What Are The Must-See Shows For September 2022?

You may not have recovered from August TV yet (because #DemDragons are all the rage), but get ready because September has more “epic” delights coming. That descriptor fits Amazon’s new Lord of the Rings prequel series, but if you’re not into the fantasy realm (or even if you are), there’s plenty of variety to come this month. Jon Bernthal’s reviving an iconic Richard Gere role, and a Jeopardy! spinoff is upon us. Not only that, but Ramy and Rick and Morty are on tap with new seasons.

Oh, and there’s some new fodder for Star Wars junkies, and The Karate Kid franchise isn’t even close to finished. Cobra Kai continuing to mine old rivalries while igniting excitement for younger generations, too. Teens doing karate in shopping malls and at pool parties is something that will never get old, but there’s one trip (to Gilead) that shall begin to wrap up this month: The Handmaid’s Tale. Never fear, though, because not all good things will come to an end. The Law & Order franchise has never been kicking harder, and it’s mega-crossover time. Here are the must-see shows for September.

Jeff Bezos is finally getting his version of Game of Thrones, and this even more enormously expensive franchise looks to be worth the price tag. However, there should be no danger of a George R.R. Martin situation (needing to move past the source material) because J.R.R. Tolkien completed the necessary texts for this prequel series to bring his fabled Second Age to the screen. A young Galadriel should be one of the bigger highlights of this series’ exploration of relative peace that’s shattered when evil reemerges. Expect stunning visuals that leap from the Misty Mountains to an island setting to majestic forests, and between this and House of the Dragon, we’re sure getting our fill of epic fantasy shows these days.

Creator Dan Harmon’s wildly popular animated series is digging out from that multiverse stuff and heading into a very different realm: the world of podcasting. There will be aliens who are terrorists even though this season promises to be slightly more grounded. Don’t worry, though. The synopsis promises that we shall see “Piss! Family! Intrigue!” while the leading duo is feeling lower than low but still digging for adventure in all the wrong places. As in, there will be an “ocean of piss” along with dinosaurs, and I’m not sure if the two are mutually exclusive or not. Does it matter Nope.

The last time we visited with these warring dojos, evil had somehow triumphed over good. The franchise’s ultimate villain is now presiding over a sh*t ton of his own Cobra Kai schools, and everyone else is licking their wounds. This means that Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence must learn to get along for real, and Chozen is along for the ride to help the Miyagi Do and Eagle Fang tag-team approach. A special appearance from The Karate Kid III‘s Mike Barnes (and a female sensei) should round things out nicely on both sides, but once again, this franchise does the thing by appealing to several generations while lighting the soul of the valley on fire.

The one and only Jon Bernthal won’t be doing any of The Punisher vibe here. Rather, he’s reviving the original Richard Here role of gigolo Julian Kaye, an escort with a wrongful murder conviction. As if that doesn’t sound messy enough, he’ll emerge from prison to tackle old relationships and his new dynamic in the world, all while a massive conspiracy comes down the road. Betrayal! Sensuality! This show’s got it all, and Berthal is one sharp-dressed man while milking this role for all its showiness and hidden layers.

Somehow, this series is gearing up for the almost-final season of this show that seems far too timely, given that the U.S. recently saw the overruling of Roe v. Wade. Hopefully, we’ll get to hear more Kate Bush while “This Woman’s Work” rings all too eerily in the background as the show picks back up with Gilead looking as grim as ever. Elisabeth Moss’ June has long since had enough of this sh*t and could very well take down the entire society while refusing to sit down and look pretty while the fascists have their way.

Supernatural-laced coming-of-age tales are all the rage this month (as you’ll see in the below entry as well), and in this show, we’re obviously getting vampires at school. The series is based upon Richelle Mead’s novels and dives into all of the friendship- and romance-related drama that one can expect with in-fighting aplenty. Of course, these are vampires and necessarily privileged for the most part, but not everyone’s on the same level. One young vamp’s a Royal, and the other is a half-vamp Guardian, who’s tasked with the dirty work of “savages” who are hell bent upon destroying the vamp community at large.

This live-action reimagining of the Italian cartoon, Winx Club (authored by Iginio Straffi), tell the coming-of-age story of young fairies who attend a school that not even their parents (residing in the “real” world) know exists. Expect all of the usual teenage drama and worries while the fairies potentially confront a world-threatening catastrophe. This adds a little more stress than the usual rivalries and love for these protagonists, but everything’s more complicated when monsters get involved.

Yes, the Star Wars shows won’t stop, so nerds should be pretty happy to have Christmas all year long in 2022. Diego Luna returns as Cassian Andor in this show about his journey to evoke real change within this far, far away galaxy. As Luna himself has put it, we’ll see a more “grounded” adventure this time around as the rebellion grows and how whole planets rise up against the Empire. Andor will emerge as a rebel hero following a story that’s chock to the brim with intrigue and danger.

Finally, all three of this Dick Wolf franchise’s currently running shows are teaming up in one extravagant night of crossovers. We’ve already seen this to a slight degree, given that Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (now beginning Season 24) and Law & Order: Organized Crime (now beginning Season 3) have been crossing over on a semi-regular basis due to the Unresolved Sexual Tension of Detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler. Now, however, we get to see the revived flagship series (now in Season 24), come together with the other two ratings juggernauts. Hopefully, we’ll see a lot of sass from Ice-T’s Fin Tutuola in the process, even though Kelli Giddish will soon depart SVU.

Mayim Bialk and Ken Jennings will split hosting duties of the Jeopardy! flagship series, but Mayim’s also presiding over this spinoff, which probably brings SNL skits to mind. However, this show aims to be slightly more serious funnel winnings to the charity of winners’ choosing. This season, we’ll see Simu Liu, who hopes to prevail as much as he did in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Additional contestants include Patton Oswalt, Aisha Tyler, Iliza Shlesinger, Ray Romano, Michael Cera, and B.J. Novak.

So long ago in 2020, this series (based on award-winning creator Ramy Youssef’s own experiences) turned out to be the best show that you weren’t watching, and finally, we’re seeing a followup to the title character, first-gen, Egyptian-American Ramy Hassan as he navigates contemporary life (and romance) within his Muslim community in New Jersey. This season sees Ramy grow even more disillusioned by those clashing worlds while he dives into the diamond business with his uncle. Worldly concerns will circle our characters prominently while the question of spirituality still looms large.