From 'American Horror Story' to 'Frasier' to 'Loki': 15 shows to watch during strike-afflicted fall season

If there was one title that best summarized the upcoming television season it would have to be... Uncharted Territory. Ever since the Screen Actors Guild joined the Writers Guild of America on the picket lines for a historic double strike, production on scripted TV series has been completely shut down. That means that shows that would normally be returning — or premiering — during the fall season may not launch until the winter. In the interim, networks, cable channels and streaming services are hoping that viewers will be satisfied with a mixture of repeats and reality programming, as well as a international series and an extensive back catalogue of Peak TV shows that people haven't gotten around to watching yet.

But there will be some new scripted programming coming to your television this fall. A select crop of shows that wrapped production ahead of the strikes are gearing up to launch without their stars (or star writers) available for promotion. We combed through the schedule and picked the 15 narrative series that seem most likely to make a splash amidst the industry's turbulent waters.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (Sept. 10, AMC+)

The Walking Dead may be over, but Daryl Dixon still has some more zombies to kill with his trusty crossbow. Norman Reedus’s fan-favorite character headlines a six-episode spinoff series that sends him to France, where he forms a tenuous alliance with a new group of survivors, including Clémence Poésy’s haunted Isabelle and Adam Nagaitis’s Parisian nightclub owner Quinn. And you might see a familiar face pop up. Originally, Melissa McBride was supposed to reprise her role as Carol alongside Reedus, but she stepped away last year. Rumor has it, though, that McBride has been spotted on set, suggesting that she might have a role to play in Daryl’s future after all.

American Horror Story: Delicate (Sept. 20, FX and FX on Hulu)

The 12th installment of FX’s signature horror anthology series makes one of its boldest — and freakiest — casting choices yet. Kim Kardashian will star alongside Emma Roberts and Cara Delevingne in Delicate, the story of an actress (Roberts) who desperately wants children, but has had to endure multiple rounds of failed IVF attempts. Now, she has become convinced that there’s some sinister force getting in the way of her pregnancy, even as her pal Siobhan (Kardashian) tries to convince her otherwise. The show’s evocative trailers have teased that Kardashian has a sinister side herself… and a love of spiders.

The Continental: From the World of John Wick (Sept. 22, Peacock)

Keanu Reeves’s ace assassin may have reached the end of his bloody road — for now — but there are plenty of other stories to tell in his mythological universe. The long-in-the-works streaming series The Continental turns the franchise clock back to the 1970s when a young Winston Scott (played by Colin Woodell, stepping in for Ian McShane) first enters the doors of the titular hotel for assassins and sets about making the place his own. Doing that requires going toe-to-toe with current Continental boss Cormac, played by Mel Gibson, a controversial piece of casting that almost certainly won’t be what every viewer wants.

The Irrational (Sept. 25, NBC)

As the recent Suits popularity spike shows, audiences love to binge a good procedural. NBC seeks to feed that appetite with The Irrational, which casts Law & Order star Jesse L. Martin as behavioral scientist Alec Mercer. While not technically a crime-solver by trade, Mercer’s expertise is repeatedly sought by cops and corporations alike to crack behavior-based cases they can’t figure out. Don’t be surprised if it becomes Netflix’s next big library show in a couple of years.

Gen V (Sept. 29, Prime Video)

The Boys universe expands with a spinoff series that follows younger heroes as they adjust to their Compound V-gifted abilities. Much of the action takes place at the Godolkin University School of Crimefighting, Vought International’s answer to Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. Only because this is The Boys universe we’re talking about, there are plenty of dangers here beyond a Danger Room. These Gen V heroes — including Jaz Sinclair’s blood bender, Patrick Schwarzenegger’s pyrokinetic and Lizze Broadway’s size-changer — are regularly pitted against each other in perilous combat scenarios.

Loki (Oct. 6, Disney+)

Marvel’s resident trickster is back for a second season of multiversal shenanigans. Picking up where last season left off, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Mobius (Owen Wilson) are bouncing around a Kang reshaped timestream trying to prevent the catastrophic destruction of multiple universes. They’re also setting the stage for the rest of the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, which will dominate the next two phases of Marvel’s storytelling on the big and small screens.

The Fall of the House of Usher (Oct. 12, Netflix)

Mike Flanagan finishes his "House" trilogy for Netflix, adapting Edgar Allen Poe’s seminal short story into a chilling limited series along the lines of The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor. Bruce Greenwood and Mary McDonnell play the twin Usher siblings whose past sins come back to haunt them and their extended family. Behind the scenes, it sounds like the production itself was a bit of a nightmare: Frank Langella was originally cast in Greenwood’s role, but was fired from the series following accusations of misconduct on set.

Frasier (Oct. 12, Paramount+)

The doctor is in… again. Kelsey Grammar resurrects his tossed salad and scrambled eggs-eating psychiatrist for a reboot of the beloved '90s Cheers spinoff. This time, Frasier Crane is back in Boston trying to figure out what the next act of his life is going to look like without his father and brother close by. And you can bet that search will likely involve a trip back to a certain bar where everybody knows his name.

Lessons in Chemistry (Oct. 13, Apple TV+)

Marvel’s cosmic superhero Brie Larson returns to Earth for a '50s period piece about an aspiring scientist eager to fly higher, further and faster than other women of her patriarchal era have been allowed. She finds that opportunity when she agrees to host a TV cooking show that becomes a media sensation and gives her a platform to speak her mind. Based on the bestseller by Bonnie Garmus, the limited series also stars Top Gun: Maverick’s Lewis Pullman and veteran character actor Beau Bridges.

The Gilded Age (Oct. 29, HBO and Max)

Get ready for more high society hijinks as HBO’s 19th century period drama returns for a second season of backbiting and shade-throwing. Still overseen by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, this fresh batch of eight episodes will once again find Carrie Coon’s New Money clan pitted against Christine Baranski’s Old Money old-school family. If you ask us, that pairing is so money.

All the Light We Cannot See (Nov. 2, Netflix)

Netflix hopes to replicate the breakout success of The Queen’s Gambit with its latest book-to-series translation of a bestseller. Adapted from Anthony Doerr’s 2014 World War II novel, All the Light We Cannot See takes place in Nazi-occupied France where blind teenager Marie-Laure (Aria Mia Loberti) is guarding a valuable diamond and broadcasting pirate radio transmissions that bring her to the attention of the German army. Mark Ruffalo and Hugh Laurie also star in the four-episode series as Marie’s father and great uncle, respectively.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (Nov. 17, Netflix)

You’ve never seen Scott Pilgrim like this before. Bryan Lee O’Malley’s cult comic series gets an extra life via this eight-episode anime series that adapts both the comics and Edgar Wright’s much-loved 2010 feature film. Wright is onboard as an executive producer and the entire cast of the live action movie is back to voice their characters in the animated retelling, from stars Michael Cera and Mary Elizabeth Winstead to cameo players Chris Evans and Brie Larson.

Fargo (Nov. 21, FX and FX on Hulu)

Jon Hamm and Juno Temple head up another all-star cast in Noah Hawley’s latest Fargo yarn. Set in 2019, this season turns up the heat on the long-simmering tensions between two Midwestern families: the Tillmans, headed up by Hamm’s Sheriff Roy Tillman, and the Lyons — whose prodigal daughter Dot (Temple) has been on the run for years. Stranger Things fan favorite Joe Keery is also in the mix as Hamm’s goofy son, Gator.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Nov. TBD, Prime Video)

The movie that was responsible for one of contemporary Hollywood’s most famous marriages becomes a streaming star vehicle for Donald Glover. Originally set to pair the Atlanta maestro with Fleabag’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge as married spies John and Jane Smith, Glover is instead acting opposite Maya Erskine, who took over the role after Waller-Bridge left the show. The new Mr. and Mrs. Smith agree to take their spy games to a new top secret agency… and work on their marriage in the process.

Lawmen: Bass Reeves (Fall TBD, Paramount+)

Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan's latest Paramount+ western stars David Oyelowo as the real-life Old West lawman who made history by becoming the first Black man to be deputized as a U.S. Marshal. The series — which was created by Chad Feehan and features Oyelowo as an executive producer — also launches an all-new Sheridan produced anthology franchise that chronicles the stories of other famous frontier enforcers and the criminals they pursue on horseback.

Also premiering:

The fantasy series The Wheel of Time (Sept. 1, Prime Video) starts turning again; head back to Star Trek: Lower Decks (Sept. 7, Paramount+) for that show’s fourth season; fresh episodes of Virgin River (Sept. 7, Netflix) may finally dethrone Suits from the Netflix “Most Watched” menu; LaKeith Stanfield has a horrific introduction to fatherhood in The Changeling (Sept. 8, Apple TV+); Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon welcome you back to The Morning Show (Sept. 13, Apple TV+); Sinclair Daniel is The Other Black Girl (Sept. 13, Hulu) in the publishing world satire; ex-Doctor Who companion Jenna Coleman trades the TARDIS for the great outdoors in Wilderness (Sept. 15, Prime Video); Hugh Bonneville executes a daring heist in The Gold (Sept. 17, Paramount+); if a crime is in need of solving in the Berkshire are of England, don't worry... Mrs. Sidhu Investigates (Sept. 18, Acorn); enroll in one more course of Sex Education (Sept. 21, Netflix) as the British comedy ends its run.

Shanola Hampton sees missing people in the tense procedural, Found (Oct. 3, NBC); Ben Song is still body-hopping in Season 2 of Quantum Leap (Oct. 4, NBC); the prospect of more pirate shenanigans on Season 2 of Our Flag Means Death (Oct. 5, Max) is far from arr-ful; Isla Fisher is still a Wolf Like Me (Oct. 19, Peacock); Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey are Fellow Travelers (Oct. 29, Showtime); Omni-Man and Invincible return for Season 2 of Invincible (Nov. 3, Prime Video); Edith Wharton’s unfinished final novel The Buccaneers (Nov. 8, Apple TV+) will definitely be completed onscreen; Emma Corrin investigates A Murder at the End of the World (Nov. 14, FX on Hulu).