It’s almost fall! And the fall TV season … just ain’t what it used to be.
In decades past, September would drop an overflowing pile of new shows to try on like fresh school clothes; in 2025, you’re lucky to get some hand-me-downs or a quick rummage at the thrift store. If you’re not into cheap game shows or retreads of CBS procedurals, broadcast TV has little new to offer this fall. SAD.
Streaming TV, which is more expensive than ever (the “cable replacement” theory has finally come full circle), on the other remote hand, has some cracking new offerings this September. Update that shared password while you can.
The Paper (Peacock; all 10 episodes released Thursday, Sept. 4): Since it’s a roundabout spinoff of The Office, The Paper isn’t entirely “new,” but therein lies the funny. The documentary crew that shadowed the Dunder-Mifflin company for years is now chronicling a flailing Toledo newspaper, and former Office fixture Oscar (Oscar Nuñez) isn’t thrilled to be on camera again. (“I’m not agreeing to any of this!” he exclaims.) Those of us who’ve worked at a newspaper may experience more PTSD than laughter; civilian mileage will vary.
Task (HBO, HBO Max; first episode premiered Sunday, Sept. 7): HBO Max struck retro gold with its hospital drama The Pitt earlier this year, so now HBO proper is launching TV’s 1,786th FBI series with Task. But Task is “from the creator of Mare of Easttown” and is headlined by genuine Movie Star (and recovering Marvel Star) Mark Ruffalo, so expectations are high. Ruffalo stars as a—shades of Mare—troubled FBI agent investigating a series of violent Philadelphia robberies. Thieves? Are we finally done with serial killers? About time.
The Girlfriend (Prime Video; all six episodes to be released Wednesday, Sept. 10): Laura (played by Robin Wright, who also directs here) is highly suspicious of her adult son’s new squeeze (Olivia Cooke), and not just because her name is Cherry. The Girlfriend, based on the novel by Michelle Frances, is a psychological thriller that falls between a Lifetime movie and any recent Nicole Kidman streaming series. But Kidman never had an adversary as fiercely capable as Cooke—The Girlfriend might be the campy hit of the fall season.
Black Rabbit (Netflix; all eight episodes to be released Thursday, Sept. 18): Jason Bateman’s evolution from a perturbed and bemused member of a comic crime family (Arrested Development) to a disturbed and abused member of a dramatic crime family (Ozark) takes another turn with Black Rabbit. Jake (Jude Law) runs the successful and above-board Black Rabbit lounge—until his ne’er-do-well brother, Vince (Bateman), shows up with gambling debt and mob probs. This could have been a movie, but Law and Bateman still crackle together.
The Lowdown (FX, Hulu; first two episodes to air on Tuesday, Sept. 23): Filmmaker Sterlin Harjo’s Reservoir Dogs snuck up and charmed the hell out of us in 2021, and his new crime-noir series The Lowdown will likely do the same. Unexpected Actor for the Generations Ethan Hawke stars as a Tulsa citizen journalist working to expose local government corruption, and his latest scoop is a doozy that might get him disappeared. (How timely.) As you’d expect from Harjo, there’s plenty of comedy to mine from the drama of The Lowdown.
The Savant (Apple TV+; first two episodes to be released on Friday, Sept. 26): Like the best Apple TV+ originals that aren’t Severance or The Morning Show, The Savant is a taut true-crime thriller that’s as engaging as it is seemingly too abhorrent to be real. (See also: Smoke, a twist-laden Apple TV+ summer series watched by maybe dozens.) The titular savant is Jodi Goodwin (Jessica Chastain), an investigator immersing herself in the ick of online hate groups to suss out potential violent attacks. Don’t dismiss The Savant because it’s based on reporting by Cosmopolitan.
Chad Powers (Hulu; first two episodes to be released on Tuesday, Sept. 30): After all this seriousness, how about a comedy with a side of Glen Powell riz? Also, are we still using riz? Like Ted Lasso before it, Chad Powers escaped the land of sports content (where Eli Manning played him) to become a TV series lead (played by Powell, an improvement). “Chad Powers” is the cover name of college quarterback Russ Holiday, who joins a rival school’s football team after being kicked off his own. Like college ball, Chad Powers works best when not taken seriously—like, at all.
