Fridays
| 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Secret Millionaire | Body of Proof | 20/20 | |||
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Medium | CSI: New York | Blue Bloods | |||
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Smallville | Supernatural | [Local programming] | |||
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Human Target | The Good Guys | [Local programming] | |||
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School Pride * | Dateline NBC | Outlaw | |||
New shows
Key new show: Blue Bloods (CBS, 10p starting 9/24)
Though there have been behind-the-scenes squabbles over the show's direction -- which led to the departure of executive producer Ken Sanzel -- this blend of family drama and crime procedural is probably still the best new show on a weak night. Blue Bloods stars Tom Selleck as a police chief and the patriarch of a multi-generational family of New York cops that also includes Donnie Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan, and Will Estes; Bobby Cannavale has also been added to the cast and will appear in later episodes.
May not last long: Outlaw (NBC, 10p starting 9/17*)
Jimmy Smits stars as a conservative Supreme Court justice who likes gambling and women a little too much and decides to quit the bench and open up his own private practice, where he travels the country to take on cases representing "the little guy." Combine a weak lead-in (i.e., NBC's Friday night lineup) with a lackluster critical reaction to the pilot, and you have the makings of a short-lived show, though the network gets credit for giving the show's first episode an extra airing.
* The premiere episode also airs Wed 9/15 at 10p.
Also: Like Quincy, Body of Proof (ABC, 9p; date TBA) centers on crime-solving medical examiner, but this time, the ME is a woman (Dana Delany), and she's got plenty of problems in her personal life; Jeri Ryan co-stars ... New feel-good reality show School Pride (NBC, 8p starting 9/24) is basically Extreme Makeover: School Edition.
Returning shows
Key returning show: Human Target (Fox, 8p starting 10/1)
The good news is that Fox opted not to cancel this ratings-challenged first-year action series; the bad news is that the show's new home is Friday nights, where Fox's cult favorites go to die. But at least the network is putting some resources behind the show. Matt Miller (Chuck) takes over showrunner duties for season two, and, in addition to sprucing up the show's music and look, he's added two female characters (played by Indira Varma and Janet Montgomery) to the existing team of Mark Valley, Chi McBride and Jackie Earle Haley.
Also: Smallville (CW, 8p starting 9/24) returns for its 10th and final season, which will feature Darkseid as the main baddie and the return of a number of guest stars from past seasons, including John Glover as the late Lionel Luthor, Laura Vandervoort as Supergirl, and James Marsters as Brainiac ... Season 6 of Supernatural (CW, 9p starting 9/24) begins a year after the events of last season's finale ... Summer cop series The Good Guys (Fox, 9p starting 9/24) will attempt to survive the tougher competition of the fall season when it returns with a new batch of episodes ... Medium (CBS, 8p starting 9/24) will kick off its seventh season with a Freaky Friday-style role-switching episode ... CSI: New York (CBS, 9p starting 9/24) will be without Melina Kanakaredes for the first time in its seven seasons; she'll be replaced by Sela Ward.
Cable highlights
Key show: The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret (IFC, 10p starting 10/1)
Arrested Development fans looking for David Cross and Will Arnett on the small screen this fall will have an embarrassment of riches; while Fox's Running Wilde stars Arnett and features Cross in a supporting role, Todd Margaret reverses the billing. Cross created and co-wrote this six-episode British comedy (airing in the U.S. on IFC) in which he stars as an awkward temp who accidentally finds himself sent to London as the man in charge of his company's new energy drink product. Amber Tamblyn, Janeane Garofalo, and Spike Jonze also make appearances, while The Smiths' Johnny Marr provides the score.
Also: HBO's weekly political talkfest Real Time with Bill Maher (10p starting 9/17) returns from hiatus with new episodes running through November, and will be back yet again in early 2011 ... The animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Cartoon Network, 9p starting 9/17) returns with a 22-episode, "transformative" third season that will reveal the destiny of the "Chosen One."
