Our favorite producers with shows returning this fall

By Mariel Turner 8:55am PDT, Aug 30, 2018

The return of the fall TV season is almost here and we couldn't be more excited! In anticipation of all the great television coming our way, Wonderwall.com is taking a look our favorite producers who have shows returning this fall, starting with Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk (aka Gwyneth Paltrow's significant other). The celebrated Emmy-winning creator-writer-producers who've worked together on shows such as "Glee," "American Crime Story," "Nip/Tuck" and "Pose," among others, have two series returning to TV screens in the fall 2018. "American Horror Story: Apocalypse" premieres on FX on Sept. 12 and Season 2 of FOX's "9-1-1" debuts on Sept. 23. Keep reading to see which other talented producers have shows coming back…

One of our all-time favorite TV shows is returning this fall and it's all thanks to this man, Dan Fogelman. He's the creator and executive producer of the tear-inducing, love-inspiring NBC drama "This Is Us," which premieres on Sept. 25. Dan is also the talented screenwriter behind "Tangled," "Crazy, Stupid, Love" and the Pixar film "Cars."

Shondaland will be in full effect come September 2018! Shonda Rhimes' hit TV shows "Grey's Anatomy," "How to Get Away With Murder" and "Station 19" return to ABC on Sept. 27. The acclaimed showrunner recently wrapped up production on her other ABC series, "Scandal," and netted a multi-year development deal with Netflix, which means all of her future productions will be Netflix Original series. How much is Shonda making from the deal, you might ask? Only a cool $150 million!

Shonda Rhimes isn't the only Shondaland producer getting paid. Ellen Pompeo, who plays Meredith Grey on "Grey's Anatomy," re-worked her contract this year in a boss move. The leading actress is now an official producer of "Grey's," which premieres on Sept. 27, and will be earning an additional $6 million to $7 million a year — in addition to the $20 million she's making as its star! She's also now a co-producer on the "Grey's" spinoff "Station 19," which premieres on Oct. 4.

Acting veteran Debbie Allen is also an executive producer on the ABC hit "Grey's Anatomy." In addition to producing, Debbie plays Catherine Avery on the series, which premieres on Sept. 27. She previously starred in "Fame" and "The Cosby Show" and directed episodes of "Insecure," "Scandal," "Jane the Virgin" and "Empire."

Veteran TV producer Dick Wolf has four shows returning to TV this fall! The showrunner's "Chicago" franchise series — "Chicago Fire," "Chicago Med" and "Chicago P.D." — all premiere on NBC on Sept. 26. Dick's most well-known show, "Law & Order: SVU," will debut on NBC on Sept. 27.

Speaking of "Law & Order: SVU"… the series' leading actress, Mariska Hargitay, is also an executive producer on the show. She began producing the insanely popular legal drama in 2016 and reportedly earns a cool $500K per episode!

Chuck Lorre is the co-creator, writer and executive producer of three shows coming back this fall: "Mom," "The Big Bang Theory" and "Young Sheldon." "Mom" will hit TV screens on Sept. 27 on CBS, and "The Big Bang Theory" and its spinoff, "Young Sheldon," will premiere on Sept. 24. Chuck is known as "the King of Sitcoms" thanks to creating and producing "Grace Under Fire," "Cybill," "Dharma & Greg," "Two and a Half Men" and executive producing "Roseanne."

Lee Daniels is the executive producer, creator and director of two shows returning this fall. His hit musical dramas "Empire" and "Star" will both premiere on Sept. 26 on FOX. Lee is no stranger to drama, having previously produced "Monster's Ball" and directed "Precious" and "The Butler."

Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd co-created and executive produce the super-successful sitcom "Modern Family," which returns to ABC on Sept. 26. The dynamic duo are pictured here with one of the stars of the series, Sofia Vergara. Audiences might also know Christopher from his previous work as the showrunner and executive producer of "Frasier."

We have the talented Michael Schur to thank for some of the funniest shows on TV. The showrunner is the co-creator and executive producer of "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" and the popular NBC series "The Good Place," which returns to TV screens on Sept. 27. Michael previously co-created and produced "Parks and Recreation" and produced and wrote for "The Office."

Seth MacFarlane is back with his laugh-out-loud funny series "Family Guy." The animated show, which Seth executive produces (he also voices a few characters), will return for its 17th season on FOX on Sept. 30. Seth is also well-known for creating "American Dad!" and "The Cleveland Show." He also wrote, directed and starred in the hilarious "Ted" films.

TV veterans David Simon and George Pelecanos teamed up with A-list actors Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Franco to produce the acclaimed HBO drama "The Deuce." The series, which David and George created, will return to TV screens on Sept. 9. The two television producers previously worked together on "The Wire," which is regarded by many as one of the best TV shows of all time.

"Murphy Brown" is back! The CBS sitcom has been rebooted for the 2018 fall season and its lead actress, Candice Bergen, is serving as an executive producer. Candice is a Hollywood legend, having previously starred in "Boston Legal," "Miss Congeniality," "Sex and the City," "Sweet Home Alabama" and "The Book Club." The reboot will premiere on Sept. 27.

"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" is back this fall with its same beloved cast and executive producers. Charlie Day, Rob McElhenney and Glenn Howerton star on, executive produce and write the comedy, which hits TV screens on FXX on Sept. 5. Audiences also know Charlie from his work as Dale in the film "Horrible Bosses" and its 2014 sequel, while Glenn can be seen on NBC's "A.P. Bio."

Greg Berlanti has a record 14 live-action scripted series on the air, with seven shows returning this fall! He's the executive producer of The CW's "The Flash" (back Oct. 9), "Black Lightning" (back Oct. 9), "Riverdale" (back Oct. 10), "Supergirl" (back Oct. 14), "Arrow" (back Oct. 15) and "Legends of Tomorrow" (back Oct. 22) plus NBC's "Blindspot" (back Oct. 12). Talk about a mouthful! If you thought all those shows would keep Greg too busy for anything else, you'd be wrong. The New York native also directed the critically acclaimed movie "Love, Simon" in 2018.

Nahnatchka Khan is the creator and executive producer of the hit ABC sitcom "Fresh Off the Boat," which returns on Oct. 5. The Hawaii native was also the creator and executive producer of "Don't Trust the B—- in Apartment 23," which aired on ABC for two seasons.

We thought we were saying goodbye to Jerrod Carmichael and Lil Rel Howery when "The Carmichael Show" was cancelled in 2017 but luckily, we were wrong! The dynamic duo are back with a new show, "Rel," which premieres on FOX on Sept. 9. Both of the comedians are executive producing the show, which Lil Rel created (he also stars!).

Matt Groening's timeless animated classic, "The Simpsons," returns for its 30th (!!!) season on Sept. 30. Matt might be best known for creating and executive producing "The Simpsons," but he's also the mind behind "Futurama," "Life in Hell" and a brand-new Netflix series, "Disenchantment," which debuted on the streaming platform in August.

Kenya Barris is the executive producer and co-creator of the critically acclaimed sitcom "Black-ish," which returns to ABC on Oct. 16. The show's lead actor, Anthony Anderson, is also an executive producer on the show. Kenya — who based "Black-ish" on his marriage to his real-life wife, Dr. Rainbow Barris — previously co-executive produced "The Game" and "America's Next Top Model" and wrote the blockbuster film "Girls Trip."

Henry Winkler might be best known for playing Fonzie on "Happy Days," but the actor is also the executive producer of "MacGyver," which returns to TV screens on Sept. 28. (He was also a producer on the original 1980s "MacGyver.") In addition to producing the CBS reboot, Henry has in recent years appeared on "Royal Pains," "Arrested Development" and "Barry."

The brilliant minds behind "Will & Grace" are back this fall! David Kohan and Max Mutchnick are the executive producers and co-creators of the super-successful sitcom, which returns to NBC for its 10th season on Oct. 4. The TV twosome, pictured here with "Will & Grace" actress Debra Messing, previously co-created and produced "Boston Common," "Good Morning, Miami," "Twins" and "Four Kings" together.

Veteran actor Morgan Freeman joined forces with producer Lori McCreary and writer Barbara Hall to executive produce the hit CBS series "Madam Secretary," which returns to TV screens on Oct. 7. Barbara is no stranger to TV production, having previously created and produced the CBS legal drama "Judging Amy" and the CBS fantasy drama "Joan of Arcadia." Lori is the CEO of the production company Revelations Entertainment, which she co-founded with Morgan.

Tim Allen and his hit show, "Last Man Standing," are returning to our TV screens on Sept. 27. The sitcom, which he also executive produces, originally ran on ABC from 2011 to 2017 but was picked up by FOX after ABC declined to make a seventh season, citing production costs.