Inside Scoop on ‘All Rise,’ ‘The Unicorn’ & More Fall Returning Favorites

Simone Missick as Lola Carmichael in All Rise - Season 1
Fall Preview
Monty Brinton/CBS

It’s a new TV season, and that means primetime is once again filled with new episodes of your shows. Here, we preview what’s to come on some of your returning favorites.

Monday

The Voice

The Voice’s socially distanced 19th season looks very much like the singing competition we know and love. The studio audience may be missing this go-round, but host Carson Daly and the coaches will be in the house, along with contestants who are ready to sing their hearts out.

“In some ways, the music is better than ever,” promises executive producer Audrey Morrissey. That should make the competition tough for team leaders Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, Blake Shelton, and Gwen StefaniOct. 19, 8/7c, NBC

Below Deck 

The ocean isn’t the only thing making waves in Season 8 on the upstairs, downstairs reality series set on a luxury yacht. My Seanna sets sail in the Caribbean with a manifest of fresh faces, including an ultra-demanding chief stewardess and a volatile chef. Good thing captain Lee Rosbach has veteran Deck hand Eddie Lucas back on board as bosun (the officer in charge of the crew) after four seasons away — ship’s about to get crazy! Nov. 2, 9/8c, Bravo

All Rise

In Season 2 of the Los Angeles–set courthouse drama, Judge Lola Carmichael (Simone Missick) and her colleagues continue to show us how they get the job done during the pandemic. “People have all had to make adjustments to how and when and where they work,” teases executive producer Greg Spottiswood.

Their cases remain topical as well, adds fellow exec producer Dee Harris-Lawrence: “Let’s just say we kick off the season going directly at some of the most pressing events and questions that the last few months have thrown at us.” Fall, 9/8c, CBS

Tuesday

The Curse of Oak Island

Not even the coronavirus can slow down Rick and Marty Lagina in their treasure hunt off the Nova Scotia coast. For Season 8, the brothers were “forced to rethink this year’s entire search strategy,” creator Kevin Burns says. The result: “More incredible finds, and more revelations about Oak Island’s mysterious history, than ever.” Nov. 10, 9/8c, History

Paul Wesley Tell Me a Story Season 2 Tucker Reed

Tell Me a Story (Connie Chornuk/CBS)

Tell Me a Story

Once upon a time in Nashville: The second season of this dark drama — which modernizes and mashes up fairy tales — takes viewers down South, where Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella are incorporated into the contemporary tale of troubled Pruitt siblings Maddie (Odette Annable), Ashley (Natalie Alyn Lind), and Jackson (Matt Lauria). Oct. 13, 9/8c, The CW

Why It’s Worth Another LookPaul Wesley will blow your mind. After shedding his hunk status with his Season 1 turn as a felon, the onetime star of The Vampire Diaries unveils more emotional depth and ominous charisma as a writer haunted by a beastly obsession. —Damian Holbrook

Wednesday

Tyler Perry’s Sistas

When the four stylish Atlanta besties return for Season 2, they’ll be “taking a few steps forward — and maybe even more steps backward — in their love lives,” previews executive producer Michelle Sneed. Among the juicy dramas: A deadly confrontation forces salon owner Karen (Ebony Obsidian) to reexamine her role in the suicide of her married beau’s wife, and lawyer Andi (KJ Smith) begins to realize that her married lover Gary (Chido Nwokocha) may be hiding a violent side. Oct. 14, 9/8c, BET

Baroness von Sketch Show

The fifth season of the female-led sketch comedy series will be its final round. Baroness and cocreator Jennifer Whalen promises “fast-paced fun” for the Canadian hit’s remaining eight episodes, which, as usual, cover hilariously relatable topics. She offers some examples: “the upside of ‘Mom brain,’ the downside of stepparenting, the joys of long boobs, how many guitars is too many, and the friend who won’t stop talking about keto.” Oct. 14, midnight/11c, IFC

Thursday

The Unicorn

Season 2 of the heartfelt comedy picks up with widower and single dad Wade (Walton Goggins) infatuated with the mystery woman (Natalie Zea, The Detour) he helped to capture an injured skunk during their meet-cute in a cemetery in the March finale.

“He knows she has a big heart, she’s impulsive, she’s beautiful…he just doesn’t know her name or how to find her,” says executive producer Bill Martin. Adds fellow exec producer Mike Schiff, “But Wade being Wade, none of those details deter him, despite his friends’ misgivings.”

Walton Goggins Season 1 The Unicorn Wade

The Unicorn (Patrick Wymore/CBS)

As for those pals, they’re chasing new beginnings too: Human resources exec Forrest (Rob Corddry) starts a job where he’s 15 years older than his colleagues, and mother-of-four Michelle (Maya Lynne Robinson) goes back to college to finish her degree. Fall, 9:30/8:30c, CBS

Sunday

America’s Funniest Home Videos

Same LOL clips — look for takes on DIY home projects, social media challenges, and drive-through animal parks — and same fun host, Alfonso Ribeiro. But for Season 31, a 96-member audience will “attend” via Zoom. Says exec producer Michele Nasraway: “Their energy, laughter, and interaction with our host was not something we were willing to lose.” Oct. 18, 7/6c, ABC

Card Sharks

Expect bigger Money Card prizes and a faster pace when the game show deals out Season 2. “The turn of a single card can win players hundreds of thousands of dollars,” executive producer Scott St. John previews. Plus, fewer cards in the first round means more time for wisecracking host Joel McHaleOct. 18, 10/9c, ABC

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire

The revival enters Season 2 with host Jimmy Kimmel quizzing both charity-minded celebs (like Tiffany Haddish) and people hit hard by the pandemic, from first responders to small-business owners. The late, great emcee Regis Philbin is remembered too: “Jimmy loved the man and offers a touching tribute,” says exec producer Michael Davies. Oct. 18, 9/8c, ABC

Why It’s Worth Another LookThere will never be another Regis. Even so, Kimmel has successfully shepherded the iconic quiz show back into primetime, cajoling his celeb guests with a friendly patter that puts them at ease while again turning Millionaire into a happily addictive habit. —Matt Roush