TVSquad

With all this news from ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and The CW about their new fall schedules, we can't forget what's happening on cable. TNT and TBS have announced some new shows of their own. Some might say that these shows are even more promising than what the other networks have to offer this fall. In fact, one of them has me more excited than Richard Simmons in a tank top factory.

Besides returning shows like The Closer (June 8), Raising The Bar (June 8), Saving Grace (June 16), and Leverage (July 15), TNT also has the following new shows.

Hawthorne (which actually has to be spelled HawthoRNe, but that's going to be a pain) stars Jada Pinkett Smith as a nurse. Yes, one of 40 new medical dramas we have this year. Dark Blue is a new police drama from Jerry Bruckheimer that stars Dylan McDermott. Men of a Certain Age is Ray Romano's new show. It's about a guy going through middle-age (just like his former TV wife Patricia Heaton is doing on ABC's The Middle). It costars Scott Bakula, who seems to be everywhere these days.

Class Action is another legal drama from Steven Bochco, while Zapata, Texas is about a sheriff in a small town on the Texas/Mexico border. It's produced by Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick. Roseanne/Home Improvement creator Matt Williams has a new comedy (still untitled), and Steven Spielberg has a new alien invasion drama (also untitled) which I assume is a science fiction show. I think it would be great if they actually called it Untitled Alien Invasion Drama, but that would make it sound like a comedy. Proof is about a scientist who helps the government solve crimes, while Pastor Jazz stars Charles S. Dutton as a priest who helps people. MacAlister is about a novelist who becomes a teacher at a private boys school and helps them solve crimes. Just kidding! He teaches them stuff.

The untitled show that I'm most looking forward to (actually, the new show I'm looking forward to the most in general) is a new private eye drama set in 1954 Los Angeles. I've been saying for years that TV needs a new private eye show again (we almost had one a couple of seasons ago with Marlowe), and this could be it. I'd love to see it filmed in black and white, but who knows if audiences will want that these days (stupid audiences). Maybe Mad Men will usher in a whole new wave of shows set in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. I'd like that.

And yes, TNT has reality shows too. Mark Burnett has one called Wedding Day, which is about...oh, do I even have to tell you?

TBS has several new shows coming up too, including an animated show titled Neighbors From Hell, about a family called the Hellmans who are from Hell. Either that or they like mayo. The Game of Life is a new sitcom produced by Kevin James and set in Pittsburgh, while Big Tow is an animated show about a towing company. Wee Hours is a sketch comedy show from Second City that explores the lives of people awake between the hours of midnight and 6AM. It might be fun if the show actually ran at that time too.

And let's not forget about George Lopez's talk show, which will debut in November.