TV

TV Database

EW Presents...

Exclusive star interviews

EW Games

TV Preview

Fall TV Preview

Returning Shows

More

JAG CBS, 8-9 PM

They're hot, they're single, and they're in the military, so will Harm (David James Elliott) and Mac (Catherine Bell) see some action? ''I know a lot of people want to see them get together,'' says exec producer Don Bellisario. ''They're not officially dating, but they kind of are because they work together so much.'' C'mon, that doesn't count. Harm will get a chance to show off his sensitive side now that pal Bud (Patrick Labyorteaux) has lost a leg to a mine in Afghanistan. ''You're going to see a new, vulnerable Harm,'' says Bellisario. ''He even cries.'' That'll definitely close the deal with Mac; chicks dig guys who cry. (Sept. 24)

THAT '70S SHOW FOX, 8-8:30 PM

The Wisconsin teens open the season in Southern California, where Eric (Topher Grace) tracks down runaway girlfriend Donna (Laura Prepon), and Kelso (Ashton Kutcher) hooks up with guest Jessica Simpson as ''the last virgin on a California beach in 1978,'' says exec producer Jeff Filgo. During the pop starlet's three-episode arc, she was ''a total trouper,'' says fellow exec producer Jackie Filgo (Jeff's wife). ''We had her down on the beach, in the water, and she was great.'' In other news, the gang will finally graduate from high school. Says Jeff, ''We figure two years as juniors and two years as seniors is enough for anybody.'' (Sept. 17)

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER UPN, 8-9 PM

We're going to get Buffy back to a lighter, less angsty place,'' says exec producer Marti Noxon. To that end, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) quickly rebounds from her twisted romance with Spike (James Marsters) by getting a job, and Willow (Alyson Hannigan) learns how to use her powers for good instead of evil. Anthony Stewart Head returns for 10 episodes as stuffy Giles, and Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) begins her freshman year at the newly reopened Sunnydale High. Not that everything's sunny; the school is still conveniently located on the Hellmouth, ensuring ''there's going to be some demony action,'' says Noxon. Gellar's contract expires after this season, but Noxon says the show may go on: ''There is the possibility of new Slayers.'' Dawn the Vampire Slayer, anyone? (Sept. 24)

GILMORE GIRLS THE WB, 8-9 PM

When last we left Rory (Alexis Bledel), she had just cheated on boyfriend Dean (Jared Padalecki) by kissing bad boy Jess (Milo Ventimiglia). ''She's a big slut, isn't she?'' giggles creator Amy Sherman-Palladino. ''We followed the wonderful path of first love, and now we'll follow the painful path of leaving your first love behind.'' Mom Lorelai (Lauren Graham) experiences early empty-nest syndrome when she realizes Rory's going to college soon, but she won't go far: ''It's not going to be Gilmore Girls in Separate States,'' Sherman-Palladino says. Will Gilmore put the final nail in Buffy's ratings coffin with a musical episode? ''No, we're doing a big clogging episode.'' (Sept. 24)

ACCORDING TO JIM ABC, 8:30-9 PM

Can you say ''crossover''? According to exec producer Suzanne Bukinik, ''Dana [Kimberly Williams] is going on The Bachelor,'' and brother-in-law Jim (Jim Belushi) ''gives her tips on how to win.'' In another stunt, the star's son Robert Belushi guests as a pizza guy who looks to Jim as a father figure. With any luck, the kid inherited his uncle John's comedic chops. (Oct. 1)

GROUNDED FOR LIFE FOX, 8:30-9 PM

It's bottoms up for Sean (Donal Logue) and layabout brother Eddie (Kevin Corrigan) when they buy an Irish pub. ''We were a little housebound the last couple of years,'' says cocreator Mike Schiff, who adds Cheers-fully, ''As far as I can remember, there's never been a bar on TV.'' There is a downside: ''I had one dream dashed yesterday when I realized that due to insurance purposes, there is no chance in hell actual cold beer will flow from the taps,'' adds cocreator Bill Martin. ''That defeats the entire purpose.'' (Sept. 17)

JUST SHOOT ME NBC, 8:30-9 PM

Honestly, it's a drag,'' says exec producer Jon Pollack about the sitcom's move from Thursday night. ''We think the show is enough of an institution that people will follow it.'' Maybe the addition of Ed hottie Rena Sofer will help; she'll play Vicki, a Brooklyn hairdresser whom Jack (George Segal) hires as a creative consultant at Blush. Some viewers' cheeks may turn red over the Halloween episode, in which Finch (David Spade) dresses as Robin Hood, but a sexy lesbian mistakes him for Maid Marian. ''He has the almost impossible task of trying to seduce a lesbian as a woman,'' says exec producer Judd Pillot. ''We'll be banned in the South.'' (Oct. 1)

24 FOX, 9-10 PM

Sticking with its real-time format, the drama picks up more than a year later: On an extended leave from CTU, Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) is called back into service by now-President David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) to tackle a crisis that may or may not involve the dreaded Drazen clan. In the aftermath of his wife's death, Jack's estranged from teen daughter Kim (Elisha Cuthbert), who's working as an au pair. Sarah Wynter (Lost Souls) signs on as a potential new love interest for Jack, but ''the relationship will develop on the run, so to speak,'' says cocreator Robert Cochran. ''It's not the kind of show where we're going to have strolls along the beach.'' Palmer's now divorced, but ex-wife Sherry (Penny Johnson Jerald) will eventually return, as will mole Nina (Sarah Clarke). But the burning question still remains: If this is real time, when does Jack relieve himself? ''I always say 'off screen,''' answers Cochran. ''I don't think anybody really wants to see Kiefer pee.'' (Oct. 29)

FRASIER NBC, 9-9:30 PM

With Niles [David Hyde Pierce] and Daphne [Jane Leeves] getting married, it's time to figure out who the hell's going to clean the apartment,'' says exec producer Dan O'Shannon. Okay, it's not exactly a cliff-hanger, but what do you expect? ''It's a show in its 10th season,'' O'Shannon says. ''I can see why people aren't quite as enthused about it as they used to be. It's the old 'How come the 10th bite of an apple isn't as good as the first bite?''' Maybe folks would get excited by a romance between Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) and Roz (Peri Gilpin), who slept together in last season's penultimate episode? ''On one hand, it feels a little incestuous,'' says O'Shannon. ''On the other hand, neither is getting any younger.'' Nor are we, so make up your mind already. ''Maybe just as Frasier isn't looking for love, love will turn around and start looking for him,'' says O'Shannon. ''Hunting him down with a vengeance, actually.'' How romantic. (Sept. 24)

SMALLVILLE THE WB, 9-10 PM

Look, up in the sky -- it's a bird, it's a plane, it's the twister that touched down in last season's finale! ''I know people were very concerned if Clark [Tom Welling] would rescue Lana [Kristin Kreuk],'' says exec producer Alfred Gough. ''I can safely say he does.'' Whew! Superboy faces a new challenge when he discovers red kryptonite, which can transform his personality. ''That's what people are clamoring for -- more kryptonite,'' deadpans Gough, aware that Smallville was ripped on the Net for having too much kryptonite. Flashbacks reveal more about Clark's parents (John Schneider and Annette O'Toole). ''We'll unlock family secrets,'' promises Gough. ''I don't mean to get all Alias on you.'' Like that's bad? (Sept. 24)

NYPD BLUE ABC, 10-11 PM

Everybody into the dating pool! Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) and McDowell (Charlotte Ross) heat up their unlikely romance, while across the squad room, Clark (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) and Ortiz (Jacqueline Obradors) keep frisking each other. At least until Clark ''gets jammed up when his name is found on a hooker's john list,'' says cocreator Steven Bochco. Oh yeah, there will be police stories, too, including a child-kidnapping plot. ''With the cases that have been all over the newspapers of late, that's a horrifyingly current situation,'' says Bochco, who isn't worried about seeming exploitative: ''It is, after all, a crime series.'' (Sept. 24)

JUDGING AMY CBS, 10-11 PM

Ripping stories from the same headlines, ''we have a lot of child-abduction cases,'' says exec producer Barbara Hall. Juvenile-court jurist Amy (Amy Brenneman) will also tackle such issues as shaken baby syndrome and the environmental impact of 9/11 on high school students. Oh yeah, there will be love stories, too. Amy warms up to ex-employee Bruce (Richard T. Jones), while mother Maxine (Tyne Daly) prepares to wed Jared (Richard Crenna). And, says Hall, ''there's going to be a murder on the show.'' What does she think this is