'Deep End,' 'Damages' Top Drama Choices for Mid-Season 2009-10 TV Season Replacement Shows

Although the media spotlight is focused on the return of Jack Bauer and 24, TV viewers whose idea of dramatic entertainment does not include people being tortured may wish to set their DVRs to other high quality TV programs such as The Deep End and Damages, two high concept drama shows that focus more on character interaction, crackling dialogue and topical issues that do not involve water boarding:.

ABC's The Deep End premieres Thurs. Jan 21, 2010

The first must-see winter 2010 replacement TV drama show is The Deep End, premiering Thurs., Jan. 21 on ABC. From previews, it appears this TV lawyer show will be a guilty pleasure hybrid of L.A. Law and The Young and the Restless, nicely balancing the frenetic work lives of a freshly-baked batch of 20-something first-year lawyers and their personal lives, which are as complicated as a 500-page legal contract.

Set in a boutique L.A. law firm run by a Machiavellian head partner, The Deep End has the predictable smorgasbord of personality types, from naïve and idealistic to scheming and self-serving. The ultimate success of the show will depend largely on the development of the characters into deeply layered people as well as witty dialogue that is only possible for fictional characters who have the luxury of professional script writers to put words in their mouths (you know... those snappy lines we ordinary people only think of later driving home in the car).

Third Season of FX's Damages premieres Mon., Jan. 25, 2010

Meanwhile, across the country in the Big Apple, FX is bringing back Damages set in a high-powered Manhattan litigation firm. This Emmy and Golden Globe award winning show returns for its third season on Mon., Jan. 25. Aside from sporting first-tier actors such as Glenn Close and Ted Danson, Damages has been lauded for its non-linear narrative and winding plots, story lines with more twists and turns than a mountain road.

On the third season of Damages, the writers have spun their plot line from the financial scandals of the recent past, somehow hoping to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear by turning such depressing subject matter as financial ruin and personal greed into riveting, escapist entertainment.

Predictably, NBC, the network that once sat upon the throne as king of quality dramatic TV programs such as St. Elsewhere, L.A. Law and E.R., has failed once again to provide a compelling new or returning drama show, preferring instead to focus on its own personal network soap opera: As the Tonight Show Host Rotates.

Sources:
http://abc.go.com/shows/the-deep-end
http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/damages/