Fringe: Sexy FBI agents and mysterious deaths (Sept. 9, FOX) J.J. Abrams newest sci-fi offering, Fringe, debuts on FOX this fall. Featuring Pacey er Joshua Jackson, the series follows FBI agent Olivia Dunham as she investigates a string of mysterious deaths aboard airline Flight 627. (Mark Ben Holzberg / Associated Press)
‘Kath & Kim’: ‘Gilmore Girls’ 2.0? (Oct. 9, NBC) Not exactly. Molly Shannon and Selma Blair play a dysfunctional mother-daughter team in suburban Florida in Kath & Kim, based on the Australian series of the same name. Kath (Shannon) is a foxy, fortysomething divorcee-cum-cougar, and Kim (Blair) is her celebrity-obsessed daughter. At its best, the show might work as a slightly mellower version of the outrageous U.K. series “Ab Fab” -- a most welcome entry into NBC’s comedy lineup. (Benjamin Reed / Los Angeles Times)
‘Desperate Housewives’: Long live Edie and Katherine (Sept. 28, ABC) Because they make evil look good. Sure, seeing a frumpy, disheveled Gabby ( Eva Longoria) run after her kids when the show jumped five years into the future last season will prove to be the show’s big draw this fall, but our collective sigh of relief came after learning that Nicolette Sheridan’s Edie would in fact be back. (Rumors that she had been written off the show appeared true when Edie left Wisteria Lane last season.) The show just wouldn’t be as fun without the man-stealing cougar, would it? Also, returning to stir up trouble will be Bree’s sister-in-Stepford Katherine ( Dana Delaney). Martha Stewart, eat your heart out. (Andrew Eccles / Associated Press)