Support for LAist comes from
Local and national news, NPR, things to do, food recommendations and guides to Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire
Stay Connected
Listen

Share This

Arts and Entertainment

Binge 19 New Pilots At PaleyFest's Fall TV Previews

File: (L-R) Kenya Barris, creator/executive producer, actor Laurence Fishburne, actress Tracee Ellis Ross, actor Anthony Anderson, executive producer Larry Wilmore, and moderator Keith Staskiewicz speak during The Paley Center for Media's PaleyFest 2014 Fall TV Preview at The Paley Center for Media on Sept. 11, 2014 in Beverly Hills. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
()

Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.

What will you be streaming/DVRing/watching via HD antenna this fall? The Paley Center gathers a smorgasbord of new shows each year as part of their PaleyFest Fall TV Previews events, with the casts and creators of many of them also on hand. There are also a limited number of free tickets available to some of their events (more details below).

So what's the difference between Fall Previews and the spring PaleyFest? While their spring PaleyFest celebrates creative excellence in television, Paley Center VP Rene Reyes said, the fall series lets them be your guide for all the new shows out there trying to get your attention. Reyes said that it's harder than ever for a show to break through in the era of peak TV, so they're trying to help.

All of the broadcast networks are represented, along with new shows from Amazon, Hulu, TBS, Nickelodeon, and even Spectrum Cable. (Netflix is on hand, but screening an episode from the second season of animated show Disenchantment rather than something brand new.)

Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser as Jamie and Paul Buchman in the original Mad About You. (NBC via Getty Images)
()
Support for LAist comes from

One of the biggest shows this year is the Mad About You reboot from Spectrum, with original stars Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt both appearing at Fall Previews. In a rare exception to how the festival usually works, they aren't going to have an episode available for everyone to watch yet -- so they'll be airing classic original series episode "The Conversation," an entire episode filmed in just one take.

They'll actually be taping the new show's first episode in front of a live studio audience the night before Fall Previews.

"I'm anxious to hear how they're going to retool this show, or reimagine this show for 2019," Reyes said. "To have that kind of dynamic chemistry between them that we've watched across the years relived again, and have it on our stage, is going to be lots of fun."

So why come out to see TV with a big crowd, when it's been harder than ever to get people out for movies, much less something you can watch at home? Reyes credits the chance for a communal experience, versus the solitary one TV can often be.

"Actually being in a room and watching it, and hearing everybody's laughter, or intake of breath when something is scary, or thrilling, it's a different kind of thing -- to be in a room with people who are TV fans, just like us," Reyes said.

The Paley Center works with the networks to put together the lineup. Reyes said that they particularly sought after the CW's Nancy Drew and Batwoman for the event this year. The Paley Center's also a membership organization, so they try to factor in what those members tell them they want to see.

Support for LAist comes from

Another of the big premieres this year is Mixed-ish, the second Black-ish spinoff. It's a homecoming, as the Fall Previews also hosted a screening of Black-ish itself. Other popular shows that have made their premieres at the event include This Is Us, New Girl, and The Mindy Project.

This year has a diverse lineup of programming, with drama, comedy, animation, and even a game show. They're also doing family programming for the first time with Nickelodeon's The Casagrandes, with a matinee screening meant to draw in the little ones. It's a spinoff of The Loud House, currently in its fourth season -- and it features Sonia Manzano in its voice cast, who generations of fans remember from her decades on Sesame Street as Maria.

"What's gratifying to me is to get the chance to be a guide -- say 'Hey, look at this show, you might like it,'" Reyes said. "Because most of the people who come and attend these events, they'e really avid media fans and really savvy, and they are the ones who evangelize about their favorite shows after they've seen them."

PaleyFest's Fall TV Previews starts Thursday night and runs through Sept. 15. You can find out more about all the screenings here, and read the full list below. They are also offering a limited number of free tickets to some screenings; the NBC RSVPs are sold out, but you can still get free tickets for Amazon, Fox, Hulu, and CBS's shows.

  • Thursday, Sept. 5: Perfect Harmony, Sunnyside & Bluff City Law (NBC)
  • Friday, Sept. 6: Undone (Amazon)
  • Saturday, Sept. 7 matinee: Mad About You (Spectrum)
  • Saturday, Sept. 7 evening: Batwoman, Nancy Drew & Katy Keene (The CW)
  • Monday, Sept. 9: Almost Family, Prodigal Son & Bless The Harts (Fox)
  • Tuesday, Sept. 10: Wu-Tang: An American Saga & Dollface (Hulu)
  • Thursday, Sept. 12: Bob �?� Abishola & All Rise (CBS)
  • Friday, Sept. 13: The Misery Index (TBS)
  • Saturday, Sept. 14: Mixed-ish, Stumptown & Emergence (ABC)
  • Sunday, Sept. 15 matinee: The Casagrandes (Nickelodeon)
  • Sunday, Sept. 15 evening: Disenchantment (Netflix)

As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.

Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.

We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.

No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.

Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.

Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

Chip in now to fund your local journalism
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
(
LAist
)

Trending on LAist