raising the bar

'Grey's Anatomy,' 'The Office' and 'American Idol' may be over, but the 2009 TV season is just heating up.

We're giving you the lowdown on all of this summer's hottest returning shows -- 'Mad Men,' 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' and 'The Closer,' just to name a few -- to keep TV fans cooking over the next three months.

Check out all the big returning shows in our 2009 Summer TV gallery.

With all this news from ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and The CW about their new fall schedules, we can't forget what's happening on cable. TNT and TBS have announced some new shows of their own. Some might say that these shows are even more promising than what the other networks have to offer this fall. In fact, one of them has me more excited than Richard Simmons in a tank top factory.

Besides returning shows like The Closer (June 8), Raising The Bar (June 8), Saving Grace (June 16), and Leverage (July 15), TNT also has the following new shows.

When the networks go into summer hibernation, it's time for the cable networks to come out and play. While they've been making inroads with fall and spring original programming, most cable networks stick to the summer frame where competition is light and they put up huge numbers that NBC would envy. TNT added a few shows to achieve a three-night schedule of original programming this summer, bringing it closer and closer to full network programming levels. And TNT knows a thing or two about massive ratings hits.

They're coupling smash hit The Closer at 9 PM ET with Raising the Bar at 10 on Mondays starting June 8. Bar launched huge and secured a renewal before everyone realized what a huge steaming pile of crap it was. So now it's got the cushiest timeslot on the network to try and win back all the viewers it pissed away. Let's hope they've improved the product and Felicityed Mark Paul-Gosselaar's hair.

• Bravo has election-themed episodes of The West Wing all day until 10pm.
• At 8, ABC has a new Dancing with the Stars, then new episodes of Samantha Who? and Boston Legal.
• NBC has a new Chuck at 8, followed by new episodes of Heroes and My Own Worst Enemy.
• FOX has Game 5 of The World Series at 8.
• The CW has new episodes of Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill.
• Food Network has a new Good Eats at 8, followed by new episodes of How'd That Get On My Plate? and Unwrapped.
• TCM has An American In Paris at 8.
• At 9, USA has a new Monday Night RAW.
• Disney has a new episode of The Replacements at 9.
• Also at 9: Spike has two new episodes of Unsolved Mysteries.
• At 10, TNT has a new Raising the Bar.
• Food Network has the season premiere of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

• At 8, ABC has a new Dancing with the Stars, then new episodes of Samantha Who? and Boston Legal.
  
• CBS has a new Big Bang Theory, followed by new episodes of How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, Worst Week, and CSI: Miami.
• NBC has a new Chuck at 8, then new episodes of Heroes and My Own Worst Enemy.
• FOX has new episodes of The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Prison Break.
• The CW has a new Gossip Girl at 8, followed by a new One Tree Hill.
• TLC has two new episodes of Little People, Big World at 8.
• At 8:30, ESPN (and some ABC stations in New England) has the Patriots/Broncos game.
• Lifetime has the series premiere of Rita Rocks at 8:30.
• Food Network has a new How'd That Get On My Plate? at 8:30, then a new Unwrapped.
  
• At 9, USA has a new Monday Night RAW.
• At 10, TNT has a new Raising the Bar.
• Travel Channel has a new Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

• At 8, ABC has a new Dancing with the Stars, followed by new episodes of Samantha Who? and Boston Legal.
• CBS has a new Big Bang Theory at 8, then new episodes of How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, Worst Week, and CSI: Miami.
• NBC has new episodes of Chuck and Heroes, followed by the series premiere of My Own Worst Enemy.
• FOX has more Baseball Playoffs at 8, the Dodgers vs. the Phillies.
• The CW has a new Gossip Girl at 8, then a new One Tree Hill.
• History Channel has a new Modern Marvels at 8.
• At 8:30, ESPN has Monday Night Football, the Giants vs. the Browns.
• At 9, USA has a new Monday Night RAW.
• IFC has I, The Jury at 9.
• Food Network has a new Unwrapped at 9.
• At 10, TNT has a new Raising The Bar.
• Food Network has a new Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

After the success of The Closer, you can't blame TNT for going with a proven formula.

The cable network is close to greenlighting two police drama pilots, a project from Jerry Bruckheimer about young undercover officers and Bunker Hill starring Donnie Wahlberg (which actually already received an a pilot order).

TNT's certainly been a busy little bee, stacking up new series left and right. Besides these two pilots, they've got Time Heals, starring Jada Pinkett Smith as a hospital nursing director; Night and Day, with William Fichtner playing an agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; and Men of a Certain Age, a dramedy featuring Ray Romano, Scott Bakula and Andre Braugher.

• At 8, ABC has a new Dancing with the Stars, then a new Boston Legal.
• CBS has a new Big Bang Theory at 8, followed by new episodes of How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, Worst Week, and CSI: Miami.
• FOX has new episodes of Sarah Connor Chronicles and Prison Break.
• NBC has the season premiere of Chuck at 8, then a new Heroes and the season premiere of Life.
• There's a new Gossip Girl on The CW at 8, followed by a new One Tree Hill.
• At 8:30, ESPN has Monday Night Football, the Ravens vs. the Steelers.
• At 9, USA has a new Monday Night RAW.
• Food Network has a new Unwrapped at 9.
• At 10, TNT has a new Raising the Bar.
• Food Network has a new Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives at 10.
• MTV has a new episode of The Hills at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

• At 8, NBC has the Heroes Countdown special at 8, followed by the two-hour Heroes season premiere.
• ABC has the two-hour season premiere of Dancing with the Stars at 8, then the season premiere of Boston Legal.
• FOX has a new Sarah Connor Chronicles at 8, followed by a new Prison Break.
• CBS has the season premiere of Big Bang Theory at 8, then the season premieres of How I Met Your Mother and Two and a Half Men, the series premiere of Worst Week, and the season premiere of CSI: Miami.
• The CW has new episodes of Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill.
• E!'s Fashion Police discuss the Emmy dresses at 8.
• At 8:30, HGTV has a new Curb Appeal.
• Food Network has a new How'd That Get On My Plate at 8:30, then a new Unwrapped.
• At 9, USA has a new Monday Night RAW.
• At 10, TNT has a new Raising The Bar.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

In a time when networks are so quick to pull the plug on new series, it is absolutely stunning that two of this season's newest cable series have already been picked up for a second season. What's even more surprising is that one renewed show is Stephen Bochco's terrible Raising the Bar. After setting a record for a series debut on basic cable with 7.7 million viewers, 2.2 million people asked themselves what the hell they were watching, and the series settled into an average of 5.5 mil. But it's only been three weeks?

Surely, more of its viewers will realize that the show is absolutely terrible? From Gosselaar's bleeding heart crying to the bitching between his friends and Jane Kaczmarek's crazy judge, there's more leaps in logic and good sense than in Prison Break. The show makes Boston Legal look like a courtroom documentary. TNT also picked up Holly Hunter's Saving Grace after a respectable summer run.

• At 8, FOX has a new Sarah Connor Chronicles, followed by a new Prison Break.
• NBC has a new Deal Or No Deal, then a new America's Toughest Jobs.
• The CW has a new Gossip Girl at 8, followed by a new One Tree Hill.
• TruTV has two new episodes of Surf & Rescue at 8.
• BBC America has a new Top Gear at 8.
• Also at 8: Nickelodeon has the series premiere of My Family's Got GUTS.
• At 8:30, ESPN has a new Monday Night Football, the Cowboys vs. the Eagles.
• Food Network has a new How'd That Get On My Plate at 8:30, followed by a new Unwrapped.
• At 9, PBS has a new History Detectives.
• TNT has the season finale of The Closer at 9, then a new Raising the Bar.
• At 10, Showtime has the season finale of Weeds.
• Food Network has a new Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives at 10.
• Discovery has a new Into the Unknown with Josh Bernstein at 10.
• MTV has a new episode of The Hills at 10, followed by a new Exiled.

Check your local TV listings for more.

It's kind of nice when the networks spread out their premieres, ensuring me a fighting chance at sampling most of the new shows. Call me crazy, and you definitely wouldn't be the first, but I have this weird obsession with trying to catch at least one episode of virtually every new major show that premieres and, if at all possible making that the pilot episode. It's allowed me to see a lot of great shows, and a lot of stinkers. But it makes this time of year a busy blast, too!

I also try to keep up with returning shows to see what they've done in their off-season. If it's one I watch, then I want to see if they've tweaked the formula in any way; and if it's one I don't, then I'm always interested to see if they've come up with something to pull me in. With tonight the unofficial start of the fall season, we see the newest networks, FOX and The CW getting an early start by returning three prominent shows. We also say goodbye, maybe forever, to one of the most enjoyable new shows of the summer while TNT takes the chance to bow a new series.

• The news channels and CSPAN have coverage of the Republican National Convention all night (the major networks join in at 10).
• Hallmark Channel has a Murder, She Wrote marathon all night.
• At 7, USA has more U.S. Open (switches to CNBC and Tennis Channel at 9).
  
• At 8, FOX has the two hour season premiere of Prison Break.
• ABC has a new High School Musical: Get in the Picture at 8.
• There's a new Deal Or No Deal on NBC at 8, followed by a new America's Toughest Jobs.
• The CW has the season premiere of Gossip Girl at 8, then the season premiere of One Tree Hill.
• At 8:30, Food Network has a new How'd That Get On My Plate?, then a new Unwrapped.
• At 9, TNT has a new episode of The Closer, followed by the series premiere of Raising the Bar.
• USA has a new Monday Night RAW at 9.
• At 10, ABC Family has a new episode of The Middleman.
• Discovery has a new Into the Unknown with Josh Bernstein at 10.
• MTV has a new episode of The Hills at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

TNT's original dramas are kind of hit or miss for me. I'm absolutely in love with The Closer, but have zero interest in Saving Grace, despite its good reviews and Holly Hunter's Emmy nomination. It was while I was watching The Closer that I saw the ads for Raising the Bar, TNT's newest series, which premieres on Monday, September 1 at 10 pm. I've got to say, I had the same reaction when I first saw promos for Saving Grace: "meh."

I love a good lawyer show, but there was something about Raising the Bar that just struck me as bland. I really didn't know if I'd even bother checking out the premiere. However, when I got the chance to see the first three episodes, I decided to jump on it. This way I could check it out at my leisure, but more importantly, I could figure out just what the hell is going on with Mark-Paul Gosselaar's hair.

Natalia Cigliuti has joined the cast of Raising the Bar, a new legal drama from TNT. She will play public defender Roberta "Bobbi" Gilardi. Joining Cigliutti are Mark Paul Gosselaar (NYPD Blue), Gloria Reuben (ER), Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle), Teddy Sears (Ugly Betty), Melissa Sagemiller (Sleeper Cell), Currie Graham (Boston Legal), J. August Richards (Conviction) and Jonathan Scarfe (Into the West).

Cigliuti will co-star with Gosselaar. Her character Bobbi, a Brooklyn native, is brought in to help with the strenuous workload at the public defender's office. Gosselaar flirtatiously calls her "Bobbi from Brooklyn" and takes an interest in his new co-worker.