TVSquad

ABC will kick off its upcoming fall season in earnest Sept. 21 with three nights of Dancing With the Stars. The hit show – that continues to gain viewers no matter how much I wish it would die and stay dead -- will lead off the network's prime time schedule on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays before being reduced to two nights a week to make room for a pair new comedies.

There's still no word on exactly when Lost will return, but the new mystery drama Flash Forward will bow Sept. 24 at 8 p.m., right before the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy.

The new seasons of Ugly Betty and Supernanny will debut in October with several new and renewed shows – like Scrubs, Brothers & Sisters, Eastwick and Private Practice – expected to show up on the network schedule later.

Click through for the sked:

It's coming. The table is set, the players are on the field, the sails are raised, and the pretty maids are all in a row. Of course, I speak of the 2008-09 television schedule. In just a few short weeks viewers will be able to dine on a number of favorite and new dishes that are being served by the networks as well as the increasing number of cable channels who are delving into original programming.

While other fall seasons have come and gone with nary a whimper, this season may be different. Due to the prolonged Writers Strike many shows ended their seasons quite early. Programs like Life, Private Practice, Pushing Daisies, and Heroes haven't aired original episodes since the end of 2007. Heck, there hasn't been a new episode of The Shield since June of last year! So, the beginning of the 2008-09 season will be a second chance for some of these shows, particularly the ones that premiered last season, to show their worth to fans and the networks.

When you're a ratings-challenged fledgling network like the CW, you're going to do anything you can to get a leg up on the competition. Releasing sex-filled advertisements for your most high-profile show is a good start, but that alone won't get the job done. To that end, the CW has just announced that it's moving its fall premiere dates up to September 1st, well ahead of the beginning of the traditional broadcast season.

The idea behind the move is that you're already going to be hooked on Gossip Girl and Top Model by the time the other networks get around to premiering their fall shows, sometime around mid-to-late September. The season isn't the only thing the CW is starting early, however. Starting in November, they're also extending prime time, with original programming beginning at 6:30 on Sunday nights.

Check out CW's full premiere schedule after the jump.

Believe it or not, I don't watch much TV. With two daughters, five- and three-years-old respectively, and a set of five-month-old fraternal twins (boy and girl), there really isn't much time in the schedule to sit down and watch a show on a regular basis. Heck, by the time I turn on the television some evenings it's to watch Futurama and Family Guy on Adult Swim. So, the shows I do choose are ones that I know I'll watch on the regular basis because I'm reviewing them for TV Squad, or because I've already committed years of time on them already. With that in mind, here is the breakdown of what I'll be watching this fall.

Sunday: With Sunday Night Football dominating the NBC schedule for the first half of the television season, and the fact I do not watch football (yes, I'm un-American. So deport me!), I won't be watching much this day. I will probably get back into The Simpsons and Family Guy (and King of the Hill when it returns) this year since The West Wing is no longer with us.

Ok, I like TV... a lot. You might even say I'm a little obsessed. When I started making up the list for this post I was reminded of the time I took a gig in Alabama. It was only two months work, but those two months were April and May. I didn't know what kind of cable access I would have while there, and you don't want to go missing shows in April and May! So I set up a crazy four VCR system so I wouldn't miss anything. There were charts, graphs, and explicit instructions. Sunday the cable box needs to be left on this channel. Tuesday you need to change tapes in VCR1 and VCR2. Wednesday change the cable box to this channel. Etc. I left the whole mess in the hands of my roomate Jen and made for the Yellowhammer state. When I returned, it was to a huge stack of television goodness. Now, here is my viewing schedule for this season.

Sunday - I'll kick of my week with The Amazing Race at 8:00. I've forgiven them for the disaster that was the family season. At 9:00, flip to FOX and catch Family Guy and The War At Home. Medium takes over at 10:00. I'll be covering that one for the site this season, so it will get recorded on the computer while I watch live. VCR1 will grab Brothers & Sisters while VCR2 tapes Venture Bros. at 10:30.

I know it's only July but yesterday's Daily Programming Insider at MediaWeek.com had a few interesting tidbits about the upcoming fall season.

A pilot last year, Love, Inc., starring Shannon Doherty is no longer starring Shannon Doherty when it premieres on UPN this fall. I'll pause for your total lack of surprise.

Seems Shannon felt it wasn't a good fit and took an exit, so the producers are seeking a replacement. Not that it will matter much, the show will be against The Night Stalker, CSI , and The Apprentice.

Also on UPN, Chris Rock will have his own sitcom called Everyone Hates Chris. It's described as "The experiences of comedian Chris Rock, who also narrates, growing up in Brooklyn in the early 1980s is the focus of this single camera sitcom." Success is doubtful as it is against Alias, Survivor: Guatemala, Joey, The O.C., and Smallville.

Yeah, that sounds like a winner to me too, but I did like this quote from Rock:

"I don't think I have ever done anything and walked out -- there is no evidence of that. My name is Rock, not Chappelle."