Returning shows everyone should watch

Fall TV is imminent, which means there are dozens of new shows competing to become everyone’s new weekly obsession and even more established favorites coming back for another round. 

Here are the eight returning TV shows whose new seasons look like the most exciting — from the fifth season of Netflix’s dark comedy Bojack Horseman to the fourth and final curtain call for Crazy Ex Girlfriend.

Existential questions and afterlife hijinks abound in The Good Place. (Sept 27, NBC)

The Good Place has become one of TV’s most interesting and elevated comedies in its short, two-season run. From the first episode, the way the show balanced laugh-out-loud wordplay with accessible discussions of philosophy and morality made it memorable.

If anyone isn’t caught up on the show it would be criminal to spoil the endings of Season 1 and 2, but suffice it to say that the game board has been flipped once again in shocking ways that make Season 3 highly anticipated television.

Bojack Horseman returns with a new show-within-the-show and Bojack tackling…being Bojack. (Sept 14, Netflix)

For four seasons, Bojack Horseman has been struggling to answer some of the questions that would plague any washed up, alcoholic, depressed former sitcom star who is also a horse: can he be a good person? What are the consequences of his self-destructive actions? Is he worthy of love? What has his life meant? 

Season 5 begins with Bojack finally cast in another big project, one that may rejuvenate his career and give him a chance at redemption, but fame and attention have only ever been band-aids on the gushing emotional wounds he both suffers and inflicts. Will this be the season he finally heals and gets things right?

The eighth season of American Horror Story fast-forwards to Apocalypse and crosses over two sets of its most famous characters. (Sept 12, FX)

American Horror Story has had minor crossover moments between its anthologized seven seasons, but Apocalypse is the first time a season has been billed as an explicit clash of characters. The ghosts of Murder House and the witches of Coven will both star in the new season, which appears to take place after a nuclear apocalypse in the AHS universe. Favorites like Fiona Goode (Jessica Lange), Madison Montgomery (Emma Roberts), and Vivien Harmon (Connie Britton) will meet for the first time at the end of the world…where inevitable horrors await.

This Is Us is here for your tears again. Buy tissues in bulk. (Sept 25, NBC)

No one can escape the tear vortex that is This Is Us. No one. The ongoing several-generation sage of the Pearson family has insofar been filled with loss, heartbreak, and the kind of joy that can only come from being truly accepted and loved by those you choose to have around you, but the new season’s focus on Jack Pearson’s Vietnam days and Kate’s struggle with infertility will bring new layers of sadness and import to the way these beloved characters interact. 

Riverdale comes back with more edge, more drama, and probably a lot of shirtless scenes. (Oct 10, Netflix)

Oh, Riverdale. You’ve changed so much since Season 1. Jughead is in a gang. Veronica owns a restaurant. Betty has so much going on with her family it’s amazing she’s still standing. And through it all, the golden-hearted Archie Andrews stands at a precipice, where the forces of good or evil can claim his simple-minded soul at any given moment. Season 3 promises to be bigger, weirder, and more over the top than ever before, so grab a milkshake and buckle in.

American Vandal Season 2 asks the question “Who is the Turd Burglar?”(Sept 14, Netflix)

Keeping with the conceit that Peter and Sam are real high school documentarians whose show American Vandal reached unimagined popularity, Season 2 follows the pair as they investigate a new, more dangerous incident as a ritzy Catholic school. After most of the student body is poisoned to the point of crapping their pants in the hallways, a mysterious social media figure calling themselves “The Turd Burglar” begins to threaten the students. Peter and Sam are on the case. 

Black Lightning follows up a ~shockingly~ good first season with new villains, more heroes, and the aftermath of that wild finale. (Oct 9, CW)

Black Lightning Season 1 left viewers with plenty of questions about the Green Light project and the existing villains and Season 2 will pick up right where it left off. Black Lightning and Thunder will pair up to continue their investigation, hampered of course by some old foes and a crop of new ones. 

Daredevil is less dead than The Defenders would have people believe — the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen has a new journey coming up this fall. (TBD, Netflix)

Matt Murdock has always been reigned in by his powerful sense of self control. His faith prevented him from killing. His love prevented him from losing hope in Electra. Now that he’s hit rock bottom, as evidenced by the first teaser trailer, it’s scary to think about what Daredevil can accomplish once he’s fully embraced the darkness. 

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend‘s final season picks up with Rebecca in a bad place and everyone else just trying their best. (Oct 12, CW)

There’s no trailer for the fourth and final installment in the story of Rebecca Bunch and her West Covina pals yet, but the Season 3 finale left Rebecca in a situation where she could finally take responsibility for her actions. With the news that Greg, who hasn’t been seen on the show since Season 1, will be returning played by a different actor (welcome to CXG, Skylar Astin!), it looks like there will be plenty of twists, resolutions, and wacky musical numbers to expect from the show’s last episodes.