GOTHAM: Ben McKenzie in the “Mad City: Better to Reign in Hell” season premiere episode of GOTHAM airing airing Monday, Sept. 19 (8:00-9:01 PM ET/PT) on FOX. ©2015 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Jeff Neumann/FOX.

GOTHAM found itself embracing the dark side in season 2, as RISE OF THE VILLAINS dove into the underbelly of Gotham City, a town in the hands of the charismatic bunch of lunatics who make crime their business.  Hugh Strange went crazy-er, Nygma embraced his inner psychopath, and a long haired Bruce-Wayne doppelganger arrived on the scene, one of many monsters escaping by bus.  In the third season premiere, airing tonight at 8/7c, Jim Gordon is down but not out, as he fights crime as a (broken-hearted) bounty hunter (looking good and seemingly relaxed even under stress), working to apprehend the Indian Hills escapees and make some “easy” cash along the way.  Penguin has a new mission, Valerie Vail (Jamie Chung) arrives on the scene, and the curtain is peeled back just a little bit on the mysterious Court of Owls. The best thing GOTHAM ever did was focus in on the monsters in town (including allowing Erin Richards to embrace her inner insanity), and season 3, subtitled MAD CITY, continues that dive down. Funny, sarcastic, and dark, the show wastes no time getting to the heart of what promises to be an exciting season.

LUCIFER: L-R: Lauren German and Tom Ellis in “Everything’s Coming Up Lucifer” season premiere episode of LUCIFER airing Monday, Sept. 19 (9:01-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX ©2016 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Michael Courtney/FOX.

Also kicking off what should be a fun new season is LUCIFER (9/8c).  Lucifer and Amenadiel are in a good place; working together to find Mom, the woman these two are terrified to encounter, now that she’s out of her locked cage in Hell, while also still looking for Maize. Luci is back on the job with Chloe, assuming everything he sees is a message from Mommy Dearest; Detective Douche finds himself in an interesting situation and the whereabouts of Mazikeen are explored.  New series stars Aimee Garcia (DEXTER) and Tricia Helfer (BSG) make their debuts as the quirky crime scene investigator, and well, spoilers: Mama herself. LUCIFER was a surprise favorite of mine from last season – Tom Ellis and Lauren German continue to have a palpable chemistry and I find myself screaming “JUST KISS” whenever they’re together! And for those who swooned when Ellis sang in Season 1, be prepared for more Luci performances, starting right off the bat in the premiere. A show that I think wasn’t given enough credit in S1, Season 2 looks to be going above and beyond, ranking it HIGH on the list of must sees!