Revenge
Dynasty meets The Count of Monte Cristo in this new prime-time soap. Emily VanCamp (Brothers and Sisters) stars as a young woman who returns incognito to Long Island’s tony Hamptons to wreak elaborate vengeance on the rich reprobates who sent her and her late father to prison unjustly. Madeleine Stowe lends able support as the community’s ruthless queen bee. Wednesday, Sept. 21, at 10 p.m., ABC
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Prime Suspect
Lovers of the original Prime Suspect, a recent award-winning British series starring Helen Mirren as a troubled police detective, may have mixed feelings about this Americanized version, which changes the protagonist’s surname and transplants her to a New York City precinct teeming with male chauvinist Irish-Americans. But star Maria Bello makes the role her own, creating a heroine who’s tough yet sympathetic. Thursday, Sept. 22, at 10 p.m., NBC
A Gifted Man
Patrick Wilson stars in this new drama as a successful but selfish New York neurosurgeon whose priorities are upended when his ex-wife steps back into his life—from beyond the grave. The pilot episode could have come off as silly and saccharine; instead, it’s played with such conviction that it’s intriguingly original. Jennifer Ehle co-stars; Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs) directed the debut and is the series’s co-executive producer. Friday, Sept. 23, at 8 p.m., CBS
Pan Am
The well-produced premiere of this new series successfully captures the bygone glamour of air travel with meticulous period detail and appealing female leads, including Christina Ricci, Kelli Garner, and Karine Vanasse. One of two new network dramas seeking to evoke the mid-century sophistication of Mad Men (the other is NBC’s The Playboy Club), Pan Am follows four young stewardesses through many romantic entanglements and much cultural turmoil. Sunday, Sept. 25, at 10 p.m., ABC
Other highlights
Unforgettable
Poppy Montgomery (Without a Trace) stars in this new drama as a police detective who’s gifted (or cursed) with a photographic memory. Tuesday, Sept. 20, at 10 p.m., CBS
All My Children
After 41 years and 10,000-plus episodes, the daytime drama airs for the final time. Friday, Sept. 23, at 1 p.m., ABC
Alec Baldwin makes a record-breaking 16th appearance as host, for the premiere of the sketch show’s 37th season. Radiohead is the scheduled musical guest. Saturday, Sept. 24, at 11:30 p.m., NBC
