Fall TV: What new shows have the X-factor? Our critics discuss

By Scott Sandell

Sept. 13, 2012 12 AM PT

The fall TV season is upon us, and what do we get? Britney Spears and Demi Lovato on “The X Factor,” Christina Aguilera on “The Voice”, and the return of Matthew Perry in “Go On.” But that’s only the beginning.

As Times television critic Robert Lloyd writes in his tour through the new fall series, it’s “a season for Chicago, archery, quirky female doctors, country singers grappling with age, single mothers, child-rearing dads and a monkey.”

Not to mention a Ken Burns’ documentary about the Dust Bowl on PBS.

TIMELINE: Fall TV premieres and trailers

Meanwhile, Times television critic Mary McNamara points out that: “In recent years, our TV screens have been assailed by vampires, werewolves and zombies. All of which pale when compared to the latest army on the rise: the whacked-out grannies. Here they are, in comedies and dramas, women of mature years and supportive undergarments, swilling cocktails, dropping F-bombs and taking names.”

Think Ellen Barkin in “The New Normal,” Lily Tomlin in “Malibu Country” and Elizabeth Perkins in “How to Live With Your Parents for the Rest of Your Life.”

So what’s a viewer to make of it all? Join our critics for a live video chat to talk about the new fall TV season at 11 a.m. Thursday, right here in this space. And leave your thoughts below.