At 9PM and 10PM ABC will be premiering two new sitcoms, hoping to hit pay dirt in this genre since they haven't had a hit (no, not you James Belushi) comedy since... well... since... Roseanne? Home Improvement? Up at 9:00PM is Let's Rob...which looks pretty great. It follows the misadventures of a ragtag team of crooks who set out to rob Mick Jagger (who will appear occasionally on the show but is not a series regular). They better get the job done before he croaks, because Mick Jagger has got to be about 500 years old by now. The premise sounds like one of those things that can run out of steam pretty quickly, but with the producers of Ed standing behind it, I'm pretty excited for some quirky, hilarious hijinks. The timeslot will do it no favors though. At 9:30PM will be Help Me Help You, a comedy in which Ted Danson plays a psychiatrist who may be even crazier than the patients he's treating! This show is going to have to payoff with comic GOLD to make up for such a lame premise. And somehow, I don't see that happening. Boston Legal will stick around at 10PM after a year of decent, if not solid, ratings this season. I've made myself a promise to try to watch at least the first four episodes, because I've heard such great things about this show. I just can't get past William Shatner. And, for me, James Spader will always just be a preppy monster from Less Than Zero.

Wednesday

THE NINE

At 8PM, the Dancing with the Stars results show will air. ABC has been wise to keep this show on in the fall only, so we're not blinded by all the sequins and to avoid going head-to-head with American Idol. Stars might be entertaining and all, but it's got nothing on the Soul Patrol. Returning in the midseason is The George Lopez Show and According to Jim, which by all accounts are two of the reasons why the world is going to hell. At 9PM, Lost will pick up where its amazing/stupendous/glorious season finale left off. This year the show started to take a hit in the ratings once Idol came back in the winter, and because of all those reruns. Next season the show will air in probably three chunks, so we'll get, for example, seven fresh episodes followed by a break, followed by eight new episodes, etc. Sure, this isn't ideal, but the reality of the situation is that there are only 22 episodes of a show produced and thirtysomething weeks in the television season. Something's got to give. And I'd rather have it be set up like this than wait until January for the show to run straight through à la 24. Despite its inability to launch Invasion last season, ABC is putting The Nine, one of its most talked-about new shows, in the post-Lost timeslot at 10PM. The Nine follows the lives of nine back robbery hostages as they try to cope with the trauma from—as well as what actually happened during—a 52-hour bank robbery (each episode will flash back to 10 minutes of the bank robbery itself). I love the premise of the show and think this could end up being one of the best new shows of the season. The really solid cast includes Scott Wolf, Chi McBride, and Kim Raver (I can't imagine this bodes well for Audrey/Jack on 24), doesn't hurt either.

Thursday

MUST-SEE TV ON ABC?

After last year's success of Dancing with the Stars, ABC has realized that CBS and NBC don't have the lock on Thursday evenings they used to (what was your first clue? Joey? Four Kings?). In the 8PM hour, two more sitcoms will premiere. Big Day is going to last about two airings in this timeslot, as it's a 24-style comedy about the titular "big day"—in this case a wedding. With Marla Sokoloff and showkiller Josh Cooke in the lead roles, this looks destined to be yet another show that Wendie Mallick (Dream On, Just Shoot Me, Jake In Progress) costars in but is way too good for. I have higher hopes for Notes from the Underbelly, about a couple preparing for the impending birth of their first child, with a little help from their wacky friends. The early word is that it's a quirky, fun show that will probably get lost in the shuffle. Bonus points for costarring Rachel Harris from I Love the 70s/80s/90s fame. Even if they are both great shows, I wouldn't expect them to stick around for too long. At 9PM, I don't know if you've heard, Grey's Anatomy will be moving from its cushy Sunday at 10PM timeslot. The show probably won't be clearing 20 million viewers at first, but it should be just fine. Grey's is probably the most consistently great show on television, thanks in no small part to creator Shonda Rhimes's iron fist. The show ended on a high note (don't worry, Izzie is out of the program, not off the show), even if you (like me) don't care about who Meredith picks (although that sex scene was HOT). Hopefully Grey's will help make a hit out of J. J. Abrams's new show Six Degrees. This twisty series is kind of like a merging of Lost and What About Brian, a relationship show, that will involve six strangers whose paths keep crossing through their connections in the world. Also probably my favorite cast of the year: Jay Hernandez, Campbell Scott, Hope Davis, Bridget Moynahan, Dorian Missick, and Erika Christensen. There were no clips at the upfronts, but rumor has it ABC is riding high on this show. And J. J. Abrams's track record for quality is almost untouchable at this point.

Friday

Posted by on May 29, 2006 6:29 PM