The Fall Season presentations for all the television networks new shows take place this week with the third announced today. Here's a full breakdown of which concepts have made the final list over on The WB.
Last season saw the network come under fire for some questionable decisions including the cancellation of "Angel" and a very small slate of new and rather 'sudsy' shows designed to appeal to a more family and feminine demographic instead of pursuing some higher profile series that attempted to resurrect the "Lost in Space" and "Dark Shadows" franchises.
The move backfired, resulting in almost all the new shows being cancelled quickly and even the acclaimed "Jack & Bobby" stinking badly in the ratings. Yet not all was bad, whilst some established franchise shows like "Smallville" floundered against stiff competition, others such as "One Tree Hill", "Gilmore Girls" and "7th Heaven" continue to shine for the network.
This year the network is going bolder with several new and more higher profile shows including some embracing of procedural drama, supernatural horror and soaps exploring some bolder territory than the network is used to. A lot of existing shows are also being moved around to help bolster these new launches, along with a lot planned for mid-season.
Not making it however are the likes of "Commando Nanny", "Grounded for Life", "Jack & Bobby", "Steve Harvey's Big Time" and "Summerland". Here's the skinny on the replacements:
- DRAMAS - -
JUST LEGAL
Jerry Bruckheimer brings this fast-paced procedural drama with humor to the WB. David "Skip" Ross, 19, a brilliant legal prodigy, dreams of becoming a great trial lawyer. When he can't land a job at a prestigious L.A. firm because he's too young, Skip ends up working for Grant Cooper. Once a great lawyer, now burnt-out by the realities of life, Cooper is barely scraping by in his beachfront law office. Together, Skip and Cooper become defenders of the accused and crusaders for the unjustly wronged. Their cases vary from stories ripped from today's headlines to clever mysteries with procedural twists. Skip's middle-class parents, Deborah and Lenny Ross, and his under-achieving younger brother Tom, are all extremely proud of Skip's accomplishments, but are also concerned for his well-being, especially when his first case involves proving the innocence of a young woman named Paradise who has been falsely accused of a gang-related murder. Always the underdogs, forced to do the gritty work of finding clues and tracking down witnesses in the beautiful, but often dangerous world of Southern California, Cooper teaches Skip to be a lawyer and a man, while Skip renews Cooper's faith in the law and himself. Jay Baruchel, Don Johnson, Veanne Cox, Raphael Sbarge and Peyton List star.
SUPERNATURAL
Sam Winchester has done his best to escape his family's eerie history, but, along with his older brother Dean, Sam is bound by tragedy and blood to a dangerous, other-worldly mission. Criss-crossing the mysterious back roads of the country in their '67 Chevy Impala, the Winchester brothers search for their missing father - and hunt down every evil supernatural force they encounter along the way. Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles star, McG and David Nutter produce.
RELATED
The four Sorelli sisters are a bundle of contradictions. These quirky young women are best friends one minute and bitter enemies the next. They confide in one another, yet manage to keep a lot of secrets. They worry about each other, give advice and push each other's buttons. First-born sister Ann is a 33-year-old legal aid lawyer and the nurturing mother hen of the group. Ann works out of a run-down office, helping people who have no voice, while her closest sibling, Ginnie also an attorney, spends her days in a high-powered law firm working for huge corporations. While Ann worries about her long-time relationship with chef and restaurant-owner Danny, Ginnie is trying to figure out how to tell her husband Bob, her bosses and her family that she is pregnant. Next in line is 23-year-old Marjee, a special events coordinator who stresses out over her demanding celebrity clients while secretly yearning for respect and approval from her older sisters. The youngest sister, Rose, is a 19-year-old college student who just switched her major from pre-med to experimental theater and is afraid to deliver this news to her over-achieving family. From producers Mimi Leder ("ER", "Deep Impact", "The Peacemaker"), Marta Kauffman ("Friends") and Liz Tuccillo ("Sex and the City"). Jennifer Esposito, Jon Hamm, Callum Blue, Lizzy Caplan and Laura Breckenridge star.
THE BEDFORD DIARIES (mid-season) From the creators of HBO's "Oz" and "Homicide: Life on the Street") comes a drama exploring contemporary New York City-based college life through the unique prism of a provocative Human Behavior and Sexuality class. Controversial and charismatic Professor Macklin will challenge and inspire the show's youthful ensemble of students as they explore their identities, relationships and sexuality in the most exciting city in the world. Among the students is the smart and attractive Sarah. Sarah has everything going for her until her brother Owen walks into class. It's one thing to share in class, but Sarah hadn't planned on discussing her sexuality in front of a sibling. Owen's new class partner is Natalie, "The Jumper". Two years ago, Natalie had a change of heart mid-dive off the roof of the Student Union. Now physically recovered, she has to face the gossip mill and her ex, Richard. The quintessential Park Avenue bad boy up until the moment his girlfriend jumped, Richard is now a semi-changed man - sober, attending class and editor-in-chief of The Bedford Bugle. In stark contrast is the working-class Lee, who has a noble heart, an artistic soul, a serious girlfriend and a fascination with Zoe. Zoe talks a fast, flirty and kinky game, but despite her brash veneer, she's still a virgin. Matthew Modine, Tiffany Dupont, Penn Badgely, Corri English, Milo Ventimiglia, Ernest Waddell and Victoria Cartagena star.
PEPPER DENNIS (mid-season) Pepper Dennis is a beautiful and ambitious reporter with her sights set on anchoring Chicago's top-rated evening news broadcast. Pepper's career is her top priority, but she does have close friends, especially the station's makeup artist Kimmy and cameraman Chick, who has a secret crush on Pepper. Complicating Pepper's daily life is the fact that her spoiled, needy and recently separated sister Kathy has moved in with her. Worst of all, the hot guy Pepper woke up with this morning, Charlie Bishop, just showed up in the newsroom, grabbed her dream job and is now practically her boss. She's trying to despise him, but Charlie is smart, handsome, funny, available and interested. Office romances can be so complicated. Rebecca Romijn, Rider Strong, Lindsay Price, Brooke Burns and Josh Hopkins star.
- COMEDIES - -
TWINS
"Will & Grace" producers David Kohan and Max Mutchnick take on contemporary relationships in this comedy about twin sisters. Mitchee has the intelligence and the determination of a successful businesswoman. Her twin sister Farrah is a stunningly perfect lingerie model. Mitchee and Farrah are about to inherit their parents' undergarment business, which gained world-renown for form-fitting inventions that make every woman look and feel like a goddess. These anything-but-identical twins are true reflections of their parents. Mitchee takes after their father, Alan, a brilliant designer who built the company up from nothing, while Farrah is the image of their mother, Lee, a beautiful former lingerie model who is not a deep thinker. There are loyal staff members, especially the flamboyant Neil and hot new marketing exec, Jordan, but with Mitchee and Farrah in charge, this business - and this family - are going to need a lot of, um, support. Sara Gilbert, Molly Stanton, Melanie Griffith, Mark Linn-Baker, Chris Fitzgerald and Steve Braun star.
MISCONCEPTIONS (mid-season) Amanda Watson was more than a little shocked to find out that all her teenage daughter Hopper wanted for her birthday was to meet her biological father. After all, Hopper has always heard that her dad is well-bred, handsome, athletic, well-educated and a successful doctor. The only problem is Amanda never actually met him, she only knows him from the profile she was given at the Ivy League sperm bank. After discussing the situation with Horace, her best friend and co-worker at an art museum in Chicago, Amanda decides it's time to track down the father of her child and is mortified to discover that her supposedly ideal donor was not the Olympic medalist, Yale-educated surgeon that she has imagined all these years. Meet Eddie Caprio, a man who needed a little cash after junior college and lied about his identity. Eddie has a certain undeniable charm, yet he's too scattered and immature for Amanda's taste. He can't hold a job, he prefers beer to fine wine, and his idea of dressing up is wearing a clean baseball cap. In Amanda's eyes, Eddie is barely capable of taking care of himself, let alone Hopper. However, when Eddie tracks her down, Hopper falls head-over-heels for her fun-loving dad, and Amanda is forced to allow him to be part of their lives. Could Eddie's appeal be getting through to Amanda, too? Apparently, they're going to have plenty of time to find out. Jane Leeves, Taylor Momsen, French Stewart and Adam Rothenberg star.
MODERN MEN (mid-season) Jerry Bruckheimer's first television comedic foray. Three childhood friends are at different stages in their lives when it comes to women. Doug can't move on from his ex-wife, Kyle is a womanizing bachelor, and Tim's relationships keep falling apart due to...well, he doesn't actually know. Tim's sister Tina, a confident young law student, tries to make him understand that today's career-minded, self-sufficient women don't need a man for support, they're looking for a deeper and more meaningful connection. Though their situations are different, each of these guys has come to the same realization -- it takes a lot more than they expected to keep a woman happy and satisfied. After getting no help from Tim's dad Tug, who's stuck in the Stone Age when it comes to the opposite sex, Tim, Kyle and Doug are just desperate enough to seek the help of Dr. Stangl, a renowned life coach. Now the question is whether these guys are capable of taking Dr. Stangl's advice and applying it to their every day situations. Josh Braaten, Max Greenfield, Eric Lively, Marla Sokoloff, George Wendt and Wendie Malick star.
More details about the Fall line-up can be found at the network's official site. The nightly WB schedule will be as follows:
MONDAY 8pm: "7th Heaven" 9pm: "Just Legal"
TUESDAY 8pm: "Gilmore Girls" 9pm: "Supernatural"
WEDNESDAY 8pm: "One Tree Hill" 9pm: "Related"
THURSDAY 8pm: "Smallville" 9pm: "Everwood"
FRIDAY 8pm: "What I Like About You" 8:30pm: "Twins" 9pm: "Reba" 9:30pm: "Living With Fran"
SUNDAY 5pm: "What I Like About You" (repeat) 6pm: "One Tree Hill" (repeat) 7pm: "Reba" (repeat) 8pm: "Charmed" 9pm: "Blue Collar TV"
