Fall means leaves changing colors, pumpkin spice, hoodies, and a slew of new TV to fill DVRs nationwide. This fall, those with nerdier tastes will be extra happy as there is a remarkable amount of nerdy TV premiering or coming back for a new season. While this summer only had a handful of nerdy programming (The Tick, Rick and Morty, The Defenders), the fall has new premieres all the way to the end of the year across network TV, cable, and online streaming services.
Below is a guide to some of the more noteworthy nerdy TV coming at you this fall. (All times EST)
New TV Premieres
The Orville
Thursdays at 9pm, FOX
Seth McFarland stars as the captain of a starship in this sitcom take on Star Trek. It’s an odd mix of goofball comedy (The captain and his ex-wife first officer making inappropriate remarks about their relationship while negotiating with hostile aliens) and serious sci-fi drama. The tone seemed to shift in the third episode to something resembling classic TNG, which leaves me hopeful for the rest of the season.
Marvel’s Inhumans
Fridays at 8pm starting tonight, ABC
While the premiere, which ran in movie theaters a few weeks back, didn’t get great reviews, this live action series is tackling some insane content. Based on the Inhumans, introduced in the Fantastic Four, Marvel’s Inhumans will focus on the legendary royal family, lead by Black Bolt, a guy who’s every word is a sonic explosion, and Medusa, a redhead whose hair can do stuff.
The Gifted
Mondays at 9pm starting Oct. 2nd, FOX
The Gifted is FOX’s look at the world of the X-Men, just without the X-Men. Unlike FX’s Legion, The Gifted is set in a modern world where the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants are a known quantity. It’s been speculated that the series will take place sometime after the original trilogy, but with the timeline alterations of Days of Future Past, it’s hard to know what is and isn’t canonical with the movies.
Big Hero 6
November, Disney XD
Based on the 2014 3D animated film, this 2D series will feature many of the same voice actors as the movie. Based on the opening sequence, it appears to take place after the events of the movie and shows the team doing team-based teen super hero stuff. Could be fun. Might be a little too kid-friendly like a lot of the other Marvel stuff. We’ll have to wait and see.
Streaming Shows
Star Trek Discovery
Sundays at 8pm, CBS All Access (United States)
This big budget Star Trek series set 10 years before the events of Star Trek: TOS released its first episode on CBS but is requiring those who want to watch it subscribe to the $5.99/month streaming service CBS All Access. It seems like a big gamble to put something that pricey behind a paywall on a service with such limited content (Unless you’re SUPER into Big Bang Theory). The first two episodes were pretty good, but you’ll have to shell out almost the cost of a Netflix subscription to keep watching.
Stranger Things
October 27th, Netflix
The people of Hawkins, Indiana are in for some new troubles as they recover from the horrors of the Demogorgon, the sinister experiments of the underground laboratory, and the tragic death of everyone’s favorite character that won’t put up with your nonsense, Barb.
Marvel’s Runaways
November 21st, Hulu
Runaways is the story of six teens that discover their parents are supervillains. Based on the 2003 Brian K. Vaughn Marvel comic series that was revived this month by acclaimed young adult author Rainbow Rowell.
Returning Nerdy TV Shows
Gotham
Thursdays at 8pm, FOX
The Batman equivalent of Muppet Babies, Gotham is back for another season of people acting like the cartoonish things that happen in Gotham city aren’t completely insane.
Supergirl
Mondays at 8pm starting October 9th, The CW
Supergirl ended season 2 with a lot of alien chaos and some very personal heartbreak for Kara. Expect Season 3 to start in a fairly dark, but hopeful place.
The Flash
Tuesdays at 8pm starting October 10th, The CW
Since going into the speed force to save Iris, which feels like the premise of every third episode, Central City has been defended by Kid Flash and Vibe, but you know they’ll be pulling Barry out to save the day.
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow
Tuesdays at 9pm starting October 10th, The CW
The finale of Legends’ last season had the timestream in chaos, so this season is sure to start with the Legends fixing things with time travel and punching, as is their way.
Arrow
Thursdays at 9pm starting October 12th, The CW
Arrow is starting an astonishing 6th season with a bang… literally. The Arrow team is left scattered after an island explosion left their fates unknown.
Star Wars Rebels
Mondays at 9pm starting October 16th, Disney XD
Star Wars Rebels gets better with every episode. After Season 3’s tense conflicts with Thrawn, Mandalorian history, and a final rematch between Darth Maul and Obi-Wan, it’s hard to imagine where the crew of the Ghost will go from here.
The Walking Dead
Sundays at 9pm starting October 22nd, AMC
The fight against the sadistic Negan continues, but now Rick has both the Kingdom and the Hilltop communities to fight alongside. Things are going to get extra violent, and not because of zombies. Well, not directly anyway.
Any other nerdy TV shows coming up this fall you’re excited about? Let us know in the comments below.