Fall 2009 TV preview: Wednesday

TVGuide.com: Hank

The Fall 2009 TV season is crowded with new shows on Wednesday night. The CW and FOX begin to premiere their lineups on September 9th and the 16th while ABC, CBS, and NBC begin their premieres on September 23rd and the 30th.

ABC is debuting an entirely new lineup and strategy on Wednesday nights; starting with the comedies 'Hank', 'The Middle', 'Modern Family', and 'Cougar Town', and finishing with the drama 'Eastwick'. In addition to the third night of 'The Jay Leno Show', NBC is also premiering 'Mercy'. (Previously tabbed as a midseason series, 'Mercy' was bumped up due to Maura Tierney's illness delaying her series 'Parenthood'). FOX is bringing back 'Glee' for a full season after its one episode premiere at the end of last season and The CW is premiering the Ashton Kutcher-produced 'The Beautiful Life: TBL'.

New shows:

'Hank', starring Kelsey Grammer, is about a Wall Street exec that is downsized and returns with his family to his small hometown to start over. Grammer and co-star David Koechner (Anchorman) are comedy veterans but this series has had whispers of troubles and bad reviews. With the pilot being reshot, hopefully the series can rebound by its September 30th premiere.

'The Middle', starring Patricia Heaton and Neil Flynn (the janitor from Scrubs), almost seems like a 'Malcolm in the Middle' reboot. Heaton plays the wacky mom of a family living in Indiana where crazy problems arise and crazier solutions are developed. The show premieres September 30th with 'Hank'.

TVGuide.com: Cougar Town

'Modern Family', starring Ed O'Neill (Married... with Children) and Julie Bowen (Ed, Lost), takes an 'Office'-like documentary approach to examining three different families. O'Neill is an older man married to a younger woman, Bowen has the "perfect" family, and a gay couple raising a baby are the trio of families the series will follow. The previews have been hilarious, but will this comedy survive in the middle of a new lineup?

'Cougar Town', starring Courteney Cox, is about exactly what everyone imagines - a 40ish woman looking for love, and the misadventures that ensue, with mostly younger men. Cox is also exec producing the show with her husband, David Arquette, and Bill Lawrence, the creator of 'Scrubs'.

'Eastwick', starring Rebecca Romijn (Ugly Betty) and Lindsay Price (Lipstick Jungle), is an adaptation of John Updike's novel The Witches of Eastwick and will follow the adventures of the three ladies; imagine 'Desperate Housewives' with magic.

'Mercy' centers on the trials and tribulations of three nurses, two veterans and one newbie, as they try to keep the doctors from killing the patients. Nurses are the rage recently (Nurse Jackie, HawthoRNe); it will be interesting to see if this show follows the trend.

'Glee', created by Ryan Murphy (Nip/Tuck), is about a high school glee club and their teacher. FOX has been building the buzz on this series since last spring and the show is a favorite of many critics. There are musical numbers and guest stars planned as well as soundtracks to be released. This show should open strong; the question will be if it can keep its audience throughout the season?

TVGuide.com: The Beautiful Life: TBL

'The Beautiful Life: TBL', starring the recently troubled Mischa Barton (The O.C.), follows two young models as they navigate their way through the modeling and fashion business. The question remains however, what's up with the TBL initials?

Returning favorites:

CBS' 'Criminal Minds' and "CSI:NY', NBC's 'Law & Order: SVU'.

'Criminal Minds' is keeping everything status quo this year while 'CSI:NY' is planning on adding at least one person to the squad. 'Law & Order: SVU' successfully negotiated the return of stars Mariska Hargitay and Chris Meloni so expect much of the same from the venerable series.

Other notes:

CBS is keeping its Wednesday night lineup intact with 'The New Adventures of Old Christine' and 'Gary Unmarried' leading in to its crime procedurals.

FOX will air the results show of 'So You Think You Can Dance' before its new show 'Glee'.

The CW smartly paired 'The Beautiful Life: TBL' with the returning 'America's Next Top Model' and should capture a large percentage of the young female viewing audience.

For more info:

Fall 2009 TV preview: a nightly guide