The Vampire Diaries
The CW, Thursdays 8 p.m.
Premieres Sept. 10
Based on the book series by L.J. Smith, "The Vampire Diaries" follows a small town beauty and her brooding vampire male lead. Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley) becomes obsessed with Elena (Nina Dobrev), a girl who is a dead ringer (no pun intended) for an old love. The two bond over journal writing, angst-filled stares and trendy clothing. Their love, which is fraught with the usual peril, is in immediate jeopardy when Stefan's less than upstanding vampire brother, Damon (Ian Somerhalder) using smoke and crows as an entrance, comes to town. Elena finds herself in a dangerous love triangle just as the people around her are being attacked by a mysterious assailant.
The show plays on many vampire myths. While "Twilight" and "True Blood" choose to keep away from distorted faces when the fangs come out, "Diaries" seems to mix between that and Joss Whedon's animalistic morphing, in a bug-eyed Dorian-Gray-like aging transformation that the CW still makes it look attractive.
Gossip Girl
The CW Mondays at 9 p.m.
Premieres Sept. 14
You know you missed it. "Gossip Girl" is back with more excitement than ever. Last season's cliffhanger left fans wondering what will happen when Blair (Leighton Meester) finds out Georgina (Michelle Trachtenburg) is going to be her roommate at NYU, if Lily and Rufus's long-lost child will finally meet his real parents and what will become of the "Gossip Girl" gang when they split up and go to separate colleges? Will Jenny rule her high school as the new queen bee? Will Blair and Chuck (Ed Westwick) finally have a successful relationship? What will happen to Serena (Blake Lively) when she leaves the city to head to Brown? The season premiere will answer these questions and more as all the friends reconvene at summer's end. You know you love it. XOXO. Gossip Girl.
The Office
NBC Thursdays 9 p.m.
Premieres Sept. 17
"The Office" concluded its fifth season with a humorous outbreak of serious events, and the latest season will open with an episode appropriately titled "Gossip." Between Pam and Jim's pregnancy (as well as their impending marriage), Michael's unrequited love for Holly and Dunder Mifflin's continuing troubles in the failing economy, those in the office will undoubtedly have much to discuss. The upcoming season holds potential to develop these stories as well as new ones, all through the hilarious repartee that is unique to "The Office."
Community
NBC Thursdays 9:30 p.m.
Premieres Sept. 17
NBC is hoping for the next big comedy hit as it prepares to launch the season premiere of "Community," a quirky new show that follows one man's quest for a law degree. Jeff (played by Joel McHale, also host of "The Soup" on E!), a practicing lawyer, gets his license revoked after the state realizes that he obtained his law degree from Colombia the country, not Columbia University. Desperate to get back to practicing, Jeff attends a community college where he begins a study group with many insightful and hilarious characters, including a five-time divorcee played by the lovable Chevy Chase.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
FX Thursday 10 p.m.
Premieres Sept. 17
Irreverent, crass and utterly hilarious, FX's "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" returns for its fifth season. Charlie (Charlie Day), Mac (Rob McElhenney), Dennis (Glen Howerton), Sweet Dee (Kaitlin Olson) and Frank (Danny DeVito) are back to their old antics managing Paddy's Pub - possibly the most poorly run bar in Philadelphia.
This season, the show's colorful characters attempt to remedy the effects of the down economy by finding their way out of a Ponzi scheme, accepting payment to act as a surrogate mother and marketing "kitten mittens." The friends seem to have learned nothing from their previous escapades, promising the same politically incorrect humor that has made the show so popular. From staging interventions to "going green," the gang's good intentions land them in predicaments that promise to elicit as many laughs as they do horrified groans.
Flash Forward
ABC Thursdays at 8 p.m.
Premieres Sept. 24
"Flash Forward," already being advertised as a successor to "LOST" when the mysterious island drama ends this spring, is a new ABC show based on an award-winning novel by Robert J. Sawyer. A bizarre event across the globe forwards everyone to six months in the future temporarily. A curious Los Angeles-based FBI agent (Joseph Fiennes, "Shakespeare In Love") assembles a team to discover what happened. They also create a database compiling everyone's "flash forwards" from around the world. Other actors starring in "Flash Forward" include John Cho ("Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle"), Jack Davenport ("Pirates of the Caribbean") and Dominic Monaghan ("Lost").
Grey's Anatomy
ABC Thursdays 9 p.m.
Premieres Sept. 24
ABC is bringing back everyone's favorite guilty pleasure, "Grey's Anatomy," and the new season promises to be as dramatic and emotional as its predecessors. The sixth season will pick up with Seattle Grace's latest trials and tribulations: the possible deaths of both George and Izzie, Meredith and Derek's Post-It note marriage, and Bailey's decision to become a single mother. Whether it is medical or relationship-centered, the constant drama in Seattle Grace is sure to keep the attention of "Grey's Anatomy" followers.
V
ABC Tuesdays at 8 p.m.
Premieres Nov. 3
This fall, ABC is diving into the world of science fiction with "V." The series, based on a mini-series of the same name from 1983, centers on an alien race that comes to Earth in the guise of friendly "Visitors." The Visitors quickly win favor amongst much of the human population by curing rare diseases and generally contributing to the overall wellness of Earth. However, all is not as it seems. Homeland Security agent Erica Evans (Elizabeth Mitchell, "Lost") learns that the Visitors have been placing sleeper agents in governments and businesses across the planet in a bid to take over the world. The show will presumably follow Erica and company as they attempt to fend off the alien invaders. "V" will also star Morris Chestnut ("Not Easily Broken"), Alan Tudyk ("Dodgeball"), newcomer Logan Huffman and Scott Wolf ("Everwood").
