It’s that time of year when the major US networks roll out their new TV season. Below I highlight all the mysteries/crime dramas you have to look forward to in Fall 2019.
(And FYI, if you’re conflicted about what to watch because there are multiple great shows on at the same time, you can always stream CBS shows at a later time with CBS All Access. The service is also available through Amazon Prime Video.)
Mondays
There are two brand new dramas making their debut on Monday September 23rd.
Prodigal Son centers on a young criminal psychologist who helps the NYPD solve crimes. The twist? His father is an infamous serial killer. Supporting cast include Michael Sheen and Lou Diamond Phillips. The series airs on FOX at 9pm.
Bluff City Law follows the lawyers of an elite Memphis law firm, led by a father-daughter team, that specializes in civil rights cases. Only time will tell whether the show is anything like the classic show featuring a father-daughter crime-solving lawyer team: Matlock. The series airs on NBC at 10pm.
Alternatively, if you can’t get enough of legal/courtroom dramas (though not necessarily mysteries) you might be interested in All Rise (a brand new series following the lives of judges, prosecutors and public defenders in a Los Angeles courthouse) and Bull (a series about a psychologist and trial science expert, returning for its third season). Both series are premiering September 23rd on CBS at 9pm and 10pm respectively.
Tuesdays
Emergence is a brand new mystery-thriller with a potentially paranormal twist. The series follows a police chief who takes in a young child she finds near the site of a mysterious accident. Investigations into the accident are complicated by the fact that the child has no memory of what happened or who she is. The series airs on ABC at 10pm, starting on September 24th.
Alternatively, CBS has a full crime-themed line-up on Tuesdays. NCIS comes back for its 17th season at 8pm; FBI comes back for its 2nd season at 9pm; and NCIS: New Orleans comes back for its 6th season at 10pm, all starting September 24th.
Wednesdays
Following the premiere of the 4th season of Riverdale at 8pm on October 9th, the CW will be debuting the latest Nancy Drew adaptation at 9pm. In this adaptation, beloved heroine Nancy Drew is 18 years old, has completed high school, but her college plans are put on hold.
Another series making its debut is Stumptown. The series stars Cobie Smulders (from How I Met Your Mother) as a military veteran who becomes a private investigator in Portland, Oregon. The series premieres on ABC at 10pm on September 25th.
If you’re into more drama than mystery, you can tune in to CBS for season 3 of both SEAL Team and S.W.A.T. at 9pm and 10pm, respectively, starting on October 2nd.
If you’re more into the Chicago franchise, then tune in to NBC for Chicago Med (season 5), Chicago Fire (season 8), and Chicago PD (season 7). The shows make their season premiere on September 25th at 8pm, 9pm, and 10pm, respectively.
Thursdays
It’s going to be a tough choice deciding what to watch on Thursdays as all three major networks will be airing crime/mystery dramas at 10pm starting on September 26th.
CBS is debuting Evil, a brand new series about a psychologist who allies with a priest and a contractor to “investigate the church’s backlog of unexplained mysteries, including supposed miracles, demonic possessions and other extraordinary occurrences”.
ABC is continuing with season 6 of its popular How to Get Away With Murder. Whereas NBC is continuing with season 21 of Law & Order: SVU.
Fridays
If you’re a fan of crime tv, two of the major networks have you covered on Friday night.
CBS has the trifecta of season 10 of Hawaii Five-0 at 8pm, season 2 of Magnum P.I. at 9pm, and season 10 of Blue Bloods at 10pm (starring the original Magnum, P.I. Tom Selleck). All three shows premiere on September 27th.
On NBC at 8pm you can watch season 7 of The Blacklist starting on October 4th. (And follow that up with true-crime news-show Dateline, which is currently airing at 9pm.)
Saturdays
Saturday night gives you some options with Crimetime Saturday on CBS from 8pm-10pm, during which time they’ll be rerunning their more popular shows from earlier in the week. Whereas NBC has Dateline Saturday Mystery 8pm-10pm for the true-crime fans.
Sundays
On Sunday nights, you can ease into the new work week by watching the 10th season of NCIS: Los Angeles on CBS. The series will normally air at 9pm, but will air starting at 9:30 for its season premiere on September 29th.
You can follow that up with season 2 of The Rookie starring Nathan Fillion on ABC starting at 10pm.
Murder, She Watched 
Nancy Drew is easily my pick of the new shows. I am a big fan of the character and look forward to seeing what the CW does with her (I think they did a pretty good job with Riverdale). Of the returning shows, I have really enjoyed previous seasons of How to Get Away with Murder though I need to catch up on the last season soon.
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I loved How To Get Away With Murder but stopped watching halfway through the second season because I was never home when it aired. I’m tempted to try to catch up since it’s on Netflix, but I also find it’s too intense a show to binge.
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Yes, I have that same problem with it too (it reminds me a little of Damages, a show that had a similar structure and themes, in that regard). You do have to spread out the episodes to really take in what is happening…
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