Is it really the "new normal?"

NBC

Celebrated, if divisive, Glee, Nip/Tuck, and American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy makes his first foray into the the 30-minute sitcom world with The New Normal, and, as is typical with Murphy, it's an issue-packed show by its very nature. The series revolves around a gay couple expecting their first child from a surrogate mother, who becomes very involved in the partners' lives. The hijinks that ensue seem of the conventional sitcom variety—the anxiety of new parents, the comedy of pregnancy, etc.—but by branding the non-traditional family dynamic "the new normal," Murphy is already making a radical political statement, particularly for broadcast TV.

A scan of the fall lineup really does raise the question of whether audiences, over a decade since the premiere of Will and Grace, have accepted gay couplings and gay characters as the new normal. CBS will premiere Partners, about best friends—one gay, one straight—and their respective significant others. Glee's tackling of teen homosexuality is well-known, while Modern Family's Mitch and Cam are among the show's most beloved characters. Happy Endings's Max may be TV's most progressive gay character, in that were it not for storylines involving his romances with men, it would be impossible to tell that the slovenly, lazy man is gay at all—an admirable refusal to revert to sterotypes and tropes. Yet none of those series telegraph "this is a show about an ordinary family that happens to be gay" in the way that The New Normal does just with its title. But will it work?

Do movie stars matter?

CBS

The past few TV seasons saw out-of-work movie stars flock to TV: Ashley Judd, Kathy Bates, Josh Lucas, Maria Bello, Dustin Hoffman, Christian Slater, Christina Ricci. And all of their series failed. Yet each year, networks clamor to attach movie actors' names to their new TV projects, no matter how dimmed their star power has become, presumably with the hope that they'll attract viewers. Thus far, though, the viewers haven't materialized. Nonetheless, this season will see Dennis Quaid on Vegas, Kevin Bacon on The Following, Ellen Barkin on The New Normal, and more. Over the past few seasons, only a handful of shows starring movie actors succeeded, putting the pressure on that trio of actors. It certainly helps, however, that each of their projects looks exceptional.

Is there a new Mad Men?

Showtime

Mad Men just finished its fifth season—which many consider its best. Few shows enjoy that sort of critical acclaim across its entire run; in recent memory, perhaps only The Sopranos could rival the feat. That run could end this year, however. First in line to take the title from the AMC drama is Homeland. Showtime's thriller, now entering its second season, was must-see viewing in its freshman year. The acting, led by Claire Danes and Damien Lewis, was mesmerizing. The writing was as nuanced and unexpected as anything Mad Men produces, only the pace moved at a clip almost twice as fast as anything that happens at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, appealing to those who have soured on Mad Men's slow-burning formula. If season two can live up to the standard of its debut run, then Homeland could easily become TV's best show.