Your Guide To This Fall’s Comic Book TV Shows

It’s September! And that means it’s time for the new TV season. Granted, nowadays, the TV schedule is more or less year round, as there always seems to be something new debuting, but the majority of it still bows in the fall, as does the majority of comic book-based TV shows. And just like their counterparts at the movies, in this coming TV season, there are more of them now than ever. In the coming weeks, fans can look forward to the return of the Emerald Archer and the Scarlet Speedster, not to mention all their costumed and non-costumed allies. They can also go back to that retched hive of scum and villainy where there are no costumed capers (yet), and to a world where super-powers are getting more plentiful. In a long-overdue move, there will be two new female superheroes leading their own show, and let’s not forget people coping with being a zombie, and other people coping with living in a world of zombies. So, with that all in mind, let’s begin your sneak peak into this Fall's comic book TV shows. Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Season 3 Where Did We Leave Off: A group of Inhumans, led by Skye’s mother Jiaiying, tried to start a war between themselves and S.H.I.E.L.D. by attacking an aircraft carrier housing a deadly alien artifact. Coulson and his team are able to stop it, but not without the loss of a couple of key agents and Coulson’s own hand. In the aftermath, Coulson decides to recruit a special team of super-powers, while the aforementioned deadly artifact eats Simmons while she’s studying it. The traitorous agent Ward, meanwhile, takes over the remains of HYDRA and swears revenge on S.H.I.E.L.D. What’s New: Coulson will fulfill his promise to put together a new team, based loosely on the comic book Secret Warriors, that will be lead by Skye, who now goes by her birth name Daisy Johnson. Mac and Lincoln will be a part of this new team, too, and Henry Simmons and Luke Mitchell have both been promoted to series regular, as well. The storyline this year will involve Fitz’s frantic search for Simmons and the emergence of new superhumans thanks to the release of the Terrigen crystals into the environment, and S.H.I.E.L.D. won’t be the only one interested in acquiring them. What to Expect: Like last year, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will be allowed to float free of having to do any cross-promotion with Marvel movies, a fact that managed to help the show grow considerably in the first half of the season. But when the clock starts ticking down to Captain America: Civil War, will that change? Also, who might be able to crossover from the movies now that Lady Sif (Jaime Alexander) has her own show? And what will become of Agents Morse and Hunter now that ABC is planning to spin them off once more? And is it just us, or is the cast maybe getting a little bloated? Premiere Date: Tuesday September 29, 2015 at 9 pm on ABC. Arrow - Season 4 Where Did We Leave Off: Oliver had to give up the Arrow identity, and Roy seemingly died for it once Ra’s al Ghul torched the Arrow’s crusade in a bid to make him the new head of the League of Assassins. But Team Arrow defeated the League, and stopped Ra’s from destroying Starling City with a bioweapon, while Oliver killed Ra’s al Ghul in a final dual. Free of his burdens, Oliver decided to ride into the sunset with Felicity, while Diggle, Laurel and Thea stay on as Starling’s costumed protectors and Malcolm Merlyn ascended to the head of the League. What’s New: Obviously, you can’t have Arrow without Arrow. And a new bad guy, Ra’s al Ghul’s former rival Damien Darhk (Neal McDonough) puts a plan in motion to do something evil (we don’t know what yet), which recalls Oliver to his crusade. A new costume, a new lair, and even a new attitude are all in the offing as Oliver continues his transformation from dark vigilante to hopeful hero. Several new characters will be coming to Starling, as well, which will be shortened to just Star City in honour of the believed to be dead Ray Palmer. Oliver in costume, meanwhile, will also get a named change: call him Green Arrow. What to Expect: Even the most diehard Arrow fan had to admit that the show lost its way in season three, and that Ra’s was not the treat he was built up to be. It begs the question about what possible role Malcolm will play in the show, and how large the spectre of the threat of the League remains. Like The Flash, Arrow will also do its part to set up the spinoff Legends of Tomorrow by welcoming back the formally deceased Black Canary, Sara Lance. How will this be achieved? John Constantine (Matt Ryan, formally of the series of the same name) will work his magic and open the door to more supernatural occurrences on Arrow. Premiere Date: Wednesday October 7, 2015 at 8 pm on The CW. The Flash - Season 2 Where Did We Leave Off: Barry decided to go back in time and save his mother from the Reverse Flash, but changed his mind after his future self waved him off. Back in the present, Caitlin married her fiancé Ronnie Raymond, Harrison Wells/Reverse Flash hinted that Cisco has powers, and Wells was defeated when Eddie killed himself thus nullifying the existence of his descendent. Mourning would wait because thanks to all the time travel tomfoolery, a black hole formed above Central City. What’s New: Obviously, the black hole will be resolved somehow, and we’ll learn all about that in the season premiere. Also, Barry will be joined by a great many new Speedsters this season including Golden Age Flash Jay Garrick (Teddy Sears), Jesse Quick (Violett Beane) and future Kid Flash Wally West (Keiynan Lonsdale). Also, a new enemy will emerge, an evil Speedster called Professor Zoom who will be voiced by Tony Todd, and somehow Harrison Wells is still alive and, presumably, kicking. What to Expect: The first season of The Flash was a tremendous mix of fun and action, and there’s no reason to expect that show won’t continue on even as the focus of much of the core creative team is now split three ways with Arrow, The Flash and the midseason addition of Legends of Tomorrow. Speaking of which, one of the great questions of season two will be the fate of Ronnie and Caitlin’s marriage, since Firestorm will be one of the Legends. Maybe it has something to do with Caitlin becoming the super-villain Killer Frost, which was hinted at during Barry’s trip through time…. Premiere Date: Tuesday October 6, 2015 at 8 pm on the CW. Gotham - Season 2 Where Did We Leave Off: The gang war that the season was building up to fizzled out when Maroni was killed. Fish, meanwhile, was probably killed, and Falcone admitted defeat and told Jim Gordon that Gotham needed a law man now. Elsewhere, Barbara’s transformation into full-blown psycho was complete when she attacked Dr. Thompkins, and Bruce and Alfred discovered a dark secret under stately Wayne Manor. What’s New: The producers have promised that the first season kinks have been worked out, and the emphasis at this point going forward will be less on freaks of the week and more on the ongoing drama of the sprawling regular cast. Morena Baccarin, Nicholas D'Agosto, and Chris Chalk have all been promoted to regulars, while Michael Chiklis will arrive in Gotham to play a police captain and potential strong ally for Gordon. For fans of the Batman mythos, be on the lookout for Mr. Freeze, Hugo Strange, Azrael, the Calendar Man, and the Court of Owls, as well as more none-too-subtle Joker references. What to Expect: More cultivation of Batman’s rogues gallery about two decades before any of these people should be as far as long as they are on this show. We know that the writers are playing to the comic book fans on that one, but they’re the fans complaining the loudest about the nonstop Easter egg hunt. Hopefully, Barbara’s relocation to Arkham and her new apparent friendship with the matricidal potential-Joker Jerome will give her something interesting to do, and hopefully young Bruce Wayne will get out of the library more, at least to another part of the house. Really though, Gotham needs to live up to its ambitions and its mostly terrific casting and production values, and try to remember what it is they thought would make this a good show in the first place, besides “Batman,” who, they say, will never show up until the end. Premiere Date: Monday September 21, 2015 at 8 pm on Fox. iZombie - Season 2 Where Did We Leave Off: Liv and the gang managed to track the zombie virus to the Max Rager Corporation and its CEO Vaughn du Clark, who, of course, denied all knowledge that their energy drink creates the living dead. Ravi, meanwhile, created a cure to the zombie virus, and offered it to Liv, but she ended up giving half to bad guy Blaine and the other half to her ex-finance Major, who had become infected by Liv in order to save his life after he was stabbed in the chest by Blaine. As a consequence, Major now knows that Liv’s a zombie. What’s New: Liv’s best friend and roommate Peyton will be back; presumably wherever she was she has made peace with the idea that Liv is a zombie. Speaking of zombies, both Blaine and Major will be dealing with the side effects of the cure, and Major will also be left dealing with Liv and Ravi’s dishonesty, keeping him in the dark about what happened to Liv all along. Meanwhile, du Clark and Max Rager and their evil machinations will be further explored, and Blaine’s father, to be played by Prison Break’s Robert Knepper, will arrive in town at some point. What to Expect: Very much like Rob Thomas’ last detective theme CW drama (that would be Veronica Mars), iZombie has a small, but very enthusiastic fanbase. The show held up fairly well ratings-wise as the lead-out of The Flash, and managed to keep the vast majority of its audience even after Flash ended its first season run. Still, the show was only renewed for 13 episodes, which may not be all bad, and could allow Thomas and team to keep the pace and the intricacy they’ve given the series without having to pad the story, which was occasionally a problem in Mars’ first and second season. Premiere Date: Tuesday October 6, 2015 at 9 pm on The CW. Jessica Jones - Season 1 Where Did We Leave Off: Nowhere, as this is the first season of the show. Although, it is the second of five series being developed by Marvel Studios for Netflix. Following up on Daredevil, the series will follow Jessica Jones, a former superheroine that now makes a living as a private investigator that takes on cases that involve people with extraordinary abilities. The show will take place in the same extended universe as all the various Marvel movies, and just down the road from where Daredevil runs on rooftops. What’s New: Jessica Jones will add a great many new characters to the Marvel sandbox, including the title character, played by Krysten Ritter, who was once a superhero named Jewel but quit after becoming the victim of Kilgrave, who can control people with his mind. Rachael Taylor will play Patsy Walker, AKA: Hellcat, and Mike Colton will play Luke Cage, another superhero who’s not only Jessica’s love interest, but will segue into his own Netflix show next. What to Expect: Jessica Jones has been in development for a long time, originally as a series for ABC, so presumably showrunner Melissa Rosenberg was able to work out the narrative kinks in adapting the character for the small screen. Considering the overwhelming positive reception for Daredevil, interest and expectations for Jones will be high, and it will establish whether or not Marvel’s Netflix experiment will pay off all the way through Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Defenders. And that begs the question: we know that Rosario Dawson will reprise her Daredevil role as nurse Claire Temple, but who else might show up? Premiere Date: Friday November 20, 2015 at 12:01 am on Netflix. Supergirl - Season 1 Where Did We Leave Off: Nowhere. This is a brand new show from the creative team behind Arrow and The Flash, although it’s questionable if there’s any crossover potential with either show. Supergirl is based on the long-running DC Comics character who is Superman’s cousin from the planet Krypton. She too escaped Krypton’s destruction and arrived to Earth sometime after her Clark Kent. What’s New: Melissa Benoist plays Kara Danvers, who, like her cousin, lives as a mousy human with glasses at a popular periodical, and like her cousin she seeks to use her extraordinary gifts to help out her adopted planet. The cast includes Mehcad Brooks as Jimmy Olsen, David Harewood as Hank Henshaw, Chyler Leigh as Alex Danvers, and Calista Flockhart as Cat Grant. Supergirl will face off against Toyman in the premiere episode, while Red Tornado is already cast (Iddo Goldberg) and slated to appear later in the fall, along with Glenn Morshower as Gen. Sam Lane, AKA the father of Lois. Superman does exist in this universe, but it’s unknown when, or if, he might appear. What to Expect: Coming from the House of Greg Berlanti, along with his No Ordinary Family co-creator Ari Adler, expect Supergirl to have a look and tone similar to The Flash but with a big network budget. Despite initial complaints about the show’s trailer being a bit too base in terms of its appeal to women viewers, those that have seen the full pilot have been rather enthusiastic about the series chances and its place in the TV superhero landscape. Whether or not Supergirl can stick out in the competitive Monday at 8 pm timeslot, where it will go up against Gotham directly, is another story. Premiere Date: Monday October 26, 2015 at 8:30 pm on CBS. The Walking Dead - Season 6 Where We Leave Off: After escaping Terminus and the cannibals there-in, Rick and the group found an Atlanta hospital where a police officer had set up her own little fiefdom. Embittered towards the remains of humanity, and with no where left to go, the group heads north to Virginia where they find a safe haven in Alexandria, and each of the survivors struggled in their own way to fit in. Rick, having become paranoid and savage, has the most trouble adapting and is nearly expelled for his brutal insistence that the Alexandra residents are unready for the world as it is now. What’s New: Following in the footsteps of the spinoff/prequel Fear the Walking Dead, this new season of Walking Dead will look backwards at the lives of the survivors’ pre-zombie apocalypse. Merritt Weaver joins the cast as a new doctor who arrives at the Alexandria Safe Zone, Corey Hawkins will play supply runner Heath, and Ethan Embry will play a new character. There will also be a scene coming up with the most zombie extras ever, over 300 in total, and make-up designer Greg Nicotero confessed that he will start using digital effects to simulate the worsening decomposing state of some of the zombies. Also, there may be hints that the worst of the worst human villains, Negan, may be coming soon… What to Expect: Season six was a forgone conclusion before season five ever debuted, and it became obvious why as the episodes unfolded. The show had new urgency and new commitment, and finally forced the group to confront their own demons by introducing them to some humans who were not themselves (mostly) horrible people. Look for season six to test Rick’s own negative world view further, especially with the arrival of friend Morgan (Lennie James), who does not recognize the man that Rick’s become. Also, with the success of Fear the Walking Dead, look for the show to end no time soon. Premiere Date: Sunday October 11, 2015 at 9 pm on AMC.