海角大神

Two investigators try to find the motive for murder. A small-town sheriff takes in an orphan with a shadowy past. A young woman tries to get over heartache. And, seeking to save a former love, an avenger puts on a cowl and takes to the night.

Each of these new fall shows leans heavily on familiar tropes, but adds a twist: The investigators suspect the murderer could be a demon. (Yes, the evil kind, with horns.) Both the small-town sheriff and the caped crusader are women. The heartbroken young woman, terrified of becoming a cat lady, meets an actual cat-headed lady. (This one drives a bus in Los Angeles.)

This fall鈥檚 new science fiction and fantasy offerings face an extra degree of difficulty. That鈥檚 because they don鈥檛 just offer the new characters and situations common to all genres. They also have to present new worlds, sometimes with entirely new sets of rules. That鈥檚 a major part of their appeal 鈥� experiencing these new shows challenges not just interpersonal understanding, but environmental and rational understanding as well.

Quite a few shows adopt the puzzle-box approach this fall. 鈥淓mergence,鈥� on ABC, borrows liberally from Netflix鈥檚 鈥淪tranger Things鈥�: An apparently superpowered girl with a shadowy past is being pursued by the government, but comes under the protection of a small-town sheriff. Allison Tolman as Sheriff Jo Evans and Alexa Swinton as听Piper, the mysterious girl, are both compelling. The always good Donald Faison and Clancy Brown support as Jo鈥檚 ex-husband and father, respectively.

CBS鈥檚 鈥淓vil,鈥� on the other hand, takes a more 鈥淴-Files鈥� approach, as a church-backed team of paranormal researchers tries to determine whether strange phenomena are scientifically explainable or demonically driven. The contrast between the two shows demonstrates the importance of getting world-building right. 鈥淓vil鈥� (rated TV-14) gives away the game early by making it all too clear (via villains who are either cartoonishly or violently malevolent) that the demonic answer was the right one 鈥� and loses a lot of energy. Made by the team behind 鈥淭he Good Wife,鈥� 鈥淓vil鈥� aspires to explore the motivations of morality and immorality, but three episodes in, it mostly muddles about with implausible 鈥淴-Files鈥�-like questions like 鈥済host or leaky gasket?鈥� which even charismatic star Mike Colter can鈥檛 overcome. 鈥淓mergence鈥� (TV-PG), meanwhile, keeps the mystery going. There鈥檚 something odd happening, but the puzzle is laid out slowly 鈥� and that keeps you coming back. (One throwback note: Both programs feature actors who are alumni of the master puzzle-box show, 鈥淟ost.鈥�)听

The superhero genre is experiencing a golden age 鈥� on the big and small screen 鈥� right now. It鈥檚 no wonder. At its simplest level, it takes little to move a real-world drama into a comic book world: Just take a crime drama and add higher ambitions and stylized costumes to the main characters. That鈥檚 essentially what The CW has done with its latest addition to its supershow lineup: 鈥淏atwoman鈥� (TV-14).

It鈥檚 early days yet in the show. But the portrayal has been faithful to the comic. Kate Kane 鈥� Batwoman鈥檚 alter ego played by a hard-nosed Ruby Rose 鈥� is a onetime military academy student, dishonorably discharged due to her intimate relationship with classmate Sophie Moore. After kicking about testing her limits 脿 la her cousin, Bruce Wayne, she returns to Gotham City. And when Sophie is kidnapped, Kate takes up the mantle Batman mysteriously abandoned three years prior to save her.

With a little more reworking of the laws of the world to allow for superbeings, you can go even further. That鈥檚 what HBO is doing with its prestige series 鈥淲atchmen鈥� (TV-MA), a sequel to the classic 1980s comic of the same name. 鈥淲atchmen,鈥� debuting Oct. 20, promises to take the weighty themes of the original and bring them forward 34 years, into a world that deviates radically from our own but still resonates on issues of white supremacy and authoritarianism. The creator of the show has said he听was inspired by the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, which is back in the news this week as scientists search for evidence of a mass grave. The cast includes Oscar winners Regina King and Jeremy Irons.听听

Like 鈥淕ame of Thrones,鈥� this year鈥檚 most ambitious world-building show draws heavily from work done in another medium. In November, the new streaming service Disney+ will roll out the first 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� live-action series, set after 鈥淩eturn of the Jedi.鈥� A kind of bounty-hunter Western, 鈥淭he Mandalorian鈥�听is set to blaze new trails in the 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� universe.

And for those who like fantasy without ever leaving the real world, there is the quirky, surrealist 鈥淒ollface鈥� (TV-MA), also available in November. Hulu鈥檚 offering is a kind of L.A.-based 鈥淪ex and the City鈥� with a reality-bending twist. The main story arc is that Jules (Kat Dennings), recently dumped by her boyfriend, must reconnect with female friends. Over the episodes, her dilemmas are often shown as real-life metaphors: say, a cat-headed lady driving her in a bus to meet her lost acquaintances, or a chasm opening between fighting friends. It鈥檚 a world where exposition is made manifest.