Mike and Molly

CBS must be feeling generous! The network has just ordered full seasons for all of its freshman series, including Hawaii Five-0 (that's good news for this reader), Blue Bloods, Mike & Molly, The Defenders, and $#*! My Dad Says. Alex O'Loughlin fans, feel free to hoot and holler in the comments.

Photo courtesy of CBS

The following post comes from OnSugar blogger ShaynaLeah, from her blog Life Forward.

It's the most wonderful time of year — when networks eagerly replace summer's reruns with new seasons and new shows. CBS's new contender, Mike & Molly has a stellar pedigree — it stars Melissa McCarthy (formerly known as Sookie St. James on Gilmore Girls) and Billy Gardell (I know him from his recurring guest role on the sitcom Yes, Dear, but he also has been seen on The King of Queens and My Name Is Earl), and is being produced by Chuck Lorre — the driving force behind current CBS hits like The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men.

Mike & Molly, though, is riskier than either of those two hits. While The Big Bang Theory chanced that America would be able to understand geek (read: intelligent) humor, and Two and a Half Men continues to balance precariously between drunken humor and alcoholism, Mike & Molly requires viewers to believe that fat people are entitled to live happily ever after. While Gilmore Girls showed McCarthy's character as having a normal, happy life with the standard true-love-and-kids-happy-ending, this storyline practically beats the viewer over the head with its title characters' weight problems. For one thing, they meet in Overeaters Anonymous. For another, we are introduced to the expected host of secondary characters, many of which are improbably thin, yet able to consume vast quantities of the forbidden, high calorie foods that made our hero and heroine fat in the first place.

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Fall TV has been slowly trickling in over the past two weeks, but tonight it turns things up full blast with an onslaught of returning shows and new soon-to-be favorites! Let's break it down: ABC's Dancing With the Stars comes back with a fresh cast followed by Castle, NBC will reveal last season's cliffhanger (Chuck's mom!) on Chuck, and we'll see how the romance between Cuddy and House is working out on FOX's House. Plus, there's How I Met Your Mother's premiere with Rachel Bilson.

As if that wasn't enough to keep you busy, there's also added competition, as the networks unveil new programming. Three of my five Fall must sees bow this evening, including CBS's Hawaii Five-0, NBC's The Event, and FOX's Lone Star with dreamy heartthrob James Wolk. They'll be accompanied by fellow newbies Mike & Molly and Chase (featuring a brand-new kickass female character).

Whew! I know it's going to be hard to keep track of everything — especially with so many shows competing in the same time slots — so make sure to download my official TV calendar to keep it all straight (my head is practically spinning already!). What will you watch tonight?

Photos courtesy of NBC and CBS

There are a ton of new shows out this Fall. How to choose? With my handy pilot scoops, I've been giving you the pros and cons of each new program so you can decide what to watch and what to skip (don't forget to mark them off on your calendar while you're at it!). Today's selection: CBS comedy Mike & Molly.

What it's about: Melissa McCarthy (Sookie of Gilmore Girls!) stars as Molly, a woman fed up with her size. Her mother Joyce (Swoosie Kurtz) and pothead sister Victoria (Katy Mixon) are oblivious to her plight, chomping down on brownies in Molly's presence without giving it a second thought. So Molly seeks help elsewhere: from an Overeaters Anonymous group. It's there that she meets a cop named Mike (Billy Gardell). The two immediately bond over their similar struggle and begin a relationship.

Where it works: McCarthy is full of charm, delivering jokes with just the right touch of self-deprecation. When Molly complains about her weight, it never comes across as too whiny or annoying, a trap the show could have easily fallen into. Her chemistry with Gardell also takes on a sweetness that makes you root for them as a couple.

Where it doesn't: Some of the fat jokes feel tired already, and this is only the pilot. The Biggest Loser aside, how long can a show possibly last with weight-loss as its main hook? The writers will have to focus more on the relationship between Mike and Molly and comment less on their size in order for this to work.

Am I hooked? Not yet. I like McCarthy, but she's not enough to get me coming back every week. I'll be waiting to see if this one does well with critics and viewers.

When is it on? Mike & Molly premieres on Monday, Sept. 20 at 9:30 p.m.

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Before another exciting day at the Summer TCA, I wanted to bring you a few more highlights from yesterday's CBS panels. I've already given you the inside scoop on the network's new daytime talk show, my trip to the set of Parenthood, and the lowdown on cute Alex O'Loughlin and Hawaii Five-O, but here's what else went down on the first day of the tour.

• The cast and crew of The Big Bang Theory are feeling confident about the show's switch to Thursday nights — and a little fan support doesn't hurt. Fresh off an appearance at Comic-Con, Jim Parsons said he met "the sweetest least psychotic group of people." Guess the eye-stabber skipped that panel at the convention.
• In other geektastic Big Bang news, expect to see a cameo from Steve Wozniak as himself in the next season.
• The premise for new sitcom Mike & Molly is a couple that meets at a meeting for Overeaters Anonymous. Naturally, there were plenty of questions from critics about using fat jokes on the show and beyond, but Billy Gardell won major points with his sweet but honest responses. For example: "Everyone would like to look a little better than they are. Everyone just has a different tick, mine just happens to be pizza." He also joked that he's psyched to play a main character since "When you're a fat guy in Hollywood, you're the bad guy, the cop, or the neighbor."
• Melissa McCarthy (Sookie from Gilmore Girls!) was also sweet saying that she hopes the show will help viewers go a little easier on themselves about personal appearances.
• Jerry O'Connell plays a Las Vegas Lawyer alongside Jim Belushi on The Defenders, and he's had some wild Vegas experiences of his own. He talked about how his trips to Sin City have changed since marrying Rebecca Romijn: "I used to go to Vegas with about 20 or 30 friends, and we'd share one hotel room. There would be 30 of us sharing two single beds. So that's how I remember Vegas, but now that I'm married, look, I go there with my wife. A lot of shopping is done. To be honest, my credit card maxed out the last time we went there."

For more fun highlights just keep reading

• Steven Spielberg is producing a film version of the children's novel War Horse — Cinema Blend
• The Beautiful Life will debut three unaired episodes on YouTube — Vulture
• The USA network is turning '90s movie The Freshman into a TV series — TV Squad
• Emmy Rossum joins the cast of Showtime's Shameless — MovieWeb
• The guys behind Two and a Half Men are developing another CBS comedy titled Mike and Molly — The Wrap
• Thor adds Rene Russo to its cast roster — Cinematical
• Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante has quit the band — Rock and Roll Daily
• Yet another track from Vampire Weekend's Contra, yay! — Stereogum
• Cool ways to make your home feel like Sherlock Holmes's — CasaSugar
• Bryan Singer returns to the X-Men franchise with X-Men: First Class — HitFix
• Simon Fuller is creating a new reality web series that will air episodes on Hulu — Inside TV
• Kid Cudi drops out of Lady Gaga's tour — Billboard
• You must check out this awesome movie quote site — GeekSugar