Can you remember the last time when TV felt like TV? When you could reliably flip to a certain channel and know there will be a great set of shows airing every day of the week, providing water cooler fodder for at least half the year? When we think about TV now, we get visions of the endless scroll through streaming options. We’ve gotten used to two or three years of waiting for an eight-episode binge of expensively-produced, often-forgettable installments, which we finish in a day or two before returning to the infinite browsing. Thankfully, TV feels like TV again in fall 2024, as the tried-and-true network procedural is having a moment.
While network TV has largely taken a backseat to streaming in recent years, save for breakout hits like Abbott Elementary, a slate of new criminal and legal procedurals this fall has invigorated the weeknight lineup. Following in the footsteps of brilliant women from Jessica Fletcher and Cagney and Lacey, to Diane Lockhart and Olivia Benson, the latest everyday heroes to satisfyingly investigate and solve a mystery in the span of one episode are the leads of High Potential, Matlock, and Elsbeth. These series continue the legacy of shows like SVU and its contemporaries by showcasing complex female leads and centering timely conversations. It’s fun, escapist primetime TV that shows millions of viewers some of the complicated issues women face daily.
