letterten 2010-11 fall preview | abc

ABC Tuesday 8:00pm

debuts Tuesday, September 28, 8:00pm

concept from	The Powells are about to go from ordinary to extraordinary. After 16 years of marriage, Jim feels disconnected from his workaholic wife, Stephanie, and two teenage children, Daphne and JJ. To encourage family bonding time, Jim decides the family will join Stephanie on her business trip to South America. When their plane crashes into the Amazon River, they barely enjoy a moment to celebrate their survival before returning to the grind of everyday life. But they will soon realize that their lives have been forever changed. Each member of the family starts to show signs of new, unique and distinct super powers. Will their newfound abilities finally bring them together or push them further apart?
stars	Michael Chiklis (The Shield), Julie Benz (Dexter), Kay Panabaker (Summerland), Jimmy Bennett (Star Trek), Autumn Reeser (Entourage), Romany Malco (Weeds)
producers	Greg Berlanti Brothers & Sisters, David Semel, Joe Hartwick, Jr., Jon Harmon Feldman, Morgan Wandell
studio	ABC Studios, Berlanti Television

my take

Michael Chiklis returns to series TV after an amazing run on The Shield. He leads a cast (including Dexter's Julie Benz) that is a family that develops super powers after crashing into the Amazon. By the time the pilot is over, they better make it extremely clear this is not Heroes. Any comparison would be very detrimental to Family in light of Heroes fast fall. I'm not thrilled about the concept, but with Chikilis and Benz at the helm, I'm interested enough to sample. The slot has some of the stiffest competition of any new show.