Time to head back to the couch, America. The fall TV season is here and all of your favorite shows—from The Walking Dead and The Good Wife to Dexter and Boardwalk Empire—and a slew of new ones are soon heading to a TV set near you. Will you find Ringer to be the second coming of Sarah Michelle Gellar… or is it the second coming of Silk Stalkings? Time will tell, but at least your TV favorites are back with brand new seasons, and lots of plot twists.
To refresh your memory after the long summer, The Daily Beast rounds up a guide to the good and bad times of last season and a peek into what’s coming next this fall.
By Jace Lacob and Maria Elena Fernandez
Where We Left Off: Fired from his job, Adam (Peter Krause) found a positive home pregnancy test in the garbage and jumped to the conclusion that it belonged to 16-year-old daughter, Haddie (Sarah Ramos). Wrong! It turned out that it was his wife, Kristina’s (Monica Potter). Crosby (Dax Shepard) and Jasmine (Joy Bryant) finally reconciled; after her car crash, Amber (Mae Whitman) had a moment of connection with her beleaguered mother, Sarah (Lauren Graham), who had just mounted her first play.
Where We Pick Up: As the plot skips ahead five months, Kristina is now massively pregnant and bringing home the bacon. Adam is still unemployed, though he’ll be forced to choose between a dull but stable job and working with Crosby. Amber finds a place of her own, but it’s against Sarah’s wishes. Sarah turns 40 and reconnects with Amber’s former teacher Mark Cyr (Jason Ritter). Haddie and Alex (Michael B. Jordan) face a rough patch. Julia (Erika Christensen) and Joel (Sam Jaeger) are still trying to adopt a baby … and Julia finds a potential birth mother right under her nose.
Byron Cohen / NBC
Where We Left Off: Damon (Ian Somerhalder), dying from a werewolf bite, tried to kill himself, but was stopped by Stefan (Paul Wesley). Stefan sacrificed his hold on his humanity, agreeing to become a “true ripper” again and leave Mystic Falls with Klaus (Joseph Morgan), in exchange for a vial of Klaus’ blood, which could save Damon. Klaus killed Elijah (Daniel Gillies)… again. A delirious Damon confessed his love for Elena (Nina Dobrev)—who offered Damon forgiveness—before he was cured by Katherine. Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) was shot by Sheriff Liz Forbes (Marguerite MacIntyre) but brought back to life by the witches at the request of Bonnie (Katerina Graham), though she was told there’s a price to pay. Stefan drained a girl and walked off with Klaus. Later, Jeremy discovered his ex-girlfriends Anna (Malese Jow) and Vicki (Kayla Ewell), both vampires and both believed dead, in his kitchen. Uh-oh!
Where We Pick Up: In Season 3, Elena—who celebrates her 18th birthday—and Damon search for Stefan, still on the road with Klaus, as the bodies begin to pile up around them, and Stefan finally gives in to being a fully-fledged ripper. Will she choose Stefan, who has gone to the dark side, or bad boy Damon? Elsewhere, we learn why Klaus has lured Stefan to his side, Jeremy deals with the return of Anna and Vicki and how it influences his relationship with Bonnie, and werewolf Tyler (Michael Trevino) and vampire Caroline (Candice Acola) get even closer, bringing their respective clans to battle a la Romeo & Juliet.
Frank Ockenfels / The CW
Where We Left Off: The mysterious wedding was Barney’s (Neil Patrick Harris) but who is his bride? We do not know. Lily (Alyson Hannigan) and Marshall (Jason Segel) are finally going to have a baby. And Ted (Josh Radnor) pushed the button to bring down a landmark building and will now be the architect of a new Manhattan skyscraper.
Where We Pick Up: Once again, Ted is on the prowl for The One, now that his married friends are becoming parents and he’s feeling left out. The producers also promise some answers where Barney’s nuptials are concerned.
Cliff Lipson / CBS
Where We Left Off: Do we really need to go over this? Let’s just say Charlie Sheen lost his mind, conveniently when his character, Charlie Harper, took off with Rose to Paris. Alan’s Ponzi scheme was over so his alter-ego in the mirror is probably gone for good. Jake ate.
Where We Pick Up: Charlie Harper has died. Internet millionaire dork Walden Schmidt (Ashton Kutcher) buys his Malibu house and convinces Alan and Jake (Angus T. Jones) to live there with him because he’s too broken-hearted to live alone.
Matt Hoyle, CBS / Warner Brothers
Where We Left Off: As Beckett (Stana Katic) lay injured from a gunshot wound, Castle (Nathan Fillion) told her he loves her.
Where We Pick Up: Will they or won’t they? The answer to that is revealed in the premiere. Expect to see the return of the 3XK Killer and a new police captain, played by Penny Johnson Jerald (24).
Bob D'Amico / ABC
Where We Left Off: A flashback to where the Chances were five years ago showed us what life was like when Maw Maw (Cloris Leachman) hadn’t lost her marbles, Jimmy (Lucas Neff) was a teenaged Goth, and Burt (Garret Dillahunt) and Virginia (Martha Plimpton) were free-loaders who didn’t work and lived at Maw Maw’s house. Baby Hope—gasp—wasn’t even a figment of anyone’s imagination.
Where We Pick Up: YouTube sensation Greyson Chance (was he chosen for his last name?) plays a young Jimmy in three flashback episodes written mostly so that Maw Maw can be sane. Plus: the Chances go to Vegas!
Prashant Gupta / Fox
Where We Left Off: Not typically known for cliffhanger endings, Modern Family wrapped its second season with a look back, as Luke (Nolan Gould) edited together a video birthday retrospective for Jay (Ed O’Neill) with hilarious results. But there was a twist of sorts at the very end of the season finale, as Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) decided to adopt another baby, a sibling for little Lily.
Where We Pick Up: Pay no attention to the fact that Mitch and Cam’s daughter Lily has been recast: while she was previously played by twins, she’ll now be played by four-year-old Aubrey Anderson-Emmons. In Season 3, the entire clan heads to Lost Creek Ranch, a dude ranch, so that Mitch and Cam can psych themselves into thinking they’re ready to adopt a baby boy, and later they try to see if Lily is ready to handle having a younger sibling; Manny (Rico Rodriguez) has a brush with the law; and Phil attempts to invent a scalp-massage helmet. In other words: just another day for the Dunphy-Pritchett family.
Greg Zabilski / ABC
Where We Left Off: When a rape victim was gunned down during an attempted mugging, Stabler (Christopher Meloni) and Benson (Mariska Hargitay) chased down her killer and the corrupt police officer who gave the perpetrator the firearm in the first place. However, the young daughter of the murdered woman—who witnessed her mother’s murder—decides to take matters into her own hands and pulled out a gun in the police squad room, shooting her mother’s killer and another cop, as well as possibly killing poor Sister Peg (Charlane Woodard), before she’s herself felled by Stabler, who appeared shaken.
Where We Pick Up: The changes are largely behind-the-scenes on this procedural: Meloni’s gone, for one, and the shooting in the squad room (as well as any fallout Stabler experiences from killing the girl) may play a role on why Stabler is no longer on the SVU team. Likewise, longtime Law & Order: Special Victims Unit executive producer/showrunner Neal Baer has decamped to CBS (where he’ll oversee new fall drama A Gifted Man) and has been replaced by Warren Leight (Lights Out). Kelli Giddish (Chase) and Danny Pino (Cold Case) will join the cast; Stephanie March and Diane Neal will return; B.D. Wong will depart (he co-stars in NBC’s Awake); and Hargitay’s Benson will continue on without her beloved Stabler.
Where We Left Off: The pursuit of serial killer Nate Haskell (Bill Irwin) ended with the dogged Ray Langston (Lawrence Fishburne) killing him, not in a moment of self-defense but in a moment of dark vengeance, after Haskell implied that he had raped Langston’s ex-wife. His brutal murder of Haskell (he beat him to a pulp and then threw him off a railing) ends the never-ending cat-and-mouse pattern in which two were locked. Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger), attempting to cover for Langston, indicated to Internal Affairs that forensics showed that Langston had acted in self-defense.
Where We Pick Up: Catherine will have to face the fallout from her decisions in the way that the team went after Haskell, and things will be more complicated with the arrival of new night shift supervisor, D.B. Russell (Ted Danson, who joins the cast as a regular), a family man and father of four who has arrived in Las Vegas from Portland. Look for Helgenberger to be phased out of the series this season, though she’ll appear in most of Season 12’s episodes.
Robert Voets / CBS
Where We Left Off: Penny (Kaley Cuoco) slept with Raj! Priya (Aarti Mann) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki) were on the verge of breaking up because she’s moving back to India and forgot to tell him. Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) landed a fancy job and gave Howard (Simon Helberg) a Rolex, which he couldn’t handle. Sheldon (Jim Parsons) was confused by the turn of events with Penny and Raj.
Where We Pick Up: Penny pines for Leonard who is trying to have a Skype affair with Priya who is in India. Sheldon continues his odd relationship with Amy (Mayim Bialik). Howard and Bernadette plan their wedding.
Cliff Lipson / CBS
Where We Left Off: The town of Pawnee struggled in the face of overwhelming loss, following the death of beloved horse, Li’l Sebastian. Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) was approached about running for political office, and she claimed she has nothing to hide, despite her very secret relationship with co-worker, Ben (Adam Scott). Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari) left the Parks Department in order to help Jean-Ralphio (Ben Schwartz) run his new entertainment company, Entertainment 720. Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) received a visit from his first ex-wife Tammy (who will be played by Patricia Clarkson next season), someone so terrifying it sent his psychotic second ex-wife, Tammy 2 (Offerman’s real-life wife, Megan Mullally), running for the hills.
Where We Pick Up: Leslie has to chose between Ben and her desire to be elected to public office, but her decision will have massive consequences and may be reversed later on in the season. Tom is still running Entertainment 720 with Jean-Ralphio, but he’ll end up back at the Parks and Recreation Department after a few episodes. April (Aubrey Plaza), married to “shoeshinist” Andy (Chris Pratt), is now managing his life entirely. Ron suffers through a confluence of Tammys, between Tammy 1 (Clarkson), Tammy 2 (Mullally), and his mom, Tammy 0 (Paula Pell).
Ron Tom / NBC
Where We Left Off: After Michael Scott (Steve Carell) left Dunder Mifflin/Sabre in order to move to Colorado to be with fiancée Holly (Amy Ryan), and replacement Deangelo Vickers (Will Ferrell) fell into a coma, the higher-ups attempted to find another replacement to take over as branch manager. Which led to a series of interviews with characters played by such luminaries as Jim Carrey, Catherine Tate, James Spader, and Office co-creator Ricky Gervais, reprising his role as David Brent from the British series. But those viewers hoping to find out who would be filling Michael’s shoes next season didn’t get an answer. Elsewhere, Angela (Angela Kinsey) became engaged to her potentially gay senator boyfriend; Phyllis (Phyllis Smith) learned that she is not the biological mother of co-worker Erin (Ellie Kemper); and Andy (Ed Helms) turned down Erin’s offer to begin dating again.
Where We Pick Up: Pam (Jenna Fischer) and Jim (John Krasinki) are expecting their second child. James Spader joins the cast of The Office, not as a replacement for Carell’s Michael, but as Robert California, the new chief executive of Sabre, the parent company of Dunder-Mifflin. (A role previously filled by Kathy Bates’ Jo Bennett.) His first act of business: leaving behind a mysterious list that has every member of the Scranton branch written on one side or the other, with a line drawn down the middle. Plus, Michael’s replacement as branch manager is finally revealed.
Ron Tom / NBC
Where We Left Off: Lots of break-ups! Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Derek (Patrick Dempsey) broke up because Derek doesn’t like that Meredith messed with the Alzheimer’s trial protocol. Meredith’s job is on the line, but she doesn’t care because the adoption of baby Zola came through and she took her new daughter home to her empty house. But Cristina (Sandra Oh) soon joined her, after Owen (Kevin Mckidd) kicked her out when she revealed she wants to abort their baby. Mark (Eric Dane) decided to “let” Jackson (Jesse Williams) have Lexie (Chyler Leigh). What a guy.
Where We Pick Up: The residents are in their fifth year, which means flying solo in the operating room. Cristina will struggle a little more with her decision about her pregnancy as Meredith copes with raising a baby without Derek. The new chief resident (Sarah Drew) has a rocky road ahead of her.
Ron Tom / ABC
Where We Left Off: Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson) sacrificed himself in order to avert a dystopian future in which the universe was collapsing, and used the doomsday device—constructed by future versions of the Fringe team (a.k.a. the alleged “First People”) and sent back in time so they could themselves find it in 2011—to bring the two realities together, forming a “bridge” between two universes. He brought the various versions of Olivia (Anna Torv) and Walter (John Noble) face to face so that they can get past their differences and save reality … but then Peter blinked out of existence altogether. Peter who?
Where We Pick Up: Fringe’s executive producers are keeping plot details tightly under wraps, but here’s what we do know: Peter still doesn’t exist, which means that the timelines of the two universes have been altered. Without Peter, mad scientist Walter has lost much of his humanity, Astrid (Jasika Nicole) is out in the field rather than acting as Walter’s nursemaid, and Fauxlivia never got pregnant, as Peter was never there to do the deed. Rest assured, we’ll still see Jackson’s Peter in some capacity (I’m imagining with the Observers) and Fringe’s familiar trappings—like the shapeshifters and the parallel worlds—will still be around, along with new series regular Seth Gabel, who reprises his role as Lincoln Lee. As for how—or whether—Peter will rejoin reality, anything is possible.
Andrew Matusik / Fox
Where We Left Off: Jamie told his family he’s investigating Joe’s death. Because there were dirty cops involved, Frank (Tom Selleck) sidestepped Internal Affairs to get to the bottom of the secret organization the Blue Templar. Frank and his family found the Blue Templar, but when Frank approached Malevsky (Michael T. Weiss) to ask who killed his son, Malevsky killed himself.
Where We Pick Up: Frank and the new mayor-elect (David Ramsey) do not see eye-to-eye when a friend of the mayor-to-be’s is found dead and he wants the police chief to categorize it as a random act. Jamie (Will Estes) will go undercover and Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) will be investigated for shooting a police officer.
Craig Blankenhorn / CBS
Where We Left Off: So much drama, period. (And period drama.) Van Alden (Michael Shannon) wanted to leave Atlantic City, but received a sign from God that he has to stay, while Nucky (Steve Buscemi) and Margaret (Kelly Macdonald) reconciled and decided to face the future together. The D’Alessios were murdered on Nucky’s orders, after Johnny Torrio (Greg Antonacci) brokered a peace between Nucky and Arnold Rothstein (Michael Stuhlbarg). At the election victory party, Jimmy (Michael Pitt) drunkenly railed at Nucky, claiming that he pimped out his mother, Gillian (Gretchen Mol), to the Commodore years before… and the Commodore (Dabney Coleman) stunned Jimmy by revealing his own plan to get rid of Nucky.
Where We Pick Up: Nucky and Margaret are living together again, though there are cracks forming in their relationship, particularly as Margaret’s son is attracted to fire. (He watched Nucky burn down his childhood home in front of him.) Jimmy and Angela (Aleksa Palladino) are now married, but the constant presence of Gillian in their home is rubbing Angela the wrong way. The Commodore and Jimmy’s plot to destroy Nucky takes a nasty turn as the Ku Klux Klan nearly kills Chalky (Michael K. Williams) when they open fire on a warehouse, though that doesn’t stop the men from taking the spoils. Van Alden is still in Atlantic City, though he receives a visit from his icy wife, even as he keeps his current living arrangements a secret. Meanwhile, in Chicago, the disadvantages of working with Nucky and Atlantic City are becoming all too clear, as Al Capone (Stephen Graham) and Johnny Torrio receive an intriguing offer.
Where We Left Off: Susan (Teri Hatcher) went to jail for about an hour, accused of poisoning Paul (Mark Moses). Felicia (Harriet Harris) kidnapped Paul and tried to kill him, but Susan saved the day. Then Paul turned himself in for murdering Martha Huber while Felicia drove off, spilled Beth’s ashes all over herself, causing her vision to cloud and to drive into an oncoming tractor-trailer. That’s when Felicia died. Lynette (Felicity Huffman) and Tom (Doug Savant) are finally getting divorced. Gaby’s (Eva Longoria) stepfather, who raped her when she was a teenager, showed up, wanting to repeat his crime, but Carlos (Ricardo Chavira) hit him over the head and killed him. Gaby and her friends wrapped up the body and shoved it in Gaby’s living room chest.
Where We Pick Up: Wisteria Lane’s women find themselves dealing with the aftermath of shoving a body into a chest. New neighbor Ben Faulkner (Charles Mesure) moves in to the cul-de-sac and crosses paths with Renee (Vanessa Williams). Mary Alice’s (Brenda Strong) suicide is again front-and-center.
Ron Tom / ABC
Where We Left Off: After discovering that Peter (Chris Noth) had slept with Kalinda (Archie Panjabi) years before, Alicia (Julianna Margulies) moved him out of their home on the night of his election victory and into an apartment … and then told their kids that they would be separating. After doing some tequila shots with Will (Josh Charles) at a hotel bar, the two headed upstairs to the presidential suite. When Will couldn’t get the card key to work, he nearly gave up on their promised “hour” together, but Alicia flipped the key over and walked into the hotel room.
Where We Pick Up: Alicia is a new woman, between opportunities at work, sleeping with Will at the end of last season, and starting over outside of her husband’s shadow. Peter, meanwhile, is settling in to being the state’s attorney once more, and having Cary (Matt Czuchry)—who has some dirt on Alicia—in his midst. Eli is now a business partner at Lockhart & Gardner, though he’ll receive a blast from his past, in the form of House’s Lisa Edelstein, who plays a lawyer. Reeling from the loss of her friendship with Alicia last season, Kalinda attempts to regain some equilibrium in her life.
Jeffrey Neira / CBS
Where We Left Off: Violet (Amy Brenneman) learned that her medical license was being suspended for six months and that the board was potentially going after everyone at Oceanside next. Addison (Kate Walsh) met a fertility doctor, Jake Reilly (Benjamin Bratt), in the grocery store and rushed to the airport to fly away with him, even though she didn’t know his name. Charlotte (KaDee Strickland) suspected that Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) was drinking and took away her surgical privileges. Naomi (Audra McDonald) told Gabriel Fife (Michael Patrick Thornton) that she couldn’t leave for Washington with him, but then chased him down at the airport after Sam (Taye Diggs) encouraged her to go after him. Luckily, Fife didn’t get on the plane and proposed. Naomi accepted, but they compromised and will move to New York to be close to Maya. Violet left for her book tour, despite the wishes of Pete (Tim Daly), who said that they were through, even though he loves her. Later, Pete suffered what appeared to be a serious heart attack.
Where We Pick Up: Immediately after Pete’s heart attack, for starters, though it’s unclear whether Violet will axe her book tour plans in order to be by her husband’s side. Audra McDonald’s Naomi may return down the line, but she’s no longer a series regular; however, Bratt has been promoted to regular, and will reprise his role as Jake. With the collapse of Oceanside, Addison and the others will pick up the pieces of their lives and begin to form a new practice. A.J. Langer (Rayanne from My So-Called Life) joins the cast as a mysterious new character who has a connection to one of the doctors’ pasts. Addison will also be forced to choose between her past and future: will she pick to be with Sam, with whom she’s moved in and reconnected, or Jake, the fertility doctor at their new practice, and to whom she was clearly attracted in the season finale? Decisions, decisions.
Andrew MacPherson / ABC
Where We Left Off: Dexter (Michael C. Hall) helped Lumen (Julia Stiles) heal, and Lumen helped Dexter heal, and then Lumen left. Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) figured out that Dexter and her ex fiancé, Brian, were literally blood brothers, but she didn’t make the connection that Dexter is a serial killer, too. Deb and Quinn (Desmond Harrington) coupled up and Batista (David Zayas) and LaGuerta (Lauren Velez) reconciled.
Where We Pick Up: A year has passed since Lumen broke Dexter’s heart and Dexter is feeling more energized about his dark passenger. The serial killer vigilante will encounter a religion professor (Edward James Olmos) and an artifacts expert (Colin Hanks) who are both connected to a series of heinous murders.
Randy Tepper / Showtime
Where We Left Off: A hurt and angry House (Hugh Laurie), rammed his car into Cuddy’s (Lisa Edelstein) house, left it in shambles, and walked away. Nothing else that happened much matters.
Where We Pick Up: Lisa Edelstein opted not to return to the show, so the top priority will be to deal with Cuddy’s departure. Things pick up a year after House lost his mind. He’s in prison, but eventually returns to the hospital with his addiction fully raging.
Ray Mickshaw / Fox
Where We Left Off: Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and all his exiled friends sped away from an explosion at the CDC, where things did not turn out they way they had hoped when they sought refuge there.
Where We Pick Up: The survivors will end up on a farm owned by Hershel Greene (Scott Wilson). The zombies are still scary.
Gene Page / AMC
Where We Left Off: Angela (Michaela Conlin) went into labor in the lab and later gave birth, with Hodgins (T.J. Thyne) by her side, and—despite their worries—their baby ended up perfectly healthy and was named after poor dead Vincent. The ever-complicated relationship between Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and Booth (David Boreanaz) took yet another twist when it was revealed that they had previously slept together off-screen… and ended up conceiving a baby. (Yes, showrunner Hart Hanson opted to integrate Deschanel’s real-life pregnancy into the show itself.) Booth burst into a huge grin, as did Brennan. Aw. Wait, what?
Where We Pick Up: You’ll have to wait until November for Bones to return... and you’re only getting 13 episodes this season. (It’s due to Deschanel’s pregnancy—the season will be split into seven- and six-episode chunks.) But when Bones does come back, there will be a new adversary for the gang at the Jeffersonian Institute and new complications for the relationship between Brennan, now in her second trimester of pregnancy, and Booth. Their fetus is the latest game-changer… and the ways in which they’ll disagree about his (or her!) upbringing promise to be numerous. Have these two become a couple? Are they just friends? And how on earth are they going to raise a baby? In other words: it’s still very complicated.
Patrick McElhenney / FOX
