Creativity abounds in fall TV & analyzing debate ratings

As the new fall TV season kicks into gear, there's a pleasantly surprising number of shows that look like they could have long-term potential. There are already a lot of new shows to love in broadcast (The Good Place, Speechless, This is Us), cable (Better Things, Atlanta, High Maintenance) and streaming (Fleabag, One Mississippi). Some shows like Pitch and Son of Zorn, both on Fox, show potential, but may need a little more time to find an audience. On the other side of the spectrum, Kevin Can Wait on CBS feels like a dated sitcom beamed in from 20 years ago. Plenty of people are watching it now, but will that audience keep coming back to be faced with the same tired tropes? And Notorious on ABC may be not long for this world. We also talk about the ratings for the first presidential debate. They were indeed record-breaking in terms of raw numbers, but in terms of the percentage of households that watched, older debates like Kennedy and Nixon still got a high tune-in rate percentage-wise. As the debates continue this fall, several late night shows are using them as an opportunity to do their shows live, which so far, is working out better in some cases than in others.

Jen:The Good Place on NBC with Kristen Bell and Ted Danson is a new delightful comedy from writer-producer Mike Schur, who has previously done comedies like Parks and Recreation.The Good Place manages to mash-up the fun of Parks and Rec with the other-worldliness of Lost.

Joe: If you're a political junkie, check out MSNBC for post-debate coverage after the next presidential debates. Chris Matthews, Chris Hayes and Joy Reid come together for a free-wheeling show that feels like it could be titles MSNBC After Dark.

Mike: For a comedy that's both hilarious and heartbreaking, try Atlanta on FX. The slice-of-life show from Donald Glover also features a strong supporting cast, especially in the character of Paper Boi, played by Brian Tyree Henry.