The CW’s supernatural men, a new ABC comedy, The Walking Dead and more are the television shows premiering this week, October 6 – October 12.
Another Monday, another week of premieres! This week, we have the CW lineup of supernatural men and – you know, the demon hunters, the ‘flashy’ runners and sharp-shooters, and some zombies roaming around.
If you want to end your week on a more comedic note, we highly suggest you check out Cristela on ABC. If you want to squeeze in another hour of drama and horror, The Walking Dead returns this Sunday.
‘The Flash’ (CW)
Tuesday, October 7, 8:00 p.m.
The Flash is one of the mostly highly anticipated shows of the fall season, with Grant Gustin starring as the Scarlet Speedster. Gustin made his debut as Barry Allen in Arrow season 2, and in response to rave reviews, what was initially supposed to be a backdoor pilot became a standalone. In what is billed as a more light-hearted superhero series, The Flash will follow Barry’s journey protecting Central City from other “meta-humans” who, like Barry, gained powers in the freak storm caused by the malfunction of a particle accelerator. Barry will also attempt to free his father, played by television’s original Barry Allen (John Wesley Shipp), from the life sentence he is serving for the murder of Barry’s mother. With promised crossovers with Arrow, a charming lead, a strong supporting cast, and the creative team behind Arrow, The Flash is destined to be a hit.
‘Supernatural’ (CW)
Tuesday, October 7, 9:00 p.m.
Supernatural’s ninth season dealt with the fracturing relationship of the Winchester brothers, as Dean betrayed Sam’s trust in order to save his life after the demon trials. Charlie found her way to Oz, Jody adopted a teenager who survived years with a vampire family, and we were forced to bid a tearful farewell to Kevin, as the Advanced Placement prophet was killed. Meanwhile, Metatron enlisted Castiel to play antagonist in the new story he was drafting. Though Metatron was eventually defeated, it was at the cost of Dean’s life. But, this is Supernatural, and Winchesters don’t stay dead. In the final moments of the season, Dean, for approximately the seventy-billionth time, returned to life — only this time his eyes were demon black. Season 10, which will see a “musical-ish” 200th episode, has set the stage for Demon Dean and Crowley to howl at the moon while Sam searches for his wayward brother and Cas deals with his fading grace.
‘Arrow’ (CW)
Wednesday, October 8, 8:00 p.m.
The momentum of Arrow’s second season was unstoppable. The season was filled with countless twists and turns, like resurrecting Sara Lance as the Canary, launching a spinoff in the Barry Allen-anchored Flash, introducing Nyssa al Ghul, forming the Suicide Squad, teasing Birds of Prey, revealing Thea’s true parentage, killing Moira Queen, defeating Slade in the past and present, and even seeing Oliver declare his love for Felicity. Season 3 looks set to keep that momentum going, with a bevy of new cast members, including Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer and Matt Nable as legendary DC Comics villain Ra’s al Ghul. With promised crossovers with The Flash, Arrow season 3 will deal with Oliver struggling with his identity. Can he be both Oliver Queen and The Arrow? Only time will tell, and we can’t wait to see the drama play out.
‘American Horror Story’ (FX)
Wednesday, October 8, 10:00 p.m.
American Horror Story returns with the promise that it will be the most horrifying installment to date. From what we know already, Freak Show has all the ingredients to ignite fear even in the most ardent horror fans. Jessica Lange serves as the ring leader in the 1950s where the freak show trade is losing steam. On the bill are the World’s Strongest Man (Michael Chiklis), Bearded Lady (Kathy Bates), Tri-breasted Woman (Angela Bassett), Lobster Hands (Evan Peters), The Two Headed Woman (Sarah Paulson) and The World’s Smallest Woman (Jyoti Amge). Although the band of “freaks” may be enough to make your head spin, Ryan Murphy promises that the clown killer Twisty (John Carroll Lynch) is the most terrifying villain the show has ever featured. Hopefully, the fourth installment will not fall victim to Murphy’s track record for trying to cram too many inspired ideas into one season of a show.
‘Cristela’ (ABC)
Friday, October 10, 8:30 p.m.
Haven’t heard of the comedian Cristela Alonzo yet? Don’t worry – that will change very soon. Loosely based on her life, Cristela will follow the show’s namessake through the trails and tribulations of working her way up in a law firm. It’s a family show that is reminiscent of ABC’s ‘TGIF’ programming block of years past, it’s low-concept and lets the acting and jokes be the stars of the show. Living at home with her parents, Cristela takes an unpaid internship at a firm to try and turn it into a full-time (and more importantly, paid) position. Don’t confuse @Cristela9 and @CristelaABC – the woman and the character share many qualities, but the real-life Cristela is not as down-on-her-luck. She’s executive producing what’s being herald as one of the best comedies of the season, and we’re excited to see how her show turns out.
‘The Walking Dead’ (AMC)
Sunday, October 12, 9:00 p.m.
The Walking Dead’s season 4 finale ended on a moment ripped straight out of the comics.
Oh wait – no it didn’t. They replaced a critical word in Rick’s final line of dialogue and ended up upsetting the comic readers.
And maybe that’s indicative of a greater problem. The Walking Dead is still a great show, but it needs to be reminded that the source material is what started it all. That means we need more action and more excitement.
Too long has the show been suffering from boring stretches of scenes with brief moments of action peppered in. There is this glimmer of hope: The cast and crew have been promising that season 5 is going to be the craziest season yet. With Rick and company heading towards Washington DC, and more information about Terminus due out at the beginning of the season, at least the first few episodes should be pretty compelling.
With AMC ramping up production on a Walking Dead “companion” (spin off) series, it’s more important than ever for the writers to keep us interested in what life is like for apocalypse survivors.