Star Vehicles

You love your A-listers and are over the moon about the big names on your small screen. You tune in for the recognizable faces and known talent they showcase. Click through this slideshow to see the top shows fueled by star power.Wednesday, August, 20, 2008, 7:20 PM

If you'd have told us a few years ago that the perky Sally Field would play a family matriarch dealing with the fallout of her husband's philandering and a crumbling business on a big primetime drama, it would have been hard to fathom. But now that Field has wonderfully portrayed the lovable, level-headed Nora Walker for two seasons on "Brothers and Sisters," it's difficult to imagine anyone else in the role. Last season Nora, the mother of five adult children, jumped back into the dating pool and found a new love interest (played by Danny Glover). She'll have her hands full this season dealing with her husband's lover Holly (who's become part of the family business) and the existence of yet another Walker sibling. ABC/Scott Garfield - Wednesday, August, 20, 2008, 7:20 PM

We may have gotten to know her as high school cutie Sarah Reeves on the '90s Fox drama "Party of Five," but Jennifer Love Hewitt is all grown up now and playing the very adult Melinda Gordon who's got the weight of the (after)world on her shoulders as the "Ghost Whisperer."The series follows antique store owner Gordon as she tries to live as normal a life as possible—all while being able to see and talk to the dead. She uses her unconventional gift to help both the living and the dead by serving as a go-between for the ghosts and those they haunt. This season Hewitt will say goodbye to Jay Mohr (who's starring in his own CBS series, Gary Unmarried) and say hello to a new co-star, prankster Jamie Kennedy. ABC/Vivian Zink - Wednesday, August, 20, 2008, 7:20 PM

Who would have thought the nerdy, self-deprecating Tina Fey could click so well with the outspoken and short-tempered Alec Baldwin? Well, as "30 Rock" fans know, not only do they click, but this odd couple has helped turn this NBC sitcom into one of the best comedies on television. Fey's character, Liz Lemon, is the quirky head writer for an SNL-esque sketch comedy show and must constantly scramble to please Baldwin's character, the eccentric, corporate-ladder-climbing, network exec Jack Donaghy. Somehow, both Jack and Liz often find themselves dealing with similar problems—from love troubles to an outrageously unprofessional (but hysterical) group of staffers.NBC/Mitchell Haaseth - Saturday, August, 23, 2008, 12:23 AM

Christian Slater, perhaps best known as the star of cult films like "True Romance" and "Heathers," shows up on the small screen this fall in NBC's "My Own Worst Enemy" where he'll technically be playing two roles. The new series tells the story of two very different men who share the same body... and don't even know it. Henry is your everyday suburban dad with a wife, kids, a minivan and an office job. Edward is a highly trained operative who kills for a living. When the very important wall between them breaks down, both men wind up in very unfamiliar territory, where they find themselves dangerously out of their element. Get ready for a double dose of Christian...NBC/Paul Drinkwater - Wednesday, August, 20, 2008, 7:20 PM

Charlie Sheen, the ultimate bad boy, plays a version of his (former) self as Malibu bachelor Charlie Harper whose partying, womanizing lifestyle is turned upside down when his straight-laced brother and nephew move in with him on "Two and a Half Men." Charlie (and cast members including co-star Jon Cryer) must be doing something right as the sitcom is entering its sixth season this fall. Last season ended with Charlie dating an older woman (not anything like the real-life Charlie's style). What surprises will he have in store for us this season? CBS/Greg Gayne/Warner Bros. - Wednesday, August, 20, 2008, 7:20 PM

Four years ago Katherine Heigl was far from a household name and Patrick Dempsey was best known as a nerdy teen actor from the '80s. Oh, how times have changed. Now Ms. Heigl is a bona fide movie star (who may be getting a little too big for her britches given her not-so-gracious Emmy nom decline) and Patrick Dempsey has become one of the hunkiest stars on TV... all thanks to a little medical drama called "Grey's Anatomy." Will Season 5 finally bring Dempsey's Dr. Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd stability in his relationship with Meredith once and for all? And is Heigl's character, the easily-romanced Izzie Stevens, about to start a new romance with the brooding Alex Karev?ABC/Ron Tom/Scott Garfield - Wednesday, August, 20, 2008, 7:20 PM

The chameleon-like comedian Molly Shannon is at it again, this time as Kathy Day, a suburban divorcee with frosted hair and a penchant for tacky clothes in "Kath & Kim," a new sitcom based on the Australian series of the same title. Kath is looking forward to a little time to herself now that her daughter has gotten married... but her plans are about to change. "Hellboy" fans will be thrilled to see beauty Selma Blair as Kath's narcissistic and ditzy daughter Kim who's separated from her husband of six weeks and is ready to move back in with mom. The house rules have changed, however, as Kath refuses to cater to her bratty daughter's every whim like the good old days. With their wild outfits, whiny voices, and wacky outfits, we have a feeling this team of funny females is about to take TV by storm. NBC/Trae Patton - Wednesday, August, 20, 2008, 7:20 PM

What would "The Office" be without Steve Carell's character, the infamous Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch regional manager Michael Scott? If you said more productive, quieter, and less awkward, you're right. But that wouldn't be any fun! Scene-stealer Carrel plays up boss Michael's social ineptitudes, inappropriate behavior, and insecurities so well that he makes viewers laugh—and cringe—at the character's crude cluelessness week after week. Now that Carell has jumped to the big screen with films including "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Dan in Real Life," let's just hope he never leaves the Scranton branch of "The Office."NBC/Chris Haston - Wednesday, August, 20, 2008, 7:20 PM

Christina Applegate has been all over the news since she recently announced she's battling breast cancer, but thankfully, she's on the road to recovery and will be back for another season of "Samantha Who?" The sitcom about a cheating, selfish alcoholic who gets the chance to start life anew after she's hit by a car and ends up with amnesia, became one of last fall's break-out hits, due in no small part to Applegate's charming portrayal of a bad girl trying to become a good girl. We'll be watching—and rooting for her all over again—this season. ABC/Randy Holmes - Wednesday, August, 20, 2008, 7:20 PM

This talented red head turned heads in the 2007 mini-series "The Starter Wife" as scorned Hollywood wife Molly Kagan who's blacklisted by her Hollywood friends and shut out of the life she once knew after her high-powered movie studio exec husband dumps her. Based on the 2006 best-selling novel by Gigi Levangie Grazer (who also happens to be a red head who split with a big-time producer husband in real life), "The Starter Wife" has now grown into a TV series. The show picks up where the mini-series story ended as Molly gets more serious about her career and even stumbles into new love. With Messing's knock-out looks and figure, we're sure her character will have no problem in that department. USA/Matthew Rolston - Wednesday, August, 20, 2008, 7:20 PM