Fall TV Preview: When is your favorite show returning?

The new fall TV season has already officially begun - in August! - as NBC smartly aired sneak previews of its new sitcoms, Go On and Animal Practice, following its Olympic coverage (Matthew Perry's series had over 16 million viewers, while over 12 million people tuned in to Animal Practice). The network also debuted the season premiere of Grimm on Monday so they are already off and running.

Back in May I described this fall's crop of new TV shows as pretty dismal and depressing, and I only plan to check out five new series, which are marked in bold in the list below of season debut dates. I've also included some SPOILERS and preview videos for a few shows.

August 17: Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO), Boss (STARZ)

August 24: America's Next Top Model (CW)

September 10: The Voice (NBC)

September 11: Sons of Anarchy (FX), Go On (NBC), The New Normal (NBC), Parenthood (NBC)



September 12: The X Factor (FOX), Guys With Kids (NBC)

September 13: The Real Housewives of Miami (BRAVO), Glee (FOX)

Glee SPOILERS: This show will undergo some major changes in its fourth season as it focuses on both McKinley High and NYADA, where Rachel is enrolled as a freshman. Special guest star Kate Hudson will be Rachel's new instructor for a six-episode arc, and 26-year-old Australian actor Dean Geyer (see pic) has been cast as Brody Weston, an NYADA student - and a potential new love interest for Rachel. Meanwhile, back in Ohio, Sam will get a new girlfriend since Mercedes has graduated and moved to L.A. (and actor Chord Overstreet will be a series regular again). Sue will have had her baby when the new season begins, the second episode will be another Brittany Spears tribute (to help promote her new gig as a judge on FOX's The X Factor), and Jacob Artist will play Puck's younger half-brother Jake. Below you can watch a preview of Glee's new season that features my favorite new character from last season, the fabulous Wade "Unique" Adams (Alex Newell).



September 14: Shark Tank (ABC)

September 16: Boardwalk Empire (HBO)

September 17: Bones (FOX), The Mob Doctor (FOX), Revolution (NBC)

September 19: Survivor (CBS)

September 20: The Office (NBC), Parks & Recreation (NBC), Up All Night (NBC)

Parks and Recreation SPOILER: Actress Lucy Lawless (Xena) will play Ron Swanson's new love interest, a single mother named Diane.

September 23: Treme (HBO)

September 24: Dancing with the Stars (ABC), Castle (ABC), 2 Broke Girls (CBS), Hawaii Five-0 (CBS), How I Met Your Mother (CBS), Mike & Molly (CBS), Partners (CBS)

September 25: Private Practice (ABC), NCIS (CBS), NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS), Vegas (CBS), Ben and Kate (FOX), The Mindy Project (FOX), New Girl (FOX)

September 26: The Middle (ABC), Modern Family (ABC), The Neighbors (ABC), Criminal Minds (CBS), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS), South Park (Comedy Central), Animal Practice (NBC), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC)

September 27: Grey's Anatomy (ABC), Last Resort (ABC), Scandal (ABC), The Big Bang Theory (CBS), Elementary (CBS), Person of Interest (CBS), Two and a Half Men (CBS)

September 28: Blue Bloods (CBS), CSI: New York (CBS), Made in Jersey (CBS), Fringe (FOX), Kitchen Nightmares (FOX)

September 30: 666 Park Avenue (ABC), Once Upon a Time (ABC), Revenge (ABC), 60 Minutes (CBS), The Amazing Race (CBS), The Good Wife (CBS), The Mentalist (CBS), American Dad (FOX), Bob's Burgers (FOX), Family Guy (FOX), The Simpsons (FOX), Dexter (Showtime), Homeland (Showtime)

Once Upon a Time SPOILERS: Emilie de Ravin (Belle) and Meghan Ory (Ruby/Red Riding Hood) have been promoted to series regulars. Actress Sarah Bolger has been cast as Princess Aurora (aka Sleeping Beauty), while actor Colin O'Donoghue will play Captain Hook.

Revenge SPOILERS: The second season will open with a flash forward to a Emily's wedding - but the groom's identity will remain a secret until later in the season. Actress Jennifer Jason Leigh (Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Single White Female) will play Emily's mother, Kara Wilkins, while British actor Barry Sloane joins the cast as Ethan, a mystery man from Emily's past. Nolan's bisexuality will be revealed when he gets a female love interest, and Daniel will become romantically involved with the ambitious Ashley.



October 2: Hart of Dixie (CW), Raising Hope (FOX)

October 3: Supernatural (CW)

October 4: 30 Rock (NBC), Jersey Shore (MTV)

October 7: America's Funniest Home Videos (ABC), The Cleveland Show (FOX), Upstairs Downstairs (PBS)

October 8: Gossip Girl (CW), 90210 (CW)

October 10: Nashville (ABC), Arrow (CW), Chicago Fire (NBC)



October 11: Beauty and the Beast (CW), The Vampire Diaries (CW)

October 14: The Walking Dead (AMC)

October 16: Emily Owens, M.D. (CW)

October 17: Suburgatory (ABC)

October 19: Nikita (CW), Community (NBC), Whitney (NBC)

October 22: RuPaul's All Stars Drag Race (LOGO)

October 23: Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 (ABC), Happy Endings (ABC)

October 26: Touch (FOX)

October 2012: American Horror Story: Asylum (FX), It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX), The League (FX)

American Horror Story SPOILERS: The new season will take place in a 1960s insane asylum on the East Coast, and the brilliant Jessica Lange will play a nun who’s in charge of the facility. New cast members include Maroon 5 lead singer/The Voice judge Adam Levine, the wonderful Chloë Sevigny (TV's Big Love), Kelly Ripa's hot husband Mark Consuelos, and actor Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love), who will play a possible love interest for Lange's character.

November 2: Last Man Standing (ABC), Malibu Country (ABC)

November 28: Hot in Cleveland (TV Land)

Hot in Cleveland SPOILER: Heather Locklear (Melrose Place, Dynasty) will join the cast for several episodes as a former Miss Ohio who hires Melanie (Valerie Bertinelli) to work at her PR firm.

January 6, 2013: Downton Abbey (PBS)

Downton Abbey SPOILERS: Academy Award-winner Shirley MacLaine joins the cast as Martha Levinson, Cora's American mother, and actor Matt Milne will play Alfred, O'Brien's nephew who becomes the new footman. The third series will begin in 1920 and cover eighteen months - and plot twists will include a wedding, a birth and the death of a well-known character.




January 2013: The Bachelor (ABC), Legit (FX), Enlightened (HBO), Girls (HBO), Portlandia (IFC), The Biggest Loser (NBC), Smash (NBC), Spartacus (STARZ), Dallas (TNT)

Smash SPOILERS: Actor Sean Hayes will be reunited with his former Will & Grace co-star Debra Messing when he joins the cast for a multi-episode arc as Terrence Falls, a comedic television and film star who is making his Broadway debut in the musical Liaisons, based on the novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Academy Award-winner Jennifer Hudson has been cast as Broadway star Veronica Moore, while the Tony-nominated Jeremy Jordan (Newsies) will play Jimmy, a sexy singer from Brooklyn. Other new cast members include Krysta Rodriguez (Broadway's The Addams Family) as Karen's new roommate Ana and Daniel Sunjata (TV's Rescue Me) as Julia's new love interest. Julia's husband Frank and her lover Michael as well as Karen's boyfriend Dev and bad boy Ellis will not be returning for the show's second season.

February 2013: Southland (TNT)

March 31, 2013: Game of Thrones (HBO)

May 2013: Mistresses (ABC)

Midseason 2013: Body of Proof (ABC), The Family Tools (ABC), How to Live with Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life) (ABC), Red Widow (ABC), Wife Swap (ABC), Zero Hour (ABC), Friend Me (CBS), Golden Boy (CBS), The Job (CBS), Rules of Engagement (CBS), Undercover Boss (CBS), The Carrie Diaries (CW), Cult (CW), American Idol (FOX), The Following (FOX), The Goodwin Games (FOX), Mobbed (FOX), RuPaul's Drag Race (LOGO), The Apprentice (NBC), Betty White's Off Their Rockers (NBC), Crossbones (NBC), Dracula (NBC), Do No Harm (NBC), Fashion Star (NBC), Hannibal (NBC), Howie Mandel's White Elephant (NBC), Infamous (NBC), Next Caller (NBC), Save Me (NBC), 1600 Penn (NBC), Surprise with Jenny McCarthy (NBC), The Winner Is (NBC), Cougar Town (TBS)