Red Band Society

Why: On its face, a show about teenagers living in a hospital ward while fighting life-threatening conditions would seem hopelessly maudlin or an attempt to cash in on the success of The Fault in Our Stars — or both. And there are certainly moments when Red Band falls toward the overly sentimental side of things. It's also got a serious problem with being twee, including a coma-bound narrator who makes sure to explain everything that's happening on screen to us, just in case we somehow didn't get it. (We never need his help.) Yet these are the sorts of pilot problems that are easy for a show to shake off, and what's good in Red Band is really good. Whenever it steps back and simply lets its characters hang out or talk about their lives, there's nothing else like it out there, and it's got a terrific ensemble cast, led by Octavia Spencer.

Airing: Wednesdays at 9 p.m. Eastern on Fox

Begins: Tonight