1. Sons of Anarchy -- From the creators of The Shield comes this drama about a gang of outlaw bikers out to protect their California town from drug dealers and developers. Civic-minded gang guys? Um, OK. But the trailer looks intriguing, and Dutch from The Shield will have a recurring role as a DEA agent. And all those Shield ties give it instant cred.
2. Life on Mars -- ABC might screw this one up completely, but the original BBC series was, well, original, and compelling. In a nutshell, a present-day cop gets hit by a car and wakes up stuck in the '70s. Did he travel through time? Is he in a coma imagining it all? Is he just crazy? The big problem I think ABC might face is longevity -- you can only tease the audience so long with the reality vs. imaginary question. It lasted two seasons in the UK. That's about one full U.S. season. I'm skeptical they'll pull it off, but it'll be worth checking out. This is one show that I think will fall one of two ways -- either it'll be the best new show of the season, or it'll be a trainwreck of Bionic Woman-like proportions.
3. Fringe -- Rumor has it the pilot needs work, but the trailer for the JJ Abrams show that looks like a cross between X-Files and Altered States is dark and interesting. Maybe a little too out there to catch a big audience though, and with what's bound to be a tangled series mythology, this is a good candidate for quick cancellation if it doesn't draw viewers right off the bat.
4. Dollhouse -- Joss Whedon is back on network TV, and he's bringing along former slayer Eliza Dushku to star in it. I don't care what the show is about (though it sounds weird and creepy and dark, if disturbingly like a hybrid between Dark Angel and AI), he built up enough viewability equity from Buffy the Vampire Slayer that I'll check it out. This'll be a midseason replacement on Fox.
5. Kath & Kim -- Remake of an Australian sitcom about a dysfunctional mother and daughter, and supposedly it killed at the network upfronts last month. I might check it out, but it sounds a bit too sitcomey for my liking.
6. Worst Week of My Life -- Another remake, this time of a British sitcom. It too is getting a lot of buzz. The series follows the misadventures of a guy in the week leading up to his wedding. So what happens after that? Will it be like 24 and he'll keep having horrible weeks as the series progresses over the years? I'll check it out, but I'm already dubious about its staying power.
7. True Blood -- Alan Ball (Six Feet Under) is back on HBO, this time with a romantic drama based around Southern vampires and the women who love them. Or at least a woman who loves one of them. Anna Paquin (X-Men) plays the psychic waitress with questionable taste in men. The previews look slightly ridiculous, but it's got a cast (including Alexander Skarsgard of Generation Kill and William Sanderson of Deadwood) that could make it interesting.
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