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Fall TV Trend Report
By Dan Kellum
O, The Oprah Magazine  |  August 25, 2008
What to watch on TV this fall
Photo: Simon McConico/iStockphoto
Paranormal puzzles, high-concept crime solving, and a gaggle of remakes dominate the new season, and every show seems to have a fraternal twin (or triplet) on the schedule. A pattern-finder's forecast follows.


They Must Be Psychic
In the comedy The Ex List (CBS), a single 30-something woman begins a manhunt when a psychic says she's already dated her future husband. The Mentalist (CBS) casts Simon Baker (the dashing magazine writer in The Devil Wears Prada) as a psychic-turned-detective whose offbeat methods raise eyebrows (think House, M.D.).

Houses Divided

A smash-hit comedy in Australia, Kath & Kim (NBC) gets an American revamp with Molly Shannon and Selma Blair as a combative mother and daughter sharing the same roof. In My Own Worst Enemy (NBC), Christian Slater plays both halves of a dual self: one a minivan-driving efficiency expert, the other a Bond-like superspy.

Take This Job And…

Contestants vie in events including oil drilling, logging, and "extreme fishing" on America's Toughest Jobs (NBC), while reality show In Harm's Way (The CW) tracks subway tunnel diggers, storm chasers, celebrity publicists, and other brave souls.

The British Invasion

Among this season's many remakes (Kath & Kim, Knight Rider, 90210) is Life on Mars (ABC), a retooling of the excellent BBC series about a detective who gets hit by a car in the present day and wakes up in the '70s. Other British spin-offs include CBS's Eleventh Hour (biophysicist solves crimes) and Worst Week (guy struggles with his future in-laws).

Still Lost

With his new drama Fringe (Fox), Lost creator J.J. Abrams delivers another science fiction mystery set in motion by a deadly plane crash. Lost-philes may also feel drawn to the remote island setting and flashback structure of Crusoe (NBC), based on the classic castaway novel.
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