Basic-cable network AMC boldly bills its latest original series, the grungy Old West-set drama Hell on Wheels, as an “epic” event. Viewers will get to judge the accuracy of that ambitious description when the show premieres tonight, November 6, at 10pm ET. I, for one, see some merit in the assessment, based on the intriguing TV ads I’ve encountered.

The first season of Hell on Wheels contains ten episodes starring a very gruff-looking Anson Mount (Conviction) as Confederate military man Cullen Bohannon, rapper and actor Common (Wanted) as former slave Elam Ferguson, veteran Irish actor Colm Meaney (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as slick businessman Thomas “Doc” Durant, and Irish import Dominique McElligott (The Philanthropist) as recently widowed independent woman Lily Bell.

The cast members portray characters from the post-Civil War era in American history, when times were hard but filled with the promise of new opportunities for those determined to seek and find them. However, soldier Cullen supplies a less grand and more basic underlying plot theme as he focuses on his desire to punish whoever bears responsibility for his wife’s death during the recent war. Heavy stuff.

Sneak a lengthy peek at the first episode of Hell on Wheels in the video below. If I had to call it right now, I would say AMC has another big hit about to join the network’s already impressive lineup. At least I certainly hope so.

I am so psyched. Former Friday Night Lights star Connie Britton and The Practice star Dylan McDermott return to the small screen at 10pm ET tonight, October 5, in their brand-new paranormal FX series American Horror Story. This could be the beginning of a great TV relationship.

The series focuses on married couple Ben, a therapist, and Vivien Harmon (McDermott and Britton), who move to Los Angeles from Boston with their teen daughter Violet (newcomer Taissa Farmiga). Their goal is to leave their complicated past behind and start over fresh, but their chosen residence has a somewhat complicated past of its own, unfortunately.

Also starring are magnificent film actress Jessica Lange (Tootsie) and Six Feet Under veteran Frances Conroy. The show comes to us courtesy of the talents of Glee and Nip/Tuck executive producers Brad Falchuk and Ryan Murphy, so viewers have ample reason to expect another entertaining FX series. Fingers crossed.

Preview the latest interesting entry in FX’s programming schedule below.

The moment many Steven Spielberg fans have been waiting for is almost here: the two-hour premiere of his latest television show, Terra Nova at 8pm ET on Fox tonight, September 26.

The back-in-time adventure series stars Jason O’Mara (Life on Mars) as the head of the Shannon family. He decides to take the members on a trip to the prehistoric era (Yikes!) in order to save their fellow humans from doom. All together now: Good luck with that.

Also debuting on The CW tonight at 9pm is the new Rachel Bilson (The O.C.) medical drama Hart of Dixie. She portrays young doctor Zoe Hart, who winds up plying her trade in a small Alabama town after she loses out on a much-wanted fellowship.

Sneak peeks at both freshmen series follow. Although they’re very different thematically, the shows sound mildly interesting for now.

September 22 is a busy night when it comes to new Fall 2011 television shows. Three crime dramas premiere on ABC, CBS, and NBC — at 8pm, 9pm, and 10pm ET, respectively — and NBC also adds a new comedy to its popular Thursday-night sitcom block.

The first of the three crime newcomers is Charlie’s Angels on ABC at 8pm. An update of the classic 1976–1981 show, the reimagination stars Minka Kelly (Parenthood), Annie Ilonzeh (General Hospital), and Rachael Taylor (Grey’s Anatomy) as the latest trio of attractive bad guy catchers guided by intermediary Bosley (Ramon Rodriguez, The Wire). My hopes are not up, sadly, since one Charlie’s Angels was enough, and that includes the unnecessary movies starring Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu.

However, I am very much looking forward to the second new crime drama of the night, Person of Interest on CBS at 9pm. Not only does the series have three fantastic stars in Jim Caviezel (The Prisoner), Michael Emerson (Lost), and Taraji P. Henson (Boston Legal), but the premise isn’t too shabby or derivative, either. Caviezel and Emerson play a pair of uniquely talented men who use their distinct resources to prevent crimes before they occur, and Henson portrays a New York Police Department detective who works the same beat they do.

I’m also excited to check out the last new Thursday crime drama, Prime Suspect on NBC at 10pm. If the Americanized version is even half as good as the Helen Mirren-led British original, it will rock. Maria Bello (ER) tops the cast as tough New York homicide detective Jane Timoney. When she’s not busy hunting down crooks, Jane spends much of her time getting into it with her coworkers, including her boss Lieutenant Kevin Sweeney (Aidan Quinn, Weeds).

The remaining September 22 scripted series premiere is the sitcom Whitney on NBC at 9:30pm. Whitney Cummings (Chelsea Lately) stars as the title character, who spends too much time obsessing about her three-year relationship with Alex (Chris D’Elia, Glory Daze) and not getting married prematurely. My cable TV provider had the pilot episode on demand before the premiere for whatever reason, so I checked it out earlier today. The comedy doesn’t work for me, primarily because the characters, plotlines, and jokes are all too tired, annoying, and uninteresting. Others may feel differently, of course.

Two new series starring popular actresses help their respective network kick off the Fall 2011 season properly tonight, September 20. First up is the Fox sitcom New Girl at 9pm ET, and the CBS crime drama Unforgettable follows at 10pm.

Zooey Deschanel (Tin Man), younger sister of Bones star Emily Deschanel, headlines the comedy as Jess Day. After Jess learns her no-good boyfriend has been stepping out on her, she moves in with three other dudes to get on with her life. Max Greenfield (Raising the Bar), Jake Johnson (FlashForward), and Lamorne Morris (The Middle) play her trio of roommates.

Over on the CBS drama, former Without a Trace star Poppy Montgomery portrays lead character Carrie Wells. The seasoned police detective happens to possess nearly perfect recall of past events, an awesome trait she uses to help solve difficult homicide cases. If only it would help her figure out who murdered her sister, though.

Sneak peeks at the two new shows in the videos below. Based on preliminary information, I think I’ll be watching both this fall.

Actress Britt Robertson makes a swift rebound from her most recent canceled series, Life Unexpected, tonight, September 15. That’s when her new CW drama The Secret Circle debuts at 9pm ET, right after the third-season premiere of established hit The Vampire Diaries.

Once again occupying the lead role, Robertson portrays Cassie Blake. The teenager moves in with her grandmother in a Washington town called Chance Harbor after her mother dies under extremely suspicious circumstances.

Although she needs to recover from that tragedy, Cassie encounters only more weirdness when she begins hanging out with local teens. Her family and the entire town have a complicated, related past it seems, and Cassie is central to all of the drama, even if she doesn’t know why or how yet.

Also starring are former fellow Heroes cast members Ashley Crow and Thomas Dekker, Species star Natasha Henstridge, and Desperate Housewives alum Gale Harold. Sneak a peek at the show in the following extended clip, which provides a good overview of what to expect.

Familiar television faces Christina Applegate (Samantha Who?), Will Arnett (Arrested Development), Hank Azaria (Huff), and Kathryn Hahn (Crossing Jordan) all open their brand-spanking-new sitcoms tonight, September 14, on NBC at the special times of 10pm and 10:30pm ET, respectively.

Applegate and Arnett star in Up All Night as husband and wife — and new parents — Reagan and Chris Brinkley. Public relations professional Reagan returns to work, while Chris is the home-based parent. The comedy focuses on how the pair cope with the trials and tribulations of parenthood and basic relationships in their lives. Saturday Night Live vet Maya Rudolph costars as Reagan’s demanding boss and BFF Ava.

Azaria and Hahn headline Free Agents as public relations (here we go again — must be a popular profession in some circles) coworkers Alex and Helen. An American adaptation of the popular U.K. comedy of the same name, the sitcom follows what happens after an unexpected hookup between two people who have experienced recent relationships that went wrong.

Sneak a peek at each new series in the videos below. The shows move to their regular 8pm and 8:30pm time slots on September 21.

Lots of nostalgic Buffy the Vampire Slayers — yours truly included — are going to get some long-anticipated satisfaction tonight, September 13, when actress Sarah Michelle Gellar debuts in the lead role of the latest CW drama called Ringer. The big event happens at 9pm ET.

A more adult-oriented series than the network typically airs, Ringer focuses on recovering addict Bridget Kelly (Gellar). When she has the misfortune of witnessing a crime, Bridget wisely decides to get the heck out of wherever she is and flee to New York.

Bridget’s life only gets more complicated in the Big Apple, however, after she meets up with her wealthy estranged twin sister Siobhan Martin (also Gellar), who promptly vanishes just as the siblings begin to warm up to each other for once. What the…?!

Supporting characters surrounding Bridget as she attempts to figure out why her life is so darn weird include Siobhan’s husband Andrew Martin (Ioan Gruffudd, Fantastic Four), the Martins’ married close friends Gemma Butler (Tara Summers, Boston Legal) and Henry Butler (Kristoffer Polaha, Life Unexpected), and Bridget’s FBI ally Agent Victor Machado (Nestor Carbonell, Lost). This show should be lotsa fun, so check out a preview below to whet your appetite if it isn’t already stoked.

Also notable on September 13: The third-season premiere of NBC family drama Parenthood entitled “I Don’t Want to Do This Without You.”

Syfy has built up a well-known reputation as the go-to outlet for lighter-weight original science fiction fare that often leans toward the cheesy and low-tech side, and sometimes the just plain bad side (more than a few of the network’s unintentionally amusing original movies spring immediately to mind, for example). Thankfully for viewers, however, Alphas, the latest series to join Syfy’s original lineup, is more promising than trivial, based on the 90-minute July 11 premiere. It also meshes well with good-time dramedies Eureka and Warehouse 13, which precede the newcomer on Monday nights this summer.

An action drama with crime and conspiracy elements, Alphas revolves around a group of Alphas — people with uncommon abilities — who complete urgent missions for the U.S. Department of Defense, or so we’re told. Psychiatrist and neurologist Dr. Lee Rosen (David Strathairn, The Bourne Ultimatum) leads the unit, which includes Ryan Cartwright (Bones) as frequency-reading human antenna Gary Bell; Azita Ghanizada (General Hospital: Night Shift) as Rachel Pizad, who can enhance her senses at will; Laura Mennell (Smallville) as hyper-influential Nina Theroux, who can force certain people to do whatever she tells them to; and Malik Yoba (New York Undercover) as exceptionally strong ex-FBI agent Bill Harken. Sure, none of the abilities seem mindblowing or all that hip, but they are special compared to the average human’s skill set.

The extended premiere introduces the members of Team Alpha right around the time they encounter their newest future colleague, former military sniper Cameron Hicks (Warren Christie, Happy Town). Troubled, estranged from his young son, and living the working-class life while employed at a grocery store, Hicks has extraordinary control of his muscular system, which enables him to do impressive stuff like shoot firearms and pitch baseballs with perfect aim from a great distance … when his mind doesn’t get in the way, that is.

This talent brings Hicks to the attention of another, shadier Alpha, who turns him into an unwitting puppet by hypnotizing him to commit murder in a seemingly impossible manner. And, of course, Hicks has no memory of the deed after it’s done, although the several witnesses certainly do. Enter Dr. Rosen and his not-so-merry band of Alphas, who initially set out to track down and capture Hicks, but end up making room for him on their team after he proves his worth when they need his expertise most.

The Alphas pilot almost lost me and my interest in the beginning as the episode presented the main characters in a series of uninspired, 30-second-ish vignettes designed to quickly acquaint viewers with them and their unique traits. The introductions are too rushed and simplistic, and the unique traits are nothing groundbreaking or captivating, as I already mentioned.

Yet, the outlook for Alphas improves considerably whenever Callum Keith Rennie (Battlestar Galactica) appears too briefly as Rosen’s contact Wilson — regrettably, he’s not a regular also — and whenever the show’s plot reveals its darker underside for a fleeting moment. The second selling point promises viewers more than just a repeated stream of catch-the-bad-dudes antics interspersed with periodic slices of mildly humorous chitchat as the season progresses.

Some might tune into Alphas for that very reason, though — the chance to be entertained with minimal effort or lasting effect. Mindless television works for me, as well, but I’m also going to watch to learn what the premiere’s villain meant when he informed Hicks, “You’re on the wrong side of this.” Could the members of Team Alpha be in for a rude awakening any day now? I can only hope, and the more malevolent the real deal is, the better.

The summer television season officially begins for me tonight, June 23, with the premiere of trippy new FX comedy Wilfred at 10pm ET. The time also marks the debut of new USA Network original series Suits, which I’m much less enthusiastic to see.

Based on the Australian comedy of the same name, Wilfred features Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood as poor young Ryan, an average guy who’s having immense trouble just living. And then he gets into a surreal, twisted relationship with his attractive neighbor Jenna’s (Fiona Gubelmann, The Closer) dog Wilfred, which turns his world upside down, inside out, and numerous other convoluted ways. Jason Gann, the creator and star of the original show, reprises his canine role as the title character.

Over on USA Network, Suits stars Gabriel Macht (The Others) as corporate lawyer Harvey Specter. When he sets out to hire a new rising attorney to be his right-hand man, he ends up selecting Mike Ross, (Patrick J. Adams, Pretty Little Liars), a smart newcomer to the legal profession who lacks the most important thing of all — a law degree. Oops! Gina Torres of Alias (love her!) and Rick Hoffman (Samantha Who?) also star.

Sneak peeks at TV’s latest additions below. Wilfred precedes hilarious comedy Louie, which kicks off its second season at 10:30pm tonight, and Suits follows USA Network staple Burn Notice, which launches its fifth season tonight at 9pm.