Every season has its perks. Sure, fall features the clich colorful leaves and that hearty back-to-school feeling only September can bring. But plenty anticipate the fall for that back-to-the-tube feeling, the dawn of all-new seasons of the best television has to offer.

Sunday

Best Returning Series:Desperate Housewives9:00-10:00 p.m.ABCPremiers: Sept. 24

The women of Wisteria Lane are back for what creator Marc Cherry has promised to be a sinfully delightful season three. Expect more mystery and laugh-out-loud humor from the housewives this year as the show picks up where it left off after its snooze-fest May finale.

Best New Series: Brothers and Sisters10:00-11:00 p.m.ABCPremiers: Sept. 24

A wealthy California family looks great on the surface but suffers from internal strife and dark secrets. Sound familiar? Not to worry, ‘Brothers and Sisters’ is no ‘The O.C.’ For one thing, the series boasts an all-star cast of Ron Rifkin, Particia Wettig, Sally Field, Rachel Griffiths, Balthazar Getty and Calista Flockhart. There are also no water-polo players or angsty lesbians anywhere in the script.

Monday

Best Returning Series: Prison Break8:00-9:00 p.m.FoxPremiered: Aug. 21

Lincoln and Michael have successfully broken out of prison, but they aren’t out of the woods yet-literally. As the brothers continue to flee for their lives, the show’s sophomore season is proving even more intense than its first.

Best New Series: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip10:00-11:00 p.m.NBCPremiers: Sept. 18

The ‘West Wing’ mastermind and S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications alumnus Aaron Sorkin is back with a new, albeit less presidential, drama. The all-star cast featuring former ‘Friend’ Matthew Perry, ‘West Wing’ alumnus Bradley Whitford and ‘Syriana’ actress Amanda Peet will satirize the production politics of a ‘Saturday Night Live’-esque sketch-comedy show.

Tuesday Best Returning Series:The Unit9:00-10:00 p.m.CBSPremiers: Sept. 19

Expect another high-octane year of covert ops from executive producers David Mamet and Shawn Ryan. The series’ God-Bless-America sentiment may be clich, but thanks to writer David Mamet, it’s never overdone.

Best New Series:Friday Night Lights8:00-9:00 p.m.NBCPremiers: Oct. 3

Director Peter Berg just couldn’t stay away. After the success of his critically acclaimed motion picture of the same name was adapted for television, Berg signed on as director. The show will delve into heavier themes skipped over by the film, including racism, education and the culture of the football-charged Deep South.

Wednesday Best Returning Series:Lost9:00-10:00 p.m.ABCPremiers: Oct. 4

Monsters and hatches and Others, oh my! One of television’s best shows is back for a third season after a jaw dropping cliff hanger that prompted more questions than it answered. Why were Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Sawyer (Josh Holloway) kidnapped? Is there still a real world? What exactly did those Antarctic scientists find? The ‘Lost’ team plans on answering all these questions in season three, in addition to some revelations about the Others.

Best New Series:The Nine 10:00-11:00 p.m.ABCPremieres: Oct. 4

On Wednesdays, sit down in front of the television with your game face on. In the hour after the brain-teasing ‘Lost’ comes a dramatic character study that will keep audiences guessing from pilot to finale. Nine bank-robbery hostages share a bond (and many secrets) from their 52 hours in captivity. A veil of secrecy surrounds the show, but the tight-lipped producers revealed ‘Lost’-like flashbacks of the robbery will be regular occurrences. Not to worry though, co-creator Hank Steinberg promises that there is not a hatch in the bank.

Thursday

Best Returning Series:Grey’s Anatomy9:00-10:00 p.m.ABCPremiers: Sept. 21

The most anticipated drama of the season returns to chronicle the Seattle Grace’s third year of hospital humor, drama and sex. ABC promises a long-awaited conclusion to the Meredith-Addison-McDreamy love triangle, as well as some new cast additions including Eric Dane, better known as McSteamy. Eleven Emmy award nominations for its sophomore season set the bar pretty high, but the best of ‘Grey’s’ could be yet to come.

Best New Series: Ugly Betty8:00-9:00 p.m.ABCPremieres: Sept. 28

There is little doubt the ugly-duckling dramedy chronicling the tribulations of Betty Suarez’s entry-level job for a Vouge-like fashion magazine will be a resounding success. Betty’s bushy eyebrows, shining braces and lack of anything resembling style make her a perfect underdog character-and who doesn’t love that?

Published on September 18, 2006 at 12:00 pm