Let's all marvel at the bumper crop of new shows about cops and courtrooms. Let's welcome back favourite stars from the past such as Tom Selleck, Jimmy Smits and Dana Delany. Let's cross our fingers and hope that ambitious new series such as No Ordinary Family and The Event will find their way. Let's get ready to laugh at the half-a-dozen new comedies - or at least some of them.

The onslaught of new series on the big five US networks (almost all of which will premiere the week of September 20) adds up to just 22 shows - only one more than debuted last (northern) autumn. And many of those shows will soon be shown on Australian TV.

There are some pleasant surprises and good reasons to explore what's new on TV even as cable continues its year-round rollout of competing fare.

One very pleasant surprise - no new hospital shows. The twenty-something crowd is the designated audience for numerous new series.

Meanwhile, among 16 new dramas, 11 are linked to crime-fighting and/or the justice system - Granted, No Ordinary Family (ABC/Seven) puts the emphasis on family. It's a family (headed by Michael Chiklis and Julie Benz) which acquires superpowers each member must learn to use responsibly. But Chiklis plays a cop who wants to prove his worth.

Detroit 1-8-7 (ABC/Seven) is a by-the-numbers police drama, with one difference. Michael Imperioli, who stars as homicide detective Louis Fitch, is glum, quirky and unsociable.

The Whole Truth (ABC/Nine) has what might seem a clever format. It follows a legal case from the alternate perspectives of the defence and the prosecution. The show unwinds in a he said, she said fashion until the end when the truth and the correctness of the verdict, are revealed. But maybe the project will be improved with Maura Tierney replacing Joely Richardson as the prosecutor. Rob Morrow remains as the defence lawyer.

The Defenders (CBS/Ten) co-stars Jim Belushi and Jerry O'Connell as flashy, high-flying Las Vegas lawyers. Their chemistry is good. The writing could be better.

Body of Proof (ABC/Seven) stars Dana Delany as a brilliant, sexy medical examiner with a really bad attitude. Blue Bloods (CBS/Ten) has a cast (led by Tom Selleck as head of a multi-generational family) which permeates the New York City police and court system. It's a good-looking, well-meaning rehash.

The good news is about Hawaii Five-O (CBS/Ten): It takes the DNA from the circa-1970s original and reaps a robust, character-driven, crime-busting romp.

The title of Chase (NBC/Nine) says it all. It's an action-packed Jerry Bruckheimer-produced drama about US marshals in Houston. Kelli Giddish and her partner Cole Hauser are hot. And they chase bad guys.

Law & Order: Los Angeles (NBC/Seven) extends the L&O franchise to its fifth edition, the first to venture outside New York's jurisdiction. Cast members include Alfred Molina and Terrence Howard.

Undercovers (NBC/Nine) has the sheen of uber-magnate J.J. Abrams. It has the undeniable heat of Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as husband-and-wife CIA agents who are drawn back into espionage after trying a new life as caterers.

And now for something a little bit different, some of the other new dramas.

ABC's My Generation (coming to Seven) takes the form of a documentary chronicling the stories of young adults in the present day, intercut with footage of them a decade ago.

The Fox melodrama Lone Star (on Ten) is the smartest, sexiest, most entertaining new guilty pleasure on the schedule.

James Wolk plays a charismatic Texas con-man living a double life with two dishy women.

NBC's much-hyped The Event (already being promoted on Seven) is a disjointed, keep-you- guessing thriller - the one new entry in the mystery-serial category.

Hellcats (starting Monday in Australia on Go!) is set among the cheerleading squad of a Southern university. Well-toned young men and women cope with hormone-dominated college life.

Besides all those dramas, there's also laughter available from the new line-up - if you choose carefully.

Fox's Raising Hope (coming to Ten) is a return to the unrefined world in which My Name Is Earl resided. On this show, also created by Greg Garcia, a directionless lad unexpectedly becomes a father.

CBS' Mike & Molly (on Nine) tries to present a romance between a portly man and woman but undercuts the humour with easy jokes and cheap gags about being fat.

And what about the much-talked-about sitcom, (Bleep) My Dad Says? Starring William Shatner as a cantankerous senior, the pilot was a disappointment and this CBS series (due to come to Nine) is being overhauled.