to Sundance Channel for offering the season's most exciting new show:
Brick City. Okay, so a five-part docu-series about Newark, NJ (running Sept. 21-25 at 10/9c) might not sound like the most entertaining option in a week filled with big network premieres, but exec producer
Forest Whitaker's opus features everything those other shows do and more. You want
Heroes? Meet Mayor Cory Booker, who chose not to cash in on his Yale Law degree but rather to tackle the problems of one of America's toughest cities. You want
Dancing with the Stars? The rising political star shows off his moves at a rally (and for sports fans, he also shows off his hoops skills at a midnight basketball game). There's even an unexpected pregnancy, but unlike in Jenna Elfman's awful new sitcom
Accidentally on Purpose, this one isn't played for laughs: The mother is a Blood, and the father's a Crip. And talk about crime drama:
CSI: Miami's David Caruso would wilt under the heat put on Newark Police Director Garry McCarthy, who's charged with bringing down the city's murder rate during a sweltering summer. Actually,
Brick City plays like a verité version of
The Wire, one of TV's finest series ever. It's the ultimate reality show.
What's the best new show you've seen this season?