Here we go again.
Starting next week, the five major networks (and more than a few cable players) will begin rolling out a slew of new programming designed to entice viewers back to their TV sets after a long summer of Michael Jackson, Obamacare and really bad reality shows.
Critics will begin sounding their voices as fall preview issues start hitting newsstands, championing shows that will either become big hits -- or, more likely, end up yanked from the air by Christmas.
While most of the focus will deservedly be on the new, most viewers are actually looking forward to the return of their old favorites.
That's why, as TheWrap presents its 2009 Fall TV Buzz List, we've decided to mix freshmen and veterans, reflecting the fact that many series often don't break out until their second year on the air.
This isn't a best list, or a prediction of shows which will definitely succeed. Instead, we looked for shows that are likely to have people (real and in the media) chattering in anticipation as the flood of first-run programming once again washes over the culture.
THE JAY LENO SHOW
NBC
Premieres Sept. 14 at 10 p.m.
Leno has always been a pretty conventional kind of guy. So it's pretty surprising that he'd up up behind what has turned out to be perhaps the most controversial new show of the season.
Rival network executives have denounced the series as nothing less than NBC's abandonment of its role as an entertainment network. Agents and top showrunners have lamented the impact Leno's relocation will have on the community of writers and actors.
For average Americans, however, "The Jay Leno Show" will probably come off nothing more than "The Tonight Show" -- at 10 o'clock. Nothing revolutionary; just the same old Jay in an earlier timeslot.
Lots of analysts have weighed in with predictions about whether Leno can attract a big enough audience to make his new show work. Fact is, nobody really knows how viewers will react -- especially in the long term, once the novelty wears off.
Don't be surprised if Leno's numbers end up looking something like a rollercoaster ride, as viewers pop in and out depending on what's on other networks and who's on Jay's show.
And don't worry about how Jay will feel if you don't watch his show. He'll be just fine.
"If we go down in flames, we will be laughing on the way down, believe me," he says.
MELROSE PLACE
The CW
Premieres Sept. 9 at 9 p.m.
In a season of remakes and spinoffs -- "Eastwick," "Parenthood," "NCIS: Los Angeles" -- this reimagination of Darren Star's campy soap classic may have the best odds of working. In part, that's because the CW almost can't afford to let it fail.
The network has pored a huge percentage of its marketing budget into hyping this series, hoping it will draw the same big crowds who checked out last fall's revival of "Beverly Hills, 90210."
