Five Returning Shows to Watch This Fall 

The fall TV season is here, folks! And while that means suffering whiplash form all the new series that will be invading your television over the next couple weeks, it also means getting excited about our favorite returning shows and what they have in store for us in their upcoming seasons. I’ve already shared my opinions about which new shows you should check out, but now I want to switch my focus to some old favorites. These are the five returning shows to watch this fall.

Even though I enjoyed the third season of 

a lot more than others did, there’s no denying that the series was at its weakest during season three. Early season plot holes, erratic and unlikable behavior from the show’s main character, Carrie (Claire Danes), and an over-reliance on the Carrie/Brody relationship caused numerous problems for the Emmy-winning drama last year, and even though it finished out its season with a pretty spectacular finale, it’s going to take quite the creative renaissance for 

to get back in the good graces of TV critics again. Whether the series pushing the rest button leads to great results or just ends up causing more of the same problems, I know one thing is for sure: I’ll be watching to see what happens.

If you had asked for a list of returning shows I was most excited about last year, I doubt that 

would have even cracked the top 20. However, I was able to catch up on the show’s third season recently, and the season three finale, which featured Hook and Emma essentially acting out a fairy-tale version of

has been since the end of season one. With the finale possibly rejuvenating the series, plus the introduction of Elsa, Anna, and the rest of the 

more than any 22-year-old guy has the right to), I’m really anxious to see if 

Let’s just get this out of the way: season five of 

was an absolute mess, a mashed up collage of some great episodes scattered between a lot of useless and uninteresting drama. However, the season five finale of 

concluded on a very interesting note, with both Damon and Bonnie dead, heading to places unknown, as the Other Side crumbled around them. Now, do I think both Damon and Bonnie will be permanently dead? Probably not. However, I’m curious to see how the show’s writers will deal with the situation. Plus, Matt Davis is back as a series regular on the show, and the sheer presence of Alaric in season six is enough for me to add

as terrible as some of the show’s other fans. Yet despite the fact that I still enjoyed the show, I cannot deny that there were some major issues throughout its third season, specifically the writing of Nick and Jess as a couple and the devolution of Schmidt from lovable douchebag into a straight-up jerk. Now,

New Girl did attempt to fix these issues by breaking up Jess and Nick near the end of season three and also having Schmidt mature and work his way back into our (and possibly Cece’s) hearts. Plus, the show finally found a role for Winston, as the hilariously weird and somewhat insane member of the group. With those small but encouraging positives coming out of a very hit-or-miss season, plus the news that the show’s first two episodes of season four seem to be much better than anything from last year, I’m pretty optimistic about the return of  

was, for me, the best thing on TV this past year. Thrilling, emotional, and action-packed, it was everything a superhero series should be. Now, with the premiere of the show’s third season less than a month away, I’m excitedly awaiting 

‘s return and am both nervous and hopeful for season three of the show. It’s very difficult for TV writers to replicate or top something as special as season two of 

, and with the introduction of so many new characters, including Ra’s al Ghul as this season’s major villain, I just hope that the show isn’t biting more off than it can chew. For better or worse, though, the 

team is being ambitious, and that’s something you’ve got to admire. I’ll most certainly be watching.

Chris is a graduate of Saint Joseph\'s University in Philadelphia, where he majored in English and Film. He has been writing for TVOvermind for two years and has written about several different television shows, such as New Girl, Breaking Bad, Glee, and Homeland. Along with writing for TVOvermind, Chris also writes for two of our sister sites, Uncoached and Worthly. Contact him through Twitter (@ckinger13).

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