Upsides AND downsides FALL TV PILOTS

By Verne Gay

Newsday

The broadcast networks will announce their fall lineups and new shows next week. Here are a few leading contenders, with their upsides - and downsides.

ABC

“Designated Survivor”: Kiefer Sutherland thriller about cabinet member appointed prez after POTUS is killed.

Upside: Hints of Jack Bauer.

Downside: Hints of Jack Bauer.

“The Jury”: Anthology following jury deliberations over a single trial, with “The Good Wife’s” Archie Panjabi.

Upside: Hot new trend – the anthology.

Downside: A season is a long time to spend in a jury room.

“Marvel’s Most Wanted”: The next “Agents of SHIELD” spinoff.

Upside: ABC spends lavishly on Marvel, while ex-“SHIELD” stars Adrianne Palicki and Nick Blood - whose characters are officially on the run - should make this good, as usual.

Downside: We all need to get our degree – preferably a doctorate – in advanced Marvel Studies before watching.

CBS

“The Great Indoors”: Joel McHale’s a digital editor.

Upside: Not so distant echo of “Community.”

Downside: “Community”-even echoes - on CBS? Not in our lifetime.

“I’m Not Your Friend”: Family sitcom with Matt LeBlanc and Jenna Fischer

Upside: That cast, of course.

Downside: Ghastly premise - dad raising the kids when mom goes back to work. (Early sign of trouble? The title has been dumped).

“Bull”: Dr. Phil McGraw’s early career (as trial consultant).

Upside: Paul Attanasio of “House” produces, Michael Weatherly left “NCIS” for this, so ...

Downside: So . what? A whole series about Dr. Phil? (Don’t we already have that?)

“MacGyver”: Lucas Till (“X-Men” franchise) stars in the remake.

Upside: Considerable, with the right tone, touch and (of course) appeal to original fan base.

Downside: Tech overkill. Violence overkill. Everything overkill.

Fox

“The Mick”: Comedy about woman who raises her jailed sister’s brats in Greenwich, Conn.

Upside: Kaitlin Olson (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) stars.

Downside: Nothing obvious except maybe the name.

“Son of Zorn”: Live-action sitcom with animated lead (voiced by Jason Sudeikis) who returns to his family after 10-year absence.

Upside: Animated/live action? That sounds intriguing, no?

Downside: A one-trick animated/live action pony?

“Prison Break”: The return of Fox’s 2005-09 series.

Upside: Some of the original cast, including Wentworth Miller, Dominic Purcell, Sarah Wayne Callies.

Downside: Didn’t Michael (Miller) die at the end of the original? Guess we’ll have to watch to see if he does a Jon Snow.

“Shots Fired”: Drama about racial shootings in a Tennessee town.

Upside: Helen Hunt returns to TV – and rest of cast is great, too, including Richard Dreyfuss and Stephen Moyer – in a series that will actually be about something important.

Downside: Could be a long, hard, grim slog.

“Star”: Queen Latifah and Benjamin Bratt star in this drama about a girl band’s rise, from “Empire’s” Lee Daniels.

Upside: The POV here – told from the perspective of the band itself – makes this almost sound like an inversion of “Empire” with a grittier storyline.

Downside: Turns into “Empire II,” or “Empire Lite.”

NBC

“The Good Place”: Comedy about a woman seeking goodness in her life.

Upside: With Kristen Bell and Ted Danson, produced by Mike Schur (“Parks and Recreation”)

Downside: Possibly none.

“Chicago Justice, “Chicago PD” spinoff

Upside: Dick Wolf’s successful Chicago factory line keeps on rolling along.

Downside: And rolling and rolling. Windy City overkill?

“Cruel Intentions”: Adaptation of the 1999 movie with Sarah Michelle Gellar (who stars here) and Ryan Phillippe (who does not).

Upside: Roger Kumble – who directed original – ∫ returns as showrunner, and he should know what originally made the movie a cult fave.

Downside: Same leering, perverse tone absent the most of the talented actors - in the movie those included Joshua Jackson, Reese Witherspoon and Selma Blair - who knew how to camp it up.

The CW

“Riverdale”: Based on Archie Comics characters, with Archie played by New Zealand (relative) newcomer, KJ Apa.

Upside: Other than Sabrina, the teenage witch, the rest of Archie and his pals have been waiting around for a live action TV series for years. A huge back story (and catalog, dating back to the ’40s) to build upon too. Plus, Greg Berlanti (“Arrow”) produces.

Downside: Comic/superhero overabundance out there, especially on The CW. (At least these characters tend to be less “heroic,” more “human.”)