkenny so popular and applied it to a serialized comedy about a bunch of hockey doofuses in northern Canada that shows the true love of sport and team camaraderie better than any sports comedy before it (looking right through you, Ted Lasso). There aren't many shows that can start with gags about taking a crap in a lake (an aquadump, in the show's parlance) and then leave you bawling as an epic season on the rink comes to a close. All of Shoresy's juvenile humor wouldn't mean much without what truly scores for Shoresy: the unfettered appreciation of emotion, whether it be the anticipation of the drop of the puck, the adrenaline of an on-ice brawl, or the swell of a town rallying around a squad of toothless goons. Unwrap a 'stick and get ready to watch Season 2 four times. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

All the Light We Cannot See (Nov. 2, Netflix)

First announced in 2019, the series adaptation of All the Light We Cannot See is finally releasing this year. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Anthony Doerr, the four-part drama follows Marie-Laure LeBlanc, a blind French girl who escapes from German-occupied Paris with the goal of keeping a prized diamond safe and away from the Nazis. Netflix launched a casting search for blind and low-vision actresses to play Marie-Laure, and found their star in Aria Mia Loberti. Loberti will be making her acting debut, and is joined by Mark Ruffalo, who plays Marie-Laure's father Daniel, and Louis Hofmann, who plays German soldier Werner Pfennig. -Kat Moon [Trailer]

Invincible Season 2 (Nov. 3, Prime Video)

Invincible may be the name of Mark Grayson's (Steven Yeun) alternate hero persona, but it's definitely not how he felt in the finale of Invincible Season 1. In that episode, Mark was beaten to a pulp by his father Omni-Man (J.K. Simmons) — with thousands massacred in the process. Season 2 begins shortly after this catastrophic event. Though the most powerful being on Earth is no longer on the planet, Omni-Man's presence looms over Mark. The teen, who once dreamt of following in his father's footsteps, is now bent on doing whatever it takes to become a different kind of superhero. The first half of Invincible Season 2 will be released this year, beginning Nov. 3. "Episode 4 of Season 2 is a very obvious midseason finale," Robert Kirkman, who wrote the comic book series the show adapts, told TV Guide. "People are going to need time to recover from that episode." -Kat Moon [Trailer]

Lawmen: Bass Reeves (Nov. 5, Paramount+)

Is it even a television season without a show from Taylor Sheridan? The creator of Yellowstone and like a billion other series that your mom and dad watch unveils his most daring Western yet: Lawmen: Bass Reeves, the first in a scheduled anthology and a fictional telling of the life of Bass Reeves, the first Black Deputy U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi. Created by Chad Feehan and produced by Sheridan, Bass Reeves looks to be less soapy than Sheridan's other saddled series as it brings Reeves' legend to life, and the only look we've seen of the show courtesy of a short teaser is star David Oyelowo kicking down doors and riding with purpose. An action Western set in the 1800s about a groundbreaking hero with Sheridan's dialogue? Yehaw, indeed. –Tim Surette [Trailer] 

For All Mankind Season 4 (Nov. 10, Apple TV+)

There was a time — specifically following the heart-pounding Season 2 finale — when TV Twitter seriously named Apple's alternative history astronaut drama For All Mankind the best drama on television. The early half of Season 3 continued that trend as a time jump took the series on a spectacular space race to Mars, while the second half flamed out on re-entry with some melodramatic elements (Danny and Jimmy are among TV's worst characters) and an explosive ending that took us out of orbit for a bit. But each new season has featured a reset in the form of a time jump, so there's a good chance it gets back on the right flightpath. Let's just not force aging up some of the characters and bring in some new blood; we can do without grandpa Joel Kinnaman. -Tim Surette

A Murder at the End of the World (Nov. 14, Hulu)

The OA creators Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij return to television — plenty of fans would already be sold if this paragraph ended there — with this FX-produced limited series, a murder mystery with an Agatha Christie-style title, though the detective at its center is entirely modern. Darby Hart (The Crown's Emma Corrin) is a Gen Z sleuth and hacker who's invited by a reclusive billionaire (Clive Owen) to a remote retreat with eight other guests. Would you believe one of them turns up dead? -Kelly Connolly

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (Nov. 17, Netflix)

The biggest headline surrounding Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, the upcoming anime adaptation of Bryan Lee O'Malley's graphic novels, is that the entire cast from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Edgar Wright's 2010 cult favorite film, has reassembled to reprise their roles. Everyone from Michael Cera as the titular lovelorn slacker to Chris Evans as pompous "pretty good actor" Lucas Lee is back for the series, which O'Malley and co-creator BenDavid Grabinski promise is neither a direct adaptation of the movie or the books, but its own thing entirely. -Allison Picurro [Teaser]

Fargo Season 5 (Nov. 21, FX)

There aren't many details on the fifth season of Noah Hawley's dark comedy crime anthology — FX's logline simply says a housewife (Juno Temple) lands in hot water with authorities after thinking she left her complicated past behind her — but that's how all seasons of Fargo start off. (Season 2 was about a hit and run and ended with aliens!) So let's not pay attention to the plot and focus on what we know we can expect from a new season: another excellent cast — Temple, Jon Hamm, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Joe Keery, Lamorne Morris, Dave Foley, and Lukas Gage — and extraordinary character names — Gator Tillman, Dot Lyon, Ole Munch, and Danish Graves. They do it differently in the Midwest. -Tim Surette

Attack on Titan The Final Chapters, Special 2 (Fall TBA, Crunchyroll)

This is not a drill: Anime juggernaut Attack on Titan is ending this fall, roughly 10 years after the show premiered and three years after the final season began (we're shaking our heads in confusion too). But THE FINAL CHAPTERS Special 2 marks the end of an era. Attack on Titan has established itself in the upper echelon of anime history for good reason: The animation from studio MAPPA has only gotten more impressive as this season progressed, and the show features some of the most layered character development in TV right now. -Kat Moon [Trailer]