29 new shows are headed for your TV

Here's what's new on the broadcast networks this fall.

Sundays

CW NOW (Sundays, 6 p.m., CW/Ch. 30) is sort of a newsmagazine — one aimed directly at teens and twentysomethings who live most of their lives online.

The show, which was not previewed for critics because it's supposed to be filled with "timely elements," sets out to "create the ultimate source for everything that's hip, hot and happening right now in the world of young adults, and the place for anyone who needs to know what everyone is buzzing about today and what they'll be talking about in the week to come."

Yeah, that will be easy.

"CW Now" will focus on "the hottest fashions, the coolest music, the must-see movies and the must-have gadgets and technology. ... With young adults' insatiable appetite for all things celebrity, each episode will report on the latest news and gossip from inside the glitz and glamour of Hollywood."

It isn't easy, but I'm trying really hard not to be pre-judgmental, given that we weren't shown anything. But it REALLY isn't easy.

What's to like/what's not to like/will it work? Without anything to judge it on, it's impossible to say. (It really, REALLY isn't easy not to comment. Really.)

Debuts: Sunday, Sept. 23

ONLINE NATION (Sundays, 6:30 p.m., CW/Ch. 30) is for young people who don't have Internet access, apparently — The CW promises a show that "combs the nearly infinite number of Web sites, blogs and user-generated materials on the Internet to find the best, the hottest, the funniest and sometimes the flat-out bizarre."

None of this has been made available to critics, so I can't tell you how — or how well — this will work. But not showing anything to critics is generally a bad sign.

What's to like/what's not to like/will it work? Without anything to judge it on, it's impossible to say.

Debuts: Sunday, Sept. 23

VIVA LAUGHLIN (Sundays, 7 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2) is the latest horrifying example of how an attempt to translate a British TV show to and American network can go very, very wrong.

"Viva Blackpool" was a highly entertaining, improbable British murder mystery/drama in which the characters often broke into song and performed in production numbers. "Viva Laughlin" didn't have the courage to take that format on with full force, instead dribbling out just enough of the musical element to seem awkward and weird.

The story concerns Ripley Holden's (Lloyd Owen) attempt to open a casino in Laughlin, Nev. It's a long shot, and he's got an enemy, Nicky Fontana (guest star Hugh Jackman) standing in his way. At the same time, Ripley is dealing with a wife (Madchen Amick), two teenage children (Ellen Woglom and Carter Jenkins) and an old flame (Melanie Griffith).

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