Despite FOX's reputation as an endless supplier of low-quality programming, their schedule for the upcoming season looks surprisingly promising. Leading the pack is FOX's hour-long favorite "House," keeping its timeslot on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. A handful of other quality dramas will also return, including "Fringe" and "Dollhouse," both now in their sophomore seasons.
New to the FOX lineup are the comedies "Glee" and "Brothers." The former, a quirky show about a high school glee club that airs Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m., has received stellar reviews so far; the latter, however, which stars former NFL player Michael Strahan, appears to be entirely abysmal.
The most anticipated development in FOX's arsenal is a spin-off of the network's hit cartoon for grown-ups, "Family Guy." Creator Seth MacFarlane's newest project, "The Cleveland Show," will air Sundays at 8:30 p.m., and will hopefully feature the same comedic styles that made MacFarlane's other creation a success.
ABC's fall lineup includes eight new shows, five of which will air on Wednesdays. Notables among these include "Hank," a Wall Street comedy starring Kelsey Grammer, and "Cougar Town," a comedy featuring Courteney Cox starring as an older woman on the prowl for young romantic partners.
The network has, of course, renewed its most popular programs, including "Dancing with the Stars" on Mondays at 8:00 p.m., "Ugly Betty" on Fridays at 9:00 p.m. and "Desperate Housewives" on Sundays at 9:00 p.m. To the surprise of many viewers, ABC has also renewed "Scrubs" for a ninth season an unexpected continuation after season eight's conclusive finale last May. Star of the program Zach Braff, however, will not return as a regular on the show.
While most networks are only changing minor details in their weekly lineup, NBC is revamping its entire primetime schedule by moving "The Jay Leno Show" to 10:00 p.m. on weeknights, so that each night of NBC programming will have one fewer hour to devote to sitcoms, dramas and reality shows.
Other NBC additions include "Trauma" and "Mercy," two medical dramas that do not seem to offer any new spins on the already tired genre. The network's only new comedy, "Community," will join "The Office" and "30 Rock" in the Thursday night comedy lineup. With an all-star cast featuring Joel McHale, Chevy Chase and John Oliver ("The Daily Show"), the show tells the story of a rag-tag group that find themselves studying together at a community college. The show's pilot has been available for streaming on Facebook for the past week and the comedic potential of this new show is astounding. "Community" premieres Sept. 17 at 9:30 p.m.
CBS is capitalizing on hour-long dramas in their fall lineup, with four of the network's five new programs falling under this label. Few of the new programs, however, offer anything audiences have not seen before. Judging from early buzz, "Three Rivers" airing Fridays at 9:00 p.m. falls into the typical medical-drama stereotype. "The Good Wife" Tuesdays at 10:00 p.m. looks like a predictable incarnation of the familiar law-drama formula.
Other additions to CBS's lineup include "NCIS: Los Angeles," a spin-off of the network's previous success, and "Medium," which the network picked up after NBC dropped it from its lineup last spring. The network's top show from last year, "The Mentalist," will move to Thursdays at 10:00 p.m.
Last in the ranks is the CW, which continues to pad its schedule with countless teen dramas starring sexy young people. Many of the network's most popular shows will remain in their previous timeslots, including "Gossip Girl," airing Mondays at 8:00 p.m. "Smallville," on the other hand, will trade in its former Thursday timeslot for Fridays at 8:00.
New additions to the CW's schedule include "The Beautiful Life," an inside look at the fashion world starring Mischa Barton, and a reboot of the classic franchise "Melrose Place." Also joining the Thursday night airwaves is "The Vampire Diaries," a Twilight-esque vampire angst drama featuring a pair of vampire brothers fighting over the same girl.
The season is looking strong, especially with innovative new comedies such as NBC's "Glee" and CBS's "Community". For the dramatic audience, a plethora of new medical shows will likely find at least one shining success. But, with mediocre pre-reviews scattered all over the board, it is difficult to predict which shows will sink and which ones will float.
