BEVERLY HILLS 90210 FOX, 8-9 PM
During November sweeps, Brandon (Jason Priestley) and Valerie (Tiffani-Amber Thiessen) head for the hills--but Dylan (Luke Perry) comes back! After Brandon and Kelly (Jennie Garth) break up, he takes a job in Washington, D.C. "As Kelly and Brandon part, Jason's pulling apart from the cast, so a lot of the dialogue makes me sad," sniffles Garth, who's also disappointed by his low-key exit: "He should've blown up or something." Laura Leighton and Vanessa Marcil hope to fill the vixen void left by Thiessen; the Melrose Place alum plays a Courtney Love-like fame seeker, while the General Hospital vet is a Tonya Harding-ish skater. Apt, since the only way 90210 will beat Dawson's Creek is if somebody takes a tire iron to Katie Holmes' knees.(Sept. 16)
TWO GUYS, A GIRL AND A PIZZA PLACE ABC, 8:30-9 PM
We're making it less of a frat romp and tapping into more relatable issues," says exec producer Danny Jacobson. To that end, Pete (Richard Ruccolo) finishes grad school, Sharon (Traylor Howard) ascends the corporate ladder, and med student Berg (Ryan Reynolds) embarks on--gasp!--a relationship. "Being 24 is hard--I'm 21, and I know that," says Reynolds. "Half the guys I went to school with are living at home and playing videogames." At least they're not watching Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place. (Sept. 23)
THE DREW CAREY SHOW ABC, 9-9:30 PM
Jerry Seinfeld and Garry Shandling routinely cast young babes as their TV girlfriends, but not Drew Carey. This season he'll date a much older woman (a senior citizen), and "Drew will have sex with Mimi [Kathy Kinney]," says exec producer Bruce Helford. "We can't tell you how." Ewwwww! Drew auditions Slash, Lisa Loeb, Joe Walsh, Roy Clark, and Megadeth's Dave Mustaine for his band, and there'll be new jobs for Kate (Christa Miller), as a Jagermeister girl, and Oswald (Diedrich Bader), who'll test breast implants--by getting them. Double ewwwww! (Sept. 23)
3RD ROCK FROM THE SUN NBC, 9-9:30 PM
In last season's finale, Phil Hartman's Randy kidnapped Harry (French Stewart), but rather than recast the role, Hartman's absence is explained. As the season opens, says cocreator Terry Turner, "Randy has lowballed Harry and sold him for a few thousand dollars to a carnival." Meanwhile, Mary (Jane Curtin) gets promoted, making her the boss of John Lithgow's Dick. (Guest star John Cleese may return to joust with Dick for Mary's affection.) Speaking of affection, Sally (Kristen Johnston) finally loses her virginity to Don (Wayne Knight). Newman never had it so good. (Sept. 23)
PARTY OF FIVE FOX, 9-10 PM
Significant Others may have flopped, but creators Chris Keyser and Amy Lippman are giving Scott Bairstow a second chance by casting him as the Stanford undergrad who comes between Julia (Neve Campbell) and her roommate. In other educational developments, Claudia (Lacey Chabert) heads to boarding school, and Bailey (Scott Wolf) drops out to live the life of a San Francisco restaurateur with on-again girlfriend Sarah (Jennifer Love Hewitt). During November sweeps, Charlie (Matthew Fox) and ex-stripper Daphne (Jennifer Aspen) welcome their baby (and PO5 gives birth to its 100th episode). But that's not the only new addition: Little bro Owen will be played by Jacob Smith instead of twins Andrew and Steven Cavarno. "We're out of the infant stage," says exec producer John Romano. "We've found an exciting young actor." Maybe the Cavarno boys can share a role on the Olsen twins' new show. (Sept. 16)
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