While most people are sipping pumpkin spice lattes and bundling up in sweaters, in autumn I can be found catching up on all the new fall TV.

This year, we have a slew of new and returning shows. Returning, we have American Horror Story: Freak Show, The Big Bang Theory, and Elementary. New shows include Stalker, NCIS: New Orleans, and Gotham. They range from the generically good to the life-changingly amazing.

Returning Shows:

American Horror Story

Considered a modern masterpiece, AHS has returned for its 4th season on FX. The basic idea behind the show is to have the main actors return each season to play a different character. Every year has a different horror-related scenario, starting with Murder House, then Asylum, and then Coven. Now we have Freak Show.

The unique talent of the returning cast is to mold themselves into each new character they embody. For example, actor Evan Peters has been with the show since the beginning, and so far has played several different personas, from a dangerous, troubled teen to an innocent young man accused of murder.

One of the more extraordinary aspects of this season is the people who play the “freaks.” Most TV shows would use makeup and special effects for all the portrayals of abnormality, but AHS has only used these methods for the returning, main actors. Instead, real people with disfigurements have joined the cast to help make this year the best yet. Their presence brings sincerity and authenticity to the amazing characters they play, and it’s so empowering to see them embrace their roles.

One of the actresses is Jyoti Amge, a 20-year-old woman who is 23 inches tall. Another is Mat Fraser, who was born with a birth defect that caused him to have a seal-like disfigurement on his arms. Despite their differences, these new actors welcome this opportunity and are enthusiastic about the show.

In an interview for the FX channel, Mat Fraser says “Of course these [arms] are different, and they’re interesting to look at, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m powerful and awesome. And I have these . . . I get to do both of the things I love. I get to be an actor, but portray the world of the freak show. So it’s like a perfect job for me. I couldn’t be happier.”

The Big Bang Theory

This sitcom is still going strong, returning for its 8th season to CBS. Beginning in 2007, simply with the idea of beautiful woman moving in across the hall from a couple of nerds, the show has evolved into one of the most popular comedies on TV. It follows characters Leonard and Sheldon and their best friends, who are all geeky geniuses, and characters like Penny, who are less smart but have more common sense, as they try to navigate through life in California. It’s as charming and hilarious as Friends, but with characters who happen to be physicists.

This season has a few twists, though, both on and off the screen.

The age-old idea of the geek never getting the girl, which was the concept for most of the previous seasons, has essentially been thrown out the window. Two of the main characters, Leonard (the giant geek) and Penny (the beautiful woman) got engaged near the end of the last year, meaning this season will involve taking their relationship to the next level and (finally) getting hitched.

Another enormous change for the actors is their salaries. During the summer, the main actors each cut a massive deal and the top three are now making $1 million per episode. The supporting actors also have new contracts and are making $750,000 per episode. While this (hopefully) won’t have an impact on what’s happening in the show, long-time fans are proud that these lovable nerds are getting the recognition they deserve.

Elementary

This adaptation of the classic Sherlock character is returning to CBS for its third season. Some consider Elementary to be second-rate compared to the British adaption on BBC (titled, simply, Sherlock) but the first two seasons were met with a fairly strong reception, being nominated for several Primetime Emmy awards.

The modern twist in this show is that Sherlock is a recovering drug addict, and Watson is his live-in “sober companion.” Watson, who eventually becomes Sherlock’s apprentice in solving crime, is portrayed as a woman (with the first name slyly changed from John to Joan). This version of the story also takes place in New York City instead of London.

Johnny Lee Miller’s representation of Sherlock, while maybe not as legendary as Benedict Cumberbatch’s in Sherlock, is still an well-played portrayal of the classic sleuth. Miller’s version of Sherlock stays very true to the original character from the books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. His character is simultaneously arrogant and brilliant, always three steps ahead of anyone playing the same game. With the help of the beautiful Lucy Liu as Watson, this show gives a new dimension to the crime-solving genre and the time-honored stories of Sherlock.

New Shows:

Stalker

Based on the chilling events of stalking in America, Stalker is one of the new shows in the lineup on CBS.

The intense pilot episode introduces a number of compelling characters working in the stalker department at the LAPD. Maggie Q plays a tough Lieutenant with mysterious reasons for joining her line of work. Dylan McDermott plays a detective whose new to the stalker unit, his suspicious backstory most concerning because he, himself, is a stalker.

The show has received mixed reviews, with the most common complaint being it is basically a bag of cliches. While this may be true for certain characters (the hero-with-a-dark-side persona is familiar to anyone who knows Batman) this is the first crime show I’ve seen that is devoted entirely to investigating stalkers.

For me, the fact that the show is about investigating stalkers is enough to give it a chance.

Stalking is different from other types of crime; it’s difficult to prove it happened at all. Think about it. Burglary will have clues like stolen items or signs of breaking and entering. Murder could leave more scientific evidence, like DNA. But what about stalking? If the victim hasn’t been physically hurt, and the only evidence is their personal recollections, there isn’t tangible proof the crime happened. How would a team of detectives investigate a crime of that nature? It’s uncharted territory that TV show producers have not delved into, and it’s the reason why I’ll give it a chance.

With some help along the way, there’s no reason this show can’t meet Criminal Minds status.

NCIS: New Orleans

This fall the second spin-off of NCIS came to CBS. Combining military-related crimes and world-class detectives, the original NCIS (which stands for Naval Criminal Investigative Service)  began in 2003. The first spin-off, Los Angeles, was introduced in 2009. This year we can enjoy even more crime-stopping action, taking place for the first time in Louisiana.

Long-time fans of the original shows are slightly skeptical about New Orleans. For one, the “In Charge” special agent, played by Scott Bakula, is very similar to the corresponding character on the original show. They look alot alike, both having the tall, gray-haired demeanor of someone who is the definition of “serious business.” In fact, Bakula’s character is friends with the original and they have appeared in several episodes together. The fanbase is somewhat crestfallen, since Los Angeles gave us a unique, pint-sized, sometimes-maternal-but-mostly-intimidating  female leader named Hetty and expectations were quite high. However, New Orleans has portrayed Bakula’s character to be more accessible and less mysterious than his look alike counterparts, which is a nice development.

This probably has more to do with our problem with change than anything else, but it will be difficult to get used to a whole new team of agents. Who can watch the original NCIS for 11 years and not feel nostalgic while watching the new one?

Still, there are 22 episodes scheduled to be made during this season of New Orleans, and it’s only fair to give them a chance before we toss them aside completely.

Gotham

This show, aired on Fox, has the most interesting and unique plot structure out of every new fall show. Set in the Batman universe, it focuses on the history of the character Commissioner James Gordon. Interwoven throughout the story are future enemies and a young Batman, back when he still went by Bruce Wayne.

What’s so original about this show is that the story is simultaneously completely fictional and very realistic.

Certain events in the show seem obviously fantastical. Scenes with one character, Fish Mooney, always seem like they take place in the Roaring Twenties, with her elegant Gatsby-esque gowns. Glimpses inside the house of the young Bruce Wayne reveal an eighteenth-century style mansion house, complete with a butler. In one scene, a man is handcuffed (not consensually) to a weather balloon and floats above the city of Gotham.

However, at the same time, Gotham seems to be like a drearier version of a modern New York City. There are skyscrapers and people have phones. The police station could be any police station in any other crime/drama show. It’s like the show is set in several different points in time at once, which only adds to the mystery of it.

It’s such an interesting twist to have a Batman-themed show that really has very little to do with Batman at all. Instead, it focuses on the overlapping origin stories of the villains and allies. With a hard-to-define mix of good and evil characters, this show is sure to be a hit by the time the first season is finished.