Networks announce fall schedules

This week is a big one in the television world, as the networks revealed their fall schedules.

And man, oh man, do I want to be supportive of most of them for renewing shows — “Chuck” and “Dollhouse,” in particular — that I feared were goners and for green-lighting new series starring some familiar faces who have definite TV boyfriend potential (Chris O’Donnell, I’m talking to you).

But then ABC went and cancelled “Samantha Who?” and “The Unusuals,” and the CW did the same with the funny, charming “Privileged.” And, adding insult to injury, the network is running with a “Melrose Place” reboot that doesn’t feel particularly relevant or necessary.

Then there’s the fact that NBC is handing its 10 p.m. time slot over to Jay Leno every night — eliminating five hours that could be devoted to original, new series (or, at the very least, allow favorites like “Chuck” and “Friday Night Lights” to return sooner; as of right now, “Chuck” won’t be back until midseason, and “Lights” is scheduled for summer 2010).

Other cancelled series include ABC’s “Cupid” and “In the Motherhood;” CBS’s “Without a Trace,” “The Unit” and “Worst Week;” NBC’s “My Name Is Earl,” “Life,” “Lipstick Jungle,” “Kath & Kim” and “Medium,” which is moving to CBS; Fox’s “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” and “King of the Hill;” and The CW’s “Everybody Hates Chris,” “The Game” and “Reaper.”

Keep reading for a full rundown of what to expect from the networks next season, broken down by night and with new shows highlighted in bold.

To make it easier to digest, I’ve divided this into two posts. Here, you’ll get the scoop on ABC, CBS and NBC; the next one will cover Fox and The CW.

ABC
Sunday: The only night to stay entirely intact, with “America’s Funniest Home Videos” at 7 p.m., “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” at 8, “Desperate Housewives” at 9 and “Brothers & Sisters” at 10.

Monday: Reality juggernaut “Dancing With the Stars is back in its 8 p.m. timeslot, joined by returning drama “Castle” at 10 p.m.

Once “Dancing” completes its fall run, another — dramatic? — season of “The Bachelor” will begin.

Tuesday: The “Dancing” results show airs at 9 p.m., sandwiched between two newbies: Shark Tank, a reality competition series that has aspiring entrepreneurs pitching their ideas to potential investors, and The Forgotten, a drama about a group of detectives who work cases with unidentified victims.

When “Dancing” is done, comedies Scrubs and Better Off Ted will take over the time slot.

Wednesday: Four new comedies hit the air, including Hank (8 p.m.), which stars Kelsey Grammer as a businessman who suddenly finds himself out of work and almost out of money; The Middle (8:30 p.m.), which stars Patricia Heaton (“Everybody Loves Raymond”) as the matriarch of a middle-class Indiana family; Modern Family (9 p.m.), a documentary-style comedy (see “The Office”) about what it means to be a family in 2009; and Cougar Town, which stars Courteney Cox as a recently divorced single mother.

The drama Eastwick, an update on “The Witches of Eastwick” that stars Rebecca Romijn, Lindsay Price and Jamie Ray Newman, debuts at 10 p.m.

Thursday: “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Private Practice” return to their respective time slots at 9 and 10 p.m., right after new drama Flash Forward, a high-concept series about what happens when a mysterious event causes the entire world to black out and get a glimpse into their immediate future. It stars Joseph Fiennes (“Shake-speare in Love”), John Cho (“Star Trek”) and Sonya Walger (“Lost”).

Friday: “Supernanny” (8 p.m.) and “20/20” (10 p.m.) are back, joined by “Ugly Betty,” which moves over from its former Thursday night slot.

Midseason: The most important midseason arrival will definitely be “Lost,” just in case you’ve been living under a rock for the past five years.

It’ll be joined by three new series: V, a remake of a 1980s miniseries about the world’s first encounter with aliens; Happy Town, about a small town rocked by its first crime in seven years; and The Deep End, which follows four first-year lawyers working in one of Los Angeles’ most prestigious firms.

CBS
Sunday: “The Amazing Race” and “Cold Case” are both back, with the latter moving to 10 p.m.

The 9 p.m. slot is reserved for 3 Rivers, another medical drama that shows organ donation from three points of view: the donors, the recipients and the surgeons. It stars former “Moonlight” hottie Alex O’Loughlin as the head of an elite team of surgeons.

Monday: Jenna Elfman’s new comedy Accidentally on Purpose, in which she plays a single woman who gets knocked up after a one-night stand, joins CBS’s already solid comedy line-up of “How I Met Your Mother,” “Two and a Half Men” and “The Big Bang Theory.” And, as usual, “CSI: Miami” close out the night.

Tuesday: “NCIS” is stays at 8 p.m., joined by its spin-off, NCIS: Los Angeles, which stars Chris O’Donnell — be still my heart — and LL Cool J as undercover agents and surveillance experts, and The Good Wife, in which Julianna Margulies plays a wife who returns to work as an attorney after her husband’s (Chris Noth) public sex scandal.

Wednesday: Nothing new here, folks. “The New Adventures of Old Christine” and “Gary Unmarried” air from 8 to 9 p.m., followed by “Criminal Minds” and “CSI: NY.”

Thursday: “Survivor: Samoa” and “CSI” are back in their regular spots, with “The Mentalist” moving over from Tuesday at 10 p.m.

Friday: It’ll be a ghostly evening as CBS plucks NBC’s just-cancelled “Medium” to join “Ghost Whisperer.” “Numb3rs” finishes out the night at 10 p.m.

Midseason: “The Bridge” is about a dedicated cop who becomes his police union’s new leader and “Miami Trauma” follows a team of expert surgeons who operate on patients with life-threatening injuries. The latter stars Jeremy Northam, who I’ve loved since he terrorized Sandra Bullock in “The Net” and, a year later, romanced Gwyneth Paltrow as “Emma’s” Mr. Knightley.

NBC
Jay Leno’s talk show airs every weeknight at 10 p.m. I’m not going to list it every time

Monday: “Heroes” moves to 8 p.m., followed by Trauma, an hour-long drama about first-responder paramedics.

Tuesday: Get ready for two more hours of “The Biggest Loser.”

Wednesday: “Law & Order: SVU” moves to 9 p.m., right after Parenthood, which is based on the 1980s Steve Martin movie. Here, it stars Maura Tierney (“ER”), Peter Krause (“Six Feet Under”) and Craig T. Nelson (“Coach”).

Thursday: “Parks and Recreation” and “The Office” are back at 8:30 and 9 p.m., respectively, where they’ll be joined by the “SNL Weekend Update” at 8 p.m. through November.

New comedy Community, which stars “The Soup” funnyguy Joel McHale as one of several people attending a small-town community college, will air at 9:30 p.m., also through November, when it’ll move to 8 p.m. to make way for the return of "30 Rock."

Friday: “Law & Order” returns for its 20th season (tying it with “Gunsmoke” as TV’s longest-running prime-time drama), to be followed by “Southland” at 10 p.m.

Midseason: “Chuck” will be back, and two new series will premiere: Day One, which follows a group of people after a catastrophe cripples the world as we know it; and Mercy, a medical drama about three nurses.