by Elizabeth Dawn

Created on: May 14, 2009   Last Updated: May 15, 2009

A bevy of talent has emerged in the new TV shows of the 2009 season, many of whom are familiar faces. The 2009 year will showcase new talent alongside some of the best names ever to grace the small screen. This might be the year that the mid season replacement show becomes obsolete.

Showtime's dark comedy The United States of Tara stars In Her Shoes lead actress Toni Collette as a housewife and mother with extreme multiple personality disorder. Joining the cast as Tara's husband, the hunky John Corbett of Sex and The City fame, is heartbreaking playing a tortured man. The duo makes the best of their marriage, whether it be to Tara or one of her many alter egos; a biker, rebellious teen, and 50s housewife, to name a few.

Fox gives us the talents of Eliza Dushku in Dollhouse. Sorely missed after her show Tru Calling disappeared early into its second season, Eliza plays Echo, a "doll" whose mind is essentially a blank canvas. Sequestered in a secret facility, Echo and her fellow "Actives", as the dolls are also called, may assume the persona's relevant to their assignments, ranging from super spy to assassin. Similar to Alias, but with creepier plots.

The drama Trust Me, TNT's newest show, is already buzzing with early promise. Starring Will & Grace's Eric McCormack, the show revolves around two best friends in the ad industry. Tom Cavanagh, previously of the television show Ed, is the scheming best friend who just won't quit. A must see for anyone missing their Eric McCormack fix.

Murder mysteries are a flailing industry, unless you happen to be Agatha Christie. CBS seems to have brought life back into this genre with the onset of the show Harper's Island. Guests attend a wedding in a ritzy Seattle island, only to have people die off one by one. A classic "whodunit" for the 2009 viewers, it has an edge and creepiness that few shows can illustrate realistically.

2009 will be over and done with before we can fully appreciate the changing world around us. Entertainment is a relaxing distraction from the toxic elements in life and demands quality. The shows in the line up this season prove to be just what Americans need in the form of thought provoking, superbly written guilty pleasures that both entice and inform. A small collection of incredible shows has been listed, with more on the air that may prove just as delightful. Primetime indeed seems to be like fine wine, aging gracefully and deliciously over time.

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