The fall TV season is now upon us, with tons of new and returning shows from all the major streamers and networks that are competing for attention and mindshare. Already, some of the most buzzworthy highlights of the season include shows like Netflix’s The Perfect Couple — a star-studded murder mystery series set in New England — and Peacock’s Fight Night, which might be the sole exception to my rule that the inclusion of Kevin Hart in anything is essentially a kiss of death.
As far as broadcast TV goes, the always memorable Kaitlin Olson is also back with a new project: ABC’s High Potential, a remake of a French series in which Olson plays a single mom with an extraordinary knack for solving crimes. And in terms of what other TV shows are on offer, there’s a handful of series with new seasons out that share a noteworthy distinction — all of them have already racked up perfect 100% critics’ scores.
Those top-scoring shows include: Paramount+’s romantic comedy Colin from Accounts, CBS’ Kathy Bates-led Matlock reboot; NBC’s new medical drama Brilliant Minds; and the sci-fi/horror drama From on MGM+.
Obviously, spanning everything from comedy to medicine and horror, those shows couldn’t be more different from each other. Criticism of TV shows is also exceedingly subjective, which is to say the fact that all four have racked up 100% scores on Rotten Tomatoes for their new seasons is no guarantee whatsoever that a viewer will be a fan of all or even any of them. Then again — you never know, right?
We’ve previously covered Paramount+’s Australian import Colin from Accounts, which basically starts with a wacky meet-cute between two polar-opposite singles — newly heartbroken medical student Ashley (Harriet Dyer) and brewery owner Gordon (Patrick Brammall), brought together by a nipple flash, which leads to a car crash involving a dog. Meanwhile, I can’t be the only one surprised by a resurgence of interest in Matlock, for crying out loud — but, then again, the remake was developed by Jane the Virgin creator Jennie Snyder Urman, so I shouldn’t be surprised her new project has landed so well.
The final two aren’t my cup of tea, but I can certainly understand why people are fans. In NBC’s Brilliant Minds, which is loosely based on the life of neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks, Zachary Quinto stars as “an unconventional doctor who gets mind-boggling results for patients with obscure disorders and conditions” (per USA Today). And then there’s the somewhat boringly titled From, starring Lost‘s Harold Perrineau with a plot that also sounds a little Lost-ish, not that that’s a bad thing.
In the show, people are basically trapped in a mysterious nightmare town that they can’t leave. As they search for a way out, they must also survive threats from a forest — like terrifying creatures that come out at night. See what I mean? We’ve got “Michael,” a town instead of an island, and trapped inhabitants instead of passengers from Oceanic Flight 815. Plus, night creatures instead of a smoke monster. Losties, if you haven’t given this one a try yet, what are you waiting for? An invitation from The Others?
