Laurel’s TV Picks

Best Bets

Series premiere of Mercy (NBC, 7pm)
Season premiere of Criminal Minds (CBS, 8pm)
Season premiere of Law & Order: SVU (NBC, 8pm; also on Sat)
New Glee (FOX, 8pm)
Series premiere of Eastwick (ABC, 9pm)
Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ken Tucker, Arctic Monkeys on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS, 11:35pm)

Daytime

Mackenzie Phillips is the guest on a new Oprah (syndicated, check your local listings).

Primetime Grid

Primetime

Series premiere of Mercy (NBC, 7pm). Newcomer Taylor Schilling stars as a nurse who recently completed a tour in Iraq. The show follows her as she works as a nurse at a hospital. She’s also got a case of PTSD, is separated from her husband, and had an affair with a doctor while in Iraq (and yes, of course he turns up at the hospital to complicate her life). Jaime Lee Kirchner and Guillermo Diaz (who was “Guillermo” on Weeds) are her friends and fellow nurses. Michelle Trachtenberg (of Gossip Girl, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) plays a new nurse who is young and naive because I guess every show about nurses must have that character. James LeGros (of Ally McBeal) plays an annoying doctor who doesn’t do much in the first episode; Delroy Lindo appears to be the big boss at the hospital. Diego Klattenhoff (who was “Ivan” on Men in Trees) plays the main character’s estranged husband; James Tupper (who was “Jack” on Men in Trees) is the doctor she had an affair with while in Iraq. The version of the first episode that I saw had Kate Mulgrew (of Star Trek: Voyager) and Peter Gerety (of The Wire, Homicide) as the lead character’s alcoholic parents. There’s nothing new here, really, but it looks like the first episode should give you a pretty good idea of who the characters are and what the show will be like so I’d say it’s worth a look if you enjoy this sort of show. The cast is decent, but . . . so far the show is nothing special. Find out more on the official website for the show.

Christine and Matthew fly to the Bahamas to help Barb in the season premiere of The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS, 7pm).

Petite supermodel Jaime Rishar is a guest judge on a new America’s Next Top Model (CW, 7pm; also on Friday at 8pm). The ladies get tips on how to “perfect their strut” for their first runway show.

Sean Kingston performs and there’s a tribute to Patrick Swayze on Dancing with the Stars (ABC, 7pm).

Gary tries to set an example for his son by pursuing his dream of becoming a radio sportscaster in the season premiere of Gary Unmarried (CBS, 7:30pm). Keegan-Michael Key (of MADTv) and Brooke D’Orsay (of Drop Dead Diva) join the cast for this season. Jay Mohr and Paula Marshall still star.

The team assembles to profile a killer with a vendetta against an emergency room doctor and somewhere along the line they notice that Hotch is missing (oh-oh) in the season premiere of Criminal Minds (CBS, 8pm). C. Thomas Howell and D.B. Sweeney are among the guest stars. This is one of my favorite shows, I’m looking forward to tonight’s premiere.

Wentworth Miller (of Prison Break) guest stars as a police officer and Christine Lahti (of Jack & Bobby, Chicago Hope) guest stars as an ADA in the season premiere of Law & Order: SVU (NBC, 8pm; also on Saturday at 9pm). The officer and ADA help the SVU team track down a serial rapist.

Kurt tries out for the football team, Sandy and Sue join forces to try and destroy the Glee Club on Glee (FOX, 8pm).

Ed O’Neill (of Married with Children) and Julie Bowen (of Boston Legal, Ed) head an ensemble cast in the series premiere of Modern Family (ABC, 8pm; also on Friday at 8pm). I haven’t seen this show, but it has received some good reviews. You can find out more on the website for the show. Here’s how the press release describes the first episode:

Today’s families come in all shapes and sizes, and that is very evident in Jay Pritchett’s very full and very blended family. Jay and his new gorgeous and much younger wife, Gloria, are happily married and getting accustomed to their new life together. But when her pre-teen son develops a crush on a 16-year-old girl, it becomes apparent that Jay and Gloria may have some generational and cultural gaps to bridge. Jay’s grown daughter, Claire, has a family of her own — three kids and a husband, Phil, who is practically a giant kid himself. Things get a little tense when their teenage daughter, Haley, brings a boy home and Phil tries to adopt the cool, hip dad approach. Then son Luke misuses of his BB gun, which results in Phil and Claire turning it right back on to him. Jay’s other grown son, Mitchell, is in a committed relationship and has just adopted a baby girl from Vietnam with his life partner, Cameron. They’re going through the joys and anxieties of bringing a baby home for the first time, but Mitchell still has the daunting task of introducing their new addition to the whole family.

Season finale of Man vs. Wild (Discovery, 8pm and 11pm).

New Inside the NFL (Showtime, 8pm).

New Throwdown with Bobby Flay (Food Network, 8pm and 11pm).

Courteney Cox stars in the series premiere of Cougar Town (ABC, 8:30pm). This new series is from Bill Lawrence (the creator of Scrubs). It’s received some good reviews, I haven’t had a chance to see it. Other cast members are Christa Miller (of Scrubs), Busy Philipps (of ER, Freaks and Geeks), Ian Gomez (of Felicity), and Josh Hopkins (of Swingtown, Ally McBeal, and many many shows). You can find out more on the official site for the show. Here’s how ABC describes the show:

Courteney Cox stars as Jules, a recently divorced single mother exploring the honest truths about dating and aging in our beauty and youth obsessed culture. While most women in their twenties go through life experiencing the challenges and often humorous pitfalls of meeting men, Jules took on the responsibilities of marriage and raising a son. Now in her forties, she embarks on a journey to self-discovery whilst surrounded by fellow divorcees and singletons eager to live or re-live a time gone by.

Along for the journey are her friends and family: Laurie (Busy Philipps), the younger, feisty co-worker who encourages her to get out there and have some fun; Ellie (Christa Miller), the sarcastic, unapologetic confidante content with her life and marriage to her average, but loveable husband, Andy (Ian Gomez); ex-husband Bobby (Brian Van Holt), a classic under-achiever who’ll test her patience as they attempt to raise their teenage son, Travis (Dan Byrd); and newly divorced neighbor Grayson (Josh Hopkins), who proves to be a catalyst of sorts for Jules.

Series premiere of Eastwick (ABC, 9pm). This new series is based on The Witches of Eastwick (both the novel and the movie version). I haven’t seen it, since ABC no longer believes in sending out shows to critics, but the reviews I’ve seen haven’t been kind. You can find out more on the website for the show. One big reason I can think you might want to check it out? Paul Gross (of Slings and Arrows and Due South) stars in it. The female trio is played by Rebecca Romijn (who is “Alexis” on Ugly Betty), Lindsay Price (she was “Victory” on Lipstick Jungle), and Jamie Ray Newman (who played “Tess” on Eureka). Sara Rue (of Less Than Perfect and Veronica Cartwright are also listed as castmembers. Here’s the description from ABC:

There was a time when Roxanne, Kat and Joanna didn’t get along because of their preconceived notions of each other. Roxie was the extrovert artist, Kat the overworked wife and mom, and Joanna the wallflower local reporter. But after a weird encounter in the park and a few martinis, these three women have suddenly become fast friends. Together, they wish for their lives to change. An unknown power within each of them is suddenly unlocked, bringing them together and changing each of their lives. And that’s when the mysterious and wealthy Darryl Van Horne arrives in town. He helps them discover their unique powers in ways they never could have imagined. But by igniting their hearts’ desires, he might just be opening Pandora’s Box.

The locals become understandably curious about just who Darryl Van Horne is. Among the curious is Joanna’s co-worker and best friend, Penny. Then there’s Bun, the head of the Eastwick Historical Society and the fun and kooky aunt that Roxie and her teen-aged daughter, Mia, never had, who may hold a key to Darryl’s real identity. Meanwhile, Joanna’s longtime crush, Will, and Kat’s layabout husband, Raymond, become unintentional targets for the ladies’ newfound powers.

Sarah Carter (of Shark) guest stars in a recurring role in the season premiere of CSI: NY (CBS, 9pm).

Vince Vaughn, Al Michaels, Bob Costas on The Jay Leno Show (NBC, 9pm).

Penn & Teller appear on a new Top Chef: Las Vegas (Bravo, 9pm, 10pm, 11pm, midnight, 1am).

New Man v. Food (Travel Channel, 9pm and 10pm).

Late Night

Tom Ridge on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central, 10pm and midnight).

Michael Moore, A.J. Jacobs on The Colbert Report (Comedy Central, 10:30pm and 12:30am).

Stupid Pet Tricks, Simon Baker (of The Mentalist), Mary J. Blige on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm).

Martin Short, Tim Gunn, Wynonna on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (NBC, 10:35pm).

Jennifer Love Hewitt (of Ghost Whisperer), Ken Tucker, Arctic Monkeys on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS, 11:35pm).

Amy Poehler, Dan Fogler, Parkour athletes on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (NBC, 11:35pm).

Courteney Cox, Jessica Capshaw, and the first folks eliminated from Dancing with The Stars on Jimmy Kimmel (ABC, check your local listings).

Ryan Friendlinghaus, Katie Uhlaender, Amazing Baby on Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC, check your local listings).