TV Talk: Broadcasters introduce reboots, spin-offs and a few original series

Viewers who savor the comfort of the familiar will be satisfied with the recognizable titles broadcast networks are trotting out as “new” series this fall. Anyone seeking a surplus of originality will be disappointed.

That said, not all reboots are created equal and not all original shows are winners.

The best pilots this fall include NBC’s “Ordinary Joe,” CBS comedy “Ghosts” and ABC’s reboot of “The Wonder Years” while the worst include NBC’s “La Brea” and Fox’s “Our Kind of People.”

Here’s what’s new in prime time on the broadcast channels:

SUNDAY

“Legends of the Hidden Temple” (8 p.m., The CW): An adult version of the 1990s Nickelodeon game show. Not available for preview. (Premieres Oct. 10.)

MONDAY

“The Big Leap” (9 p.m., Fox): Cross “Glee” with “So You Think You Can Dance” and you get this good-natured, scripted, meta- dramedy about Detroit denizens who audition for a Fox reality dance series that culminates in a live production of “Swan Lake.” “The Big Leap” delivers engaging dance numbers and characters that grow in the show’s second episode. The series’ biggest challenge may be getting viewers to buy the conceit that Fox would ever televise ballet. (Monday)

“4400” (9 p.m., The CW): Reboot of the 2004-07 USA Network series about 4,400 people who disappeared from the planet and suddenly return. Not available for preview. (Oct. 25)

“NCIS Hawaii” (10 p.m., CBS): Special Agent in Charge Jane Tennant (Vanessa Lachey) leads the Pearl Harbor branch, making a ridiculous first impression when she’s picked up in a helicopter while coaching her daughter’s soccer team (they clear the field so the chopper can land). New team, same stories investigating crimes involving military personnel. (Monday)

“Ordinary Joe” (10 p.m., NBC): Actor James Wolk seems to often get picked for challenging, original material, critically acclaimed shows that may (“Mad Men”) or may not (“Lone Star”) make it. He stands a better chance with his latest series. Where “Lone Star” was cold, “Ordinary Joe” is warm. NBC is banking on viewers who have accustomed to the time hopping on “This is Us” to track with this “Sliding Doors”-esque series that follows Joe (Wolk) after college on three different life paths — does he go with long-time love Jenny (Elizabeth Lail)? New love interest Amy (Natalie Martinez)? Or with his family? — that result in different careers and different romantic partners. It’s too soon to know if the show’s writers can sustain this premise but the pilot episode is a winner. (Monday)

TUESDAY

“Our Kind of People” (9 p.m. Fox): Lee Daniels created the Fox hit “Empire” with a big assist from writer Danny Strong, who leaned into a “King Lear” story as the spine of the show’s first (and only good) season. Daniels’ latest, inspired by Lawrence Otis Graham’s book “Our Kind of People: Inside Americas Black Upper Class” and adapted for TV by Karin Gist (“Revenge,” “Grey’s Anatomy”), should be an addictive soap but it’s incredibly wobbly out of the gate. It’s the story of rich Black families on Martha’s Vineyard and an interloping single mother (Yaya DaCosta, “Chicago Med”) who enters their midst with a secret to spill. The pilot is marred by confusing character introductions, a story that often lacks connective tissue (did they leave out some important scenes?), visuals that defy logic (a character says she cut a portion of two legs off a table and somehow sawdust winds up on top of the table) and a plot that doesn’t build so much as jump to dramatic moments that are not earned. As he did on “Scandal,” Joe Morton devours the scenery with gusto. Storytelling competency improves a little in episode two but not enough to recommend. (Tuesday)

“La Brea” (9 p.m., NBC): Even before broadcast networks’ recent renewed interest in drawing a broad audience, they’d occasionally try big swings designed to draw all ages. Remember Fox’s prehistoric time-travel-to-the-dinosaur-age “Terra Nova” from 2011? It was as doomed to failure as this “Land of the Lost” update. When a sinkhole opens near Los Angeles’ La Brea Tar Pits, a family is fractured as two plunge into the sinkhole and two are left behind on the surface. While those who go into the sinkhole would seemingly die from the fall let alone the impact of all the structures sucked into the sinkhole with them, they somehow survive, slipping through a light-filled crack that deposits them — along with a tiny portion of the debris that collapsed into the hole — in a prehistoric place. Instead of warding off Sleestaks, they run from CGI wolves. Back in L.A., bureaucrats appear to know more about the sinkhole than they let on to the public. (Sept. 28)

“FBI: International” (9 p.m., CBS): The second “FBI” spin-off is set and filmed in Budapest following the FBI’s Fly Team that tracks threats against Americans abroad. Pittsburgh native Carter Redwood plays one of the FBI agents. Not available for preview. (Premieres at 10 p.m. Tuesday, moves to regular time period Sept. 28.)

“Queens” (10 p.m., ABC): Anyone who’s watched “Girls5eva” on Peacock will recognize this plot: ‘90s girl group reunites in their 40s. “Queens” is the drama version of “Girls5eva,” this time set in the world of hip hop. The pilot episode starts rough with a ‘90s music video that seems destined to turn off those most likely to watch broadcast TV but by the end of the first hour the characters come into better focus as the pilot sets up what could be a soapy, fun, ongoing series. (Oct. 19)

WEDNESDAY

“The Wonder Years” (8:30 p.m., ABC): A remake of the 1988-93 dramedy that’s again set in the 1960s but this time centers on a Black family in Montgomery, Ala. That’s a significant change that gives this reboot a good reason to exist. Dule Hill stars as the patriarch of the story that’s narrated (voice of Don Cheadle) as a grown up by lead character, Dean Williams (Elisha “EJ” Williams). Both nostalgic and a painful reminder of the violence visited upon Black Americans, this “Wonder Years” capably walks a narrative tightrope in its premiere. (Wednesday)

“Alter Ego”Mix “The Masked Singer” with James Cameron’s “Avatar” and you get the latest bizarre competition series where singers belt out tunes backstage while dead-eyed, computer-created avatars perform before a panel of judges. (Wednesday) “Alter Ego” (9 p.m., Fox): Mix “The Masked Singer” with James Cameron’s “Avatar” and you get the latest bizarre competition series where singers belt out tunes backstage while dead-eyed, computer-created avatars perform before a panel of judges. (Wednesday)

“CSI: Vegas” (10 p.m., CBS): Did you like the original 2000-15 “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”? Then you’ll probably enjoy this sequel series that brings back Gil Grissom (William Petersen), Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox), David Hodges (Wallace Langham) and Jim Brass (Paul Guilfoyle). They’re paired with new investigators played by Paula Newsome and Matt Lauria as the combined team investigates a season-long case alongside episode-of-the-week mini-cases. And if you didn’t watch “CSI” back in the day, then it’s as skippable now as it was then. (Oct. 6)

THURSDAY

“Ghosts” (9 p.m., CBS): This high-concept series — based on a Britcom of the same name available on HBO Max — is the comedy highlight of the fall TV season: A young couple inherits an upstate New York mansion haunted by the ghosts of the deceased from different centuries. The ghosts begin as well-drawn archetypes (Viking, Scout troop leader, Prohibition-era singer, Wall Street bro) and the comedy is broad but often quite funny. One big worry: How can this gonzo series, executive produced by Altoona native Joe Port (“The Office”), possibly work on staid, middle-of-the-road CBS? (Oct. 7)

FRIDAY

“Home Sweet Home” (8 p.m., NBC): Two families from different walks of life trade places in this unscripted “social experiment” series. Not available for preview. (Oct. 15)