Monday begins the official new fall season and here's a reminder that I'll have an overview on the front of Sunday's Style section. Meanwhile, today, Friday, Saturday and Sunday are a sort of calm before the storm -- nothing much on but a bunch of football.
As the days and weeks go by, The TV Column will highlight the new and returning shows as they come up. It would be information overload to try to give a heads-up too far ahead. Even I have trouble keeping it all straight more than a few days in advance.
One thing I do know is that Sunday's column will mainly deal with the new NBC drama Manifest, the series getting most of the preseason buzz. That means if we're going to preview the new season of Dancing With the Stars, we'd better do it now or not at all.
Here goes.
Season 27 of DWTS debuts at 7 p.m. Monday on ABC with a two-hour premiere.
First of all, make sure your DVR is in good working order, because DWTS arrives opposite the final season opener of The Big Bang Theory and the Season 2 premiere of Young Sheldon, two of TV's most popular shows.
On Thursday -- just three days later -- the two comedies will move to their regular positions at the same time. So, why is CBS messing with us with special premieres Monday? It's a blatant, unapologetic attempt to cut into the ratings of DWTS. In this day of DVRs and On Demand when we can record conflicting programs with ease, the networks are still trying these shenanigans.
That's because a certain percentage of the viewing audience (usually older) is still not tech-savvy enough to program a DVR, so CBS hopes to make them choose Monday. Do not fall for it! Rent a neighborhood teenager and have him show you how to master your DVR. If I can do it, so can you!
Meanwhile ...
Dancing With the Stars will return to its original format with some younger folks, some old-timers for nostalgia, a reality star milking his 15 minutes of fame, several jocks, a singer and a bunch of actors you don't know or had forgotten about.
Here's the new season's celebrity lineup with their pro partners in parentheses.
Bobby Bones, 38 (Sharna Burgess). The Hot Springs native (who grew up in Mountain Pine) is an American Idol mentor and country music powerhouse with his daily nationally syndicated radio show. Trivia: Real name Bobby Estell.
Milo Manheim, 17 (Witney Carson). The rising Disney Channel star (Zombies) and son of actress Camryn Manheim will be the youngest competitor this season.
Nancy McKeon, 52 (Val Chmerkovskiy). McKeon is best known for her role as Jo Polniaczek on the 1980s NBC sitcom The Facts of Life.
Joe Amabile, 31 (Jenna Johnson). Amabile, better known as "Grocery Store Joe" from his time on The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise, readily admits he can't dance. But he looks great doing it.
Evanna Lynch, 27 (Keo Motsepe). The Irish actress and vegan advocate is best known for playing Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter films.
Tinashe, 25 (Brandon Armstrong). Tinashe (full name Tinashe Jorgensen Kachingwe) is a singer whose music is described as "seductive R&B with edgy pop."
Juan Pablo Di Pace, 39 (Cheryl Burke). The Fuller House actor is a native of Argentina and played the role of Petros in Mamma Mia!
Nikki Glaser, 34 (Gleb Savchenko). Glaser is a stand-up comedian who hosts a daily morning show on Comedy Central.
Mary Lou Retton, 50 (Sasha Farber). The gold medal-winning gymnast captured our hearts at the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Alexis Ren, 21 (Alan Bersten). She's a Maxim cover girl and Sports Illustrated swimsuit model with 12.8 million Instagram followers. Can she dance? ABC doesn't care.
John Schneider, 58 (Emma Slater). Depending on how old you are, the actor/singer is best known for either The Dukes of Hazzard or The Secret Life of the American Teenager.
Danelle Umstead, 46 (Artem Chigvintsev). An alpine skier and Paralympian, Umstead has a degenerative eye condition that will eventually cause her to go blind. She uses her husband, Rob, as a downhill guide.
DeMarcus Ware, 36 (Lindsay Arnold). Ware is a former NFL star linebacker who spent most of his career with the Dallas Cowboys.
As usual, Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli will be the judges, with Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews as co-hosts.
Take note: ABC's spinoff series, Dancing With the Stars: Juniors, will premiere at 7 p.m. Oct. 7.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:
mstorey@arkansasonline.com
Weekend on 09/20/2018