Are men the new women? That's sort of the theme of the promising new ABC comedy/drama "Big Shots."

Either that or: You're never too rich and successful to have really big problems. But, if you're lucky, you've got some really good friends.

The show, which premieres at tonight at 9 p.m. on Ch. 4, is about four best friends who are "Big Shots" at work but less successful in their personal lives. Creator/executive producer John Harmon Feldman said he set out to tell "honest stories about friendship."

"The most relatable male character on TV for me was Tony Soprano, because he had issues at home (and) issues at work. And I thought, there's a way to explore that with sort of more mainstream characters."

James Walker (Michael Vartan of "Alias") is the "moral center" of the show, but he's got big problems at work and even bigger problems at home. Brody Johns (Christopher Titus), senior vice president of Alpha Crisis Management, is the ultimate alpha male — except that his wife has him under her thumb.

Karl Mixworthy (Joshua Malina) is the seemingly straight-arrow CEO of a large pharmaceutical company — but his wife is difficult and so is his mistress.

And Duncan Collinsworth (Dylan McDermott of "The Practice") is the playboy CEO of a cosmetics empire who discovers he's in love with one of his ex-wives. And he's got big problems with his 19-year-old daughter.

Oh, and there was his little indiscretion that's sort of hilarious but could cause him serious trouble.

"When you look deeper into their lives, they're guys who are in love with the wrong women or love women too much or are in pain or trying to figure something out," Feldman said. "Despite this objective success, they have the same issues that any guy might have."

Or, as Titus put it, "It doesn't matter if you have money, your life can still suck and go down the tubes."

"It's a show about guys in their own way exploring their feelings," Feldman said. "I think men are far more sensitive than people give us credit for, although we're also the guys who don't want to admit that we are. And I think that's sort of the paradox of being a guy."

That makes "Big Shots" sound more serious and less entertaining than it actually is. Tonight's premiere is a lot of fun — these guys are likable, funny and entertaining. There's drama, too, but this show will never be confused with a bunch of guys talking about their feelings on "Oprah" or "Dr. Phil."

And the guys handle their really, really big problems with humor. There's some really funny stuff in tonight's premiere — part of it comes out of the script, part of it comes out of the chemistry among the four stars.

"It's a show ... about friendship," Feldman said. "About the fact that you may mess up the relationships with the women in your life, but if you're lucky, you have your friends by your side."

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E-mail: pierce@desnews.com