Fall TV Preview

PREMISE: Quirky small-town romantic comedy, evocative of 'Northern Exposure' by way of the fictional setting of Stuckeyville. Prodigal son Ed Stevens (Tom Cavanagh), who left town to become a big-city lawyer, returns to this off-beat burg after his career and marriage crumble. On a romantic impluse, he buys a bowling alley-which doubles as his new law office. In an even riskier flight of fancy, Ed woos his high-school crush (Julie Bowen), now a winsome English teacher who already has a boyfriend (Gregory Harrison).
THEY SAY: "We're just trying to write a show that's appealing to us," says exec producer Rob Burnett ('Late Show With David Letterman'), of this hybrid love story, comedy and drama with a touch of legal whimsy. "You can't think, 'What will the audience want?' You can't run shows like political campaigns- it never works. Ultimately, we will try to put forth this buffet of stories: dramatic, moving and silly."
WE SAY: Sweetly adorable, gently ironic, a fool for love yet nobody's fool, Ed is the most appealing TV hero to emerge in a long while, and Cavanagh ('Providence') is a find: part Jon Stewart, part Jimmy Stewart. 'Ed' is the season's best new series, comedy or drama, but NBC is doing it no favour by programming it on one of TV's most competitive nights. Think of it as a buried treasure.

Back to Stuckeyville