1 COUPLING
Thursday, 9:30 p.m. NBC
THE STORY
Six Chicagoans play musical beds: Susan (Rena Sofer) used to date Patrick (Colin Ferguson), who once slept with Susan's best friend Sally (Sonya Walger). Susan now dates Steve (Jay Harrington)—who can't shake ex-girlfriend Jane (Lindsay Price)—but once made out with Steve's pal Jeff (Christopher Moynihan).
BEHIND THE SCENES
With such rampant pairing-off, "you never know who you're going to be kissing," says Moynihan. Or when they'll be laughing: "We fall into this 'giggle loop,' where you start laughing, no matter how inappropriate it might be," says Moynihan, "and you just can't stop."
F.Y.I.
Yes, there are six commingling characters, but "we are a different show" than Friends, says executive producer Ben Silverman. (Premieres Sept. 25)
2 MISS MATCH
Friday, 8 p.m. NBC
THE STORY
After discovering a skill for making love connections, divorce attorney Kate Fox (Alicia Silverstone) moonlights as a matchmaker.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Miss Match was inspired by the real-life matchmaking exploits of former divorce attorney Samantha Daniels, but Silverstone herself has never successfully paired off her pals. "And I haven't ever been set up," she says. (There's no need: She's dating S.T.U.N. rocker Chris Jarecki.) But "Ryan O'Neal, who plays Silverstone's dad, is all too familiar with the perils of romance. Says the twice-divorced actor: "I can point homes out to you in the Hills that were once mine. I'm not kidding."
F.Y.I.
The series has turned into a pet project for Silverstone and costar Lake Bell, who bring their dogs to work. "They all get along very well," says creator Darren Star. "The dogs and the people." (Premieres Sept. 26)
3 COLD CASE
Sunday, 8 p.m. CBS
THE STORY
Philly homicide detective Lilly Rush (played by Kathryn Morris) tackles years-old, unsolved crimes.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Having a cast of unknowns is fine with executive producer Meredith Stiem: "I lean toward the unfamiliar so you don't say, 'That's the guy from such-and-such show.' " But with Morris's film career on the rise (Minority Report and the upcoming Ben Affleck thriller Paycheck), the actress channeled her Cold character's savvy interrogation skills to drive a hard bargain in contract negotiations. "If I signed on, I wanted to be part of the process," says Morris, who was allowed to help develop her role.
F.Y.I.
Morris, 34, prepped by riding with Philly homicide detectives. (Premieres Sept. 28)
4 THE LYON'S DEN
Sunday, 10 p.m. NBC
THE STORY Just when Rob Lowe thought he was out of D.C., they pull him back in: He plays Jack Turner, an idealistic attorney who joins a high-profile law firm in order to save his pro bono clinic.
BEHIND THE SCENES
"I felt like I had a lot of unfinished business on The West Wing," says Lowe, who departed the NBC drama in February. "As an actor, I just want to be involved in stories with some teeth." Now he gets to call the shots as a Lyon's Den executive producer. Lowe gives up some of that power at home, as he and wife Sheryl Berkoff ponder having a third child. "It's definitely open for discussion," he says. "We keep changing our minds."
F.Y.I.
There will be guest stars aplenty, including Jewel (as Jack's former fiancée) and Steven Weber (a former litigator turned serial killer). (Premieres Sept. 28)
5 TWO AND A HALF MEN
Monday, 9:30 p.m. CBS
THE STORY
Playing off his wild past, Charlie Sheen is a carefree Malibu bachelor who takes in his divorcing neurotic brother (Jon Cryer) and his nephew (Angus T. Jones).
BEHIND THE SCENES
Blythe Danner was cast as Sheen's domineering mother but dropped after the pilot and replaced with Holland Taylor. Danner "is a good actress but it was the wrong part," says executive producer Chuck Lorre.
F.Y.I.
Sheen, who married Denise Richards last year, says he first wanted to do a drama, "then I saw what my dad [The West Wing's Martin Sheen] was going through. I just didn't think it was fair to a fresh marriage to get up at 5 and come home at 8 or 9 every night." (Premieres Sept. 22)
6 JOAN OF ARCADIA
Friday, 8 p.m. CBS
THE STORY
What if God was one of us? After moving to a suburban town, teenager Joan (Amber Tamblyn) begins talking to God, who appears as everyone from classmates to electricians.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Tamblyn, 20, doesn't want producers to tell her why God is speaking to Joan. "I like being in the moment and not knowing her life as a whole," she says. Joan's dad (Joe Mantegna) is a cop, but show creator Barbara Hall promises, "God's not here to solve crimes through Joan."
F.Y.I.
She might be the star of her own show, but General Hospital alum Tamblyn doesn't care about star perks like the size of her trailer: "If I can sit on the side of the curb and play my guitar, I'll be happy." (Premieres Sept. 26)
7 KAREN SISCO
Wednesday, 10 p.m. ABC
THE STORY
Stepping into Jennifer Lopez's role from 1998's Out of Sight, Carla Gugino plays a Miami U.S. marshal who takes risks on the job and in her love life.
BEHIND THE SCENES Gugino is balancing 16-hr. workdays with swimming and yoga sessions (to keep in shape for Sisco's action sequences), but "I have never heard a complaint," says costar Robert Forster, who plays her private investigator dad. The physical scenes are tougher for the 62-year-old Forster: "Sometimes I say, 'Are my knees going to hold up?' "
F.Y.I.
Look for an October guest appearance from executive producer Danny DeVito and wife Rhea Perlman, together on ABC for the first time since Taxi. (Premieres Oct. 1)
8 TARZAN
Sunday, 9 p.m. THE WB
THE STORY
Raised by apes after his parents died 20 years ago in an African plane crash, Tarzan (Travis Fimmel) is brought back to New York City by his rich uncle. NYPD detective Jane Porter hunts him when he escapes into the concrete jungle.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Fimmel, 24, may have shot to fame with his shirtless Calvin Klein billboards, but the former model was thrilled to discover that his urban-dwelling Tarzan won't be sporting the usual loincloth: "You can't get into clubs in a loincloth. Where do you carry your money?"
F.Y.I.
As he prepares to become the newest WB heartthrob, Fimmel is plotting how to hide from fans: "Well, I am Tarzan. I can sneak into the bushes, you know." (Premieres Oct. 5)
9 SKIN
Monday, 9 p.m. FOX
THE STORY
In this modem-day version of Romeo and Juliet, Jewel (Olivia Wilde), the daughter of an L.A. adult entertainment mogul (Ron Silver), falls for Adam (D.J. Cotrona), whose dad just happens to be the district attorney investigating Jewel's father and his company.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Wonder what it's like to be on a TV show? So do wide-eyed Skin stars Wilde and Cotrona. "We're both new to the industry," says Wilde, 19. "The first time we met, we were like, 'Can you believe this?' "
F.Y.I.
Don't expect to see much skin in Skin. "People know that it's about the porn industry, so they think we're going to be naked all the time," says Wilde. "But it's not like that." (Premieres Oct. 20)
10 ALL OF US
Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. UPN
THE STORY
A divorced TV reporter (Duane Martin) cozies up to his girlfriend (Elise Neal) while he and his ex-wife raise their son.
BEHIND THE SCENES
All of Us is loosely based on the lives of executive producers Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. "Generally, the germ of the show will be an experience that we had," explains Smith, who married Jada in 1997 after having son Trey, now 10, with his first wife.
F.Y.I.
Will and Jada will both appear on the show later this year, but don't look for the former Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to return to sitcoms full time. Says Smith: "They pay me too much money to make movies."
Jason Lynch
Cynthia Wang, Lorenzo Benet, Pamela Warrick, Ulrica Wihlborg and Sean Daly in Los Angeles
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