8:30-9 PM · THE CW · Debuts Oct. 1

CONCEPT An oft-wedgied Wisconsin teen (Dan Byrd) imports a friend: a Pakistani exchange student (Adhir Kalyan).

THE SCOOP It's a little bit of a family show (Caroline in the City's Amy Pietz plays the overinvolved mom; Scott Patterson, late of Gilmore Girls, plays the alpaca-raising dad) and somewhat of a coming-of-age show and, you know, a comedy about a Muslim Pakistani kid plopped in the Midwest. For those who fear that Aliens will be either broadly stereotypical or after-school fuzzy, Kalyan offers this reassurance: ''We know sometimes feathers will be ruffled, but hopefully we'll make something that's unique — rather than going for the safe stuff that people will forget 10 seconds after they've turned it off.''

BOTTOM LINE Funny, odd, surprisingly sweet, and, yeah, unique — plus Aliens' underdog vibe will make it a perfect Monday match with The CW's Everybody Hates Chris.