Tune In, Turn On

Gossip Girl
The CW, 9:00 ET, premieres Sept. 19
In "The O.C.," show creator Josh Schwartz took viewers behind the gates of Orange County's most exclusive communities to reveal what we've come to expect to find when we delve into the lives of the rich and powerful: sadness, despair, betrayals, manicured lawns and gardens that smell of rot. In Schwartz's new Manhattan-set teen drama, "Gossip Girl," the landscaping has changed, but the landscape is the same—there's a Brahmin-level social status with room for a precious few. The elite insiders all want out; the outsiders all want in.

Developed from the best-selling young-adult book series, the show follows the every move of Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively), the gravitational center of all teenage life on the Upper East Side. Her classmates are so absorbed in her life that they text and e-mail her every move to the anonymous teen-society blogger Gossip Girl (voiced by Kristen Bell, late of "Veronica Mars"). When Serena breezes back into town after an abrupt exit, everyone's Facebook pages are all atwitter. Why did Serena leave? And why did she come back? Does it have something to do with her best frenemy Blair (Leighton Meester), whose boyfriend Nate (Chace Crawford) may harbor feelings for Serena? The story is mostly told from Serena's vantage point, but viewers will sooner relate to the Humphreys, Dan (Penn Badgley) and Jenny (Taylor Momsen), a social-climbing brother and sister who would each other over a spit to vault into the social inner circle.

As usual, New York is meant to look prettier than it really is and instead looks uglier, a myopic view of bony-faced white teens whose entire existence extends the length of four city blocks. "Gossip Girls"'s characters are also unusually adult in their behavior. It's the opposite of a show like "Beverly Hills 90210," wherein the kids looked to be in their early 30s but acted like teenagers. These teen actors look the part but drink, smoke and sleep around so much the show could have easily been adapted from a Bret Easton Ellis novel. That said, for what it is, "Gossip Girl" is sort of lovable in its trashy, insular way. And as sad as it is to think of fictional teenagers drinking, drugging and clawing each other's eyes out, it's sadder to think of actual teenagers crowded around a television watching it. Shouldn't they be out lording over cliques of their own?

Back to You
Fox, 8:00 ET, premieres Sept. 19
It's no wonder the new Fox sitcom "Back to You" was generating early buzz as a possible savior for the challenged multicamera sitcom format. Have a look at that pedigree: the show stars Emmy winners Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton, two of the most acclaimed sitcom actors of the past decade. It was created by Steven Levitan, creator of "Just Shoot Me," and Christopher Lloyd, a former writer for "Frasier," "Wings" and "The Golden Girls." The legendary sitcom director James Burrows helmed the first episode. This all bodes very, very well.

Does the show live up to the combined talents of its cast and crew? Not quite, but "Back to You" is often funny and endearing, and while the pilot is a little bumpy, it's an auspicious beginning nonetheless. Grammer plays Chuck Darling, a prima donna of a Pittsburgh news anchor who returns to the city after ascending to larger markets. (A YouTubed freakout causes his fall, continuing the annoying trend of using the site to provide verisimilitude.) In taking back his anchor chair, he rejoins his former partner Kelly Carr (Heaton), reigniting both their discordant working relationship and Sam-and-Diane-style playground romance. She's the humble, consummate professional, he's the jerk—in Kelly's words, "a preening gasbag"—who throws his weight around as if he hasn't come limping back to his old job, tail tucked between his legs.

Their comic rapport isn't even the best on the show—that honor goes to Ayda Field's cartoonish, vampy weather girl Montana and Ty Burrell's field reporter Gary, whose vicious sniping cuts deeper and hits harder than that of their marquee betters. The indispensable Fred Willard will hopefully get more scenes in which to recreate his priceless "Best in Show" performance as the network's indiscreet sports anchor.