ABC Fall Trailers

Today ABC released trailers for their fall line up and they released quite a few (11 in fact) and from the looks of it many of these might get cancelled. I dunno if it's just me but most of the comedies that ABC have played the race card and decided to focus on people characters besides white characters (shocker right). This isn't a bad move from them however I can't help but notice that these race based comedies really play on stereotypes and over exaggeration to sell jokes which would be a bad move for them. Enough rambling about race, I'll do that more when I break down those trailers below. The only show which didn't receive a trailer yet is Agent Carter (which I'm looking forward to the most probably).

Manhattan Love Story

From the title I'm sure you can guess what this show is about and no the trailer won't make you think differently. This sitcom will probably fail because of the premise itself because you can kind of predict how this entire show will play out (this might change tho if the show somehow beat the cancellation axe), especially with the list. So since this is a comedy about a budding new relationship between a girl new to the city who has a list of stuff to do in Manhattan its kind of obvious that this Romeo will help her complete the list, generic all over. However this show does do one thing interesting which is that we hear both characters thoughts as opposed to just one which hasn't really been done in many sitcoms. I will probably check this show out to see if it gets any better but judging from the promo it looks really generic but I will admit the joke at the end of the promo did make me chuckle.

Galavant

This is probably one of the riskiest shows that ABC have in their Fall lineup, why you ask? Because its a medieval musical comedy fairy tail, you heard me right a MUSICAL COMEDY FAIRY TAIL. When I heard this I was adamant cause I thought I would hate it but my god I can't stop my self from enjoying this trailer because of how ridiculous it is. If it's any consolation the music in this show is written by oscar winning composer Alan Menken who you may know from some of his amazing work in Disney films such as Tangled, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid (which the songs in this trailer remind me of for some odd reason) and a a slew of other great Disney classics (Aladdin, Pocahontas, Hercules). Music aside this show is actually quite funny and I will probably be checking this show out since its the first of its kind which I have seen on TV.

Fresh off the Boat

This is the first of ABC's new non whitewashed sitcom. As funny as this trailer is I can't help but feel that the mother in this show is super Asian to the point where it feels racist, hopefully the show doesn't focus too much on the mothers Asianess for all their jokes. Race aside this sitcom is probably the better ones which ABC has greenlit for the fall. The show is basically about an Asian (Chinese?) who move and have to learn to readjust their lives and fit in. What I do like is that this show isn't just about the Eddie Wong (the son) trying to fit in to the school but the whole family trying to fit in with the new community. Seeing as this show is based on the life of famous chef Eddie Wong I am interested to see if the show actually looks into what influences Eddie into becoming a chef. If this show doesn't heavily rely on race for their jokes and situations it might actually live beyond a season however if it does tend to swerve towards jokes based on race for all its laughs it might fail (like Outsourced).

Forever

This show is one which I can't quite figure out cause it seems like just a big old mess. The show is about a guy who can't die and when he does he returns naked in a body of water and continues living. I don't have a problem with this concept but what I can see to be a problem is his repeated deaths, if they keep playing on this fact to solve the mysteries in the show it will just become repetitive which is what the trailer felt like to me. Honestly I don't see this show getting renewed at all because the premise is just repetitive, I see the episodes playing out in this fashion every week: Mystery, begin to solve mystery, find an unexplainable lead or problem that hinders the mystery solving process, use death as the answer to solve the mystery. Obviously this formula will tweak but it will still basically be like that week in week out. On top of the repetitive nature of the show the one line at the end "You may have died, but you haven't lived" really made me cringe.

Secret and Lies

Secret and Lies is shown to be a gripping series which follows an everyday man who finds himself at the center of murder case revolving around a dead young boy. This show is a remake of the Australian show of the same name which I have seen parts of but never finished. The trailer is interesting but I don't see how this show can go on beyond a season unless the FBI agent moves on to a new case (In Australia it was a 6 part mini series). The cast seems fine but for some reason I just don't like the FBI agent, maybe because she is overplaying the cold part a bit too much and just comes off as an ass, someone that will do anything to make sure the crime is solved no matter who get hurt along the way. Nevertheless I will be checking out this show to see if it holds up to the Australian counterpart (of what I've seen).

Black-ish

Anthony Anderson what have you done? This show is the second race based comedy in ABC's fall lineup and this show seems more racist than Fresh off the Boat. Unlike the Fresh off the Boat trailer this show doesn't look enticing at all and looks like a typical remember your roots story but Anthony Andersoned which means it is all exaggerated to the point where the black people in the show are pretty much just exploring the stereotypes which make them black (Bro-Mitzvah come on!). What I don't understand is why a black family can't be portrayed as normal and have to be overly black which can be hilarious if done right i.e Everybody Hates Chris. This show just doesn't interest me despite having actors like Anthony Anderson and Lawrence Fishburne. In my opinion this show will probably get cancelled early into it's first season. 

American Crime

This is the third race based show by ABC this Fall but this is how you do a racial struggle and conflict the right way. This drama series starts off with a brutal, lethal attack on a young married couple which stirs up tensions across racial lines as the police suspect a hispanic male is the key suspect. This show is helmed by John Ridley who wrote 12 years a slave so if that is any indication then this should be a rollercoaster of a show filled with emotions and hard to watch scenes which question race and race relations. The show is a very prestigious project from its writer to it's talented cast which includes Felicity Huffman, Timothy Hurton and Benito Martinez who are acting their hearts out in this trailer, especially the crying scenes we see in the trailer they are truly heart wrenching.. This mystery which is shown reminded me heavily of Prisoners (which I loved) and I hope that the show can live up to what it is promising.

How to Get Away With Murder

This show comes from the mind of Shonda Rimes who is known for popular shows (which seem to entice married couples more than singles) such as Grey's Anatomy and Scandal. This show is about a group of law students and their intense professor who seems to plunge her students into some dark activities which she justifies by saying "you need to learn this to become successful". This show does in fact look interesting (I haven't watched Scandal or Grey's) and over the top in some ways which makes for some interesting television. After watching the trailer I still don't exactly know what this show is about besides the students getting a hands on approach to law and I'm wondering if this show will do a case of the week format and Indeed after watching the trailer I am wondering how far the students in her tutelage will go to solve the crimes. As with other Shonda Rimes shows the show involves explores themes of sex, sexuality and from the trailer also involves scandals (no pun intended). I might watch a few episodes to see if I enjoy this show however I think this may just be another couples show which I probably won't watch till I get to that stage in my life.

Selfie

Devastated, is what I am feeling right now. I really REALLY was looking forward to this show because of the cast (John Cho and Karen Gillian!) and the creator (Emily Kapnek of Suburgatory). As you may have guessed from my initial sentence I'm not really feeling this show because it looks more like a rom com movie as opposed to a series because honestly how far can this show's premise go? The show is titled Selfie and focuses on John Cho's character fixing Karen Gillian's character and helping her from not being a social media junkie who gets gratification from likes on facebook and what not. I will probably watch this show because of the cast and directors but I don't have any expectations of this show going forward past season one because honestly how many episodes can you have of a person fixing a social media addict, the show needs more substance than that. Honestly tho I don't see this show going beyond five episodes which is a shame since the cast and mind behind the show are actually capable of much better.

The Whispers

Whispers is a show that has the great Steven Spielberg attached to it and while Spielberg has had his fair share of misses on the small screen The Whispers actually looks pretty good and really creepy. For starters it is a really unique take on the alien invasion story and it has a Stephen King vibe to it. The show just looks really well done and is probably the better shows that ABC has revealed in its fall line up and did i mention that it looks really creepy? So creepy that I got a few chills from watching the trailer and also I can't wait to see a good psychological thriller that has somewhat of a supernatural twist on it because if done well then show will certainly be amazing. I'm interested to see if this show is actually about alien domination or if it is some elaborate plot by a genius mastermind (one can hope).

Cristela

This is the third race comedy from ABC and easily the worst of the bunch. Why you ask? Because Cristela seems to be a comedian who relies on ethnicity as a crutch and I usually find that comedians who fall back on racial stereotypes aren't that funny because it usually shows that they are unable to come up with anything funny or clever. The only comedians (off the top of my head, I'm sure there are more) that have done racial comedy right and deserve respect for it are Chris Rock and Paul Mooney. I actually don;t have anything to say about this show because it is absolutely cringe worthy and I believe the phrase "kill it before it lays eggs" applies well here because I do not want another 2 broke girls situation happening, one is enough. I will be very surprised and dissappointed if this show gets more seasons.