Flipping ahead to some fun fall TV

I know, the regular TV season is just ending and the summer shows have barely started yet there's already buzz about new TV for the fall.

 Granted, I'm still adjusting my pop culture meter for the warm weather days ahead of us but there are a few upcoming series set to air after Labor Day that might be worth being on the look out for:

BLACK LIGHTNING: Yes, the CW and Greg Berlanti are launching another DC themed superhero show and this time, the hero is not a twenty-something.

Jefferson Pierce(Cress Williams) has retired from the crime fighting scene in order to provide a stable life for his daughters Jennifer(China Anne McClain)  and Anissa(Nafessa Williams). Becoming a high school principal has allowed him to do just that but the threat of gang violence is pulling Jennifer into dangerous territory when she shows signs of having similar abilities as her dad.

Having no choice to not only protect his daughter but other students as well, Jefferson brings out his old power suit and goes back into action. I really like this concept of an older superhero, a fresh change from the mainstream norm, and even though this show is intended to be separate from the Arrowverse, I wouldn't completely rule out a crossover as Supergirl is in her own dimension as well there and we know that Kara and Barry Allen have teamed up on occasion.

And yes, I fondly recall Black Lightning from the classic cartoon Super Friends and happy to see this character get the fully fleshed out live action treatment that he deserves:

S.W.A.T: Along with superheroes, reboots of old school TV shows have become the norm and cop related series in particular seem to be the current flavor of the fall season.

One of those happens to have former Criminal Minds lead Shermar Moore, as Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson, a newly appointed leader of his S.W.A.T. unit, due to a tragic shooting of an innocent bystander.

Faced with pressures from the department to restore public confidence in his team and resistance from the community, Hondo has a lot on his plate and then some. This show is based more on the 2003 film version than the original 1970s TV drama, with updates reflecting the current state of affairs and that's going to be a tricky line to walk on for this series to survive.

However, Moore has a strong fan following,plus a good amount of natural talent and charisma(yes, I'm a fan girl) and that may go a long way towards keeping this ship afloat:

THE GIFTED: Marvel is expanding their small screen presence with a new series for Fox that seems to be set in a post X-Men world.

Parents Reed and Kate(Stephen Moyer and Amy Acker) realize that their kids have mutant powers which makes them a target for government internment. In order to stay free, the family goes on the run, joining up with an underground movement made up of mutants trying to figure out their place in the world among other concerns.

This seems more in line with the recent movie Logan than the FX series Legion, which sounds good to me. I haven't seen Legion but the need to revamp the X Men franchise in this format is a solid idea and having genre friendly actors like Moyer and Acker on board is a sign of good things to come:

DYNASTY: The ultimate 80s soap opera is going to be reborn on the CW and yes, there is a cat fight scene right in the first trailer and probably the first episode.

 For this take on the iconic show, rich girl Fallon(Elizabeth Gillies) is less than thrilled with her father's choice of new wife, Cristal(Nathalie Kelley) and ready to declare war for control of the Carrington financial empire. Hoping to play her own power games, Fallon finds herself met with opposition and unexpected compromises that include her own brother Steven.

While the show is set into the usual CW mold of drama happy young people paired with seasoned genre pros(Grant Show plays the dad), there's plenty of callbacks to the original series that ought to engage the old school fanbase(did I mention the cat fight?) enough to give it a try:

More fall TV talk is sure to come but for now, I'm satisfied with this set to focus on. After all, we do have a wave of summer time TV goodness to enjoy and if current events get any stranger than they already have, we're going to need as much stress relief TV as we can get.

Oh, one last highlight of the fall to come-Shondaland may have only one season left of Scandal but there's a shiny new series on the way called For The People, which should secure future T.G.I.T. viewings with it's blend of How To Get Away With Murder meets Law and Order for event night fun: