Upfronts: ABC

While nowhere near as dramatic as least years bevy of new shows, ABC is rolling out nine new shows for next season - actually, it's more like six new shows and three shows we've been introduced to this season. And if NBC is following Heroes into slightly nerdy territory, you can say that ABC will continue to find its softer side in the wake of Grey's Anatomy and Ugly Betty, though not nearly in as pronounced a fashion as NBC's trending.

What stayed? - ABC is returning exactly one sitcom from this year's schedule: Notes From the Underbelly, which comes back at mid-season. My LaPlaca entry thanks you. There's also some talk that According to Jim's status is up in the air, even though it wasn't on the announced schedule. Thanks again. On the plus side, I did read somewhere that Knights of Prosperity may make another short-run appearance next season. No official word today, but that'd be nice.

October Road also made the cut for next season, and like Underbelly it'll show up on Monday once Dancing With the Stars and The Bachelor wrap their fall seasons.

The other returning shows were picked up early, and the only notable things are the January 2008 return for Lost and Men in Trees getting stuck on Friday's at 8... which seems too early for a romantic dramedy.

What's gone - as I noted above, it was a hard year to be an ABC sitcom, as they mostly got the axe. For dramas, nothing came back from hiatus, so don't expect to ever learn what happened to The Nine or what the hell was in that box on Six Degrees.

What's new? - We'll take this day by day, as most weeknights have at least one new show.

On Monday, the sitcom Sam I Am will give a buffer between Dancing With the Stars and The Bachelor for the fall, and then pair with Underbelly between Wife Swap and October Road for the spring. The show stars Christina Applegate as a woman who has come out of a coma and doesn't remember any of her life. ABC's aired worse, and it may appeal to folks who enjoy the Ava story line on Grey's Anatomy.

Tuesday brings two new sitcoms. One, Carpoolers, is about four people who share rides to and from work. Woo. The other may be the season's most talked-about sitcom debut, Cavemen. Yes, it's the show spun off from the Geico cavemen ads. I don't know if they can sustain a season on this premise, but I'll be watching. If it works, expect NBC to work up something about the heroics of the Aflac duck for mid-season.

The most changes come on Wednesday, where ABC will run three new dramas until Lost returns to take the place of whichever one tanks. Pushing Daisies is about a guy whose touch can revive the dead. This leads out into Private Practice, the Grey's spin-off, which is then followed by Dirty Sexy Money, which stars Peter Krause as a lawyer who is trying to keep out of his family firm's intrigues, but without success.

This night gives us our first battle for next season, as Practice will air opposite The Bionic Woman. It'll be interesting to see what the other networks put up here. As far as the other two shows go, Daisies is the more interesting premise, but I'd expect Money to do better given the time slot.

Thursday puts men into the mix with Big Shots, which gets the post Grey's slot. It follows four high-ranking executives and their crappy home lives. Good cast, I think - Michael Vartan, Christopher Titus, Joshua Malina, and Dylan McDermott. It'll be interesting to see if it can finally slay the dragon that is ER.

Friday's 9pm show is Women's Murder Club, which comes from a couple of writers from The Shield, which suggests promise. It's based on James Patterson's novels, which will bring some level of pre-developed fandom. They could do worse here, and at least it makes Men in Trees at 8 seem a little more sensible.

There are also some other mid-season shows out there, including:

Cashmere Mafia - yet another Sex and the City clone.
Eli Stone - where the title character has a brain aneurysm that may or may not be behind his newfound desire not to screw the little guy.
Miss/Guided - High school repeats itself as an unpopular girl returns to her alma mater as guidance counselor, but finds herself thwarted by a popular cheerleader who has returned to be an English teacher. It's like a more realistic Ed!

Overall... I'm not sure. Things seem to make sense when on the page, but it's really going to depend on ABC delivering solid programming and promoting it appropriately. Neither task is exactly in their wheelhouse. And I can't say that I'm dying to see any of these shows. I'm also not sure why The Bachelor is still around, though there must be some sort of highly selective, well-monied demographic behind it. The schedule is probably enough to keep NBC in fourth, but not enough to move ABC up.