Based on the short clips of the network's new shows, here are three that look especially promising:
Pan Am: Like The Playboy Club on NBC, Pan Am is clearly going for the Mad Men look and feel. The drama stars Cristina Ricci and Kelli Garner as Pan Am stewardesses in the 1960s, a way of life that is as suffocating as it is glamorous. The preview scene captures that tension, in addition to proving a production quality that certainly echoes Mad Men:
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http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/05/abcs-fall-lineup-watch-clips-of-pan-am-james-van-der-beek-and-more/239036/
Apartment 23: This comedy, which stars Krysten Ritter as a jaded, morally bankrupt New Yorker, is the latest to pick up on the "actors playing heightened versions of themselves" trend. Ritter's best friend is James Van Der Beek, playing James Van Der Beek. The former Dawson Leary is no stranger to self-parody, but the Dawson's Creek jokes actually land successfully in this clip, hinting that this outing may be more successful than the previous Vandermeme:
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http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/05/abcs-fall-lineup-watch-clips-of-pan-am-james-van-der-beek-and-more/239036/
Scandal: So far, all three networks that have unveiled previews of their fall shows are short on new procedural dramas, a TV genre that's been extremely popular the past decade. Scandal is one of the few to receive a pickup this year, and it looks, on the surface, promising. Kerry Washington plays a professional crisis manager in this new drama from Shonda Rhimes, the creator of Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice. Having Rhimes at the helm means that in addition to odd, yet captivating, cases—this clip shows something involving an ambassador and a kidnapped baby—there should be plenty of soapy, personal drama as well:
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http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/05/abcs-fall-lineup-watch-clips-of-pan-am-james-van-der-beek-and-more/239036/
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/05/abcs-fall-lineup-watch-clips-of-pan-am-james-van-der-beek-and-more/239036/
See more clips at ABC.com.
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