We are now well into the Fall TV season—cancellations have been made, careers have been broken… but it’s all falling into solid scheduling at this point. Throwback series Pan Am, The Playboy Club and Charlie’s Angels all failed at being Mad Men for the network television set. The general public failed to sense the chemistry between Hank Azaria and Kathryn Hahn in Free Agents (although in my opinion the biggest loss here is the hysterically sardonic Natasha Leggero as executive assistant Emma) and simply doesn’t have enough hate to fuel the CW’s confrontational reality show H8R.

But the failure of some shows leaves room on our DVR for others and when you clear away the clutter we are left with some really great programming. Here’s a little breakdown of the best in 5 categories:

Comedy: Up All Night (NBC)

Christina Applegate and Will Arnett play Reagan and Chris Brinkley, new parents to baby Amy, who are desperately trying to stay cool despite the new challenges that having a child brings. Typically a show starts as a family show with multiple children in varying age ranges or adds a kid later in the series to jump the shark, but the reality is that the times they are a changin’ and many real life couples are only having one child. Parents have worked hard to get where they are and they want to keep it all and have a baby.

Sure this comedy may rehash old story lines like lack of sleep, getting too comfortable around your spouse and balancing work and family, but it’s doing it in a new way. Christina Applegate is the perfect choice for Reagan because as the show’s target audience we know her and grew up with her (she’s Kelly freakin’ Bundy!), so when her character talks about what a hard-partying rebel she used to be, we believe her. We relate to her. And while it’s all well and good that there are people out there who relate to The New Girl’s Jess, with her hipster style and quirky personality, something tells me that more women out there are Reagans—and we could all use half an hour to relate and laugh at ourselves.

Sci-fi/Fantasy: Once Upon a Time (ABC)

The last time I can remember fairytales being this enjoyable for both kids and adults Shelly Duval was at the helm. The series is based on the idea that the Evil Queen (of Snow White fame) cast a spell on all of our favorite fairytale characters, launching them into real life in Storybrooke, ME where they have no memories of their past life. There are no happy endings and no one can leave—at least not until someone breaks the curse.

Once is better than its NBC counterpart, Grimm, because it’s fun for the whole family. It’s a clever twist on old favorites, lead by a strong cast of familiar female faces (House and Big Love fans rejoice) whereas Grimm’s main character got his start on the now-defunct MTV Road Rules. Casting aside, Once is about hope and the classic battle of good versus evil (how refreshing!). In the words of Willy Wonka, “the suspense is terrible, I hope it will last.”

Drama: Revenge (ABC)

The desire to seek revenge is relatable. Even for those of us who would never act on our instincts, those types of thoughts can be hard to ignore and all too easy to entertain. Unfortunately for most who seek it, their journey for vengeance isn’t as glamorous as Emily Thornes’s (aka Amanda Clarke). Thornes’s story is set in the Hamptons, where she plans to take down the people responsible for framing her father as a key player in a terrorism plot by infiltrating their luxurious lives and taking them down one by one.

The plot thickens as she falls for two dashingly handsome men, bar owner Jack and the son of her main targets, Patrick Grayson. We are left to continuously wonder if she’ll get her revenge and, if so, at what cost.

Reality Show: The Headhuntress (Bravo)

The wide world of unscripted television has become a vast sea of Housewives, matchmakers and professional partiers (I’m looking at you, MTV cast members). While it can be funny to follow the lives of random strangers, it’s hard not to wonder, ‘why do I care?’ or ‘what am I learning here?’ So while it may be a bit premature to call The Headhuntress the best of the new reality show crap crop, I like what Bravo brought to the table with their 1-hour sneak peak of The Headhuntress last week.

Times are hard, people are sick of being out of work (hello #OWS) or tired of working at a thankless job that doesn’t fulfill them; this show invades the offices of Katalyst Career Group and follows “The Headhuntress” Wendy Dalton and her crew as they provide career advice and (for the lucky few) pair people up with dream jobs. Dalton’s honest advice and constructive criticism (doled out in a British accent no less) makes me wonder, can we actually learn something useful from reality TV?

Talk Show: The Chew (ABC)

Daytime television can be tricky; you have your early morning talk shows, a few late morning options and then the soaps. The target audience since the television was invented has typically been housewives and stay at home moms, but our world is changing (as Moxy has explored this month with our theme of men doing women’s work) and ABC seems to be catching on with their latest creation The Chew.

This food-centric lifestyle program with famous hosts Mario Batali, Michael Symon, Carla Hall, Clinton Kelly and Daphne Oz, caters to a gender-neutral crowd who just want to enjoy life. Segments range from covering the traditional recipes to featuring tips on cooking, decorating your table and even fashion (as though Kelly could really keep his opinions to himself, or that we would want him to). Hey, perhaps the best way to anyone’s TV set is through her—or his—stomach.

Written by Kim Coughlin for Moxy Magazine, November 2011. Photo credit: flickr.com user idleman.