With the new TV season starting I thought I'd take a break from the usual news report and instead do a rundown of all the major new shows coming out this fall. I'm not a real critic so I haven't had an advance viewing of any of these shows, other than the ones that have already debuted. My opinions are based on what I've heard and my own personal reactions. The trends this year again are serialized genre dramas. Networks are still trying to reproduce the success of Lost and 24. With the exception of Prison Break, last years crop of rushed out wannabes didn't catch (Invasion, Threshold) but with an extra year of preparation, there are a lot more potential sucessess (Heroes, Kidnapped, The Nine). Also big this year are movie stars jumping on the TV bandwagon. Ray Liotta (Smith) and James Woods (Shark) are hoping to follow in Kiefer Sutherland's footprints and score with a hit series. Alright, I have nothing else left to say. Here are the shows. (Special thanks to TV.com, from whom I "borrowed" most of these pictures)
Fall New Shows Preview
Sunday
Brothers and Sisters
Who: Calista Flockhart, Rachel Griffiths, two guys from Alias and the VP from Prison Break
What: Typical dysfunctional family drama…but starring Ally McBeal!
When:Premieres September 24, 10pm, ABC
The Game
Who: One of the Sister, Sister twins and other people I never heard of.
What: Newly drafter quarterback and his girlfriend try to adjust to NFL life. Kind of an American version of Britain's popular Footballer's Wives except it's about American football and it stars one of the Sister, Sister twins! Brought to you by the people who gave you Girlfriends…that includes soul brother Kelsey Grammer.
When:Premieres October 1, 8:30, The CW
Monday
The Class
Who: John Ritter's son, blonde girl from Joey and some no-names.
What: Some tool (Ritter) tries to impress a girl by reuniting their third grade class. She's not impressed and he's stuck with messed up people he hasn't seen since puberty. Good reviews so far. From the people who brought you Friends.
When:Premieres September 18, 8:30, CBS
Heroes
Who: Whip cream boob girl from Varsity Blues, the dude from Profit and the almost legal Hayden Panettiere.
What: X-Men meets Lost. A solar eclipse triggers latent superpowers in certain people all over the world. Watch them get use to their crazy new powers and come together to realize their destiny. Lot of good buzz surrounding the show and the cast. Only problem I've been hearing is it might be too smart and will lose a lot of people. Will the show have the power to survive 24 when it returns in January?
When:Premieres September 25, 9pm, NBC
Vanished
Who: Lots of people including Walt Cummings from 24, the Noxema girl, Wyatt Earp from Deadwood (who was also on Queer as Folk but Fox doesn't want you to know that).
What: The disappearance of the wife of a Senator leads to the unraveling of a complex "DaVinci Code"-esque conspiracy. It's already on the air and so far it's being pummeled by critics and viewers alike. If you do like it though, it's airing its entire season consecutively until January and then makes way for 24.
When:9, FOX
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Who: Aaron Sorkin, Chandler Bing, and Josh Lyman.
What: It's West Wing but behind the scenes of a late night live comedy sketch show instead of the White House. Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford play two producers who are brought back to save the floundering sketch show they were fired from years before. Early reviews are mixed so far but still one of the most anticipated new shows.
When:Premieres September 18, 10pm, NBC
Runaway
Who: The "bad boy" from NKOTB and Jack Bauer's dead wife.
What: Darren Star (Sex & the City) brings us this series about an attorney (Donnie Whalberg) wrongly accused of murder who goes on the run and tries to clear his name. Oh, and he brings his family along with him.
When:Premieres September 25, 9pm, The CW
Tuesday
Smith
Who: Oscar nominees Ray Liotta, Virginia Madsen
What: Liotta is a man with two lives in this slick heist drama. By day he's a suburban family man with a desk job. By night he's the leader of a crack team of thieves. The feature film and television pedigree (John Wells is a co-producer) behind Smith could be what saves it from going the way of Thief and Heist, two caper dramas from last season that couldn't make the big score.
When:Premieres September 19, 10pm, CBS
Knights of Prosperity
Who: Donal Logue, Mick Jagger's house
What: Originally called "Let's Rob Mick Jagger", which essentially sums up the series. A gang of losers led by Logue see Jagger's house on MTV's "Cribs" and spend a whole season planning to rob it. Word on the street says good concept, bad execution.
When:Premieres October 17, 9pm, ABC
Help Me, Help You
Who: Ted Danson and the sleazy guy from Dear John
What: Danson is a psychotherapist with more issues than his patients. Isn't that just crazy?
When:Premieres September 26, 9:30pm, ABC
Friday Night Lights
Who: The bomb squad guy who blew up on the "Code Black" episodes of Grey's Anatomy, some kids, the people who brought you the FNL movie.
What: A coach (Kyle Chandler) and his players do the best they can in a Texas town that's ape-shit crazy about its high school football. Same concept as the Friday Night Lights book and movie it's based on, but transplanted from the 80's to today.
When:Premieres October 3, 8pm, NBC
Standoff
Who: The guy from Office Space and some new girl.
What: The adventures of a couple of young, sexy FBI crisis negotiators (Ron Livingston and Rosemarie DeWitt), who also happen to be sleeping together! I love how Hollywood tries to make the most mundane parts of law enforcement sexy (In real life, CSI workers never get to interrogate suspects or make arrests). Hostage negotiators, not exactly a marquee department in my opinion, has now spawned a TV series in addition to three movies (Metro, The Negotiator, Hostage). Critics have targeted this as the first new show to die.
When:Premiered September 5, 9pm, FOX
Wednesday
30 Rock
Who: Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Rachel Dratch
What: The comedy version of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Creator Fey stars as the head of a live female sketch comedy show who is forced by corporate overlord Alec Baldwin to add a male (Tracy Morgan) to the cast. Rock got a lot of hype thanks to its "feud" with Studio 60 and also a little controversy with the demotion of Dratch to cameo player in favor of the more telegenic Jane Krakowski. If you've seen Baldwin's appearances on SNL, you'll know he's a funny guy (Canteen Boy anyone?) and he's supposed to be hilarious in this.
When:Premieres October 11, 8pm, NBC
20 Good Years
Who: The alien from 3rd Rock and the dad from Arrested Development.
What: A senior citizens version of The Odd Couple starring two of the most dynamic TV performers of their age group. I guess John Lithgow's the "wacky" one to Jeffrey Tambor's straight man. Love the actors but I don't think a show about the hijinks of two old guys is aimed at people like me.
When:Premieres October 4, 8:30pm, NBC
Kidnapped
Who: Timothy Hutton, Dana Delaney, Delroy Lindo, Jeremy Sisto
What: Kidnapped follows the search for the abducted son of a wealthy couple over an entire season. Hutton and Delaney are the worried parents while Delroy Lindo is the fed and Jeremy Sisto the renegade private eye tasked with recovering the boy. Similar concept to Vanished with some Without a Trace thrown in there. The title is like Prison Break in that once the season is over, will it even apply anymore?
When:Premieres September 20, 10pm, NBC
Jericho
Who: Skeet Ulrich, Ashley Scott and Major Dad
What: A small Kansas farming community finds themselves the only survivor of a nuclear attack on the United States. The series focuses on the mayor (Gerald McRaney) and his family, as they cope with the situation and try to figure out what the hell is going on. Jericho's in a tough timeslot facing off against veterans like Bones and Dancing with the Stars and more hyped rookies like 30 Rock. And that's before American Idol returns. Personally, watching this and Lost would be too exerting for me.
When:Premieres September 20, 8pm, CBS
The Nine
Who: Audrey from 24, Dr. Phlox, one of the guys from Wings and the principal of Boston Public.
What: Nine people in L.A. bond during and after a 52-hour bank hold up. The series jumps through time showing the nine before, during and after their ordeal. So far, the reviews have been pretty positive but I can't tell whether this is will be a character driven drama or a mystery-thriller. Will it be strong enough to capitalize on its Lost lead-in? It's not as easy as it sounds. Just ask Eyes and Invasion. Too bad "The Nine" wasn't called "The 4400". That's a much cooler number name.
When:Premieres October 4, 10pm, ABC
Justice
Who: Jennifer Garner's TV dad, the gay guy from Dawson's Creek and Sayid from OZ, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.
What: Hyped as House but with lawyers, Justice stars Victor Garber as Ron Trott, attorney to the stars. He's manipulative, ruthless, brutally blunt and has a slight ethics problem. Trott tries the most high profile cases in L.A. with the help of his crack team of lawyers (Kerr Smith, Eamonn Walker, Rebecca Mader). So far, Trott is more a cameo character than the star and we're asked to identify more with Smith's character. For now it works because it allows Garber to go into full out bastard mode. Each episode closes by revealing what actually happened at the scene of the crime. The series stands out this year for its one-and-done self contained structure and like all Bruckheimer shows, Justice will syndicate real well. That's where the real money will be since it's hard to see this beating Lost.
When:9pm, FOX
Thursday
Ugly Betty
Who: America Ferrera, Vanessa L. Williams, produced by Salma Hayek.
What: Based on the hit Columbian telenovela, Betty follows the trials of a homely young lass working in the superficial, beauty obsessed world of fashion magazines. Overwhelmingly positive reviews for both the show and Ferrera led ABC to put it in the gladiator pit known as 8-9pm on Thursdays. It's up against My Name is Earl, The Office, Survivor, and Smallville
When:Premieres September 28, 8pm, ABC
Six Degrees
Who: Erika Christensen, Campbell Scott, Hope Davis, Jay Hernandez, Bridget Moynahan.
What: Disparate events connect six different and unconnected individuals in New York. I don't know what that means but the cast is comprised of solid movie actors, which seems to be a trend this season. It's up against ER but its Grey's Anatomy lead in should help in the fight.
When:Premieres September 21, 10pm, ABC
Shark
Who: James frickin' Woods
What: Woods is the other big name movie star after Ray Liotta throwing his hat into the TV ring. Here he plays a high powered defense attorney who gets a conscience and joins the D.A.'s office. The opposite of Justice and similar to last season's failed Conviction. But that show didn't have James Woods.
When:Premieres September 21, 10pm, CBS
"Till Death
Who: Brad Garrett and Finch from American Pie
What: Newlyweds Eddie Kaye Thomas and Kat Foster move in next to old married couple Garrett and Joely Fisher in this old-school comedy that compares the different stages of marriage. It's ironic that FOX is the one holding down the laugh-track comedy while the other network in this timeslot is throwing out edgier stuff. I guess in a way that is kind of being rebellious. Doesn't mean I'm tuning in though.
When:8pm, FOX
Happy Hour
Who: A bunch of nobodies
What: Small town hick moves to big city to be with his girlfriend who dumps him to look for reality TV fame. He ends up moving in with her wacky rat pack neighbor and manages to sleep with his new boss. Another FOX studio sitcom that has very little chance of surviving in the 8:30-9 slot.
When:8:30pm, FOX
Celebrity Duets
Who: Xena, Carlton, Cheech, and Marty McFly's mom.
What: Wannabe singers team up with real singers to perform duets and win money for charity…and maybe eventually a lucrative recording contract. Results show follow on Friday.
When:9pm, FOX
Friday
Men in Trees
Who: Crazy alien lady Anne Heche
What: Heche is a relationship guru who realizes she doesn't know that much about men so she goes to learn in Elmo, Alaska, where the male to female ratio is 10:1. I liked this show better when it was called Northern Exposure. Actually, I never watched Northern Exposure. I probably won't be watching Men in Trees either.
When:Premieres September 22, 10pm, ABC
Make sure you read Steve Vicious' Vicious TV News Wrap for news and a more in-depth look at the networks schedule
Also, tune in to 411mania tomorrow for Al Norton's Two Tivo's To Paradise TV news report. His headlines and teasers are much cleverer than mine.
