10 CBS Premieres, Reviewed: 'Boston Blue,' the 'NCIS'-verse, 'DMV,' 'Ghosts' and More

This fall's CBS Premiere Week is at long last upon us, and if you know any singular thing about this TV-loving MOCA, it's that I gravitate towards the Eye Network's many procedurals.

Here's my snapshot look at what seven returning favorites have on tap this busy, busy week, plus my back-of-napkin thoughts on a trio of new CBS series/spinoffs/"Universe Expansions." (I've never watched Tracker, The Neighborhood, Georgie & Mandy or Watson, and did not feel like jumping in midstream, and have yet to lay eyes on the Fire Country Season 4 opener.)

Matlock

► Sunday, Oct. 12 at 8:30/7:30c (special night)
As my Inside Line column teased, the hit dramedy's sophomore premiere has a lot to do, given that at the close of the April finale, Alfie's alleged father showed up on Matty's doorstep just as Olympia discovered that it was Julian who years ago stole the Wellbrexa study. You may be surprised by how much time is spent on Alfie's dad, but things between Matty and Olympia pick up over the course of the hour, building to a rather unexpected closing scene. (Having seen Episode 2, I'd best describe this as a "two-part premiere," with the season's true direction made clear later this week.) The Sarah/Simone storyline isn't picked up on until Thursday, while the "Let's root for sweet baby daddy Billy!" scenes certainly play different now in light of cast member David Del Rio's abrupt ouster from the show. (Episode 2 airs this Thursday at 9 pm, in the show's regular time slot.)

Elsbeth

► Sunday, Oct. 12 at 9:30 pm (special night)
Amy Sedaris, Andy Richter, Lindsay Mendez (All Rise) and a deliciously acerbic Stephen Colbert guest-star in the season opener about a murder at a late-night talk show, and which happens to mark the first time Elsbeth meets the victim before they get offed. The murder scene is a bit silly (as it involves a comically oversized piece of office equipment), but the episode is a fun one that's actually an improv comedy explainer as much as a late-night TV spoof. Kaya (former cast member Carra Patterson) is now away, undercover, but she does get mentioned – as does Elsbeth's (ahem) boyfriend Angus. (Episode 2 airs this Thursday at 10 pm, in the show's regular time slot.)

DMV (series premiere)

► Monday, Oct. 13 at 8:30 pm
A trip to the DMV has never been so fun. Harriet Dyer (Colin From Accounts), Tim Meadows (Peacemaker), Molly Kearney (SNL) and Alex Tarrant (NCIS: Hawaii) are the standouts in this workplace comedy about that corner of hell known as the Department of Motor Vehicles, with Dyer demonstrating a knack for both physical comedy and acting forever-defeated and Meadows getting to play things a bit straighter than usual. The setting is ripe for satire, so this single-cam sitcom (which boasts a full, 20-episode Season 1 order) should have legs.

FBI

► Monday, Oct. 13 at 9 pm
Did SAC Isobel Castillo die from her injuries sustained in the May finale...? This Season 8 premiere keeps you waiting for that answer while stranding Maggie and OA on an island in New York Harbor that has pretty creepily declared martial law. That Case of the Week is effectively unsettling, while the hour's closing seconds are quite a gut punch.

NCIS

► Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 8 pm
What does it say about the current state of 22-year old NCIS that it took me a minute to recall what happened in this screener I watched just days ago...? Gary Cole does some nice work in the wake of Alden's father's brutal murder and guest star Nancy Travis is quite commanding as Alden's steely sister, Navy Vice Admiral Harriet Parker, but the "Kansas City crime boss Carla Marino" of it all continues to feel wildly out of place on this show. This long-running procedural is screaming for a shake-up; will Season 23's "family expansion" (teased by my TVLine Q&A) be it?

NCIS: Origins

► Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 9 pm
...AKA the other CBS procedural that left you asking, "Did that main character in fact die at the end of the finale?" I give Origins props for the way it parses out its resolution to the devastating Lala crash, while doing fun things with Wheeler (now a hapless field agent), Randy (restricted to desk duty), Franks (fed up with his new, makeshift team) and Gibbs (whose romance with Diane is decidedly in progress). Add in a hilarious Woody/Phil lab scene (involving light-up kicks) and a 1990s singalong that sneaks up on you, and you have a very promising start to Season 2.

NCIS: Sydney

► Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 10 pm
Easily the most fun (and most sexy) NCIS series now airing, Sydney kicks off Season 3 with a pretty neat, sometimes-haunting mystery involving two missing U.S. Navy aviators found adrift in the Coral Sea with unreliable memories of their "lost" time. Interestingly, we'll apparently have to wait a minute for any answers to the Blue/Aspira cliffhanger, while J.D.'s arrival on a dating app (did he really use the bright yellow vest for a profile pic??) is milked for big laughs by Evie and DeShawn while eliciting some interesting reactions from Mackey.

Ghosts

► Thursday, Oct. 16 at 8:30 pm
As teased in my Inside Line column, Jay's unwitting deal with the Devil leads to some comically desperate attempts (bubble wrap!) to put off his possibly imminent death as well as some crafty ideas to possibly null said contract (one of which involves a recurring ghost). And regardless of where you fall on the nascent Pete/Alberta romance, their debate over how and when to "go public" is quite sweet/humorous.

Sheriff Country (series premiere)

► Friday, Oct. 17 at 9 pm (special time)
Among spinoff lead Morena Baccarin's co-stars, Deadwood alum W. Earl Brown is a true delight (as Mickey's irascible law-skirting, weed-farming father), while Matt Lauria serves as an effective potential foil to Mickey's ambitions. The premiere sets up a murder mystery that, while thin/obvious, promises to keep the Fox family on its toes; the subsequent episodes are decidedly stronger. As far as Fire Country crossovers, Max Thieriot pops up in Episode 1 and Diane Farr visits the following week. (Episode 2 airs Friday, Oct. 24 at 8 pm, in the show's regular time slot.)

Boston Blue (series premiere)

► Friday, Oct. 17 at 10 pm
Blue Bloods' winning legacy continues via this "universe expansion" in which Donnie Wahlberg's Danny Reagan makes an unplanned trip to Boston, where son Sean (Mika Amonsen succeeding franchise vet Andrew Terraciano) patrols for the BPD. There, Danny literally runs across Detective Lena Silver (Sonequa Martin-Green), with whom he winds up working a pressing case. Gloria Reuben, Maggie Lawson, a perfectly cast Ernie Hudson and Marcus Scribner (black-ish) respectively co-star as Lena's District Attorney mom, police superintendent sister, Baptist preacher grandfather and rookie cop brother. The fast-moving premiere efficiently lays the groundwork for the offshoot while offering comforting hints of Blue Bloods-ness that only increase in subsequent episodes.