The
new fall season is almost here. Starting next week, the cable and
broadcast networks will be begin rolling out new episodes of all the
shows that survived the writers-strike-afflicted 2007-2008 season,
giving us the chance to get acquainted with some old friends -- and
reacquaint ourselves with more than a few characters who we met only
fleetingly last fall. Here, then, are the top ten returning shows that
were most looking forward to seeing.
People, if you don't know that Gossip
Girl is the show of the moment, well, maybe you don't live in New
York. 'Cause that's what we're told over and over here. It's a little
annoying, actually. It might also be right.
Normally, we'd be wary of such NY-centric notions, but we'll entertain this one for two
reasons. The first is that after a flashy first season, and with tons of other teen shows breathing down its neck this year, Gossip Girl's garnered enough buzz,
and its stars have attracted enough attention in the real world, to
where (as the most recent batch of promos seem to promise) it has a
serious shot at carving out a niche as the ultimate mashup of
Heathers, Cruel Intentions, and 90210, which would tickle
us pink. If we had one complaint about its camera-friendly cast, it's that only Leighton Meester and Ed Westwick really seem to take the dark side of their characters priveleged existence seriously week after week. (Chace Crawford, we just saw you in a crummy-but-awesome drug dealer movie on Cinemax, and you know what? You've got a little more gravity than we'd realized. Bring it to the show, brah!)
For another, it's kind of the CW's flagship show now,
meaning that if Gossip Girl manages to get its groove on this season,
and if 90210 (which looks more like Gossip Girl West than anything else)
catches on, it might very well be credited with saving the
struggling mini-network's neck. Now that's drama!
Gossip Girl (Mondays at 8PM) premieres THIS MONDAY, September 1 at 8PM on The CW
TOP TEN RETURNING SHOWS FALL 2008
#1. "30 Rock" & "Terminator"
#2. "Dexter"
#3. "Gossip Girl"
#4. "Pushing Daisies"
#5. "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"
#6. "Heroes"
#7. "Dirty Sexy Money"
#8. "House"
#9. "Entourage" / "Californication"
#10. "The Shield"
