Fall 2021 TV preview: Premiere dates for all of the best new and returning shows

Top picks include a critically acclaimed HBO drama starring a Boston native, and a Showtime limited series filmed in Massachusetts.

Michael C. Hall in "Dexter: New Blood." Kurt Iswarienko/Showtime

September 22, 2021

In 2020, the fall TV season — already somewhat of a relic thanks to the proliferation of streaming platforms and DVR — was even more diminished than usual. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, new and returning shows alike were postponed or delayed, as crews pressed pause on production or operated at limited capacities.

This year, things look a bit more normal. Ratings winners like “Young Sheldon” and “NCIS,” which were AWOL at this time last year, have premiere dates scheduled during the next few weeks.

With the real world continuing to grapple with the delta variant, TV aficionados will welcome the return of their favorite shows as a brief respite of normalcy in a mixed-up world. There’s also a significantly higher number of new shows debuting than last year, including a documentary series from acclaimed filmmaker and longtime New Englander Ken Burns, and a bizarro anthology series from the mind of Newton native B.J. Novak (“The Office”).

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. While we’re a bit more confident in the solidity of these dates than the ones in our fall movie preview, it’s still possible that studios will shuffle things around.

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

September 1:
Expedition X (Discovery, Season 4)

September 2:
A.P. Bio (Peacock, Season 4)
Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles (Bravo, Season 13)
Q-Force (Netflix, new series)
Trolls: Trollstopia (Hulu, Season 4)
What We Do in the Shadows (FX, Season 3)

September 3:
The D’Amelio Show (Hulu, new series)
Doctor’s Orders (Discovery+, new series)
Money Heist (Netflix, Season 5A)

September 4:
Meerkat Manor: Rise of the Dynasty (BBC America, Season 1B)

September 5:
Billions (Showtime, Season 5B)
Guilt (PBS, new series)

September 6:
Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem (Peacock, new series)
Life Below Zero (National Geographic, Season 17)
Life Below Zero: Next Generation (National Geographic, Season 3)
Live with Kelly and Ryan (syndication, Season 34)
Robot Chicken (Adult Swim, Season 11)
Social Society (AllBlk, new series)
Street Outlaws: Gone Girl (Discovery+, new series)
Tamryn Hall (syndication, Season 3)

September 7:
History’s Greatest Mysteries (History, Season 2)
Impeachment: American Crime Story (FX, Season 3)
Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC, Season 19)
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS, Season 7)
Queen Sugar (OWN, Season 6)
The View (Syndication, Season 25)

September 8:
The Circle (Netflix, Season 3)
Doogie Kamealoha M.D. (Disney+, new series)
Wu-Tang: An American Saga (Hulu, Season 2)

September 9:
American Ninja Warrior Jr. (Peacock, Season 3)
Curb Appeal Xtreme (HGTV, new series)
Frogger (Peacock, new series)
Kin (AMC+, new series)
Mumbai Diaries 26/11 (Amazon Prime, new series)
Top Chef Family Style (Peacock, new series)
True Crime Story: It Couldn’t Happen Here (SundanceTV, new series)

September 10:
Cash in the Attic (HGTV, new series)
Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years (Nickelodeon, new series)
Lucifer (Netflix, Season 6; final season)
LuLuRich (Amazon Prime, new series)
Metal Shop Masters (Netflix, new series)
Selling the Big Easy (HGTV, Season 2)
The Smurfs (Nickelodeon, new series)
The Voyeurs (Amazon Prime, new series)

September 11:
Side Hustle (Nickelodeon, Season 2)

September 12:
90 Day Bares All (Discovery+, Season 2)
American Rust (Showtime, new series)
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City (Bravo, Season 2)
Scenes from a Marriage (HBO, new series)
TrueSouth (SEC Network, Season 4)

September 13:
Back to Life (Showtime, Season 2)
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (Comedy Central, Season 26)
Entertainment Tonight (syndication, Season 41)
Halloween Baking Championship (Food Network, Season 7)
The Price Is Right (CBS, Season 50)
Rachael Ray (syndication, Season 16)
Relative Justice (syndication, new series)
Ultra City Smiths (AMC, Season 1B)
Y: The Last Man (Hulu, new series)
You Bet Your Life (Fox stations, new series)

September 15:
Counting Cars (History, Season 10)
Counting Cars: Under the Hood (History, new series)
Level Playing Field (HBO, new series)
Nailed It! (Netflix, Season 6)
Secrets, Lies & Private Eyes (Discovery+, new series)

September 16:
Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol (Peacock, new series)
Dark Side of the Ring (Vice TV, Season 3B)
Double Shot at Love with DJ Pauly D and Vinny (MTV, Season 3)
Flipping 101 with Tarek El Moussa (HGTV, Season 2)
Floribama Shore (MTV, Season 5)
The Harper House (Paramount+, new series)
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (Netflix, new series)
The Premise (Hulu, new series) 🍿
Tacoma FD (TruTV, Season 3)
Tiny Food Fight (Discovery+, new series)

Best known for his role as Ryan on “The Office,” Newton native B.J. Novak was originally hired for the show as a writer and producer thanks to his acerbic stand-up act. Novak has a chance to show off his darkly comic sensibilities with “The Premise,” a five-episode FX anthology series that plays like a modern-day fractured fairy tale. Each episode tells a separate story that offers a skewed take on hot-button topics like police brutality, woke culture, and gun violence. The corrosive humor is a delight, and the fact that Novak has assembled a star-studded cast — including Ben Platt (“Dear Evan Hansen”), Lucas Hedges (“Manchester by the Sea”), Daniel Dae Kim (“Lost”), Kaitlyn Dever (“Booksmart”) and Tracee Ellis Ross (“Black-ish”) — is a helpful bonus.

September 17:
The Morning Show (Apple TV+, Season 2)
The Proof Is Out There (History, Season 2)
Sex Education (Netflix, Season 3)
Tha God’s Honest Truth with Lenard “Charlamagne” McKelvey (Comedy Central, new series)

September 18:
48 Hours (CBS, Season 35)
Ayman (MSNBC, new series)
The Choice (Peacock, new series)
Extreme Salvage Squad (Discovery+, new series)
Guy’s Ranch Kitchen (Food Network, Season 5)
Reno My Rental (Discovery+, new series)

September 19:
Alaskan Bush People (Discovery/Discovery+, Season 13)
The Circus (Showtime, Season 6B)
Girl Meets Farm (Food Network, Season 7)
Halloween Wars (Food Network, Season 11)
Killers of the Cosmos (Science Channel, new series)
Muhammad Ali (PBS, new series) 🍿
Teenage Euthanasia (Adult Swim, new animated shortform series)

As one of the biggest names in documentary filmmaking, New Hampshire resident Ken Burns pioneered techniques that are now synonymous with the medium. The pioneering director is back with a four-part series on Muhammad Ali, premiering October 11 on PBS. After exploring every facet of the late boxer in order to make the series, Burns told the Wall Street Journal that he believes Ali’s life “intersects with almost all of the major themes of the late part of the 20th century.”

September 20:
9-1-1 (Fox, Season 5)
The Big Leap (Fox, new series)
Bob ♥ Abishola (CBS, Season 3)
Dancing with the Stars (ABC, Season 30)
I Was a Teenage Felon (Vice TV, Season 2)
The Neighborhood (CBS, Season 4)
NCIS (CBS, Season 19)
NCIS: Hawai’i (CBS, new series)
Ordinary Joe (NBC, new series)
The Voice (NBC, Season 21)

September 21:
FBI (CBS, Season 4)
FBI: International (CBS, new series)
FBI: Most Wanted (CBS, Season 3)
New Amsterdam (NBC, Season 4)
Our Kind of People (Fox, new series) 🍿
The Resident (Fox, Season 5)

For the setting of its latest soapy primetime drama, Fox has chosen Martha’s Vineyard — specifically Oak Bluffs, a historically Black enclave on the northern shores of the island. Based on a book by Lawrence Otis Graham, the show follows Angela (YaYa DaCosta, “The Butler”), a “ratchet chick from Boston” as she attempts to climb the social ladder among the town’s Black upper crust. Locals in neighborhood Facebook groups have already begun to debate the show’s merits and its lack of accuracy (it was filmed in North Carolina, for one), but the back-stabbing, claws-out entertainment value is undeniable.

September 22:
A Million Little Things (ABC, Season 4)
Alter Ego (Fox, new competition series)
Chicago Fire (NBC, Season 10)
Chicago Med (NBC, Season 7)
Chicago P.D. (NBC, Season 9)
The Conners (ABC, Season 3)
Dear White People (Netflix, Season 4; final season)
Dr. Mercy (TLC/Discovery+, new series)
The Goldbergs (ABC, Season 9)
Home Economics (ABC, Season 2)
Jay Leno’s Garage (CNBC, Season 6)
Last Chance Transplant (Discovery+, new series)
Marvel’s Spidey and his Amazing Friends (Disney Junior/Disney+, new series)
The Masked Singer (Fox, Season 6)
Star Wars: Visions (Disney+, new series)
Survivor (CBS, Season 4)
The Wonder Years (ABC, new series)

September 23:
The Croods: Family Tree (Hulu, new series)
Doom Patrol (HBO Max, Season 3)
Law & Order: SVU (NBC, Season 23)
Law & Order: Organized Crime (NBC, Season 2)
That Girl Lay Lay (Nickelodeon, new series)

September 24:
Curse of the Chippendales (Discovery+, new series)
Dateline NBC (NBC, Season 30)
Foundation (Apple TV+, new series)
Gold Rush (Discovery/Discovery+, Season 12)
Goliath (Amazon Prime, new series)
Midnight Mass (Netflix, new series)
Wolfboy and the Everything Factory (Apple TV+, new series)

September 25:
Trisha’s Southern Kitchen (Food Network, Season 17)

September 26:
BMF (Starz, new drama series)
Bob’s Burgers (Fox, Season 12)
Celebrity Wheel of Fortune (ABC, Season 2)
Family Guy (Fox, Season 19)
The Great North (Fox, Season 2)
Nuclear Family (HBO, new series)
The Rookie (ABC, Season 4)
The Simpsons (Fox, Season 32)
Supermarket Sweep (ABC, Season 2)
The Walking Dead: World Beyond (AMC+, Season 2)

September 27:
Chocolate Meltdown: Hershey’s After Dark (Food Network, new series)
The Good Doctor (ABC, Season 5)
José Díaz-Balart Reports (MSNBC, new series)
People Puzzler (Game Show Network, Season 2)

September 28:
Ada Twist, Scientist (Netflix, new series)
La Brea (NBC, new series)
Malverde: El Santo Patrón (Telemundo, new series)
Vanderpump Rules (Bravo, Season 9)

September 29:
Houses with History (HGTV, new series)
Rhodes to the Top (TNT, new series)

September 30:
Big Sky (ABC, Season 2)
Cheyenne & Lola (Sundance Now/AMC+, new series)
Grey’s Anatomy (ABC, Season 18)
The Problem with Jon Stewart (Apple TV+, new series)
Station 19 (ABC, Season 5)
Ten Year Old Tom (HBO Max, new series)
The Way Down (HBO Max, new series)

October 1:
All or Nothing: Toronto Maple Leafs (Amazon Prime, new series)
Blue Bloods (CBS, Season 12)
Blue’s Clues and You! (Nick Jr., Season 3)
The Ghost and Molly McGee (Disney Channel, new series)
The Graham Norton Show (BBC America, Season 29)
Magnum P.I. (CBS, Season 4)
Penn & Teller: Fool Us (The CW, Season 8)
S.W.A.T. (CBS, Season 5)

October 2:
Amphibia (Disney Channel, Season 3)
The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation (CBS, Season 8)
Hope in the Wild (CBS, Season 4)
Lucky Dog (CBS, Season 9)
Mission Unstoppable (CBS, Season 3)
Saturday Night Live (NBC, Season 47)

October 3:
America’s Funniest Home Videos (ABC, Season 32)
Call the Midwife (PBS, Season 10)
Grantchester (PBS, Season 6)

October 4:
On My Block (Netflix, Season 4)
Voces on PBS (PBS, season premiere)
The Wendy Williams Show (syndication, Season 13)

October 5:
The Nate & Jeremiah Home Project (HGTV, new series)

October 6:
Among the Stars (Disney+, new series)
Baking Impossible (Netflix, new series)
The Bradshaw Bunch (E!, Season 2)
Canvas: Los Angeles (Fuse, new series)
CSI: Vegas (CBS, new series)
Tough as Nails (CBS, Season 3)

October 7:
B Positive (CBS, Season 2)
Baker’s Dozen (Hulu, new series)
Bull (CBS, Season 6)
Ghosts (CBS, new series)
One of Us Is Lying (Peacock, new series)
One Lane Bridge (Sundance Now/AMC+, Season 2)
United States of Al (CBS, Season 2)
Young Sheldon (CBS, Season 5)

October 8:
20/20 (ABC, Season 44)
The Amber Ruffin Show (Peacock, Season 2)
Nancy Drew (The CW, Season 3)
Pretty Smart (Netflix, new series)
Shark Tank (ABC, Season 13)

October 9:
Whose Line Is It Anyway? (The CW, Season 10)
World’s Funniest Animals (The CW, Season 2)

October 10:
Buried (Showtime, new series)
The Equalizer (CBS, Season 2)
Fear the Walking Dead (AMC+, Season 7)
Gentefied (Netflix, Season 2)
Killer Camp (The CW, Season 2)
Legends of the Hidden Temple (The CW, new series)
NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS, Season 13)
Renovation, Inc: Home Sweet Home (HGTV, new series)
SEAL Team (CBS, Season 5; moving to Paramount+ after Episode 4)
When Big Things Go Wrong (History, new series)

October 11:
The Baby-Sitters Club (Netflix, Season 2)
The Family Chantel (TLC, Season 3)
Love It or List It (HGTV, Season 15)
We’re Here (HBO, Season 2)

October 12:
Chucky (Syfy/USA, new series)
Trial in the Outback (Sundance Now/AMC+, new series)

October 13:
Batwoman (The CW, Season 3)
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (The CW, Season 7)
Dopesick (Hulu, new series)
Independent Lens (PBS, Season 20)
The Sinner (USA Network, Season 4)

October 14:
America’s Big Deal (USA Network, new series)
Guilty Party (Paramount+, new series)
Legacies (The CW, Season 4)
True Crime Story: Indefensible (SundanceTV, new series)

October 15:
Home Sweet Home (NBC, new series)
I Know What You Did Last Summer (Amazon Prime, new series)
Ready to Love (OWN, Season 4)

October 17:
Baptiste (PBS, Season 2)
Hightown (Starz, Season 2)
Succession (HBO, Season 3) 🍿

America’s most toxic fictional family is back in business. From the very first moment of season one, the Roy family have been at each other’s throats as they wrestle for control of media/entertainment company Waystar RoyCo. Picking a favorite among the despicable bunch — which includes Boston native Jeremy Strong (“The Big Short”), Brian Cox (“Super Troopers”), and Kieran Culkin (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World”) — is a fool’s errand. Instead, enjoy watching each family member’s fortunes rise and fall in the course of an hour, only to do it all again next week.

October 18:
Hoarders (A&E, Season 13)
Intervention (A&E, Season 22B)
Tough Love with Hilary Farr (Discovery+, new series)
Wakefield (Showtime, Season 1)

October 19:
The Bachelorette (ABC, Season 17)
Queens (ABC, new series)

October 20:
Nature (PBS, Season 40)
Secrets of the Dead (PBS, Season 19)
Winter House (Bravo, new series)

October 21:
The Blacklist (NBC, Season 9)
The Next Thing You Eat (Hulu, new series)
Nightwatch (A&E, Season 5B)

October 22:
The Activist (CBS, new series)
Inside Job (Netflix, new series)
Invasion (AppleTV+, new series)
Maya and the Three (Netflix, new series)

October 23:
Unfinished Business (HGTV, new series)

October 24:
Insecure (HBO, Season 5; final season) 🍿

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O67pizJ6Fig

Parting is such sweet sorrow, especially when it’s saying farewell to a show that still has plenty left in the tank. That’s certainly the case for Issa Rae’s “Insecure,” a deeply personal self-titled romantic comedy that will come to an end on HBO after five seasons. Last we saw our heroine, Issa and her on-again, off-again beau Lawrence (Jay Ellis, “The Game”) had patched things up. But an unexpected child may throw a wrench into their plans.

October 25:
4400 (The CW, new series)
All American (The CW, Season 4)
Below Deck (Bravo, Season 9)

October 26:
American Veteran (PBS, new series)
The Last O.G. (TBS, Season 4)

October 27:
Nova: Universe (PBS, new series)

October 28:
City Confidential (A&E, Season 12)
Love Life (HBO Max, Season 2)
Star Trek: Prodigy (Paramount+, new series)
Walker (The CW, Season 2)

October 29:
Colin in Black & White (Netflix, new series)
Swagger (Apple TV+, new drama series)

October TBA:
Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO, Season 11)
Diana (CNN, new series)
Selena + Chef (HBO Max, Season 3)

November 3:
Property Brothers: Forever Home (HGTV, Season 15)

November 4:
Taste the Nation: Holiday Edition (Hulu, new series)

November 5:
Animaniacs (Hulu, Season 2)
Dickinson (Apple TV+, Season 3)
Narcos: Mexico (Netflix, Season 3)

November 7:
Dexter: New Blood (Showtime, new limited series) 🍿
Yellowstone (Paramount Network, Season 4)

The series finale of “Dexter” was widely panned as one of the worst in recent memory, with charismatic serial-killer-with-a-conscience Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall, “Six Feet Under”) escaping all responsibility and inexplicably starting a new life as a lumberjack. By bringing back original showrunner Clyde Phillips, who departed the Showtime drama after season 4, fans will surely hope for better results for this 10-episode limited series, which filmed in Central Massachusetts from January to July this year. Dexter is back, this time living in upstate New York as an unassuming hunting goods store employee named Jim Lindsay. Unfortunately for Dexter (but fortunately for viewers), his “dark passenger” is back with a vengeance, threatening the idyllic life he has built for himself.

November 9:
Great Escapes with Morgan Freeman (History, new series)

November 10:
Call the Closer (HGTV, new series)
My 600-lb Life (TLC, Season 10)

November 11:
The Game (Paramount+, new series)
Ragdoll (AMC/AMC+, new series)

November 12:
My Lottery Dream Home (HGTV, Season 8)
The Shrink Next Door (Apple TV+, new series)
Table Wars (HGTV, new series)

November 14:
Mayor of Kingstown (Paramount+, new series)
Yellowjackets (Showtime, new series)

November 15:
1,000-Lb Sisters (TLC, Season 3)
Flipping Showdown (HGTV, new series)

November 16:
7 Little Johnstons (TLC, Season 7)
Fixer to Fabulous (HGTV, Season 3)
The Flash (The CW, Season 8)
Riverdale (The CW, Season 6)
Well Done with Sebastian Maniscalco (Discovery+, Season 2)

November 18:
The Curse of Von Dutch (Hulu, new series)
Ragdoll (AMC+, new series)
Star Trek: Discovery (Paramount+, Season 4)

November 19:
Cowboy Bebop (Netflix, new series)
The Great (Hulu, Season 2)
The Wheel of Time (Amazon Prime, new series)

November 21:
Sister Wives (TLC, Season 11)

November 24:
Hawkeye (Disney+, new series)
True Story (Netflix, new series)

November 25:
The Beatles: Get Back (Disney+, new series)

November 26:
How to Win with John Wilson (HBO Max, Season 2)

November 27:
Meet Your Makers Showdown (HGTV, new series)

November 28:
The Hot Zone: Anthrax (National Geographic, new series)

November 30:
I Am Jazz (TLC, Season 6)

November TBA:
Gossip Girl (HBO Max, Season 1B)
Head of the Class (HBO Max, new series)
South Side (HBO Max, Season 2)

December 1:
Trafficked (National Geographic, Season 2)

December 2:
Queen of the Universe (Paramount+, new series)

December 3:
Money Heist (Netflix, Season 5B)
S.W.A.T. (CBS, Season 5B)

December 17:
The Witcher (Netflix, Season 2)

December 19:
1883 (Paramount+, new series)

December 20:
100 Day Dream Home (HGTV, Season 10)

December TBA:
Cobra Kai (Netflix, Season 4)
Fix My Flip (HGTV, new series)
Flip or Flop (HGTV, Season 10)
Holmes Family Rescue (HGTV, new series)
I Bought a Dump…Now What? (HGTV, new series)
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Stone Ocean (Netflix, new series)

Fall TBA:

12 Dates of Christmas (HBO Max, Season 2)
Claws (TNT, Season 4; final season)
Doctor Who (BBC America, Season 13)
Family or Fiancé (OWN, Season 3)
gen:LOCK (HBO Max, Season 2)
The Great British Bake-Off (Netflix, Season 9)
Perfect Life (HBO Max, Season 2)
This Is Life with Lisa Ling (CNN, Season 8)
Joe Pera Talks with You (Adult Swim, Season 3)
SEAL Team (Paramount+, Season 5)