Four Returning Series
of Note
Curb Your Enthusiasm. HBO. Sundays, 9 p.m. Returns next Sunday. Larry David's spoiled, narcissistic alter ego is as sidesplittingly clueless as ever, but this season he has the ultimate gimmick.
He's going back to work on a show-within-a-show reunion of Seinfeld, whose four stars will be guest-starring off and on throughout the season. That alone is worth the premium-network price.
Dexter. Showtime. Sundays, 9 p.m. Returns Sept. 27. Opposite HBO's superb comedy hour, natch, but available, like Curb and Bored to Death, a million other times during the week, Dexter sends its complex hero deep into the minefield of marriage this season.
The well-intentioned serial killer and forensic criminalist will be matching wits with a superstar of sadistic murder, played by John Lithgow, while Dexter's plucky sister will have to deal with the return of her old boyfriend, G-man Frank Lundy (Keith Carradine).
Medium. CBS. Fridays, 9 p.m. Returns (on a new network) Sept. 25. This show had more viewers last year than Heroes or any of NBC's comedies, but the network apparently didn't like the cut of their jibs, so it canceled Medium.
CBS was happy to pick up this spooky drama. It may portray a supernatural psychic, but it also includes one of the best-drawn families on television. CBS also sees a good Friday-night fit with Ghost Whisperer and Numb3rs, even if Medium is miles better than either one.
Dollhouse. Fox. Fridays, 9 p.m. Returns Sept. 25. Fan-boy fave Summer Glau, from the sadly canceled Sarah Connor Chronicles, joins Eliza Dushku in a sci-fi show about hot humans who get a new personality for every job.
After some searching, the show found a satisfying path in its freshman year. Everybody's promising it will stick to the route, and nobody's crying about reports that it will get a little racier.
