Fall TV Watch List: A 'Star Wars' Prequel and a 'Quantum Leap' Reboot Land in our Galaxy

Fall TV Watch List: A 'Star Wars' Prequel and a 'Quantum Leap' Reboot Land in our Galaxy No images? [Click here]( ID=167008;size=700x180;setID=556351;uid={EMAIL}6985647;click=summer_tv_watchlist_top [- - -] [TheWrap - SUMMER TV WATCH LIST] Week of September 17 – 23 Fall is here. But before you bundle up, you might want to turn on the television. Because there is a ton of great stuff this week, from a new “Star Wars” series (hello, “Andor!”) to the finale of “The Bachelorette,” to new documentaries on Sidney Poitier and freaky deaky animal superpowers. There’s enough to make you want to put off hibernation for at least another week. (We didn’t even mention the return of “Quantum Leap” or Allison Janney’s new action movie!) On with the television! [Premiere of the week] “Andor”Wednesday, Sept. 21, Disney+ Photo: Disney+ 2017’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” ended definitively, with a gutsy band of Rebels dying at the hands of a cold and indifferent Empire. (Upside: They got the plans for the Death Star out to the rest of the team, enabling Luke Skywalker’s eventual destruction of the space station.) “Andor,” which focuses on Diego Luna’s character from “Rogue One,” takes place five years before the destruction of the Death Star (and the events of “Rogue One” and the original “Star Wars”), instead focusing on how his character became a radicalized Rebel. There are some familiar faces in the mix but this is a mostly new story, exploring uncharted regions of the “Star Wars” cosmos. And if you feel like you’re suffering from “Star Wars” fatigue, fear not, this show has a storytelling approach that is more grounded than something like, say, “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” which felt far too wedded to the now quite complicated mythology. [[TRAILER](] ID=167008;size=300x250;setID=556895;uid={EMAIL}6985647;click=summer_tv_watchlist_2 [- - -] [Premiere of the week] “The Bachelorette”Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 8 p.m., ABC Photo: ABC Season 19 of “The Bachelorette” could end with two fairy-tale engagements, or it could end with zero. It remains to be seen whether Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia will find their happily every after, as the women each enter the finale with one suitor left standing, both of whom seem hesitant to get down on one knee after such a quick courting. Gabby and Rachel are ready to say “yes,” but will their men pop the question? Only one way to find out. [[SNEAK PEEK](] [- - -] [Premiere of the week] “Lou”Friday, Sept. 23, Netflix [Allison Janney Lou] Photo: Netflix If you’ve ever fantasized about Allison Janney starring in the “John Wick” franchise, then this is the movie for you. Janney plays a loner in the rain-soaked Pacific Northwest who steps in when the daughter of her neighbor (Jurnee Smollet) is taken from her by her psychotic ex-husband (Logan Marshall-Green). And while the “John Wick” comparison isn’t exactly accurate, there is a scene in which Janney kills a guy with an open can of soup. Produced by J.J. Abrams and directed by the great Anne Foerster, who has a VFX background and has directed episodes of “Westworld” and “Outlander,” “Lou” is the ideal Netflix thriller: lean, mean and occasionally quite emotional. [[TRAILER](] [- - -] [Premiere of the week] “Sidney”Friday, Sept. 23, Apple TV+ [Sidney Poitier] Photo: Apple TV+ Well, this looks wonderful. “Sidney,” a documentary charting the life and career of Oscar-winning actor and humanitarian Sidney Poitier, premiered this month at the Toronto International Film Festival and has quickly made its way to Apple TV+. The trailer is deeply moving and Poitier’s groundbreaking career is worth an entire miniseries, let alone one documentary feature. Director Reginald Hudlin is a trailblazer of his own, thanks to films he directed like “House Party” and “Boomerang” (he also produced “Django Unchained”) as well as his extensive work in comic books. [[TRAILER](] ID=167008;size=300x250;setID=556895;uid={EMAIL}6985647;click=summer_tv_watchlist_2 [- - -] [Premiere of the week] “Quantum Leap”Peacock Photo: NBC With “Quantum Leap” getting reinvented this week (see below), why not revisit the original? The show ran for nearly 100 episodes, from 1989 to 1993, and followed a scientist named Dr. Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) whose experiments with time travel allow him to “leap” into the bodies of people in the past (the people whose lives he inhabits get zapped to the future). The twist, of course, is that he never knows whose life he will leap into and what he has to correct in order to leap again. The entire time he’s just trying to get home, relying only on his wits and the occasional help of Al (Dean Stockwell), his BFF from the future who occasionally zaps to wherever he is (in hologram form) to assist him on his journey. The show boasts a great theme song by Mike Post and some quite sharp social commentary (also some questionable stuff too, like when he leaps into the life of a mentally challenged man). “Quantum Leap” was a show unlike anything that had come before (or since). No wonder NBC is trying to recapture the magic. [[WATCH](] [- - -] [Premiere of the week] “Quantum Leap”Monday, Sept. 19 at 10 p.m., NBCThis new “Quantum Leap” is a continuation of the original series, with a new scientist, Dr. Ben Song (Raymond Lee), embarking on the same experiment that left Sam Beckett adrift in time and space. While it seems like this is the perfect set up for Bakula to return, the actor said he was contacted but declined the invitation. Incredibly, this “Quantum Leap” reboot is one of only two new shows premiering on NBC this fall. [[TRAILER](] “Reboot”Tuesday, Sept. 20, HuluThe first new series from “Modern Family” co-creator Steven Levitan has an intriguingly meta premise. The show centers around the Hulu reboot of a beloved early 2000s sitcom (“Step Right Up”) and all of the high jinks that ensue after producers reunite the original cast (played by Johnny Knoxville, Keegan-Michael Key and Judy Greer). Paul Reiser, Rachel Bloom, Krista Marie Yu and Calum Worthy also star. Let’s hope the is at least half as good as the trailer. This week two episodes stream, while the rest of the season will be doled out weekly. [[TRAILER](] “Meet Cute”Wednesday, Sept. 21, PeacockReady for another time loop movie? Because here it is! Kaley Cuoco discovers a time machine in a tanning bed and uses it to create the best first date ever (with, of all people, Pete Davidson). Of course, her getting that across to him and not sounding like a creep is probably something they’ll both have to overcome. The “Groundhog Day” formula has been used to great effect in projects like “Palm Springs” — we’ll see if “Meet Cute” has the same magic. [[TRAILER](] “Super/Natural”Wednesday, Sept. 21, Disney+Who doesn’t love a good nature documentary about the freakish abilities of everyday animals? Especially if it’s narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch and produced by James Cameron? Since Disney+ is lumping this new show in with its Halloween programming, expect an emphasis on extra-weird/creepy creatures (there’s an intense looking bug or potentially spider in the trailer that has us worried). Because sometimes our world is the most extraordinary. [[TRAILER](] “Athena”Friday, Sept. 23, NetflixSet in a French suburb, this film follows the outrage and violence that comes after a young man is mysteriously killed. The film has already played at a few festivals (New York Magazine critic Bilge Ebiri called it [one of the best films he’s ever seen]() Director Romain Gavras, the son of trailblazing Oscar-winning director Costa-Gavras, made the leap from music videos to features like the incredible 2018 crime comedy “The World Is Yours” (also on Netflix). This looks epic. [[TRAILER](] [- - -] That does it for this week’s edition of The Wrap’s Summer TV Watch List. If you aren’t a subscriber, you can fix that by [signing up here](. Any suggestions for an upcoming premiere, finale or re-watch? [Drop us a line!](mailto:inquiries@thewrap.com) [- - -] [Update your profile]( | [View our privacy policy]( | [Unsubscribe]( Sent from: TheWrap | 1808 Stanford Street | Santa Monica, CA, 90404 | attn: Email Coordinator [TheWrap]( ID=167008;size=700x180;setID=556352;uid={EMAIL}6985647;click=summer_tv_watchlist_bottom This email was sent to {EMAIL}. If you are no longer interested you can [unsubscribe instantly](.