It can't be easy to be part of the follow-up to what many consider the best show on television ever.

Oscar-nominated actress Melissa Leo could avoid the comparisons, though, since she didn't start watching 'The Wire' until she joined David Simon's new HBO show, 'Treme' (premiering Sun., 10PM ET).

'Treme,' much like 'The Wire,' is the story of a city -- New Orleans, after Hurricane Katrina. But unlike 'The Wire,' Simon's new show doesn't focus on the failure of institutions; 'Treme' is the story of characters, many of them musicians, struggling to rebuild their lives. Leo plays attorney Toni Bernette, who is tracking down a missing man, while her professor husband Creighton (John Goodman) rails about the government to anyone who'll listen. The cast also includes 'Wire' veterans Wendall Pierce and Clarke Peters, as well as 'Deadwood' star Kim Dickens, 'CSI: Miami' alum Khandi Alexander and Steve Zahn.

Leo spoke to AOL TV by phone from New Orleans about the great expectations, her bursting movie schedule and the passing of producer David Mills.

It's an invasion of the wives!

On television, women are front and center, not just standing behind their men. There are the 'Desperate Housewives,' the 'Real Housewives' around the country, the 'Good Wife' ... Now comes 'Basketball Wives,' from creator/executive producer Shaunie O'Neal (ex-wife to Shaquille).

'Basketball Wives' (premiering Sun., April 11 at 10PM ET) follows the wives, girlfriends and significant others of NBA players. O'Neal spoke to AOL TV about why she created the show, what Shaq thinks about it and the Tiger Woods scandal.

Mixing business with pleasure is usually a bad idea.

But the combo may just work for siblings Brandy Norwood and Ray J in their new VH1 reality TV show 'A Family Business' (premiering Sun., April 11 at 9Pm ET). The singers will be working alongside their mother, Sonja, and father, Willie, while taking on a bigger role in their family's record company, Rn'B Productions.

The siblings spoke to AOL TV about the secret to working with family, what they fight about and whether Ray J's dating show, 'For the Love of Ray J,' will be returning for season 3.

USA, hot off its 15th-consecutive quarterly win, has become basic cable's number-one network -- and it's not about to rest on its laurels.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the network is getting ready to launch seven new shows, and for them, it's all about quality programming. "These new projects all combine strong characters and superior storytelling, offering viewers the kind of exceptionally written, aspirational originals they won't find anywhere else," said President of Original Programming Jeff Wachtel in a statement.

So what does it have in the hopper? First up is 'Robyn,' a modern-day Robin Hood with a bit of a twist: This time, it'll be a woman stealing from the rich to give to the poor in this update from Becky Hartman Edwards ('Parenthood').

"It's 'M*A*S*H' in paradise," exclaims a character in the new CBS drama 'Miami Medical.' And that's precisely the show's core premise, according to executive producer Jeffrey Lieber.

'Miami Medical' (premiering Fri., April 2 at 10PM ET) stars Jeremy Northam as mysterious, war-tested Dr. Matthew Procter, who joins a high-adrenaline trauma team that treats life-threatening injuries.

Lieber spoke to AOL TV about his inspiration for 'Miami Medical,' fitting into the hospital drama landscape and how he feels about the end of the show he co-created, 'Lost.'

When the season began, ABC touted two new programs as potential heirs to the 'Lost' empire. One was a bold re-imagining of the '80s classic alien-invasion saga 'V,' while the other explored a world in which everyone on the planet blacked out at the same time and saw their future.

'FlashForward' started things off with an impressive 12.47 million viewers for its September 2009 premiere, before quickly heading into a ratings tailspin. 'V' was already being retooled prior to its November 2009 premiere, leading ABC to launch with a four-episode mini-season. It kicked off even stronger than 'FlashForward,' with 14.3 million viewers -- the highest for any new series this season -- but managed to lose 5 million by the fourth episode.

Now, they're headed back to TV. 'FlashForward' returns Thu., March 18 at 8PM ET with a two-hour premiere. The following week, 'V' settles permanently into the Tuesday night post-'Lost' slot with its own recap special, 'V: The Arrival,' on March 23 at 10PM ET. The remaining episodes of both series will run in their respective time slots without interruption.

The marketing machine has already begun cranking out promos, and both series have been tweaked. New showrunners and cast members abound, but will it be enough to turn them around?

Last night there was a fresh, new episode of Brothers & Sisters on ABC. I was so elated that I nearly jumped from my chair to see a non-rerun. Well, this week were sorta/kinda back from vacation as a bunch of shows will be airing new shows. For that, I say, "Hooray!"

One I'm really looking forward to seeing is Wednesday's Modern Family with Benjamin Bratt guesting as Manny's father. The reason for my anticipation is this: I haven't liked any of the guest turns on Modern Family thus far this year. I thought Shelley Long was over-the-top as Jay's ex-wife, the mother of Claire and Mitchell; Fred Willard was basically a cameo as Phil's dad; and in one episode, Elizabeth Banks and Ed Norton embarassed themselves as bizarre characters.

OK, so it's not Arrested Development, but the new Channel 4 show The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret does have both David Cross and Will Arnett, and from this clip of the pilot it seems like something AD fans could get into. Arnett's character doesn't seem to far removed from his 30 Rock character. Amber Tamblyn plays Cross' girlfriend.

[via TV Tattle]

In the crowded and competitive world of television, creating a strong and recognizable brand is more important than ever. And according to reports, Fox is preparing to solidify their hold on the type of characters they are best known for: addicts, thieves, polygamists and liars.

Leading the slate of shows currently in development at Fox is 'Rehab', a comedy that follows the adventures of a man who fakes an addiction in order to pursue a relationship with an old flame who currently is in rehab.

The CW has announced details of their slate of new shows currently in development and according to The Hollywood Reporter, everything old is new again as the network has tapped the creators behind such proven hits as 'The L Word', 'Veronica Mars' and 'One Tree Hill' to helm a lineup featuring dancers, spies and teens in space.

For the music drama 'Nashville', 'One Tree Hill' producer Mark Schwahn is teaming with country music star Brad Paisley, who will write music for and appear as himself in the series, which follows the lives of up-and-coming country singers and songwriters.

Each year, as the new fall season approaches, I go through all the magazine and online sources talking about the various shows to try and figure out which ones I'm going to be excited about, and which I'm going to avoid like the plague.

Inevitably, I wind up sampling plenty of shows from which I should have steered clear. At the same time, a few shows will slip between the cracks, and then I'm bashing my head against the wall because I missed out on the beginning of something special. I hate coming into things late.

This year, I decided to share my top and bottom five selections. I'm sure the rest of the Squadders and you will have differing opinions than mine, but that's what makes America great, right? Chime in with your own lists in the comments.

Fuse has green-lit production for three new shows. Redemption Song, Tour Me a New One, and Rock Bottom -- all working titles -- will air this fall.

Matt Faber, executive VP of Programming and Development explains the decision to move forward with these shows: "The addition of these shows furthers our commitment to new programming that has music at its pulse. With each new series, we're building on the depth and variety of music programming that viewers can find on Fuse." So Fuse is trying to pick up where MTV left off by centering their programming around music, its production, and its artists. But do these three shows do that?

I remember a classic (okay, even for television, I admit I am stretching beyond all reason in my use of the term "classic") episode of Just Shoot Me in which characters played by Laura San Giacomo and David Spade came up with and pitched the following idea to a movie producer: Vampire Cop! The producer quickly dispensed with them, "I've seen it, what else ya' got?" to the consternation of Spade and San Giacomo's , who basically had nothing at all, let alone something else.

Fox is not making that mistake, because they have made scripting deals for two, count 'em, two vampire or vampire-ish tv shows, only one of which is a cop show.

I didn't set out to watch In Justice, and the last thing I need is another courtroom drama to love. But it was Sunday, all of my favorite shows were in re-runs or supplanted by tedious TV movies or double-length episodes of Extreme Makeover, my boys were all feverish, and I wanted to do nothing for a while. And so, I didn't change the channel from the very dull Desperate Housewives recap.

And look! There's Kyle MacLachlan, who last played Charlotte's impotent Scottish husband on Sex and the City. And hey! That's Constance Zimmer, who I finally identified as the only reason worth watching the insultingly awful Good Morning Miami. And the criminal who is so grateful to be taken in by the Justice Project - that's one of my faves, she played Sela Ward's sister on the fabulous and much-missed Once and Again. (And if you're still wondering where it is you've seen Marisol Nichols - she played Audrey Griswold on Vegas Vacation. *groan* She's still a hottie, though.)