14 Fall TV Shows You Should Watch

The Mob Doctor
Fox, Mondays at 9 p.m., premieres Sept. 17

Ever wonder about the doctors in all those mob movies who attend to gunshot wounds for guys who, let's just say, can't exactly stroll into a hospital for treatment? This show hopes you do. Jordana Spiro stars as the surgeon of the title. William Forsythe plays the mob boss who calls on her. There's potential here.

Ben and Kate
Fox, Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m., premieres Sept. 25

Single mom Kate (Dakota Johnson, daughter of Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith) juggles child-rearing, dating and her aimless, flighty but good-hearted brother Ben (Nat Faxon). Faxon is a funny guy — he won an Oscar earlier this year for cowriting the screenplay for The Descendants — and he and Johnson have great comic chemistry.

The cast of Fox's much-anticipated new show "The Mindy Project." — dfd

The Mindy Project
Fox, Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m., premieres Sept. 25

Mindy Kaling (Kelly Kapoor on NBC's The Office) gets her own sitcom, playing perpetually single young doctor Mindy Lahiri. The pilot has some fun with the conventions of chick flicks; otherwise, it's a bit uneven. Kaling is a funny lady, so expect this one to grow into itself if given enough time.

Animal Practice
NBC, Wednesdays at 8 p.m., premieres Sept. 26

Given the close relationship many people have with their pets, a sitcom set at an animal hospital, with jokes cracked and heartstrings pulled each episode, feels kind of like genius. Having a monkey as one of the show's main characters — and a monkey in a doctor's outfit who rides a tiny ambulance, no less — feels a little less like genius. Justin Kirk (Weeds) plays the arrogant vet who runs the place.

Next: Matthew Perry's funny new role. »