Here are six new shows you might want to check out:
1. “Community” (8:30 p.m. Central Thursdays on NBC, starts Sept. 17) — When I first heard about this show about a hodgepodge of students at a community college, I thought it’d be like a lower-class “Bedford Diaries.” It turns out, though, that it’s a half-hour sitcom, not an hour-long drama.
Now I think it’ll be more of a funny character study like the Ted Danson mental-patient comedy “Help Me Help You.” Chevy Chase and “The Soup’s” Joel McHale lead the ensemble.
2. “Glee” (8 p.m. Central Wednesdays on Fox, starts Wednesday) — I’ve always liked the high school genre, and with “10 Things I Hate About You” wrapping up its season on Tuesday and the “Gossip” girls and guys having graduated last spring, we needed a show like “Glee” to come along. The fact that it has a great soundtrack and (hopefully) approaches this old material with a biting edge is enough to get me on board. If you haven’t seen the pilot episode yet, you can watch it here.
3. “FlashForward” (7 p.m. Central Thursdays on ABC, starts Sept. 24) — Three years ago, the networks packed the fall schedule with high-concept serials, most of which were canceled before the story was done (remember “Vanished?” “The Nine?” “Kidnapped?”). Now a few more have crept back onto the schedule. The best (and weirdest) appears to be “FlashForward,” where everyone in the world blanks out at the same time and sees visions of the future. The FBI pieces together everyone’s visions like a giant puzzle. The show-makers promise the future will be revealed within one season. So it’s just a matter of not getting canceled before then.
4. “Melrose Place” (8 p.m. Central Tuesdays on The CW, starts Tuesday) — It’ll have a season-long whodunit in a posh beachside setting (and I’d guess there’s almost no danger of it being canceled before the end of the season). If done well, it could call to mind “Pasadena” and “Hidden Palms.” (Obviously, I have no illusions that it’ll be a “Veronica Mars.”) And if you’re a fan of the original, take heart that this relaunch can’t possibly be a worse misfire than “90210.”
5. “The Cleveland Show” (7:30 p.m. Central Sundays on Fox, starts Sept. 27) — I was ambivalent about this “Family Guy” spinoff until I heard that Cleveland’s neighbors are a family of bears. Now I’m on board.
6. “V” (7 p.m. Central Tuesdays on ABC, starts Nov. 3) — A slickly produced alien-invasion drama could be fun, especially if you keep your expectations low (and again, try not to worry about it being canceled before the story’s over, as happened to “Surface,” “Threshold” and ABC’s own “Invasion” — all in the 2005-06 season). I’m not all about “V” right now, but a couple months of hype could change that.
What new shows are you looking forward to? Do these six cover it, or did I overlook some gems? Here’s a nice Zap2It page that lists all the fall newcomers.