Photo Credit: The Academy

67th Annual Primetime Emmys (FOX)
Regina King (American Crime), Uzo Aduba (Orange Is The New Black), and Viola Davis (How To Get Away With Murder) all winning Emmy Awards on the same night was history making and as a black woman in the arts myself, more inspiring than words can say. I am so proud of these women. So proud.

Yes, I was really bummed that Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black) and Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation) weren’t acknowledged but clearly this night was made for OUR moments. This was the night for black women on TV and that I am so grateful for. Beyond grateful for that acknowledgement and recognition. Tatiana will have her moment. Amy, God bless her, should have had her moment long before this but it’s coming. With those peaceful thoughts in mind, last night was absolutely magical. So great, that I want to direct you to Viola’s speech. Watch it here.

Finally, congrats to Allison Janney (Mom) who has done such a fabulous job on Mom. Allison Janney is always fabulous but I’ve been watching Mom since the series premiere and have seen how much this show has grown and I am just so proud to see the Emmys recognize what’s been done here. So if you’re writing off this win, this show and don’t even watch, please show yourself out. 🙂

Gotham (FOX) – Season 2 Premiere
“Rise of the Villains: Damned If You Do,…”

Check out my review of the season 2 Gotham premiere here.

MINORITY REPORT (FOX) – Series Premiere “Pilot”

Check out my review of the Minority Report series premiere here.

Photo Credit: Monty Brinton/CBS

Scorpion (CBS) – Episode 201 “Satellite of Love”
Great return for Scorpion this week! Awesome cameo from Gene Simmons to start the episode off. If that’s who they got for the premiere, I wonder who they’ll get for November sweeps! Anyway, solid story to jump start the season, with plenty of action, raising of stakes, and romantic tension between Walter and Paige. My only disappointment here was the special effects in the final act which weren’t great at all. Overall, while this wasn’t a standout episode, other than the fact of it being memorable as the season opener, the show has given us a taste of what’s to come and I cannot wait for what’s next! It’s going to be fun!

Photo via ABC

Castle (ABC) – Episode 801 “XY”
What an interesting choice for the kick off of the season. Last season began with the mystery of Castle. This season began with the mystery of Beckett. I like the contrast but the intrigue has lost me. It was SO great to see Jack Coleman (Heroes Reborn) make an appearance in this episode and fun to see what the usual cast of characters has been up to but other than that, I can’t say that this premiere was thrilling at all. The developments with Alexis were more exciting than the mystery of Beckett. And while Castle did get into a bit of a situation himself, the “How is he going to get out of this one?” question didn’t stir me this week.

Maybe whatever Beckett is doing is part of a top secret case? If so, I’m already bored with it. I want more creative cases and more depth with Castle and Beckett’s marriage now that they’re married and a really killer overarching story line. This show has until the winter hiatus to keep me hooked, whether living up to the above or by delivering something fantastic from an angle I haven’t thought of. Otherwise I’ll have to take this off my watch list. For now though, it will simply be taken off my review list. I’ll circle around reviewing this week to week when I decide of the viewing fate come hiatus.

BLINDSPOT (NBC) – Series Premiere “Pilot”

Check out my review of the Blindspot series premiere here.

Photo via Hulu

The Mindy Project (Hulu) – Episode 4.02 “C is for Coward”
Brooke Burke cameo! ISIS shout out! Oh man, this episode starts off with quite a bang. Now I can’t say that I laughed aloud to anything this week but there were many jokes that garnered some deep chuckles. This week, Mindy and Danny have two very different perspectives about what kind of birth Mindy will have… natural birth or scheduled c-section. You can easily guess which side Mindy falls on. Of course, Mindy’s water breaks at the most inconvenient time, natural birth or not, and Danny, who was wrangled into going to dinner with Jeremy to help Jeremy show his date he has friends, must come to catch up with Mindy before the baby comes. And then the baby comes! And just like that, the pregnancy storyline is done. That was quick.

Anyway, I like the name Leo for the baby boy. And I found the whole episode to be quite adorable as well as quite a momentous shift in the show. Now that the main characters have a baby together, it will be very interesting to see how their lives change and remain the same and the challenges that come with all of the above. I think I’m more excited about what this episode represents and has set up to come than what this episode actually was but even still, solid episode. Looking forward to more!

Photo via ABC

Fresh Off the Boat (ABC) – Episode 201 “Family Business Trip”

“Hi, I’m Gator Octavio. Towel?” – Towel Boy

“Oh, so you can charge us a towel rental fee? No, thank you. We will be using God’s towel. The sun. Go.” – Jessica

This week’s episode brought some serious feels as I was reminded of going back to school after summer vacation and trying to shape my best memories to tell all of my friends. I felt for Eddie as he was holding what we thought would be a great story for back to school close until that backfired. I was rooting for him when Jessica made Louis’s business trip a family trip, giving Eddie another chance to conjure up an awesome tale. We all know how much of a cheapskate saver Jessica is but saving in the summer is the worst!!!! I know. Jessica is basically my father when it comes to money and as a kid, during the summer, that is the absolute worst. So this episode was very entertaining because of how unfortunately relatable it was.

Finally, that kid arriving in his The Mask cosplay on the first day of school and making all of these movie references that no one else got?! Crying laughing, oh my goodness. This season is just as strong as the first and shows zero signs of sophomore slump. More like raising the bar even higher. So funny! Don’t drink anything while you watch this show because you just might spit it out in a laughing fit. Boy am I glad this show is back!

SCREAM QUEENS (FOX) – Series Premiere “Pilot/Hell Week”

Check out my review of the two hour Scream Queens series premiere here.

Photo via CBS

LIMITLESS (CBS) – Series Premiere “Pilot”
Wow, this premiere was so dry it wasn’t even funny. It was solid in laying out the set up of the story but it was far too sterile in every way. It took more than half of the episode for the characters to ease up but by then, it may have just been too little to late. The show has heart but it’s buried underneath the rehearsed cat and mouse chase turned cop and informant tale.

We follow Brian (Jake McDorman) who is taking NZT for answers he can use to help keep his father alive. But he gets a lot more than that, including Rebecca (Jennifer Carpenter) who is on the NZT case and on his tail but not exactly for the reasons Brian thinks. I like the developments here but there needs to be more twists, more heart, and unfortunately since there won’t be too much more Eddie (Bradley Cooper) who is a Senator now, more fearless exploration of heroes and villains in a story like this. Without this, this show will definitely fail because based on the Pilot alone, it’s already heading towards cancellation. So why not just go for it? Be fearless. Take it to the next level. That’s all this show has got at this point. What do you think?

Photo via ABC

The Middle (ABC) – Episode 701 “Not Your Brother’s Drop Off”

“How are you doing balancing the checkbook?” – Mike

“I must have done it wrong. I have your balance at minus eleven dollars.” – Sue

“No, you did it right. It’s us who did it wrong.” – Mike

The Middle is one of my favorite comedies ever. It’s so homey. It’s so…life. If I had to choose the comedy that’s the most relatable (aside from Blackish, obvi), this would be it hands down. Needless to say, I’m so glad it’s back! It returned strong with a back to school episode, Brick heading to eighth grade which we don’t see because it’s all about Sue prepping to move into college.

It was hilarious watching Mike try to cram in life lessons before Sue left. Been there, Sue. You’re not alone. Meanwhile, Frankie was pretending she would miss Sue because it hadn’t hit her yet how much she’ll actually miss her. Every parent has put on their acting chops for their unsuspecting children so as an adult, I can appreciate all of the false moments played out in love all the more so this was really entertaining.

My favorite part of the premiere? Sue got a little too excited getting ready and burned her hair right off! That part was scary for Sue but it lead to a super cool, long overdue haircut for her. I love her new hairstyle just in time for her transition from kid to young adult. I’m sure Eden Sher is happy with this change as well! All in all, this is one of my favorite premieres of this TV season and I can’t wait to see what other unexpected but necessary moments Sue will face in her first year of college and see what comes next for the Hecks!

ROSEWOOD (FOX) – Series Premiere

Check out my review of the Rosewood series premiere here.

Photo via ABC

Modern Family (ABC) – Episode 701 “Summer Lovin'”
Solid premiere for Modern Family! Haley and Andy’s relationship still isn’t official what with both of them denying their feelings for each other, so much so that Andy is engaged to another girl. Meanwhile, Mitch is going through a mid life crisis and Cam does everything he can to get Mitch out of it. And then there’s Gloria and Jay looking for a school for their little one, which is more competitive than ever before. Great stories, all entertaining in their own ways. Not entirely laugh out loud funny but I love this family and this show and continue to enjoy this ride!

Photo via ABC

Black-ish (ABC) – Episode 201 “The Word”
When I heard that Black-ish would be dedicating an episode to the N word, I didn’t expect it to be the season 2 premiere! What a way to kick off the season! Loved the intro! Loved seeing so many different sides to the argument. What it means. When it counts and passes. The consequences of every when no matter what your intention. One of my favorite scenes? Dre at work talking about it with his black co-workers and the white co-workers sitting quietly until two decide to chime and share what they think. Because what they think matters so much lolololol. I loved how well the subject was handled and am highly anticipating other controversial topics the show will face head on this season.

Photo Credit: Christos Kalohoridis/NBC

HEROES REBORN (NBC) – Premiere “Brave New World; Odessa”
Heroes is back!!! It’s back! One of my favorite shows EVER is back!!!! I cannot even begin to explain how good this feels. So I’m just going to jump right into this new episode which begins as Volume One: Awakening, Chapter One: Brave New World.

In the two hour premiere, we see Texas, Quebec, China, Illinois, Japan, California, and New York and jump back and forth in time quite a bit in the beginning. And if you can’t follow all of the time jumps (which take place over the course of the past year), there’s really only one date that matters. June 13th. It’s all about June 13th and what HRG (HRG!!!!!!) has forgotten on that fateful day. At Primotech, where HRG worked, there was a summit for all of the heroes (loved seeing all of the powers of the attendees!) and before HRG could meet up with Claire there, a big bomb goes off. An attack. We’re used to “Save the cheerleader, save the world,” but it’s a brand new world and the heroes, or the EVOS (new slang – which I dig by the way – for the “evolved”) are the ones in danger here, not the world.

And Claire’s dead. (I’m so mad they killed off Claire! Ugh. I hope it’s worth it storytelling wise. Only time will tell). It’s actually full circle and poetic how the series began with the need for the cheerleader to survive and the beginning of the series comes with her death. The big question now is, if she didn’t die at the summit, how and when did she die? And just how important is Molly Walker again, who was, like Claire, also absent from the Odessa Summit… The premiere has given us so much to think about!

Having HRG lead the charge among the returning originals has been so great, even with Claire gone. HRG is remarrying. I have neutral feelings about this given the more captivating story here… This guy named Quentin (Henry Zebrowski, A to Z) follows HRG, telling him that June 13th is just the beginning and that Mohinder Suresh, who was seen as an EVO terrorist & labeled completely responsible for the attack in fact had nothing to do with Odessa. He reveals that the number of EVOS is higher than ever to save us from what’s coming and June 13th didn’t happen how HRG remembers. This leads HRG to The Haitian!!!! The Haitian is back!!!!! Yay!!! But the rejoicing doesn’t last long because The Haitian tries to kill HRG. And we find out HRG told him to do so (before telling him to wipe his memory). The thing is, HRG doesn’t remember telling him this and now The Haitian is dead. Oh, man! I hope all of the originals don’t die! I also hope Quentin (who we learn lost his sister, Phoebe but believes she, like Claire, didn’t die at the summit) doesn’t get the boot too early either because I’m already so connected to him as HRG’s side kick. Thoughts?

What I found especially interesting is that we saw Zachary Levi’s character, Luke and his wife, Joanne in Odessa on June 13th taking photographs of the day’s events just like everyone else around him…. only to fast forward a year and find him killing the heroes of today after going undercover with Joanne at a secret heroes meeting. Taking vengeance on the heroes after their son, Dennis was killed at the summit. Bitter grieving party of two placing their mistrust towards the wrong people. They’re going after the wrong enemy. Good move, making Levi a villain. I didn’t expect that! Good job, here. While there are numerous villains in this world, I’m most curious to see how this story line evolves. Because vengeance is gripping but I expect the stakes to continuously raise on the show so I’m hoping for more.

As for the other newbies… Tommy (Robbie Kay, Once Upon A Time) and his mom attempt to flee from the US to Canada after an incident with his powers. Only the border is swabbing for EVOS so they turn back around and run somewhere else in the US. Where they call home next doesn’t turn out to be so good for Tommy. His powers are seen by more than one person and he’s blackmailed! Ah!! It might be easier to go through with the blackmail deal if Tommy knew where his power to make people/things disappear leads them. Thankfully, with the help of his new school friend, Emily (Gatlin Green), they figure out where he’s sending these people. So what next??!?!?!?! And who is this mystery man following Tommy and helping him? Possibly connected to Suresh?

Speaking of, I can’t stress enough how amazing it was to see Jack Coleman, Sendhil Ramamurthy, and Jimmy Jean-Louis back on the small screen as well as so many newcomers! I did get a bit of whiplash watching Zachary Levi on this show when I know and love him from Chuck but he is owning this role and I am loving it! I am itching for more familiar faces and dying to find out what’s in store for the all grown up Molly Walker (great casting by the way). Is she working for Suresh? Oh, man. So many theories, I don’t even know where to start.

Finally, I loved following Ren and Miko, especially as their Evernow storyline takes us quite literally into a video game. That is wild. I was not expecting that! I’m not even a gamer and I loved that! Can’t wait to see where this leads them and can’t wait to see what becomes of the El Vengador vigilante story line. There is so much happening in the series premiere and I am loving every single minute of it. I would go on but I don’t think I’d be able to stop. Plainly put, this is the must watch series of 2015 for me and it has exceeded my expectations so I am on cloud nine. Congrats, Tim Kring and everyone involved!!!! What a victory!

Photo via ABC

Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) – Episode 12.01 “Sledgehammer”
This show sure knows how to bring the feels. My eyes watered in the intro. I laughed. I was shocked. This episode had all of the right elements to an entertaining and emotionally captivating episode of Grey’s. Bailey must fight harder than she’s ever had to in order to get the promotion she’s worked her butt off for when a new candidate arrives. Go, Bailey! Or should I say, Chief! Finally!!! Well deserved. Meanwhile, Arizona comes to the realization that she’s too intimidating to live with and tones it down to get someone to rent a room. Meredith and Amelia have a hilarious roommate squabble. There’s so much to love about this episode. It was just an hour of justice and fun and I loved it. I cannot believe the show is in its twelfth season and is so strong still. I think I said that last season. So excited to see what’s in store for this season. Great kick off to the twelfth!

Photo via ABC

Scandal (ABC) – Episode 501 “Heavy Is the Head”
Whoa. Fitz handing Mellie divorce papers?! It only took five seasons. Too bad it was too little too late. I can’t wait to see the fallout next week! Then there’s the case of the week. The Queen killing the Princess because she was pregnant with a child who wasn’t the rightful heir? Geez. It makes you think about all of the celebrity deaths that just don’t add up. Really great episode! Really excited for this season, especially with Fitz and Olivia’s relationship now made public! Time to face the music.

Photo via ABC

How To Get Away with Murder (ABC)
Episode 201 “It’s Time to Move On”
Bonnie killed Rebecca! Surprise, surprise. They kind of hinted at this very early on in the episode so when it came out later on in the episode, I wasn’t surprised. Oh well. Anyway, Amy Okuda (The Guild) appeared in this episode and that made me so happy because I loved her on The Guild! 

But that’s not even the most exciting part about the episode. Because… Yooooooooooo that ending!!!!!!!! Why oh why did Wes shoot Annalise? I am so pumped to get from now to two months later when Annalise finds herself in the ultimate life or death situation. I am so excited to see how this all plays out. Buckle up because it’s going to be another wild ride! Phenomenal return! 

Photo via Syfy

Z Nation (Syfy) – Episode 203 “Zombie Road”
Oh, man. This episode was slightly disappointing. I mean…if I wanted to watch a never ending car chase, I’d watch Mad Max: Fury Road. Not a homage to it that I didn’t ask for. The entire episode was one long car chase with bounty hunters still after Murphy. So… with little variety and the stakes barely being raised, this left for little to really be excited about.

Yes, it was great to see that Murphy couldn’t mind control the radioactive zombies but other than that, I wasn’t really moved. We know there would be an obstacle here eventually. It’s a bummer that we’re only three episodes in and already have a weak episode but I’m very hopeful for the season as a whole so perhaps we can forget this ever happened and get back to the good stuff next week. And next week needs to have Citizen Z! But it was great seeing William Sadler (Roswell) appear in this episode and that almost made up for no Citizen Z. Almost.

Premieres Next Week (September 27, 2015 – October 3, 2015)
Bob’s Burgers (FOX) Sunday, September 27 7:30pm
Once Upon a Time (ABC) Sunday, September 27 8/7c
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX) Sunday, September 27 8:30/7:30c
Family Guy (FOX) Sunday, September 27 9/8c
BLOOD & OIL (ABC) Sunday, September 27 9/8c
The Last Man on Earth (FOX) Sunday, September 27 9:30/8:30c
QUANTICO (ABC) Sunday, September 27 10/9c
GRANDFATHERED (FOX) Tuesday, September 29 8/7c
THE GRINDER (FOX) Tuesday, September 29 8:30/7:30c
Criminal Minds (CBS) Wednesday, September 30 9/8c
The Blacklist (NBC) Thursday, October 1 9/8c
DR. KEN (ABC) Friday, October 2 8:30/7:30c
The Graham Norton Show (BBC America) Saturday, October 3 10/9c

What did you watch and love this week?
What are you anticipating next week?