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.

TNT dramas HawthoRNe and Memphis Beat don’t seem to generate as much “buzz” as the network’s higher profile series — such as its bread and butter The Closer and the upcoming sci-fi saga Falling Skies, for example — but I, for one, am very happy that both shows begin new seasons tonight, June 14.

Paired once again, just like during their last respective runs, HawthoRNe and Memphis Beat open their third and second season, respectively. The medical drama starring Jada Pinkett Smith as brash nurse Christina Hawthorne ends the night at 10pm ET with the extremely dramatic premiere “For Better or Worse.”

Writers are not supposed to reveal spoilery details, which leaves me reluctant to disclose anything at all given the far-reaching nature of the episode’s main plot. However, viewers who are familiar with the series will instantly recognize — and once again appreciate — HawthoRNe‘s tendency to stir drama by following lighthearted, emotionally uplifting segments with events designed to evoke the opposite reaction.

Viewers will also notice the absence or reduced screen time of key characters from previous seasons and the arrival of new faces to make up for the loss. The latter includes Marc Anthony (Man on Fire) returning as Detective Nick Renata, a romantic interest of Christina introduced near the end of Season Two, and Derek Luke (Trauma) and Lauren Vélez (Dexter) as doctors. Anthony appears throughout the season, providing the third point in a simmering love triangle involving Christina and surgeon Tom Wakefield (Michael Vartan, Alias), and, of course, the tension is on full display already during the third-season premiere.

Things are slightly less tense at 9pm during “At the River,” the Season Two premiere of charismatic crime series Memphis Beat, although the central investigation revolves around a murdered, well-liked cop. The death hits close to home for Jason Lee‘s character Dwight Hendricks, whose own police office father was murdered years ago.

The episode features Beau Garrett, a star of CBS’ quickly canceled Criminal Minds spinoff Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, making her first appearance as Internal Affairs staffer Claire Ryan. She teams up with Dwight while his regular partner Whitehead (Sam Hennings, CSI) is otherwise disposed and demonstrates some nice chemistry with the star of the show. Alfre Woodard fans will also enjoy spending more time with the boss Lieutenant Tanya Rice as she takes an active role in the case at hand.

Review what happened during the last season of both shows in the following video recaps, before they start new runs this summer. When TNT first presented the series together, I initially thought they weren’t well-matched thematically. Yet, watching them back-to-back gives me an entertaining “down home” night of TV with realistic and engaging characters, so I’m definitely looking forward to what unfolds next.

For a little while there I was kind of worried about the fate of TNT original series HawthoRNe and Memphis Beat. It turns out my concern was for nothing, however, because the network announced this week that it has picked up an additional season of both former Tuesday-night companions.

The good news about medical drama HawthoRNe dropped first. Fans can now rest assured that the show’s third season of 10 episodes will arrive in 2011. The same goes for Memphis Beat, which has a second season of 10 episodes set to begin in 2011.

Said TNT Executive Vice President and Head of Programming Michael Wright in the official HawthoRNe announcement:

With its memorable characters, powerful performances and moving storylines, [HawthoRNe] takes us on a dramatic journey through the world of a hospital on the brink of collapse. This series has performed extremely well among our key demos and proven itself to be a great summer series. We are very excited to continue working with Jada and [HawthoRNe]‘s outstanding production team and cast.

And with regards to Memphis Beat, Wright added:

[Memphis Beat] is a real treasure: a slightly off-center crime drama with great actors, memorable characters and a soundtrack steeped in Memphis sounds. We look forward to another fantastic season next year.

I’m looking forward to the next season of each series, too. Good decisions, TNT.

USA Network’s Thursday-night lineup of Burn Notice and Royal Pains is about to leave the summer behind on August 26 when each show presents its summer finale. Don’t worry, be happy, though, because both series will return later with the remaining six episodes in their respective 18-episode current seasons.

Burn Notice is up first at 9pm ET with “Guilty As Charged.” While Michael helps a lawyer locate his daughter after a client abducts her, Fiona searches for Jesse to set up a meeting between him and Michael.

The midseason finale features returning guest star Robert Patrick (The Unit, The X-Files) from the previous episode, and appearances by Cold Case vet Danny Pino and Michael Rooker of the upcoming AMC zombie series The Walking Dead. Season-long recurring actor Robert Wisdom (Happy Town, The Wire) is back, too, as the mysterious Vaughn.

Royal Pains follows at 10pm with the creatively titled “Open Up Your Yenta Mouth and Say Ah.” While Hank deals with his latest client, who skips out on him before he can even begin treatment, Divya copes with her unexpectedly strong feelings after Adam becomes sick.

Continue below to sneak three long-ish peeks at the last new Burn Notice episode of the summer and a quick peek at the season’s last new Royal Pains installment.

TNT Tuesday-night original series HawthoRNe and Memphis Beat end their sophomore and freshman season, respectively, with the August 24 finales “No Exit” and “I Want to Be Free.” There’s no word yet on whether the network intends to renew either show.

Medical drama HawthoRNe closes its Summer 2010 season first at 9pm ET. While Dr. Marshall is busy causing Ray all kinds of headaches because of his relationship with pregnant colleague Candy, a most-unfortunate construction accident occurs just as James River is undergoing that critical commission inspection. Best of all, however (if you ask me), we finally learn about Bobbie and Steve’s — or should I say Bobbie and Guillaume’s? — relatively mysterious backgrounds.

Newbie Memphis Beat follows at 10pm with an intriguing case involving an amnesiac and a three-year-old crime. When the forgetful dude is discovered shot in a less reputable part of Memphis, Dwight begins to suspect he might have something to do with the unsolved violent murder of a little girl several years ago. Elsewhere, Lieutenant Rice continues to deal with her thieving ex-husband, and his success gaining access to money in her bank account causes her to consider other career options.

As usual, TNT hasn’t uploaded a preview for Memphis Beat — which I still don’t get — but you can sneak a peek at HawthoRNe‘s second-season finale below.

Recording artist and actor Marc Anthony did a fine job on last week’s “A Mother Knows” episode of HawthoRNe, so it’s all good that he reprises his role as Detective Nick Renata on the new August 17 “Picture Perfect” episode of the TNT medical drama.

Christina turns to the detective for assistance after her daughter Camille gets caught up in a tense situation. Meanwhile, she also finds herself at odds with Erin regarding the future of Tom’s career. In addition to Anthony, Sara Gilbert (Roseanne) guest stars again as snarky nurse Malia Price, who finally seemed to get with the program during “A Mother Knows” when Christina effectively made Kelly her boss. Ahhh … sweet revenge.

The Jason Lee crime dramedy Memphis Beat follows at 10pm ET with the new episode “Don’t Be So Cruel.” Partners Dwight and Whitehead investigate a mysterious wedding-day disappearance involving a city councilman’s aid — who was set to marry the councilman’s daughter — and a missing reporter.

Sneak a peek below at HawthoRNe star Jada Pinkett Smith and guest Anthony in a scene from “Picture Perfect.” As usual, TNT has not uploaded a preview for Memphis Beat, which continues to baffle me no end.

TNT medical drama HawthoRNe is getting way intense tonight during the new August 10 episode “A Mother Knows.”

The title refers to occasional character Isabel (Aisha Hinds, True Blood), who kidnaps her son from foster care and disappears with him after she comes to doubt his safety. Actor and Latin music star Marc Anthony plays Detective Nick Renata, the person Christina teams up with to locate Isabel and her child. Roseanne vet and recurring Big Bang Theory actress Sara Gilbert also returns to reprise her role as gruff nurse Malia Price, whom I’m actually starting to like after her last spot-on appearance.

Rookie crime series Memphis Beat follows at 10pm ET with the new episode “I Shall Not Be Moved,” featuring fabulous old-school-TV guest stars Clarence Williams III (The Mod Squad) and Veronica Cartwright (The X-Files). Now that poor Dwight realizes the father he idolizes might have been on the take before his death, he must move on to the next case with his partner Whitehead. The pair get wrapped up in a hostage situation, which gives Dwight the opportunity to get background information on an inactive interstate case.

Still no previews for Memphis Beat for whatever reason, but a quick sneak peek at “A Mother Knows” follows.

TNT original series HawthoRNe and Memphis Beat present the new episodes “Hidden Truths” and “Suspicious Minds,” respectively, on August 3.

Up first at 9pm ET is HawthoRNe with “Hidden Truths,” featuring Entourage‘s Debi Mazar. She plays Donna Alberghetti, a longtime friend of Christina who requires treatment her insurance company is unwilling to pay for. Step in Super Nurse to try and save the day by getting Donna the medical help she needs.

Also, Tom trades smooches with an ecstatic (I’m sure) Erin, something that can only cause problems with Christina, who isn’t a dummy and sees how their relationship is getting tighter in all kinds of troubling (at least for her) ways. Meanwhile, Christina has to deal with Camille after catching her daughter having a little too much fun with Marcus during the previous episode.

Memphis Beat follows at 10pm with “Suspicious Minds.” (Love that song!) Next on Dwight and Whitehead’s criminal roster is a case involving a private plane abandoned at a public park and its missing, possibly abducted elderly owners, who also happen to have won the lottery.

TNT still isn’t providing previews for Memphis Beat, but there is a sneak peek for HawthoRNe‘s “Hidden Truths” below.

The new July 27 episodes of TNT original series HawthoRNe and Memphis Beat are “Final Curtain” and “Run On.” Both are the sixth installment in each show’s respective 10-episode season, which means there are only four left before the current runs end on August 24.

Premiering at 9pm ET, “Final Curtain” concerns a pregnant patient from Afghanistan who doesn’t speak English, a major problem considering her unborn child is at risk following a fall. Christina also gets an unexpected shock when she catches her daughter Camille “in the act,” and Tom gets ready to have his elbow operated on finally.

Next during Memphis Beat‘s “Run On,” partners Dwight and Whitehead investigate an attack on a well-known boxer who may have angered numerous people when he announced his retirement from the sport.

TNT hasn’t uploaded a preview for Memphis Beat once again (what’s up with that?), but you can check out a “Final Curtain” sneak peek for HawthoRNe below.

TNT’s excellent summer season of original television continues tonight with fresh July 20 episodes of medical drama HawthoRNe at 9pm ET and rookie crime dramedy Memphis Beat at 10pm.

The plot of the HawthoRNe episode “The Match” seems pretty downbeat, although I’m sure it will have the customary humor in places. Plus, retired NBA player John Salley stops by to guest star.

While surgery to repair his arm injuries looms for Christina’s significant other Tom, her daughter Camille encounters young twin sisters who are patients at James River Hospital as they await kidney transplants. Elsewhere, Salley visits another child patient, which isn’t quite what the boy had in mind when he expressed the wish to meet a pro basketball player.

Memphis Beat follows with “One Night of Sin,” which features guest star Giovanni Ribisi of Avatar, Public Enemies, My Name Is Earl, and Friends. The latest down-home, Southern-fried case for partners Dwight and Whitehead involves a dead country & western (must be the TNT theme of the week) matriarch, inner family turmoil, a seemingly suicidal manager, and a mentally ill fan acting odd. If Ribisi isn’t playing the last dude, then something’s wrong with the show’s casting department.

TNT still isn’t uploading sneak peeks for super-fun Memphis Beat (why, I have no idea), so the following HawthoRNe preview will have to do. One video is better than none.