Time to bid farewell, say hello
Say buh-bye to “The West Wing,” “That ‘70s Show,” “Will & Grace” and – ohmygoshcanyoubelieveit? – “Joey.”
Now, say hello to “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” “Six Degrees,” “Brothers & Sisters” and “Smith.”
With the latest TV season ending Wednesday night, it’s time to start looking forward to the new shows fall will bring from the broadcast networks. Among the highlights:
ABC
“Betty the Ugly” (Friday, 8 p.m.): A plus-size girl and a womanizing publisher’s son take over a fashion magazine.
“Big Day” (Thursday, 8 p.m.): It’s “24” meets “Father of the Bride,” with the entire season revolving around a young couple’s wedding day.
“Brothers & Sisters” (Sunday, 10 p.m.): Calista Flockhart returns to TV as a radio personality with a slew of siblings who have their own dramas.
“Help Me Help You” (Tuesday, 9:30 p.m.): Ted Danson plays a self-centered self-help author and therapist who’s about as crazy as his patients.
“Let’s Rob…” (Tuesday, 9 p.m.): A janitor gathers a group of friends to rob Mick Jagger’s New York apartment. Yes, Jagger stars as himself.
“Men in Trees” (Friday, 9 p.m.): Anne Heche plays a relationship coach and best-selling self-help author who gets trapped in a town full of available men.
“The Nine” (Wednesday, 10 p.m.): Nine people are linked after they were held hostage for 52 hours during a botched bank robbery in this flashback-filled drama.
“Notes from the Underbelly” (Thursday, 8:30 p.m.): First-time parents find changing their lives for their little one isn’t easy, especially when you have wacky family and friends.
“Set for the Rest of Your Life” (Tuesday, 8 p.m.): Who wants to be a millionaire when this game show is handing out monthly paychecks from $50 to $10,000 for an entire lifetime?
”Six Degrees” (Thursday, 10 p.m.): Six New Yorkers discover their lives are interwined.
CBS
“The Class” (Monday, 8:30 p.m.): A group of twentysomethings who were in third grade together reunites on the 20th anniversary of the day they met.
“Jericho” (Wednesday, 8 p.m.): If “Lost” relocated to Wisteria Lane, it might look like “Jericho,” a drama about residents of a Kansas town who see a nuclear mushroom cloud on the horizon.
“Smith” (Tuesday, 10 p.m.): Ray Liotta stars as an expert thief who leads a double life while his wife, played by Virginia Madsen, thinks he’s got a regular job.
“Shark” (Thursday, 10 p.m.): In this law drama from Spike Lee, James Woods plays a cutthroat defense attorney who joins the prosecution. Think “House” in the courtroom.
The CW
“Runaway” (Monday, 9 p.m.): From “Sex and the City” creator Darren Star, this drama follows a family on the run from the police. Donnie Wahlberg and Leslie Hope star.
“The Game” (Sunday, 8:30 p.m.): It’s “Girlfriends” meets “Footballers Wives” in this sitcom about the ladies behind pro football players.
Fox
“Happy Hour” (Thursday, 8:30 p.m.): In this Chicago-set sitcom, two unlikely bachelors move in together after one is dumped by his girlfriend.
“Justice” (Wednesday, 9 p.m.): Four lawyers take on big cases ripped from the headlines in this one-hour drama.
“Standoff” (Tuesday, 8 p.m.): They sleep together, and they talk terrorists into not killing people together.
“Talk Show with Spike Feresten” (Saturday, 12 a.m.): “Seinfeld” comedy writer Feresten hosts this hybrid of sketch comedy and talk show airing after “MADtv.”
“‘Til Death” (Thursday, 8 p.m.): Will everybody love Brad Garrett as a leading man? He plays one half of a cynical couple living next door to some lovey-dovey newlyweds.
“Vanished” (Monday, 9 p.m.): Two FBI agents and a reporter investigate the disappearance of a senator’s wife and find it leads to a larger conspiracy.
“The Wedding Album” (January, Friday, 9 p.m.): A famous New York wedding photographer-playboy ditches his ways after hiring a feisty British assistant.
NBC
“20 Good Years” (Wednesday, 9 p.m.): This “Odd Couple”-ish sitcom stars John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor as fogies living on the edge after they realize they’ve got about 20 good years left in their lives.
“30 Rock” (Wednesday, 9:30 p.m.): They say you should write what you know. Well, Tina Fey knows sketch comedy, which is probably why she’s the star and executive producer of this “Saturday Night Live” spoof.
“The Black Donnellys” (Thursday, 10 p.m.): If “The Sopranos” were Irish, they might look like “The Black Donnellys,” a drama from “Crash” director Paul Haggis.
“Friday Night Lights” (Tuesday, 8 p.m.): You saw the movie. Now see the TV show, which touches down in a small Texas town where high school football is king.
“Heroes” (Monday, 9 p.m.): A drama about ordinary folks with extraordinary powers – but no capes.
“Kidnapped” (Tuesday, 9 p.m.): The son of a rich family is kidnapped. And it’s up to the police, the FBI and the family’s hired hands to find him. Jeremy Sisto, Dana Delany and Timothy Hutton star.
“Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” (Thursday, 9 p.m.): Aaron Sorkin presents this drama about the politics that take place behind the scenes of a sketch-comedy show.