Premise
From the writer of Freaks and Geeks comes this series (based on a novel by Melvin Burgess) about the lives and tribulations of a group of teenage boys and their families and friends. Besides the normal teenage problems, they also have to deal with philandering parents and interfering teachers.

Familiar Faces
Kelly Osbourne (The Osbournes)

Our Take
CSI and The Apprentice will clearly continue to dominate this timeslot. Tru Callings’ already established viewership will also be a (somewhat smaller) challenge for this program. The key question is how patient ABC will be and what their expectations truly are.

Expect to Hear

"When I say girlfriend, I don’t mean hooking-up-in-the-back-of-the-car girlfriend. I mean holding-hands-and-walking-own-the-hall-in-front-of-everyone girlfriend."

Premise
Emmy nominee Matt LeBlanc returns to Thursday nights as Joey Tribbiani in this Friends spin-off. Joey leaves New York and his friends behind to pursue his dreams of acting in Hollywood.

Familiar Faces
Matt LeBlanc (Friends),
Drea de Matteo (The Sopranos)

Our Take
Expectations were low when the Joey pilot was screened at NBC’s Upfront in May. Surprisingly, the show was better than expected. The timeslot is good and we are dealing with a known entity. Unfortunately for Joey, the pressure will be especially high considering the Friends aspect.

Expect to Hear

Joey: “I still think of you as a little kid. Too much for these wings I picked up for you on the airplane.”

Michael: “Oh, no. I’ll still take them.”

Joey: “I was just going to show them to you.”

Premise
Jeff Foxworthy and an ensemble cast offer their straightforward, hometown sense of humor to the WB, making fun of everything from cheap beer, relationships and the everyday middle-American lifestyle.

Familiar Faces
Comedians Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall
and Larry the Cable Guy

Our Take
Blue Collar TV is an extremely odd fit for the WB. The humor may be too low brow (and too “blue”) for many of their viewers. On the positive side, the show is probably relatively inexpensive to produce and may be seen in a similar vein (performance-wise) as Steve Harvey.

Expect to Hear

"The hard thing about investigating a redneck murder is the DNA is all the same and there’s no dental records."

- Jeff Foxworthy