The Pop Culture Pundit

It may only be mid-November, but TV shows such as High Potential are already dropping their fall finales, going on hiatus much like a bear goes into hibernation before emerging in the spring. Now is a great time to evaluate the TV shows of the Fall TV season thus far. Below I will give my thoughts for TV shows on both broadcast networks and streaming. Let’s dive in!

Broadcast TV

ABC

• I have loved Dancing with the Stars for years, and I am happy to see it is having a ratings renaissance. The ratings for DWTS have been actually insane–they’ve been increasing for weeks, which is practically unheard of for any sort of network show. 

^{This may be from season 25, but it’s still worth watching now (ABC via YouTube)}

CBS

• Tracker is currently my favorite procedural airing. Yes, it is pretty standard and generic in its plots of “rewardist” Colter Shaw (Justin Hartley) finding missing people every week, but a few things make it stand out. First, Hartley is pretty much a one-man show out in the field for action scenes, with communication between his partners-in-crime Reenie Greene (Fiona Rene) and Randy (Chris Lee) almost always limited to phone calls. Hartley is very strong in this role, and very passionate–his interview with The Hollywood is worth a read. While Hartley and Rene have both been series regulars all three seasons, Tracker has had a hard time finding its footing in this department, with three original regulars all departing the past two seasons. It seems it is following in Night Court’s footsteps and finally getting its groove this season–I hope Lee is upgraded to series regular alongside Hartley and Rene. Jensen Ackles is also a delight as Colter’s brother Russell when he guest stars so I am looking forward to his next appearance, whenever that may be. 
• Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage is one of the last multi-cam sitcoms on television–but luckily it’s one of the funniest. I am glad Ruben (Jessie Prez) has gotten more plot lines this season, and Connor (Dougie Baldwin) remains a standout as Mandy’s quirky brother. I’m guessing the tire shop will be included in more plots as Georgie and Ruben struggle to run it by themselves–and perhaps Mandy’s own career will get more screen time as she works to be promoted to more than the weekend weather girl. 

FOX

• The Floor is my guilty pleasure. I mostly watch it while I’m cooking and gleefully shout out the answers to the pictures on the screen while chopping carrots or stirring cake batter. Rob Lowe is one of my favorite actors, which means I hope The Floor continues for 83 more seasons. 

NBC

• After an underwhelming 50th season, I am happy to say that Saturday Night Live has been delivering in season 51. While I miss performers such as Heidi Gardner and Ego Nwodim, the new featured cast have been giving standout performances–particularly Ashley Padilla and Veronica Slowikowska, who are really filling the void with only five female cast members (out of 17 total). My favorite skits thus far have been ChatGPTío and White House Makeover. 

^{NBC via YouTube}

^{NBC via YouTube}

Streaming

Apple TV

• I fully expect Emmy nominations for both Nicole Beharie and Greta Lee for The Morning Show, who both had standout episodes devoted to their characters. My mom also agrees with me: Reese Witherspoon and Billy Crudup have absolutely zero chemistry. Please end this romantic subplot to put everyone out of their misery!
• Can we take a moment to recognize how insane Apple TV’s music budget is? Like, all the iPhone money they make is probably devoted to music licensing alone. Ted Lasso famously featured The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” a few years ago, and recently, between The Morning Show and Loot, many standout songs have been spotlighted, including “Alligator Tears” by Beyoncé in The Morning Show and “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse in Loot. I look forward just to hearing what songs will be featured every week. 

HBO

• The Chair Company is probably the strangest show I’ve ever watched, and I’m obsessed with it. I really don’t want to spoil plot details–but let’s just say SNL alum Tim Robinson has a grudge with a chair company and is going to great lengths to prove he’s right in his fight with them. HBO has a great track record with the SNL-to-prestige-show pipeline–Bill Hader’s Barry was another delightfully strange show I was obsessed with, and that won Emmys. 

Looking Ahead to the Spring

• I am a huge fan of Carl Hiaasen books and am so excited to hear ABC has picked up RJ Decker starring Scott Speedman for 2026. I really hope it airs around the same time as Apple TV’s Carl Hiaasen-inspired show, Bad Monkey, for comparison. 
• As usual, there are a million medical dramas on air: Grey’s Anatomy, Brilliant Minds, recent Emmy winner The Pitt…but have we ever had competing medical comedies? This might be the first time with the premiere of the Scrubs reboot on ABC airing alongside NBC’s St. Denis Medical next year. I can’t wait. Scrubs is one of my favorite shows of all time, and St. Denis Medical has been one of my favorite shows of the past year. 
• Patrick Dempsey will be making his triumphant return to network TV with Fox’s Memory of Killer premiering in the spring. According to the logline, he’s a hitman that is suffering from Alzheimer’s. Intriguing! 

^{Fox via YouTube}

• I am very much looking forward to the Malcolm in the Middle reboot next year. There’s not a release date yet, but it should be announced soon. I’m particularly interested in seeing the re-casted Dewey, as well as what Malcolm is up to now. Surely he’ll still be breaking the fourth wall. I also hope they have an updated credits sequence–it would be disappointing if they decided to forego it altogether (looking at you, And Just Like That). 
• Because I’m listening to the Saved by the Bell podcast Zack to the Future, I have to wonder what TV show Mark-Paul Gosselaar will be on next. Looking at his IMDb he has consistently been a lead on TV shows the last few years, including Mixed-ish (2019-2021) and Found (2023-2025), the latter of which was tragically cancelled on a cliffhanger this past spring. I wonder if he will return to Will Trent–he was on four episodes in 2023 before filming obligations for Found took over. Or he could go back to making the Saved by the Bell podcast! Or both. I guess we’ll see!