Ten New Shows We Can't Wait to See in Fall 2021

It's no surprise this fall will see a heap of TV show options for us to savor. In addition to the long-delayed returns of old favorites, the myriad streaming platforms are set to debut quite a few bright, shiny new shows. Below we've picked out the ten new series we're most excited about, a roster that includes some loooong-awaited adaptations, a spooky religious tale, a visually dazzling revisiting of The Beatles, and the latest installment in the MCU.

Y: The Last Man (FX on Hulu)

The TV adaptation of Brian K. Vaughn's acclaimed graphic novel has been in the works for a very long time, with starts and stops dating back to a planned feature film adaptation in 2007. It's now finally making its premiere on the FX on Hulu platform (which is to say Hulu, with an FX logo on the show) with Pride and Snowden star Ben Schnetzer in the role of Yorick, who at the start of the series becomes the last remaining Y-chromosome-possessing mammal on Earth after a mysterious apocalyptic event. The new world order that follows this cataclysm includes Yorick's mother (Diane Lane), who is the new U.S. president. Expectations for the series ard huge, especially from fans of the source material, promising to make this one of the more talked-about shows of the fall.
Premieres September 13

Star Wars: Visions (Disney+)

With Disney+ having already dipped its toes into the realm of animated anthologies with the MCU's What If…?, it only makes sense that an animated anthology for the Star Wars universe would follow. Star Wars: Visions is a nine-episode Japanese anime series, with each episode exploring a different corner of the Star Wars universe. Each episode will be helmed by a different director, and with  titles like "Tatooine Rhapsody" and "The Ninth Jedi," it all sounds very intriguing. Episodes are set to jump all around the Star Wars timeline, and won't be required to adhere to established Star Wars events, which feels very What If…? if we do say so.
Premieres September 22

Midnight Mass (Netflix)

Mike Flanagan has done plenty to scare us over the last few years with The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor. While Midnight Mass doesn't follow the previous shows' "haunting" title format, nor is it based on a celebrated work of literature, this series promises some bone-deep chills. Friday Night Lights's Zach Gilford stars as a man who returns to his small-town island community concurrent with the arrival of a mysterious but charismatic priest (Hamish Linklater). The seven-episode series also stars Annabeth Gish and Kate Siegel, Flanagan's wife and co-star of his first two Netflix series.
Premieres September 24

Foundation (Apple TV+)

Based on the acclaimed science fiction book series by Isaac Asimov, Foundation is another long-awaited adaptation that's finally seeing the light of day. The new series comes from David S. Goyer, who famously wrote the scripts for the Christopher Nolan Batman movies. Jared Harris stars as Hari Seldon, a mathematician and future-historian in a futuristic galactic empire who can foresee/predict the end of said empire and must try to convince its leaders (including Lee Pace as the emperor) to follow his alternate course. This is big, spectacular, intellectual science fiction at work, and the fact that this and the new theatrical adaptation of Dune are both arriving in the same season could make this a banner autumn for bookish sci-fi nerds.
Premieres September 24

Dopesick (Hulu)

Based on the best-selling book of the same name by Beth Macy, Dopesick is a true-life story about the origins and ramifications of America's opioid epidemic and how big pharma and over-prescribing doctors helped usher in a crisis that now stretches from poor communities to the DEA to offices of Big Pharma CEOs. The miniseries comes from writer/producer Danny Strong, whose credits include the HBO movies Recount and Game Change. Michael Keaton stars as a good doctor stuck in a bad system, alongside an absolutely stacked supporting cast that includes Rosario Dawson, Kaitlyn Dever, Will Poulter, Peter Sarsgaard, and Michael Stuhlbarg. The eight-episode limited series is directed by Oscar-winner Barry Levinson.
Premieres October 13

Invasion (Apple TV+)

Simon Kinberg — producer of The Martian and Deadpool, and writer of all your least favorite X-Men movies — co-created this series with David Weil, and as has been the case with most of Apple TV+'s sci-fi offerings, it looks big and expensive. The series' ten-episode first season concerns a global alien invasion of some kind that brings humanity together under a unified purpose. Sam Neil leads a global cast. The first three episodes drop October 22nd, followed by new episodes every Friday.
Premieres October 22

The Shrink Next Door (Apple TV+)

The latest show to make the leap from podcast to TV is this star-studded dark comedy based on the 2019 podcast of the same name by Joe Nocera. In this based-on-a-true-story tale, Will Ferrell stars as a man who seeks out the help of the titular psychiatrist, played by Paul Rudd, who then proceeds to manipulate and ingratiate himself into Ferrell's life. It's Rudd and Ferrell's first time starring together since the Anchorman sequel. The show — which boasts direction from the likes of Michael Showalter and Jesse Peretz, will co-star Kathryn Hahn and Casey Wilson and is set to run as an eight-episode limited series.
Premieres November 12

Hawkeye (Disney+)

After the Marvel Cinematic Universe is done playing out hypothetical adventures in the multiverse in What If…?, their next series is the long-awaited spotlight moment for Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye, a.k.a. Clint Barton, who made his first MCU appearance in the post-credits scene of 2011's Thor. The Infinity Saga was an emotionally turbulent one for Clint, who lost his whole family in the Snap, became a bloodthirsty vigilante (mostly offscreen) in the five-year gap, and then got his family back but lost his best friend Natasha in the process. While details are typically hushed for the series, it's said that it will further explore Barton's vigilante era and his training of a young Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) to one day take over the mantle of Hawkeye. The series is set to continue from the post-credits tag in Black Widow, where Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julie Louis-Dreyfus) recruited Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) to hunt down Hawkeye, whom she tells Yelena is responsible for her sister Natasha's death. 
Premieres November 24

The Beatles: Get Back (Disney+)

Just in time for Thanksgiving comes Peter's Jackson's three-part, six-hour documentary about the making of The Beatles's final studio album, Let It Be. Utilizing hours of never-before-seen footage, the film is said to counter the notion that the recording of the album was an acrimonious end to The Beatles' time together.
Premieres November 24

Station Eleven (HBO Max)

While it has yet to receive an exact release date, the much-anticipated miniseries version of Emily St. John Mandel 's novel Station Eleven is still set for a fall premiere. Maniac creator Patrick Sommerville helms the series about a worldwide pandemic that completely reshapes society, following the nomadic bands of survivors who traverse the Great Lakes area of North America and perhaps rebuild the world that was lost. The timing for this adaptation is questionable, but the source material is fantastic and the show's cast — which includes Mackenzie Davis, Hamish Patel, and Gael Garcia Bernal — has us very excited.
Premieres TBA Fall 2021

Joe Reid is the senior writer at Primetimer and co-host of the This Had Oscar Buzz podcast. His work has appeared in Decider, NPR, HuffPost, The Atlantic, Slate, Polygon, Vanity Fair, Vulture, The A.V. Club and more.