Your guide to America's big new TV shows

TVFIX gives the rundown on some of the most talked-about new series.

MIKE & MOLLY

The newest comedy from Chuck Lorre, the guy who created the hit shows Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory, revolves around overweight police officer Mike (Billy Gardell), who meets Molly (Melissa McCarthy) at Overeaters Anonymous. Sparks fly. Expect the show to do for the overweight what Big Bang did for nerds and Men did for womanising middle-aged jackasses.

HAWAII FIVE-0

Poor Alex O'Loughlin — the Australian actor's last two TV series, Moonlight and Three Rivers were both rapidly axed. Will Hawaii Five-0 finally give him a ticket to long-lasting TV fame? The cop drama, a remake of the '70s classic of the same name, has a solid pedigree: it's co-executive produced by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, whose credits include Fringe, and also stars Scott Caan, Daniel Dae Kim (Lost) and Grace Park (Battlestar Galactica). For Loughlin's sake, we'll cross our fingers.

RUNNING WILDE

Arrested Development fans will have fond memories of Will Arnett playing goofy brother Gob Bluth. The actor is bringing his inimitable comic talents to Running Wilde, a sitcom about rich Beverly Hills D-bag Steve (Arnett) who falls in love with charitable tree-hugger Emmy (Keri Russell). The comedy is co-produced by Arrested creator Mitch Hurwitz.

$H*! MY DAD SAYS

Prounced "Bleep My Dad Says", this was inspired by the insanely popular, bawdily-titled Twitter account S*** My Dad Says, written by a 27-year-old who moved back into his family's home. TV legend William Shatner will play the titular foul-mouthed father, while Will & Grace overseers David Kohan and Max Mutchnick shepherd the fledgling sitcom to the small screen.

Australian premiere date:

THE EVENT

If this series takes off, expect everyone to be asking: "What is [dramatic pause]... The Event?" Jason Ritter takes the lead as Sean, a regular dude who begins investigating the mysterious disappearance of his fiancee and winds up knee-deep in the biggest conspiracy in US history — a cover-up so huge even the president (Blair Underwood) doesn't know about it. Producers have promised that answers will come thick and fast, presumably so as not to piss off viewers like Lost did.

NO ORDINARY FAMILY

No Ordinary Family, the new drama co-executive produced by Brothers & Sisters co-producer/writer Greg Berlanti. The Powells — mum Stephanie (Julie Benz), dad Jim (Michael Chiklis) and their two teenage kids — are a family in danger of falling apart, till they develop superpowers after a plane crash in the Amazon river. Steph gets super-speed, Jim gets super-strength, while their kids become a mind-reader and super-genius. Neato.

UNDERCOVERS

This one is the most hotly anticipated show of the new US TV season. It's created by J.J. Abrams — the genius who's had a hand in cult faves Alias, Lost and Fringe — so no surprise. Undercovers follows Steven (Boris Kodjoe) and Samantha Bloom (the gorgeously named Gugu Mbatha-Raw), a seemingly ordinary couple who used to be top-ranked CIA agents. Their marriage is reignited when they're drawn back into the spy game. Awesome!

MR SUNSHINE

Matthew Perry hasn't had a lot of luck on the small screen since Friends wrapped: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip was axed after one season and the dark comedy The End of Steve never made it past the pilot stage. Perry might find success with Mr Sunshine, a workplace comedy about the manager of the Sunshine Centre sports arena, who struggles to handle his loopy boss (Allison Janney) and bored staff.

MY GENERATION

Pick up any newspaper and you're pretty much guaranteed to find an article — likely written by a baby boomer or Gen X-er — that rags on Generation Y and our lazy flightiness. This mockumentary-style dramedy might help turn the tables in Ys' favour: it follows 10 Texans who graduated high school in 2000 and return home 10 years later, where they discover that life hasn't turned out how they expected. Or it might make us Ys look like even bigger whingers.

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