We're in the middle of pilot season right now, and of the approximately 9000 different shows all fighting to be part of this fall's network schedule (as long as they aren't put up against American Idol), a handful have shown promise, some even more than was expected. Here's the buzz:

Dirty Sexy Money is at the top of the list. The ABC drama stars Peter Krause, Donald Sutherland, and William Baldwin and is about a lawyer who defends rich New Yorkers. It also has a title that catches your attention. Marlowe, the new modern take on the Raymond Chandler hero on ABC, is getting better than expected reviews. Other shows that look like winners: FOX's Action News, with Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton, ABC's Football Wives, and an untitled CBS drama starring Jimmy Smits.

Viva Laughlin, a musical produced by Hugh Jackman and based on the British series Blackpool, is also getting good early buzz, but I don't know. A weekly musical drama? Hmmm...

I used to work in a television newsroom, which is why I was interested in getting a sneak peek at the script for Action News. Fox has picked up the pilot for the fall season and has attached stars Fred Willard, Patricia Heaton, and Kelsey Grammer (and possibly Nate Corddry, but I'll get to that in a minute). The premise for the multi-camera sitcom is that egotistical anchorman Chuck Tatham (Grammer) has returned to his old stomping grounds of Buffalo, NY to reunite on-air with his former co-anchor, Patty Carr (Heaton).

Action News just got a whole lot more enticing. The initial news that Fox was picking up the newsroom sitcom, starring Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton, made me throw up in my mouth just a little bit. Now funnyman Fred Willard has been added to the cast. He'll join the comedy vets on the desk as the sports anchor.

I was a little surprised that he's doing sports, rather than weather. Doesn't Fred Willard strike you as a goofy weather guy? He may be the one who holds the show afloat a la Alec Baldwin (wow, I really have no faith in Grammer or Heaton). Willard appeared on later episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond with Heaton when he played Robert's super religious father-in-law.

Action News is about a former anchor team that reunites on the anchor desk of a local newscast. It should appear on Fox this fall.

[Via TV Tattle]

Ooooh. I'm so on the fence about this one. Fox has given a 13-episode order to a comedy called Action News, starring Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton. It's about an old anchoring duo who reunite on local news in some unknown city. It's being shot as a multi-camera show, which most likely means an audience and/or a laugh track (arrrgh!). Fox, ABC, and CBS all bid on it. It's planned for next fall.

On one hand, I tend to enjoy shows that are set in newsrooms because of the never-ending supply of comedic situations. On the other hand, dear Patricia Heaton drives me batty! I wish I could say it was just her character on Raymond that I didn't like, but I also have to mute the television when her grocery store ads come on. Me aside, this will probably grab some decent ratings... at least initially. Heaton and Grammer are big names in the sitcom world and there are probably a lot of Americans who will be happy to see both of them back.

The Hollywood Reporter is saying that Patricia Heaton and Kelsey Grammer are in talks to co-star in a sitcom together. The comedy is called Action News, in which Heaton and Grammer would star as a reunited anchor team at a local television station. It's being written and produced by Steven Levitan of Just Shoot Me, Greg the Bunny and Stacked, and Christopher Lloyd of Wings and Out of Practice.

I'm always a fan of a comedy that's based in a newsroom because I think there is a bottomless supply of humor. But, Patricia Heaton drives me nuts. I didn't like her on Raymond-- by the end of that series, she was a whining, yelling shell of a housewife. And those grocery stores ads are infuriating! I'm lukewarm on Kelsey Grammer.

What do you think of the possible pairing?