First Footage from Abrams and Nolan's Person of Interest

Upfronts week continued today with CBS giving their presentation on their lineup for 2011-2012. And while the usual focus at the Upfronts are on new series, it's safe to say that a ton of attention was being paid to a show that's been on for years – Two and a Half Men. Joked CBS's president, Nina Tassler, "It's been an educational year for all of us," referencing the situation with Charlie Sheen, who was never directly brought up. Ashton Kutcher than took to the stage with Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones to mark the beginning of the new era for Two and a Half Men. Kutcher, who is said to be getting a huge salary to join the series, said he felt like he'd won the lottery and added, "And I kind of did," before going on to heap praise on his new coworkers on the show.

- CBS

Meanwhile, CBS continues to be a victim of its own success when it comes to launching new series – as in, they just don't need many. But at their Upfront today, they did present trailers for five new series debuting this fall, including the one we've been most interested in at IGN, which also happens to be the one they're giving the biggest launch to: Person of Interest. Executive Produced by J.J. Abrams, Person of Interest is created by Jonathan Nolan, the co-writer of The Dark Knight. Pretty cool pedigree huh? CBS is giving the show an important timeslot, Thursdays at 9:00pm, where it will take over for CSI, after that megahit has been there for a decade (CSI is not cancelled, but moving to Wednesdays).

Right now, CBS has not publically released the full trailers they had at their Upfront, but rather behind-the-scenes videos that mix in some of the footage we saw from the shows today with interviews with the cast and creators. I'll post these videos below with a few comments on what I felt about the trailers and the shows in general.

Person of Interest

Here's the thing: In a perfect world, would I want the awesome pairing of J.J. Abrams and Jonathan Nolan to be on… a procedural? No. But look, this will probably be an especially awesome procedural. It's got two strong lead actors (Michael Emerson and Jim Caviezel) and a compelling hook – where the two main characters have a list of social security numbers that lead them to someone who will be involved in a crime. But they don't know anything beyond that, including whether this person will be the victim or the perpetrator.

That's a pretty tantalizing idea, as each episode will involve them tracking and meeting someone whose true nature isn't clear at first. On top of that, there's some very cool action involving Caviezel's character, who gets to kick quite a bit of ass. Again, I'm a guy all about serialized TV, but I'm definitely going to be giving Person of Interest a close look as the next TV season begins.

2 Broke Girls

It's a new era when a CBS sitcom features Kat Dennings saying the line, "I think this is the sound that dries up my vagina," isn't it? The fetching Dennings certainly seems to be appropriately cast as a feisty, snarky waitress who befriends a spoiled heiress (Beth Behrs). I should also add that the full trailer had some funny bits missing from this behind-the-scenes reel and the trailer played great to the packed room of advertisers. On top of that, CBS said 2 Broke Girls was their highest testing pilot EVER. Airing in-between How I Met Your Mother and Two and a Half Men, this looks poised to be a hit.

Unforgettable

CBS loves their procedurals, but they also love to throw in ones about people with a special talent or ability – think The Mentalist or Ghost Whisperer. Here's another of that kind, with Poppy Montgomery as a woman with a sort of super version of a photographic memory, who can recall any fact or anything she ever saw immediately. These sort of shows are not my cup of tea, but I will say this looks well made. On top of that, there is actually a bit more of a backstory and hints at a mythology than you're going to get on most CBS series – you won't see it mentioned in this clip package, but Montgomery's character's sister was killed years ago, and the events of that day are the only thing she can't remember. It's a cool little extra hook that might add a bit of appeal for those of us who prefer serialized stories.

A Gifted Man

I got some Doctor Strange flashbacks watching the trailer for this series starring Patrick Wilson as a brilliant surgeon, Dr. Michael Holt, who is also arrogant and dismissive to those around him, until something extraordinary happens - causing him to change his outlook and begin to be a better man, helping the greater good. But in this case, that something is his ex-wife, Anna, beginning to visit him and speak to him from beyond the grave. Directed by Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs) of all people, it certainly has some notable talent behind it. It's a potentially compelling idea, but it's one of those concepts that seems like a more natural fit for a movie or a miniseries than a TV show that could run for years. By Season 4, would we still want to see Michael chatting with his dead wife, as he performs surgeries and has other relationships? Hmm…

How to Be a Gentleman

This looks like a very middle of the road sitcom, with the kind of "two guys with very different personalities bouncing off each other" vibe already covered on CBS by Two and a Half Men (hey, it's not like they're going to have Ashton Kutcher's character be just like Jon Cryer's!). It's also a bit tired to see Kevin Dillon playing a lot of the same beats he already covered on Entourage. On the other hand, Dave Foley looks to be pretty fun as the main character, Andrew's, boss.