Pushing Daisies, Chuck and Reaper Among New Season's Top Contenders

Will ABC's delightful Pushing Daisies live up to its strong summer buzz? Is NBC's charming Chuck a keeper? Does CBS' daringly different Viva Laughlin stand a chance? Has Fox found a comedy winner in Back to You? And what about Reaper? Could this new supernatural comedy-thriller on The CW be the surprise hit of the fall season?

There may be changes to come in the six weeks before the 2007-08 broadcast season officially gets under way, but as the networks' schedules now stand the clear winners of the fall are beginning to stand out. So are the series that are going to have a tough time surviving, either because the shows themselves are not strong, or because they face brutal competition in their time periods. Critics from coast to coast have already expressed their likes and dislikes at the summer Television Critics Association tour, so we know what shows the media is going to support.

What follows is the first of a three-part analysis of the broadcasters' fall schedules.

MONDAY

The big battle on Monday night will be between ABC's formidable Dancing with the Stars (which runs from 8-9:30 p.m.) and NBC's Chuck (8 p.m.) and Heroes (9 p.m.). Dancing has yet to peak and is now a pop-culture phenomenon. Chuck, about a good-natured geek who becomes a reluctant secret agent after he unwittingly downloads the secrets of multiple government agencies into his brain, is already one of the most talked about new series of the fall season. It has a strong lead in young actor Zachary Levi, critics like it, and tens of thousands of genre fans were clamoring for it at the recent Comic-Con in San Diego. Most importantly, Chuck should prove a very compatible lead-in to Heroes.

The new ABC comedy Samantha Who?, a sophisticated showcase for the talents of comic actress Christina Applegate, is also an early favorite with critics. Samantha will have a nice lead-in from Dancing with the Stars, because it is highly unlikely that the Dancing audience will click over to the second half of Heroes or to the male-oriented CBS comedy Rules of Engagement at 9:30 p.m.

CBS and The CW are both returning three out of four sitcoms in their sturdy two-hour comedy blocks. The new comedies at each network, The Big Bang Theory on CBS and Aliens in America on The CW, are both well done and will be supported by the press, especially Aliens because of its controversial storyline. (A Pakistani Muslim exchange student moves in with a family in a Mid-western town and does not receive a warm welcome.) But both networks face considerable challenges from ABC and NBC, unless Heroes loses some of its freshman power. Heroes actually slipped in the ratings toward the end of its first season (after its spring hiatus), so a powerhouse sophomore year is not a given. But it remains the show to beat on Monday.

Fox is going to have big problems on this night. Prison Break will be reinventing itself for a third time and has lost its buzz. This show is played out. K-Ville, at 9 p.m., is a dark and dreary police drama filmed in New Orleans about the challenges police face post-Katrina. I'm not sure why anyone would choose to watch this depressing show over the entertaining time period offerings on ABC, NBC and CBS.

At 10 p.m., CSI: Miami will remain dominant opposite NBC's new Journeyman and ABC's returning The Bachelor. Look for Journeyman, an ill-conceived sci-fi drama about a reluctant time traveler, to disappear by midseason.

TUESDAY

Fox is positioned to come out on top from 8-10 p.m. with the strong pairing of Bones and House. Bones is a big success, House is a huge hit and nothing is going to dim the popularity of these still-young shows.

The CW also has a strong 8-10 p.m. lineup with Beauty and the Geek and Reaper. Geek is an established hit with teens and the 18-34 demographic. The supernatural comedy-thriller Reaper, from director Kevin Smith, was universally praised by critics during the TCA tour and is poised to emerge as one of the biggest new hits of the fall season, especially in the demographic groups drawn to its lead-in.

CBS and NBC will do okay at 8 p.m. with the returning NCIS and The Biggest Loser, respectively. NCIS is vulnerable because series creator and long-time executive producer Donald P. Bellisario has left the show. The Biggest Loser continues to play to the growing health crisis of obesity and the concurrent national obsession with weight loss.

ABC is going to spring a leak from 8-9 p.m. with its new freshmen comedies Cavemen and Carpoolers. The pilot for Cavemen is particularly awful and was trashed by critics during TCA. Carpoolers isn't as bad, but it is decidedly unremarkable. The poor performances of these two shows could hurt the Dancing with the Stars results show at 9, which faces a tough battle on its own. Dancing's results show never does as well as its competition show, and it is up against House and Reaper, both with high appeal to teens and young adults, and CBS' The Unit, which will remain popular with older viewers.

NBC's formidable Law & Order: Special Victims Unit will remain on top at 10 p.m. Pumped by its recent slew of Emmy nominations, ABC's Boston Legal will also continue to do well. CBS' Cane, a sexy, multi-generational serial drama about a wealthy and powerful Latino family, is going to have a tough time finding an audience, despite the appeal of series star Jimmy Smits. If it doesn't work here, CBS should try Cane on another night. This show deserves a chance to grow.

Tomorrow: What to expect on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

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