Fall 2020 TV schedule: What’s new, what’s delayed by COVID-19, and more

A full list of fall television premiere dates, our picks for the best TV shows to watch, and a list of top-rated series that will be temporarily delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Mark Harmon and Emily Wickersham on "NCIS." Eddy Chen/CBS

September 17, 2020

Thanks to splintering viewing habits driven by the proliferation of streaming platforms and DVR, the fall television season has diminished in power considerably over the last decade. That appears to be even more true this year, as the coronavirus pandemic has forced networks to reshuffle their lineups, delaying shows with the knowledge that film and TV production are operating at limited capacities.

Nielsen ratings winners like “Young Sheldon” and “NCIS” are AWOL, with CBS president Kelly Kahl telling EW the network hopes to bring back its returning shows “as they become available” in November.

Meanwhile, game shows like “Wheel of Fortune” or “Jeopardy!,” look a bit different than before. The contestant stands on “Jeopardy!” are now six feet apart, and “Wheel” contestants are using protective coverings to spin the wheel without actually touching it.

Nevertheless, much like sports fans celebrated the return of the NFL this past weekend, TV aficionados will welcome the return of their favorite shows as a brief respite of normalcy in a mixed-up world. There are still plenty of new shows that may catch your eye as well, including “Woke,” a Hulu series based on the life of a Malden-born cartoonist.

Below you’ll find a list of premiere dates for the fall’s TV shows, a list of returning shows that don’t have a premiere date, and a few favorites we’re keeping an eye on. Just don’t hold it against us if, much like our fall movie preview, studios decide to delay a few shows on this list.

Returning TV shows with no release date:

Monday
“All Rise” (CBS, Season 2)
“Bob ♥ Abishola” (CBS, Season 2)
“Bull” (CBS, Season 5)
“The Neighborhood” (CBS, Season 3)
“Penn & Teller: Fool Us” (The CW, Season 7)
“Whose Line Is It Anyway?” (The CW, Season 8)

Tuesday
“FBI” (CBS, Season 3)
“FBI: Most Wanted” (CBS, Season 2)
“NCIS” (CBS, Season 18)

Wednesday
“SEAL Team” (CBS, Season 4)

Thursday
“Evil” (CBS, new Season 2)
“Mom” (CBS, Season 8)
“The Unicorn” (CBS, Season 2)
“Young Sheldon” (CBS, Season 4)

Friday
“Blue Bloods” (CBS, Season 11)
“MacGyver” (CBS, Season 5)
“Magnum P.I.” (CBS, Season 3)
“Van Helsing” (Syfy, Season 5; final season)

Saturday
“Masters of Illusion” (The CW, Season 7)

Sunday
“The Rookie” (ABC, Season 3)
“NCIS: New Orleans” (CBS, Season 7)
“NCIS: Los Angeles” (CBS, Season 12)
“Shameless” (Showtime, Season 11; final season)
“Two Sentence Horror Stories” (The CW, Season 2)

TV Shows with premiere dates:

Note: Favorite picks are marked with the popcorn emoji. 🍿

Sept. 1:
“Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices (Netflix, new series)
“Chef’s Table: BBQ (Netflix, new series)

Sept. 2:
“Quest for the Stanley Cup” (ESPN+, new series)
“#Washed” (Amazon Prime, Season 2)

Sept. 3:
“A.P. Bio” (Peacock, Season 3; moved from NBC)
“Dr. Pimple Popper: Before the Pop” (TLC, Season 4)
“Raised by Wolves” (HBO Max, new series)

Sept. 4: “The Boys” (Amazon Prime, Season 2) 🍿

In a relatively light month for Amazon’s TV offerings, the standout for September is “The Boys,” an inverted take on the superhero series. The Boys are a team of vigilantes led by Butcher (Karl Urban, “Star Trek”) who work together to combat super-powered individuals (The Supes) who have started to abuse their powers. Season 2 finds The Boys being hunted by The Supes with their fearless leader Butcher nowhere to be found.

Sept. 5:
“Black Love” (OWN, Season 4)
“Delicious Miss Brown” (Food Network, Season 3)

Sept. 6:
“Power Book II: Ghost” (Starz, new series)
“Top Gear” (BBC America, Season 28)

Sept. 7:
“American Ninja Warrior” (NBC, Season 12)
“Life Below Zero” (Nat Geo, Season 13)
“Life Below Zero: Next Generation” (Nat Geo, new series)

Sept. 9: “Woke” (Hulu, new series) 🍿

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYt5HEabwvM

Growing up in Malden, Keith Knight’s artwork wasn’t especially political. His comic strip at Salem State wasn’t either, nor was his work during the summer as a caricature artist outside Faneuil Hall. But when he moved to San Francisco, he was detained by a police because he “fit the description” of a robbery suspect, suddenly forcing him to confront a world of microagressions he had either missed or ignored before. The award-winning syndicated cartoonist’s life serves as the inspiration for “Woke,” an irreverent new series that debuted on Hulu this week. Starring Lamorne Morris as Knight’s alter-ego “Keef” and Blake Anderson (“Workaholics”) as his roommate, all eight episodes of the first season of “Woke” are now streaming.

Sept. 10:
“Impact of Murder” (Investigation Discovery, Season 2)
“Julie and the Phantoms” (Netflix, new series)
“My Feet Are Killing Me” (TLC, Season 2)

Sept. 11:
“Life After Lockup” (WE tv, Season 3)

Sept. 12:
“48 Hours” (CBS, Season 33)
“Help! I Wrecked My House” (HGTV, new series)

Sept. 13:
“Halloween Wars” (Food Network, Season 10)
“Masterpiece” (PBS, Season 49B)
“Our Cartoon President” (Showtime, Season 3B)
“Outrageous Pumpkins” (Food Network, new series)

Sept. 14:
“Dancing with the Stars” (ABC, Season 29)
“Halloween Baking Championship” (Food Network, Season 6)
“Home & Family” (Hallmark Channel, Season 9)
“The Third Day” (HBO, new series)
“We Are Who We Are” (HBO, new series)
“The Dr. Oz Show” (Syndication, Season 12)
“The Drew Barrymore Show” (Syndication, new talk show)
“Tamron Hall” (Syndication, Season 2)
“Jeopardy! (Syndication, Season 37)
“Wheel of Fortune” (Syndication, Season 38)

Sept. 15:
“Izzy Bee’s Koala World” (Netflix, new series)
“Murder Thy Neighbor” (Investigation Discovery, new series)
“Re:Zero” (HBO Max, Season 2)
“Tosh.0” (Comedy Central, Season 12; final season)
“Windy City Rehab” (HGTV, Season 2)

Sept. 16:
“Archer (FXX, Season 11)
“Challenger: The Final Flight” (Netflix, new miniseries)
“Sing On!” (Netflix, new series)

Sept. 17:
“The Great Pottery Throwdown” (HBO Max, new series)
“Keeping Up with the Kardashians” (E!, Season 19)

Sept. 18:
“60 Minutes” (CBS, Season 53)
“Art in the Twenty-First Century” (PBS, Season 10)
“Great Performances: Now Hear This” (PBS, Season 2)
“Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous” (Netflix, new series)
“Long Way Up” (Apple TV+, new series)
“Pen15” (Hulu, Season 2) 🍿
“Ratched” (Netflix, new drama series)
“Wilmore” (Peacock, new talk show)
“World’s Funniest Animals” (The CW, new series)

Much like Bo Burnham’s coming-of-age film “Eighth Grade,” Hulu’s “PEN15” gives viewers a taste of what middle school was really like, pimples and all. Actresses Maya Erskine (“Wine Country”) and Scituate native Anna Konkle (“Rosewood”) play fictionalized versions of their 13-year-old selves in middle school in the early 2000s. Once you get through the instant laughs of watching two thirtysomething women play middle schoolers opposite the rest of the age-appropriate cast, you’ll be struck by how natural (and funny) their performances are — leaving you feeling genuine empathy when a cruel boy plays a trick on a fully grown woman, for example. Season two of the series, which is executive produced by Lonely Island trio Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone, arrives on Sept. 18.

Sept. 19:
“The Murders at White House Farm” (HBO Max, new series)

Sept. 21:
“Filthy Rich” (Fox, new series)
“Manhunt: Deadly Games” (CBS)
“The Ellen DeGeneres Show (Syndication, Season 18)
“The Kelly Clarkson Show (Syndication, Season 2)
“The Wendy Williams Show” (Syndication, Season 12)
“The Doctors” (Syndication, Season 13)

Sept. 22:
“Cosmos: Possible Worlds” (Fox, Season 3)

Sept. 23:
“I Can See Your Voice” (Fox, new series)
“The Masked Singer” (Fox, Season 4)

Sept. 24:
“Celebrity Family Feud” (ABC, Season 6)
“Match Game” (ABC, Season 5)
“One Day at a Time” (CBS, Season 4; seasons 1-3 aired on Netflix)
“Press Your Luck” (ABC, Season 2)

Sept. 25:
“Dateline NBC” (NBC, Season 29)
“The Greatest #AtHome Videos” (CBS, Season 1B)
“Tehran” (Apple TV+, new series)
“Utopia” (Amazon Prime, new series)
“The Amber Ruffin Show” (Peacock, new talk show)
“A Wilderness of Error” (FX, new miniseries)

Sept. 26:
“Magical Girl Friendship Squad” (Syfy, new series)
“Wild Life” (Syfy, new series)

Sept. 27:
“Bless the Harts” (Fox, Season 2)
“Bob’s Burgers” (Fox, Season 11)
“The Comey Rule” (Showtime, new miniseries)
“Family Guy” (Fox, Season 19)
“Fargo” (FX, Season 4) 🍿
“The Simpsons” (Fox, Season 32)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPm18g_vsqY

After three seasons and a movie, it’s no longer a surprise that beneath the patina of Midwestern niceness, “Fargo” is littered with ordinary folks and certified gangsters fully immersed in a life of crime. Season four of the anthology series travels back in time to 1950 Kansas City, and stars Chris Rock as the head of a crime syndicate comprised of Black migrants fleeing the Jim Crow South. Co-starring Jessie Buckley (“Judy”), Jack Huston (“Kill Your Darlings”), Jason Schwartzman (“Rushmore”), Ben Whishaw (“Mary Poppins Returns”), and Timothy Olyphant (“Justified”), season 4 hits FX this fall after being delayed from its planned April debut due to the pandemic.

Sept. 29:
“Little People, Big World” (TLC, Season 16)
“Sweet Home Sextuplets” (TLC, Season 3)
“The Weakest Link” (NBC, new series)

Sept. 30
“South Park” (Comedy Central, Season 24)

Oct. 1:
“Connecting …” (NBC, new series)
“Gangs of London (AMC+, new series)
“The Salisbury Poisonings” (AMC+, new series)

Oct. 2:
“Emily in Paris” (Netflix, new series)
“Monsterland” (Hulu, new series)
“Song Exploder” (Netflix, new series)
“Tiny World” (Apple TV+, new series)
“Undercover Boss” (CBS, Season 10)
“Warrior” (Cinemax, Season 2)

Oct. 4:
“The Comedy Store” (Showtime, new miniseries)
“The Good Lord Bird” (Showtime, new series)
“Pandora” (The CW, Season 2)
“The Walking Dead: The World Beyond” (AMC, new series)

Oct. 5:
“HEA Strikes Back” (TLC, new series)
“Soulmates” (AMC, new series)

Oct. 6:
“Ellen’s Game of Games” (NBC, Season 4)
“neXt (Fox, new series)
“Swamp Thing (The CW, new series)

Oct. 7:
“Devils” (The CW, new series)
“Coroner” (The CW, new series)

Oct. 8:
“Supernatural” (The CW, Season 15B; final season)
“The Outpost” (The CW, Season 3)

Oct. 9:
“The Right Stuff” (Disney+, new series)
“Love After Lockup” (WE tv, Season 3B)

Oct. 11:
“Fear the Walking Dead “(AMC, Season 6)

Oct. 12:
“The Family Chantel” (TLC, Season 2)

Oct. 13:
“The Bachelorette (ABC, Season 16)
“The FBI Declassified (CBS, new series)
“Finding Your Roots” (PBS, Season 6)
“Tell Me a Story” (The CW, Season 2)

Oct. 14:
“The Age of Nature” (PBS, new miniseries)
“The Amazing Race (CBS, Season 32)
“Baroness von Sketch Show” (IFC, Season 5)
“Tyler Perry’s Sistas” (BET, Season 2)

Oct. 15: “Star Trek: Discovery” (CBS All Access, Season 3) 🍿

CBS All Access, which is rebranding as Paramount+ next year, has arguably had its greatest original programming success with “Stark Trek: Discovery,” the latest iteration of the beloved sci-fi franchise. Instead of the Starship Enterprise, the show follows the adventures of the U.S.S. Discovery, which in season three emerges from a wormhole in the year 3188. The crew will search for a hospitable planet, making friends and enemies along the way. For those who haven’t been able to watch the show before, CBS will air the first season on its free, over-the-air network starting Sept. 24.

Oct. 16:
“Helstrom” (Hulu, new series)
“Shark Tank” (ABC, Season 12)

Oct. 17:
“Ghost Nation” (Travel Channel, Season 3)
“Photo Ark” (National Geographic, new miniseries)

Oct. 18:
“America’s Funniest Home Videos” (ABC, Season 31)
“Card Sharks” (ABC, Season 2)
“Supermarket Sweep” (ABC, new series)
“Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” (ABC, Season 2)

Oct. 19:
“Independent Lens” (PBS, Season 19)
“Unsolved Mysteries” (Netflix, Season 1B)
“The Voice” (NBC, Season 19)

Oct. 20:
“The Misery Index” (TBS, Season 2B)

Oct. 21:
“Black-ish” (ABC, Season 7)
“The Conners” (ABC, Season 3)
“The Goldbergs” (ABC, Season 8)

Oct. 22:
“Superstore” (NBC, Season 6)

Oct. 23:
“How To with John Wilson” (HBO, new series)

Oct. 24:
“Destination Fear” (Travel Channel, Season 3)

Oct. 25:
“Halloween Freakshow Cakes” (Food Network, new series)
“The Undoing” (HBO, new series)

Oct. 28:
“American Housewife” (ABC, Season 5)

Oct. 29:
“The Holzer Files” (Travel Channel, Season 2)

Oct. 30: “The Mandalorian” (Disney+, Season 2) 🍿

Disney+ doesn’t pump out new releases at the rate of Netflix or Hulu, but it certainly makes a splash with its tentpole titles, from “Hamilton” to “The Mandalorian,” the Star Wars spinoff series. Season two finds the titular bounty hunter and his infant companion (known on the show as The Child but by the internet as Baby Yoda) continuing on a journey spanning galaxies and planetary systems. Just as in season one, the show takes places following the collapse of the Galactic Empire, and the pair will again face numerous enemies and befriend allies as Mando attempts to bring The Child to the Jedi, sworn enemies of the bounty hunters.

Nov. 2:
“The Good Doctor” (Season 4)

Nov. 9:
“Industry” (HBO, new series)

Nov. 10:
“A Teacher” (Hulu, new drama limited series)
“My Big Fat Fabulous Life” (TLC, Season 8)
“This Is Us” (NBC, Season 5)

Nov. 11:
“Chicago Med” (NBC, Season 6)
“Chicago Fire” (NBC, Season 9)
“Chicago P.D.” (NBC, Season 8)
“Eater’s Guide to the World” (Hulu, new series)
“The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” (Bravo, new series)

Nov. 12:
“Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC, Season 17)
“Law & Order: SVU” (NBC, Season 22)
“Station 19” (ABC, Season 4)

Nov. 13:
“Becoming You” (Apple TV+, new series)
“The Blacklist” (NBC, Season 8)

Nov. 15:
“The Crown” (Netflix, Season 4)

Nov. 17:
“Big Sky” (ABC, new series)

Nov. 18:
“For Life” (ABC, Season 2)
“No Man’s Land” (Hulu, new series)

Nov. 19:
“A Million Little Things” (ABC, Season 3)

Nov. 20:
“Animaniacs” (Hulu, new series)