Fall TV Preview - Monday

New shows in All Caps.

=Monday=

8/7
ABC - Dancing with the Stars Hour 1
CBS - How I Met Your Mother
- - - - Rules of Engagement
NBC - Chuck
FOX - House
CW - 90210

9/8
ABC - Dancing with the Stars Hour 2
CBS - Two and a Half Men
- - - - MIKE & MOLLY
NBC - THE EVENT
FOX - LONE STAR
CW - Gossip Girl

10/9
ABC - Castle
CBS - HAWAII FIVE-0
NBC - CHASE

New Shows:

MIKE & MOLLY (CBS) - Sitcom following the courtship between two overweight people. I've heard more good things than bad.

THE EVENT (NBC) - This treads conspiracy-theory waters and hopes to succeed where FlashForward failed. I do hear there's an assassination attempt and a CIA cover-up of... something. Cast includes Blair Underwood (as the Prez), Jason Ritter (The Class), Laura Innes (ER) and Zjelko Ivanek (Damages).

LONE STAR (FOX) - A man juggles two lives in Texas between a wife and mistress and hopes his powerful father-in-law (Jon Voight) doesn't find out. Supposed to be a less-cheesy Dallas. Zap2It named it the #1 must-see new show this fall.

HAWAII FIVE-0 (CBS) - Remember how CBS kept giving Simon Baker series after series until they found the perfect package in The Mentalist? They're hoping they've found the right vehicle for Alex O'Loughlin, late of Midnight and Three Rivers. His supporting cast includes Entourage's Scott Caan, Lost's Daniel Dae Kim, and Battlestar Galactica's Grace Park.

CHASE (NBC) - Show about U.S. marshals chasing the fugitive of the week.

My Prediction:

NBC is in a world of hurt this year. They have a lot of hopes on The Event, but Lone Star has a much stronger lead-in, and ABC and CBS's scheduling looks bulletproof. Then again, soapy dramas are as big a gamble as mystery series where viewers need to watch each week. I think the gamble of moving CSI: Miami to Sundays is a good one to help a new show. I see Hawaii Five-0 being a hit. I see Chase being the first NBC cancellation of the year, and The Event not being far behind unless word-of-mouth is really strong. But then again, it's NBC. If The Event can just improve on Chuck's lead-in, it'll be considered a hit.