Our rankings for the 27 new shows of the 2010 fall season, from the worst to the best.
#27 $#*! My Dad Says
Awful on every single level, this show is a lot like the short-lived Cavemen, taking a premise people love in short bursts (in this case, a Twitter feed) and running it into the ground with painfully cliché jokes that would’ve been dated 10 years ago.
#26 Mike and Molly
Chuck Lorre is a master of simple sitcoms, and while The Big Bang Theory is great, most of his work isn’t. This awkward, clumsy comedy about two fat people is surprisingly lean on funny jokes. It’s as inessential and pointless a show as TV could possibly make.
#25 Detroit 1-8-7
The one interesting thing about this standard cop drama was it’s documentary-style look, but then the producers decided to throw that out the window and create yet another by-the-numbers cop show.
#24 Secret Millionaire
There’s a reason FOX canceled this show in the first place, and it’s because watching rich people pretend to be poor is as ludicrous and offensive as when Tyra Banks puts on a fat suit to try and understand what it’s like. The difference is that, at the end of the day, the millionaires go back to their mansions after throwing money at a serious problem, hoping it goes away.
#23 The Whole Truth
This legal drama with a dull title has us bored to tears before it even begins.
#22 Outsourced
Also known as an attempt to capitalize on Slumdog Millionaire two years too late, this comedy about an American working at a call center in India has the potential to be the most unintentionally offensive show on TV.
#21 The Defenders
When you combine the stars of According to Jim and Do Not Disturb, you get a rather pedestrian show about Vegas lawyers that tries hard but doesn’t have the talent to be a genuinely great series.
#20 Body of Proof
If you like Brennan on Bones or Isles on Rizzoli and Isles, you’ll love Dana Delaney as a medical examiner who solves crimes by studying the victims’ bodies. Or you could just watch Bones and Rizzoli and Isles.
#19 Outlaw
Jimmy Smits plays a Supreme Court Justice who resigns so that he can become a lawyer and fight for the common man. Despite his charisma, it’s one of the most preposterous premises for a TV show ever and it just makes us miss how good he was as President Santos on The West Wing.
#18 Chase
There is absolutely no reason to watch this by-the-book procedural about U.S. marshals, especially since it’s on against two genuinely good shows, Castle and Hawaii Five-0.
#17 No Ordinary Family
Michael Chiklis was fantastic on The Shield and Julie Benz was great on Dexter, but a silly drama about a family with super powers is beneath both of them, as it’s just a cheesey live action version of The Incredibles.
#16 Blue Bloods
This drama about a cop family in NYC has potential, but getting buried on Friday nights is a bad sign.
#15 Lone Star
There’s no doubt this Texas con man drama has one of the hottest casts on TV (star James Wolk is bound to be huge), but how long can the show really drag out the con before it gets too ridiculous?
#14 Law and Order: Los Angeles
Can the franchise really survive moving across the country? Maybe not, but getting Terrence Howard, Alfred Molina and Skeet Ulrich is a good start.
#13 Better with You
A perfectly harmless comedy about three couples at different stages in their relationships, the show benefits greatly from the comic timing of the parents (Kurt Fuller and That ‘70s Show’s Debra Jo Rupp) plus the charms of star Joanna Garcia.
#12 Running Wilde
We loved Arrested Development and hope that pairing the creator with stars Will Arnett and David Cross will result in something just as good, but we have serious reservations that lightning can strike twice.
#11 Terriers
After watching the first episode I’m still not entirely sure why this show is named after a breed of dog, but Donal Logue is highly entertaining as an unscrupulous private detective in this show that feels like Veronica Mars if Veronica was a 40-year-old man.
#10 Hellcats
A CW drama about college cheerleaders? Bring it on! If you loved the early seasons of One Tree Hill, back when the show was about basketball and sibling rivalry, you’ll love this show.
#9 School Pride
This show is basically Extreme Makeover: School Edition, which means we’ll be crying our eyes out every week even if we don’t want to.
#8 Undercovers
A new J.J. Abrams show is always a reason to get excited, and while the pilot is a fun hour of TV, this show could benefit from a more serialized storyline instead of settling for being a fun, mindless hour of TV.
#7 Boardwalk Empire
HBO is getting into period dramas, and while we expect nothing but the highest order of production value, we’ll need to wait and see if it’s a new Sopranos or the second-coming of Carnivale, an intriguing show that moved like molasses.
#6 Raising Hope
We’re still a little bummed that Greg Garcia’s last show, My Name is Earl, isn’t around anymore, but this is a perfect replacement, capturing that same smart, white trash comedy that works on every level.
#5 Nikita
Spies are always good TV, and ever since Alias we’ve been jonesing for a new butt-kicking female super spy. Maggie Q is that girl as Nikita in a cool new show that has one fantastic twist to keep you hooked.
#4 My Generation
If you want a smart character drama, this is it. A group of kids who graduated high school in 2000 are followed by a documentary crew 10 years later in Texas and the result is a great drama full of interesting characters.
#3 Hawaii Five-0
Alex O’Loughlin has had terrible luck with shows, but this remake with an all-star cast for cult TV lovers could break the mold. It’s sexy and full of action, making it one of our most anticipated shows.
#2 The Walking Dead
AMC doesn’t make bad television, so watching the network that brought us Mad Men and Breaking Bad turn a zombie graphic novel into a series has us eager to begin the brain eating.
#1 The Event
If you’re looking for a new Lost, this is it. The complex weaving of several stories, character and timelines around a mysterious facility and a very puzzling “event” will have you begging for the next episode. It’s easily the show we’re most excited to see.
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