CBS entertainment chief Nina Tassler provided more details this morning on how “CSI” will deal with the departure of lead actor William Petersen — a development that broke earlier this week.

Tassler said Petersen will leave after episode 10 to work on a play. His replacement will “certainly be an actor of stature,” she said, but it sounds as if the part has not been cast yet. (Either that, or she’s not ready to announce who it is).

The new character will be an “outsider” who doesn’t arrive as CSI’s “immediate boss.” But get this: The guy will have “a genetic profile” shared by many serial killers! Do we have another Dexter on our hands?

The character’s co-workers will be unaware of this personality makeup as he attempts to get a handle on things. “He’ll go on a journey of self-discovery,” Tassler said.

“I don’t think you really replace Billy,” said Tassler, who pointed out that “CSI” producers are simply “adding an element that’s going to invigorate the show.”

Petersen will remain as an executive producer on “CSI” and is likely to make future appearances.

On why Petersen chose to leave now: “He’s still an artist,” Tassler said. “… He’s taking an artist’s chance to change his life.”

Joey Potter is back!

Well, not exactly, but Katie Holmes is returning to series television this fall with a one-episode guest-starring stint on ABC’s “Eli Stone.”

That juicy piece of casting news was confirmed by ABC entertainment chief Steve McPherson, who said it’s a great role for Holmes, a.k.a. Mrs. Tom Cruise (and Suri’s mom).

“There’s some singing and dancing that she’ll do,” said McPherson, who added that Holmes will be shooting her scenes “over the next few days.”

Holmes, who will play a lawyer in the episode slated for October, should give the modestly rated “Eli Stone” a bit of a ratings boost, perhaps along the lines of what Britney Spears’ two visits did for “How I Met Your Mother” last season.

On the subject of another high-profile actress, McPherson said that Katherine Heigl is “absolutely” remaining on “Grey’s Anatomy.” Rumors of her departure arose after Heigl removed herself from Emmy consideration this year and rudely implied that the show’s writers had let her down by providing her with inferior material to play.

“It’s unfortunate when there’s any kind of turmoil on a show …,” McPherson said, but he added that “Grey’s Anatomy” mastermind Shonda Rhimes had created an “unbelievable” storyline for Heigl’s Izzy character this season.

Of course, great storylines on hospital shows often end with a death.

The political process is getting in the way of the sleuths from “CSI.”

Because of the presidential and vice-presidential debates this fall, the premiere of “CSI”’s season is being pushed back to Oct. 9. Meanwhile, the bulk of the CBS schedule will launch on the week of Sept. 22, with the exception of “Survivor,” which will kick off on Sept. 18.

Here’s a rundown of CBS premiere dates:

Thursday, Sept. 18
8 p.m.: “Survivor: Gabon” (17th season premiere)
Monday, Sept. 22
8 p.m.: “The Big Bang Theory” (2nd season premiere)
8:30 p.m.: “How I Met Your Mother” (4th season premiere)
9 p.m.: “Two and a Half Men” (6th season premiere)
9:30 p.m.: “Worst Week” (New show)
10 p.m.: “CSI: Miami” (7th season premiere)
Tuesday, Sept. 23
8 p.m.: “NCIS” (6th season premiere)
9 p.m.: “The Mentalist” (New show)
10 p.m.: “Without a Trace” (7th season premiere)
Wednesday, Sept. 24
8 p.m.: “The New Adventures of Old Christine” (4th season premiere)
8:30 p.m.: “Project Gary” (New show)
9 p.m.: “Criminal Minds” (4th season premiere)
10 p.m.: “CSI: NY” (5th season premiere)
Saturday, Sept. 27
8 p.m.: “Crimetime Saturday”
9 p.m.: “Crimetime Saturday”
10 p.m.: “48 Hours Mystery” (season premiere)
Sunday, Sept. 28
7 p.m.: “60 Minutes” (41st season premiere)
8 p.m.: “The Amazing Race” (13th edition)
9 p.m.: “Cold Case” (6th season premiere)
10 p.m.: “The Unit” (4th season premiere)
Friday, Oct. 3
8 p.m.: “Ghost Whisperer” (4th season premiere)
9 p.m.: “The Ex List” (New show)
10 p.m.: “Numb3rs” (5th season premiere)
Thursday, Oct. 9
9 p.m.: “CSI” (9th season premiere)
10 p.m.: “Eleventh Hour” (New show)

This just in: NBC has announced its fall premiere dates, including the return of “Heroes.”

The action series, which was one of the few shows that didn’t resume after the strike, has been AWOL since December. NBC will bring it back on Sept. 22 with a three-hour (whew!) launch. The first hour will be made up of a retrospective “compilation” episode.

But will people still care? After a highly acclaimed first season, “Heroes” suffered from creative blahs this past season. And then you know what they say about “out of sight, out of mind …” Also, it will be interesting to see if much of the attention among fans of sci-fi/fantasy shifts to “Fringe,” the new thriller on Fox from J.J. Abrams.

Here are the NBC premieres. New shows in CAPS, with the exception of “ER”:

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12
“AMERICA’S TOUGHEST JOBS”
Series premiere (8-10 p.m.)
Returns on September 19 (8-9 p.m.) for five weeks; then resumes from 9-10 p.m. on October 24

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22
“Heroes” clip show (8-9 p.m.)
Season premiere (9-11 p.m.)

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23
“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (10-11 p.m.)

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24
“KNIGHT RIDER” (8-9 p.m.)
“Lipstick Jungle (10-11 p.m.)

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25
“My Name Is Earl” — one-hour premiere (8-9 p.m.)
“The Office” — one-hour premiere (9-10 p.m.)
“ER” (10-11 p.m.)

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29
“Chuck” — (8-9 p.m.)
“MY OWN WORST ENEMY” — (10-11 p.m.)

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3
“Life” — (10-11 p.m.)

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9
“KATH & KIM” (9:30-10 p.m.)

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17
“CRUSOE” — two-hour premiere (8-10 p.m.)

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30
“30 Rock” — (8:30-9 p.m.)

For capsule descriptions of the new shows Read the rest of this entry »

A fantastical new series from J.J. Abrams (”Lost”) looks to be the top draw on the new fall lineup unveiled today by Fox.

“Fringe” is a thriller about a trio of investigators who uncover a deadly mystery involving a series of unbelievable events and realize they may be a part of a larger, more disturbing pattern that “blurs the line between science fiction and technology.” The show will air Tuesday nights at 9, after “House.”

“Fringe” is only one of two new shows debuting on Fox in the fall. The other is “Do Not Disturb,” a sitcom set in a hotel and starring Jerry O’Connell. Because the writers strike impeded the development season, the networks, overall, are holding back much of their fare for midseason.

Fox also raised some eyebrows with its season premiere dates. The network announced that it will begin rolling out its fall lineup the week of Aug. 25 — the same time as the Democratic National Convention (”Fringe” debuts with a two-hour opener on Aug. 26). Read the rest of this entry »

CBS unveiled a fall lineup on Wednesday that features five new series, but some viewers will be bloody mad over one it dropped.

To make room for the new fare, CBS canceled the vampire series “Moonlight,” a show that had a small but intensely loyal following. In doing so, the network may find itself dealing with another outpouring of fan outrage a la “Jericho” last season.

Also dropped by CBS was the James Woods legal series, “Shark.” So-called “bubble” show that survived the cut include “The Unit,” “Rules of Engagement” and “The New Adventures of Old Christine.”

The new shows include three dramas and two sitcoms.

The dramas are “Eleventh Hour,” a suspense thriller from about a special adviser (Rufus Sewell) to the government who investigates scientific oddities, “The Mentalist,” starring Simon Baker as a former celebrity psychic-turned- detective who uses his gift to solve crimes, and “The Ex List,” a lighthearted drama about a 30-something woman (Elizabeth Reaser) who searches her past relationships to find her future husband.

The new CBS comedies are “Project Gary,” starring Jay Mohr and Paula Marshall as dueling ex-spouses and parents struggling to establish new lives, and “Worst Week,” about a well-meaning magazine editor (Kyle Bornheimer) who will do anything to please his girlfriend’s parents, but disaster strikes whenever he’s around them.

Here’s a look at the CBS Fall Schedule:

MONDAY
8 p.m. THE BIG BANG THEORY
8:30 p.m. HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
9 p.m. TWO AND A HALF MEN
9:30 p.m. WORST WEEK (New series)
10 p.m. CSI: MIAMI

TUESDAY
8 p.m. NCIS
9 p.m. THE MENTALIST (New series)
10 p.m. WITHOUT A TRACE (New timeslot)

WEDNESDAY
8 p.m. THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE (New timeslot)
8 p.m. PROJECT GARY (New series)
9 p.m. CRIMINAL MINDS
10:00-11:00 PM CSI: NY

THURSDAY
8 p.m. SURVIVOR
9 p.m. CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION
10 p.m. ELEVENTH HOUR (New series)

FRIDAY
8 p.m. GHOST WHISPERER
9 p.m. THE EX LIST (New series)
10 p.m. NUMB3RS

SATURDAY
8 p.m. CRIMETIME SATURDAY
9 p.m. CRIMETIME SATURDAY
10 p.m. 48 HOURS MYSTERY

SUNDAY
7 p.m. 60 MINUTES
8 p.m. THE AMAZING RACE
9 p.m. COLD CASE
10 p.m. THE UNIT (New Timeslot)

Here’s a look at The CW’s fall lineup, which includes the much-hyped remake of “Beverly Hills 90210″:

MONDAY
8 p.m. “Gossip Girl”
9 p.m. “One Tree Hill”

TUESDAY
8 p.m. “90210″ (New Series)
9 p.m. “Surviving the Filthy Rich” (New Series)

WEDNESDAY
8 p.m. “America’s Next Top Model”
9 p.m. ”Stylista” (New Series)

THURSDAY
8 p.m. “Smallville”
9 p.m. “Supernatural”

FRIDAY
8 p.m. “Everybody Hates Chris”
8:30 p.m. “The Game”
9 p.m. “America’s Next Top Model” (Encore)

Guess now: How long before “Life on Mars” gets canceled?

Sticking mainly with what they’ve got, ABC executives  announced a fall lineup today that features only two new shows, including the British import “Life on Mars.”

“It’s an incredibly stable schedule,” said ABC entertainment chief Stephen McPherson, who pointed out that his network was leading the Nielsen race before the writers’ strike played havoc with prime time.

In addition to “Life on Mars” and the reality series “Opportunity Knocks,” ABC announced that, as expected, it will be the new home for “Scrubs,” a sitcom that ended its run on NBC last week. “Scrubs” will join the ABC schedule at midseason.

“Life on Mars” is based on a BBC drama in which a modern-day police detective mysteriously finds himself transported back to 1973 after getting involved in a car accident. Jason O’ Mara heads the cast.

“Opportunity Knocks” is essentially a game show on wheels that travels to homes of regular folks and quiz people on how well they know their own families. It is from Ashton Kutcher’s production company.

To make room for new shows, some established series had to go. Among the ABC cancellations were the dramas “Women’s Murder Club,” “Men in Trees” and “October Road.” So-called “bubble” shows that survived the cut include “Boston Legal” and “Eli Stone.” The former moves to Mondays at 10 p.m. and the latter shifts to Tuesdays at 10.

Apparently, much of ABC’s focus will be on mideason with several new shows planned, including an animated series called “the Goode Family” and an untitled “beauty pageant”-style series from Kutcher and Tyra Banks. Also, “Lost” will again return at midseason, as will the sitcom that will not die: “According to Jim.”

Here’s the complete ABC Fall Lineup:

MONDAY
8 p.m. “Dancing with the Stars”
9:30 p.m. “Samantha Who?”
10 p.m. “Boston Legal”

TUESDAY
8 p.m. * “Opportunity Knocks”
9 p.m. “Dancing with the Stars” Results Show
10 p.m. “Eli Stone”

WEDNESDAY
8 p.m. “Pushing Daisies”
9 p.m. “Private Practice”
10 p.m. “Dirty Sexy Money”

THURSDAY
8 p.m. “Ugly Betty”
9 p.m. “Grey’s Anatomy”
10 p.m. * “Life on Mars”

FRIDAY
8 p.m. “Wife Swap”
9 p.m. “Supernanny”
10 p.m. “20/20″

SATURDAY
5 p.m. College football

SUNDAY
7 p.m. “America’s Funniest Home Videos”
8 p.m. “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”
9 p.m. “Desperate Housewives”
10 p.m. “Brothers & Sisters”

* Denotes new shows

For a capsulized rundown of the new shows, Read the rest of this entry »

We’re still a week away from the upfront presentations — the period when broadcast networks announce their fall schedules — but already some “bubble” shows are falling by the wayside. ABC, for example, has dumped “Men In Trees.”

Which makes us wonder: What kind of oddball stuff will the show’s fans bombard the networks with? Tree twigs? Pine cones? Read the rest of this entry »

Even the attractive cast of “Gossip Girl” is eager to read the Times Fall TV Preview. (CW photo).

It’s a big TV day in these parts. We’ve got the Emmys tonight and emblazoned all over the Times A&E section this morning is our annual Fall TV Preview.

Feel free to dig in and stay a while. We’ve got a cover story detailing how it’s a big year for sci-fi and fantasy shows. Also included in the section are my Top 5 new shows of the year. We’ll see how that one turns out. My editor, Ardua, continues to give me grief for including “The Class” in the Top 5 at this time last year.

But, wait, that’s not all. In addition, you’ll find a snappy rundown of all the new fall series, as well as premiere dates, videoclips from some selected shows, and even my picks for the worst shows.

For tomorrow, you can look forward to our coverage of the Emmy show, as well as the red-carpet fashions. So, as they say, stay tuned.