Sherriff Country: Mickey Fox (played by Morena Baccarin of Deadpool & Stargate: SG1) is a straight-shooting sheriff in the small rural town of Edgewater, California and is the stepsister of Cal Fire's division Chief Sharon Leone. She must balance the demands of law enforcement with the complexities of motherhood, community politics and a past that won't stay buried. It is the first spin-off of the successful series Fire Country.
Verdict: Renewed. CBS and Max Thieriot
decided they wanted to expand the “Fire Country” universe and this was a good
idea to expand it with a different kind of first responders like sheriffs. They introduced Fox in “Fire Country” so
people are familiar with her character and it gives people who are fans of that
show an opportunity to do crossovers/mini crossovers which helps both shows. It
is also an interesting aspect that the sheriff knows everyone in the county so
she can gauge how they think based on her experiences with them and even talk
them down/corporate. Another interesting aspect is she isn’t the official
sheriff yet she has to prove to people she can go from interim to full time.
Just like the other show there is a little too much soap-opera drama with her
daughter’s problems and her dealing with her ex-husband but also reigning in
her former-criminal dad. That latter is a good aspect because she can see
through his eyes or use his connections to help solve crimes but the bad aspect
is her deputies seem like she cannot fully trust them for different reasons. It
is also nice to see Caroline Rhea (of Sabrina the Teenage Witch & Phineas
& Ferb) who is Fox’s assistant. With CBS canceling two FBI programs and
ending SWAT there is definitely room in the schedule for another police-crime
fighting procedural. They also have been heavily advertising this show since
she appeared in “Fire Country” as a backdoor pilot and want to take advantage
of a good show by making spin offs which is something CBS is famously known
for. The hope is once this show progresses over the course of the season it
will fully hit its stride like “Fire Country” and they will have a popular
three-hour block on Friday nights like when Blue Bloods and SWAT were one with
“Fire Country”.
DMV: This comedy takes place in the East Hollywood DMV office where employees are making minimum wage dealing with customers who are annoyed before they even walk in the door. The crew of employees start with Greg (played by Tim Meadows of SNL & Mean Girls) a driving examiner who is a former English teacher, Collette (played by Harriet Dyer of American Auto & The Invisible Man) a driving examiner with a big heart and bad boundaries and Barbara(played by Molly Kearney of SNL), a newly promoted manager who tries hard but often misses the mark. Plus Vic, a former bouncer who loves putting difficult drivers in their places; Noa, a charming surfer who seems destined for much greater things; and Ceci, a scrappy photographer who isn't afraid to speak her mind. Fortunately, this quirky crew has each other to navigate the twists and turns of the DMV together.
Verdict: Cancelled. This show needs improvement so maybe it will get better by the end but shows haven’t been cancelled mid-season in years. CBS cancelled Papa’s House, the potential Neighborhood spinoff and announced it would be the last season of the Neighborhood so they could make room for this workplace comedy which doesn’t seem like a good plan so far. This is a show full of goofballs and has a limited amount of normal people so it has been so cringe listening to some of the supporting cast. It sounded like a good idea to make a comedy out of the DMV but nothing about the DMV is funny as it is a depressing place that is never fun to go to. Dyer has proven she cannot be a lead of a show and this is another example of it as her character isn’t interesting enough or gives us any reason to get behind her. Meadows has most of the funny lines which makes sense as he is letting all the freaks do their things and just has to observe all of the craziness around him. Glad Kearney found a show after their SNL tenure but it isn’t funny enough to be a third lead of a show just yet. CBS you have failed your test at the DMV with this show.
Stumble: After being fired from her beloved role as head coach of a first-class cheerleading team, Courteney Potter is ready to stage the ultimate comeback. Just one championship shy of becoming the winningest college cheer coach ever, she takes a new job in a small Southern town where she recruits a group of lovable misfits in the hopes of training them to become a competitive squad. But getting this collection of underdogs to the nationals in the highly competitive world of junior college cheer might just be Courteney's toughest job yet.
Verdict: Renewed. NBC had a
blood bath on canceling shows for basketball so there is room in the schedule.
It is similar to their other sitcom in the same block “St. Dennis Medical” as
both are mockumentaries. The difference is this one is actually funny. This
show is such a train wreck which might be the point. Everyone likes to watch
one or rubber neck at car crashes on the side of the road. Everything that
could go wrong will go wrong so far so it is funny to see how far they will
“Stumble” in becoming a cheerleading team. It is like watching the “Bad News
Bears” of cheerleading as it is a team full of misfits coming together with one
common goal. Jenn Lyon(of Claws & Saint George) really embodies the role of
a cheer coach as she is playing the straight man of the comedy where chaos is
happening around her. It is also nice to see Taran Killam(of SNL & Single
Parents) get another chance to be in a sitcom after his last was wrongfully
cancelled as he can adapt and play any role he is given just like his days of
impressions on SNL. Plus throw in Kristin Chenoweth(Pushing Daisies & West
Wing) for extra comedy as the assistant turned head-coach of Potter’s former
team with her quirks.
911:Nashville: Created by Ryan Murphy, Tim Minear and Rashad Raisani it is the second spin-off of the 9-1-1 franchise, following 9-1-1: Lone Star. This spinoff is set in Nashville, Tennessee, the series follows the lives of emergency responders: including firefighters, paramedics, and police officers; as they face life-threatening situations. It stars Chris O’Donnell (Of NCIS: LA & Batman Forever) as Captain Don Hart who is a veteran firefighter and rodeo rider who leads the 113 Nashville firehouse. Jessica Capshaw(Of the Practice & Grey’s Anatomy) plays his wife and Kimberly Williams(of According to Jim & Father of the Bride) who plays a 911 dispatcher. It also stars LeAnn Rimes (who is a country singer) playing a singer and Don’s ex-girlfriend.
Verdict: Renewed. It hits
all the marks of what has made a flagship show and its previous spinoff did so
well. Good charismatic lead, a reliable crew who do their jobs well, a good dispatch
operator played by a famous woman, typical family dynamics and outrageous
situations they respond to and solve. Mostly full of action with small elements
of drama is a good mix. Most people like procedural first responder shows where
we see good feel moments of people helping each other just with country flair.
Los Angeles/Austin is a different climate/weather than Nashville so more
options for emergencies that can be responded to. Having a tornado to start the
first three episodes has been a good way to jump right into a new series. Just like
Lone Star the captain is a father and his son works for him, this is just
another added twist which is a nice surprise to that dynamic. One issue is that
some of the cast have more of a musical background than an acting background
but we will see how that goes. It does take time to get behind a new show of
first responders as a team and get emotionally attached so be patient on that.
O’Donnell gets another shot to lead a procedural after his last show was
cancelled which is ABC’s gain and CBS’s loss. It definitely fits into the
Thursday lineup with 911 and Grey’s Anatomy, so ABC better renew it after all
the effort in promoting and advertising that was put into it since they didn’t
pick up the other spinoff either.
