Without argument, Fall is always the best season for television. With around 530 series aired last year in 2019 across all networks, cable, and streaming services, not including reality television shows and the onset of sports’ seasons, there’s always some programming on for you to find and Fall in love with. We’re here for it!

In the year of social distancing and losing touch with typical social gatherings, watch parties can be a great way to bring friends and family together, whether that’s through an in-person, small gathering inside or outdoors, or through a virtual watch party.

With everyone staying at home more this year due to the pandemic, you can without a doubt expect an increased interest in new and returning series, as people seek out new comforts, new interests, and new ways to connect. Although the coronavirus has impacted every corner of our lives, Hollywood has delivered and we’ll still get see some favorite series returning and new series premiering this Fall.

Watch parties are a great way to socialize with your friends on a standard basis, as the expectation is that everyone gets together consistently for a watch party for a set time and set amount of time every week. Cell phones get put away, and everyone’s attention is rapt for 30-60 minutes. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of being left on a cliffhanger episode or jersey-ing up for the next Panther’s game, gathering with friends, and settling in for some just great television.

Tent Guys has you covered on what you should look out for this Fall on TV, what you need to throw the perfect watch party at your place, and how you can take your next gathering to another level.

Let’s start with what you’ll want to check out on television in Fall 2020, and how you can throw the perfect watch party using rentals and accessories from Tent Guys.

Series and sports launches you’ll want to book on your calendar this Fall:

Even though many new and returning shows have been put on hold for filming or stuck in post-production since early March, there are still going to be many, many great options this Fall 2020 for you to watch. With the 2020 election ramping up in late September through November, we all may be glued to our televisions now more than ever before. Here’s just a peek at what you have to look forward to this Fall!

Drama:

• Away – Netflix – September 4th – Hillary Swank stars as an astronaut running an international crew on a years-long mission to space.
• The Sounds – Acorn TV – September 3rd – A married couple moves to a small new town, but the plan goes awry when the husband goes missing and his disappearance opens old wounds. This show also comes from New Zealand!
• This is Us – NBC – November 10th – Another season is set to premiere, so gather your emotional pals and get ready for a gut-wrenching, emotionally releasing, sob-fest each week.

Sci-Fi:

• Raised by Wolves – September 3rd – In this sci-fi epic, this story follows a pair of androids tasked with raising human children on a faraway planet.
• Soulmates – AMC – October 5th – If Black Mirror met Modern Love, you have the new show Soulmates. Soulmates is an anthology set in the near future where science can now reveal who everyone’s soulmate is.
• The Mandalorian – Disney+ — October 30th – Season 2 is here as the bounty hunter in a galaxy far, far away returns (along with Baby Yoda!).

Comedy:

• Woke – Hulu – September 9th – A new drama and comedy series, inspired by the life of cartoonist Keith Knight, who after an altercation involving the police sends him into a spiral of “wokeness”
• The Boys – Amazon Prime – September 4th – Season 2 has arrived for the action-packed, irreverent superhero show. Patton Oswalt has joined as the newest cast member for the upcoming season!
• PEN15 – Hulu – September 18th – Season 2 is back for the hilarious concept of two adult comedians playing 13 year olds navigating middle school.

Mini-Series:

• The Third Day – HBO – September 14th – Starring Jude Law, this six-part series blurs the lines between fantasy and reality, where Law’s character Sam travels to a strange island off of the British coast and encounters their strange inhabitants.
• One Lane Bridge – Sundance Now – September 17th – Another six-part series, this fantasy thriller is about a Maori detective who develops a supernatural ability while investigating a death at Queenstown’s One Lane Bridge.
• Agents of Chaos – HBO – September 23rd – Documentarian Alex Gibney explores Russia’s interference in the 2016 election in this two-part series.

Reality Television:

• Sing On! – Netflix – September 16th – Are you a fan of karaoke? Are you a fan of singing competitions, too? Then Sing On! is the perfect show for you. This reality competition series makes its debut as a karaoke competition where participants win big based on their ability to hit notes and match the original vocal performances of the songs they take on.
• I Can See Your Voice – FOX – September 23rd – Okay, remember the concept of The Voice? No visual of the person, they sing, and a judge gets to put them on their team without any influence of their physical appearance? Flip that concept, and you have what’s sure to be a wild ride with I Can See Your Voice. Yep, judges are going to determine if someone has singing talent just by looking at their faces. Peak reality television? Yes. Perfect for a watch party? Absolutely!
• Get Organized With The Home Edit – September 9th – Expert home organizers Clea and Joanna help celebrities and ordinary clients edit, categorize and contain their clutter to develop stunning spaces.

Important Sports Dates:

• NFL season begins Wednesday, September 9th at 9:20 pm
• The Carolina Panthers aren’t allowing fans into the stadium yet, but their schedule is out
• MMA – UFC 252 begins August 15thBoxing begins in early October, with no anticipated change
• US Open for Tennis is August 31st- September 13th
• Breeders’ Cup is November 6th-7th

Election 2020 Dates:

• September 29th, 2020 – First Presidential Debate, Cleveland
• October 7th, 2020 – Vice Presidential Debate, Salt Lake City
• October 15th, 2020 – Second Presidential Debate, Miami
• October 22nd, 2020 – Third Presidential Debate, Nashville

Watch Parties: The fun of the party, without the stress of entertaining your guests!

Well, now that you have an idea of what’s coming out in the Fall, it’s time to assess the buzz among family and friends on deciding on what to watch! Once you have a show, series, or theme picked out for the watch party, send out invites well ahead of the premiere date, ensure you have a strong cable plan or high-speed internet for your streaming services, make sure you have signed and paid up for the streaming service that has the show you want to watch and get ready to party plan!

The “party” part of a watch party is the best part! This is where you can get really creative, and decide how you’re going to match the theme of whatever you’re watching.

Facebook Watch or Zoom Party

Is a cousin getting married and keeping the wedding limited to immediate family, but streaming the ceremony live? Is a friend throwing a baby shower and hosting a big Zoom party to celebrate from a distance? 2020 has brought on so many adaptations to our normal, in-person parties, but that doesn’t mean we have not found a way to navigate around it. Virtual parties are an awesome, accessible way to keep friends and family connected. Make any event even more meaningful by sousing up your space and hosting a small group to view the watch party of life’s most special moments. 

What you’ll need:

• 35 gallon trash can
• Cooler 120 QT
• 5’ round tables
• White resin chairs
• Projector
• Projector Screen/Sheet or a flat white wall

Depending on the crowd, you may be able to just stream onto an Apple TV or Roku, but if you’re having a few more people over, then provide ample seating!

Election Watch Party

No matter what party you identify with, or any at all, you can probably agree it is going to be a very important (and let’s be honest, entertaining) season for an election. Host your friends, spark some friendly debate, and have election watch parties for all the upcoming presidential and vice presidential debates!

What you’ll need:

• Portable bar cart
• Folding chairs
• Cooler 120 QT
• Coat rack
• High-top cocktail tables
• 8’ table
• Patio heaters
• 35 gallon trash cans

There’s a lot of room for creativity here, but we imagine there’s going to be a desire and need for alcohol of some sort. Our portable bar cart is perfect to serve a crowd, and our 120 QT cooler is great for storing cans and bottles of water.

Since most of the election debates come as cooler weather comes in, you’ll definitely want to make sure you have room for everyone’s coats so that you can keep all seats available. Tent Guys also has heating options on deck ranging from full blown heating systems to patio heaters to keep guests warm even if the air outside is chilly. The high-top cocktail tables function great in any space so that people can stand and gather for short periods, and we also recommend renting at least one table designated for snacking in between commercials. Happy election season!

Have fun with your movie or TV watch party! Be a little extra with Tent Guys accessories!

What you’ll need:

• Red carpet 3’x25’
• Red carpet stanchions
• Red velvet roping
• Twinkle lights
• Market lights

Since we don’t go out as often, everyone would love a reason to dress up! Host a fancy movie night and request your guests wear their formal attire, even if it’s just to sit around your backyard and watch the latest Netflix release.

Host a kid’s movie watch party: 

With movies being rolled out on Disney+ like Mulan, movie theaters still remaining closed in this portion of the re-opening plan for NC, and kids learning from home and missing their friends, there’s no better time to host a backyard movie night for all your children’s’ friends. We’ve got some great ideas to make a weekend movie night into a night your kids will remember forever!

What you’ll need:

• Extension cord
• Twinkle lights
• Projector
• Projector screen or sheet
• 6’ table

Kids will probably be less upset about an opportunity to lay in the backyard in the evening watching a movie, so make use of what’s around the house instead of renting chairs! Grab some blankets, pillows, beanbags, and throws, and spread them around the backyard for maximum coziness. Definitely don’t forget the DIY concession stand!

Roll out the (kid-friendly) red carpet!

Okay, so maybe kids don’t need all the bells and whistles of party rentals, but they would still enjoy the fanciness of a red carpet movie premiere night! Don’t want to pay to rent red carpet stanchions or see popcorn dust all over a red carpet? We have some solutions, albeit amusing ones.

Remember those wooden handled, black plungers? Well, they run at about $2-4 at a big box store. Grab a few plungers and a can of metallic spray paint, glue or staple a ring to the top, and bam! You have your very own red carpet stanchions!

Create your own red carpet with a roll of red construction paper! You can ask your kids to cut out some giant gold stars to line the walk. Then, with a sharpie, you can write the names of all the guests attending so that each child has their own Hollywood star!

Transform a blank wall or fence into a photo opportunity by hanging a string of twinkle lights.

Rent a 6’ table to make into a concession stand! Load up on bags of popcorn and $1 boxes of candy from the store, and your kids will be thrilled!

Host your watch party with Tent Guys this Fall.

Watch parties can make a terrible reality show you might watch by yourself into a super entertaining, conversation-provoking, and seasonal tradition you’ll look forward to every week when you watch with your family and friends. From Sunday football to on-the-edge-of-your-seat dramas from HBO, there’s always a reason to gather around a screen and enjoy great content. We can’t wait to see how you’ll host a watch party this Fall!