Like zombies from “The Walking Dead,” the fall TV season will stagger to a start, particularly on broadcasters ABC, CBS and NBC, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Fox and The CW set pandemic-proof schedules in May, largely by holding back spring and summer programs. But in June, the Big Three announced optimistic fall schedules that would bring back their regular series and a few newcomers, as usual. That’s not happening.

In late August, these broadcasters all announced interim fall schedules as their regular series slowly gear up for production. While fall programs usually begin production in July, this year, CBS’s “S.W.A.T.” was the first to begin filming with covid-19 safety protocols in place, but that didn’t happen until August.

ABC’s “The Conners” (without a studio audience) and “The Goldbergs” followed. CBS’s “NCIS” and “NCIS: Los Angeles” and ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” were to begin filming this month.

ABC’s “Black-ish” will air an election-themed two-parter at 10 and 10:30 p.m. Oct. 4 with the second half-hour presented as a fully animated episode before resuming airing weekly at 9:30 p.m. Oct. 21.

As series resume

production, they’ll be rolled onto the schedule, but some returning series may not be back until 2021.

Networks’ contingency plans for early fall include a wealth of reality shows (these can more easily return to production) and holdovers from summer.

In addition, this fall ushers in the rise of “gently used” programming on broadcast networks, shows that have already aired elsewhere, often a cable or streaming service with a small footprint, and will re-air on broadcast. As an NBC 1998 promotion touted, “If you haven’t seen it, it’s new to you.”

CBS imports filmed-in-Pittsburgh true-crime drama “Manhunt: Deadly Games” (10 p.m. Monday, beginning Sept. 21) from Spectrum Originals, Season 1 of “Star Trek: Discovery” (10 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24) from CBS All Access and fourth-season episodes of the rebooted “One Day at a Time” (9 and 9:30 p.m. Oct. 12) from cable’s Pop.

Fox introduces its audience to Spectrum Originals’ police procedural “L.A.’s Finest” (8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21) and National Geographic Channel’s “Cosmos: Possible Worlds” (8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22).

The CW relies on “Swamp Thing” (8 p.m. Oct. 6), imported from DC Universe and the already-airing “Tell Me a Story” (season two begins at 9 p.m. Oct. 13), which was created for CBS All Access.

For those craving completely new TV series, here’s what you can expect for the next couple of months on broadcast channels:

Sunday

“Supermarket Sweep” (8 p.m. ABC, Oct. 18): Leslie Jones hosts this reboot of the game show that originated in the 1960s and was rebooted in the ’90s with the ’90s version becoming popular again this summer on Netflix.

Monday

“Filthy Rich” (9 p.m. Fox, Sept. 21): Kim Cattrall (“Sex and the City”) stars as the matriarch of a wealthy Southern family that owns a Christian TV network. The family is stunned when patriarch Eugene (Gerald McRaney) dies in a plane crash. An unearthing of family secrets follows. Carnegie Mellon University grad Corey Cott co-stars, playing the son of Cattrall’s character.

“Emergency Call” (10 p.m. ABC, Sept. 28): Actor Luke Wilson hosts this unscripted series that documents the first few crucial minutes of emergencies as told by 911 call takers.

Tuesday

“NEXT” (9 p.m. Fox, Oct. 6): John Slattery (“Mad Men”) stars as a tech pioneer who aids an FBI agent (Fernanda Andrade, “Sons of Anarchy”) in the manhunt for a dangerous artificial intelligence device that’s determined to stay hidden. (Think: Amazon’s Alexa gone bad.)

“48 Hours: Suspicion” (10 p.m. Wednesday, already premiered): Cases about people who live under suspicion. This show and the original “48 Hours” are now executive produced by Pittsburgh native Judy Tygard.

“The FBI Declassified” (10 p.m. CBS, Oct. 13): Alana De La Garza (“FBI”) narrates transitions between interviews with real FBI agents discussing past cases.

Wednesday

“Devils” (8 p.m. The CW, Oct. 7): Originally made for Italian television, Patrick Dempsey (“Grey’s Anatomy”) stars as an investment bank CEO who passes over his mentee, Massimo (Alessandro Borghi), for a colleague before Massimo finds himself the prime suspect in a murder.

“I Can See Your Voice” (9 p.m. Fox, Sept. 23): “Masked Singer” panelist Ken Jeong hosts this companion series that asks contestants to guess if a “secret voice” is a good or bad singer without hearing any singing.

“Weakest Link” (10 p.m. NBC, Sept. 29): A revival of NBC’s 2001-03 competition series that’s now hosted by Jane Lynch.

Thursday

“Connecting” (8:30 p.m. NBC, Oct. 1): An ensemble comedy about a group of friends trying to stay in touch during the pandemic via video chats.

Friday

“The Greatest #ATHOME Videos” (8 p.m. CBS, Sept. 25): CBS expands its series of specials, started during the home quarantine earlier this year, to a weekly series as Cedric the Entertainer (“The Neighborhood”) introduces more homemade videos.

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