Fall TV's Best: Yidio Writers Pick Their Top 5 Shows

Fall TV's Best: Yidio Writers Pick Their Top 5 Shows We just released our new network-by-network previews here at Yidio, and have been fully immersed in the fall TV landscape for weeks. We asked several of our writers to pick 5 new and returning shows they're most looking forward to in Fall 2011, and their answers may surprise you.

It was a difficult choice on quite a few of these, as award-winning stalwarts are competing with hilarious up-and-comers for the hearts and minds of your fearless TV scribes.

See what they decided on below:

Andy Neunschwander:

1. "The Walking Dead" – How many zombie shows will make you bite your nails to nubs and make you tear up? For that matter, how many zombie shows are there, period? I think AMC took a big risk with this one, and the reward was equally huge. Sure, the zombie element makes this one exciting, but it’s the human contingent that makes it one of the best shows on TV.
2. "Community" – Sometimes I feel like I’m the only person on the planet who watches this show, and the ratings seem to support that theory. Then I get real sad, because seriously, this is one of the best comedies on TV. If you haven’t given it a shot yet, try it. If you’ve given it a shot in the past, give it another one.
3. "Dexter" – When I watched season one of this show, I enjoyed it but thought that there was no way it could have the legs to last for more than a couple of seasons. But the writers proved me wrong: each season (with the exception of that Jimmy Smits snoozer) has proven to be as addictive as the last. Why, oh why do I enjoy watching Michael C. Hall kill people so much?
4. "Parks & Recreation" – I was admittedly late to the game on this one. I started watching “Parks & Rec” when it first started, and dismissed it as a knockoff of “The Office.” But in the three seasons since, it has found its own voice and its
own humor, and developed its characters to the point where I can’t wait to see them again next week.
5. "New Girl" – “Terra Nova” is a close second here, but out of all the new shows this fall, I think I might be looking forward to “New Girl” the most. I’m impressed with the promo, which made me laugh a couple of times, and I’m always happy to see another quality comedy on TV. Plus, lord help me, I love Zooey Deschanel in a way that should require some kind of emotional restraining order.

Sean Comer:

1. "The UFC on FOX": It finally happened. After years of being spurned by Showtime, CBS, ESPN and Showtime as not being a "legitimate" sport, and half a decade since one fight between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar on Spike TV taught the world to love again, arguably the best network sports people in the business today have landed the sport's biggest name. And they're premiering it with a Nov. 12 prime-time special airing against the pay-per-view Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez II boxing undercard.
2. "Psych": I'm forever in gleeful awe at Dule Hill and James Rodday's comedic timing. I'm no longer even sure this show really has a "script" for these two, so much as Post-It notes with some lone word or phrase for the two to riff off. Six seasons later, neither has lost a step.
3. "Dancing with the Stars": With so many subplots and so much drama, I thought maybe "Lost" had been adapted into a stage musical. Then I realized it hadn't, and got a little sad.
4. "Two and a Half Men": Chuck Lorre and Warner Bros., you killed off Charlie Sheen's character by having a freight-train hit him. You made this decision knowing he was suing you for $1 million over his firing. He has a Comedy Central Roast airing against your season premiere, and the judge in his civil case denied your gag order. I've seen "Wrestlemania" main events that didn't get as publicly, colorfully ugly as this could.
5. "Last Man Standing": OK, so movies haven't exactly panned out for Tim Allen since "Home Improvement." I admit this though I'm one of apparently about a dozen people who thought "Wild Hogs" was pretty amusing. The Prodigal Son has returned, and hopefully it's with the same brand of humor, timing and chemistry that made me love the first half of "Home Improvement" on the very same network.

Morgan Glennon:

1. "Parks & Recreation": Parks and Rec is another show I love because at the core it's a very sweet show. It started out being The Office but with Amy Poehler, but then found its stride when the show stopped making fun of Leslie Knope for caring. Last season the addition of Adam Scott and Rob Lowe was amazing and the world of Pawnee, Indiana continues to grow more layered and hilarious. RIP Lil Sebastian.
2. "Community": I love "Community" because it's off-the-wall and gave up trying to be a normal sitcom ages ago. When it's working the best it's reveling in the fact that it can look genre and sitcom conventions in the face like in the zombie or paintball episodes. It's the perfect sitcom for the helplessly pop culture addicted.
3. "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia": One of the funniest, most inappropriate shows on the air at the moment. It always takes the comedy so far past the line of good taste that the line is only a blurry dot in the background.
4. "Ringer": I'm cautiously interested in this one, since it seems to be getting some mixed reviews. But basically, I would watch anything with Sarah Michelle Gellar - and this show has her TWICE.
5. "Raising Hope" - "Raising Hope" is literally a show I just watched because it was on after the glitter encrusted train-wreck that is "Glee" and then I got sucked in. Last season, the show came strong out of the gate and never stopped being irrelevant and hilarious. I love it because it's not afraid to get really wacky while still managing to maintain a really a nice uncynical sweetness.

Nina Long:
 
1. "Dexter": My number one choice would have to be "Dexter." I've been waiting for the new season forever. It is the one series that never gets old and is always fresh and suspenseful. The premise for the show itself is pretty great and I love that they have been able to continue it without screwing up the plot. Although Dexter is a murderer, you can't help but love him.
2. "Intervention": Intervention is a great show that always shows addicts in their truest form. It doesn't water the addiction down and it really allows you to connect with some of the people. They all have interesting stories that you want to know about while you secretly root for their recovery.
3. "The First 48": Although the show is pretty predictable, it still suspenseful and a good watch. Some of the cases are just truly sad but it's very interesting to watch the process they go through to try and catch the killer.
4. "Grey's Anatomy": Grey's Anatomy is a great show and surprisingly it hasn't gotten boring yet. Now up to the 8th season it constantly has twists and turns that leave you wanting more.
5. "Basketball Wives LA":  Although it is tacky, "Basketball Wives LA" is a guilty pleasure. I'm interested to see how the ladies interact with each other and what drama they will face along the way.
 
Richard Sharp
 
1. "The Walking Dead": Having watched the show's first season multiple times, bought the graphic novels and overall just immersed myself in zombiedom, I could not be more excited about the return of this masterful series. Frank Darabont is gone, which is a huge bummer, but the source material is incredibly rich, the cast is impeccable, and, well, those zombies are just bad-ass.
2. "Dexter": If you're looking for a boxed-set watching experience, there is literally nothing better than sitting down to a couple episodes of "Dexter" per night for a few weeks (except for maybe what it will do to your psyche). Having finally caught up on all the episodes, I'm also very geeked to see how Mos Def plays into Dexter's deck of bloody cards. Creepy, nuanced, psychologically fubarred, this is the stuff very cool, very bad dreams are made of.
3. "Boardwalk Empire": Every week, with every HBO episode, "Boardwalk Empire" presents an hour-long gangster flick, many of which are superior to some of Executive Producer Martin Scorsese's lesser feature-length films. Michael Penn is fantastic, IRS agent Michael Shannon is (hyberbole aside) astoundingly good, and Steve Buscemi has never been better...which is really saying something. Rarely does a cast of this caliber go anywhere an episodic series. Terence Winter, who also wrote and produced for "The Sopranos" has crafted a show that can shock and amaze you one minute, and leave you wondering what the hell just happened the next (in a good way). Do yourself a favor and catch up on this show before the September 25th season two premiere.
4. "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia": From picking up chicks at abortion protests to accidentally running a gay bar, there is literally no subject too ridiculous or verboten for "it's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." This season's new "Fat Mac" shtick promises things will be even more astoundingly out of hand (and 50 lbs. heavier) than usual.
5. "Up All Night": Will Arnett has been searching for a long-lasting vehicle for his talents for a long while after creating a truly legendary comedic character as GOB Bluth in "Arrested Development." Maya Rudolph was spot-on with "Bridesmaids" and Lorne Michaels, the creator of SNL, has his hands all over this one. Could this be the next "30 Rock"?

Britt Ashley

1. "Sons of Anarchy": It's a motorcycle soap opera loosely based on Macbeth.  What's not to love?
2. "The Vampire Diaries": This show is campy as hell and has managed to create a love triangle that I actually care about, which is no small feat.  Additionally, the teenage female leads, while subject to all kinds of boy drama, are dynamic, complex characters who are empowered to make their own decisions and kick more than their fair share of ass, supernatural and otherwise.
3. "Ringer": Sarah Michelle Gellar back on TV?  I'm in.  Also, I love a twins switching lives storyline,  just can't help it.
4. "Boardwalk Empire": I love a narrative that centers around the moral conflicts of profoundly corrupt characters.  Plus, I cannot tell a lie -- Michael Pitt is pretty like a girl and I would watch him just stand around and read the phonebook.  
5. "Grimm": This premise could blow some serious chunks.  But, since it combines the crime procedural format with fairy tale weirdness in the Pacific Northwest I can't help but be intrigued.
 
Elizabeth Sexton

1. "The Good Wife": The sexual tension is insane, but also so proper that you don't feel guilty getting turned on by it.
2. Rosie O'Donnell: Rosie's take on Oprah is either going to be really good or really bad. Either way, it's iconic. Plus I want to see if she gives away any cars.
3. "The Rachel Zoe Project": We drool. Who cares what she's wearing? We wanna know what the baby will rock.
4. "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia": This is like the 7th season...and it's hard to imagine that they are still getting funnier.
5. "The Simpsons": Yup, I'm gonna push for "The Simpsons." Hell yeah: because I can.

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