This season, as networks try to bolster flagging ratings, they’re enlisting former television heavy-hitters, both in comedy and drama.
New Dramas
One of this fall’s most buzzed-about dramas, CBS’ The Good Wife, stars onetime ER star Julianna Margulies as the wife of a Spitzer-esque politician. Even though Margulies’ last effort, Fox’s Canterbury’s Law, flopped, she seems optimistic about tackling another legal show.
“I wasn’t eager at all to get back into a court drama because they’re hard… in the shooting process and the language of it. But I found [this] incredibly different,” she told reporters at CBS’ 2009 press tour panel.
Two other dramas dip from the teen side of the TV spectrum. Mercy (airing on NBC) stars The Adventures of Pete & Pete and Gossip Girl alumna Michelle Trachtenberg. In order to fill the void left by ER, Mercy follows the hectic lives of hospital employees; this time, telling the story from the nurses' perspective.
On the teen-friendly CW network, two teen superstars will appear on The Beautiful Life: TBL. Corbin Bleu, of High School Musical fame, will star alongside The OC’s Mischa Barton. The network also airs the Tyra Banks hit America’s Next Top Model, and The Beautiful Life will play out like a fictionalized version of the reality show.
New Network Comedies
Returning TV titans are most prominent on this year’s comedies, especially ABC’s Modern Family. The shows, revoloving around dysfunctional, related families, stars Married… With Children star Ed O’Neill, along with Boston Legal’s Julie Bowen. The show is already being hailed as one of the season’s best new shows, and is part of ABC’s newly beefed comedy schedule.
Another hyped-about ABC show, Cougar Town, features Friends star Courtney Cox alongside former Scrubs vixen Christa Miller. As the name implies, the show will follow Cox’s single mom character as she re-enters the dating world.
The stars of Fox’s canceled Back to You, Kelsey Grammar (also of Frasier and Cheers fame) and Patricia Heaton (Everybody Loves Raymond), will star, respectively, in two other ABC comedies. Grammar’s Hank focuses on the oh-so-relevant layoff concept; however, the show itself has only garnered lukewarm reviews. Heaton’s The Middle, which is another family-oriented comedy, has been described by Entertainment Weekly’s Michael Ausiello as “Malcolm in the Middle starring. Patricia Heaton instead of Jane Kaczmarek.”
On NBC, the highly touted Community not only features The Soup’s Joel McHale, but comedy legend Chevy Chase as community college drop-ins. Given that millions of people across the United States work for and attend community colleges, the show’s producers are careful to explain that the show will not mock the system; rather, it will focus on its quirky and dysfunctional characters.
Fans of fall’s returning stars are undoubtedly thrilled about seeing their favorites in new roles. However, the influx of so many established favorites creates less opportunity for newcomers to shine, even if it does help networks profit during these difficult times.
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