Television: New shows blossoming

From Renaissance courts to the streets of Chicago to a beloved address in London, television ranges far this spring - even if many of the plot lines and franchises sound overly familiar. The new entries join a passel of old favorities that will have to see whether they can find the right kinds of addition to compensate for some cruel subtraction - from Dancing with the Stars (without Bristol Palin) to American Idol (without Simon Cowell). In addition, Survivor will offer redemption and The Amazing Race will settle unfinished business.

Here are a dozen shows (with channel and season premiere date) that you may find worth your viewing time. All but one of the shows listed here are new.

Glee, Fox29 (returning, Feb. 6) The music nerds get a bounce into their new season from television's most powerful springboard, the Super Bowl, following it with an extra-special installment that remakes Michael Jackson's Thriller video.

The Chicago Code, Fox29 (new, Feb. 7) Jennifer Beals, of Flashdance fame, plays Chicago's top cop, Teresa Colvin, in a muscular new drama from producer Shawn Ryan (The Shield), shot on location in the Windy City. Jason Clarke (Showtime's Brotherhood) plays her ex-partner, Jarek Wysocki, toughest of all detectives. Teresa handles the politics; Jarek handles the streets. Chicago is the winner.

Mr. Sunshine, 6ABC (new, Feb. 9) Sitcom vet Matthew Perry stars as Ben Donovan, manager of the Sunshine Center sports arena. At age 40, Ben is questioning his self-centered ways and trying to make human connections, which is pretty challenging with a pill-popping boss (Allison Janney) and a pretty assistant who once set her boyfriend on fire.

Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, CBS3 (new, Feb. 16) CBS has enjoyed considerable success spinning off series such as CSI and NCIS. Oscar winner Forest Whitaker stars as the head of another elite FBI profiling team, which includes Beau Garrett, Michael Kelly, Janeane Garofalo, and Matt Ryan. The only holdover from the original Criminal Minds is Kirsten Vangsness as the colorful computer whiz Penelope. So where's our Mentalist spin-off?

Break Out Kings, A&E (new, March 6) Here's a new wrinkle on the old it-takes-a-thief strategy: It takes a former escaped con to catch a current escaped con. That may be a dubious law-enforcement tactic, but it does have entertainment value. Laz Alonso (Avatar) and Ray Zancanelli (The Wire) star as the unorthodox U.S. marshals who come up with the plan.

Body of Proof, 6ABC (new, March 29) TV turns to the morgue again, this time with Megan Hunt (Dana Delany), a brilliant, hard-charging brain surgeon who becomes a medical examiner after an auto accident cuts short her surgical career.

Chaos, CBS3 (new, April 1) What do you get when you combine CIA swashbuckling with bureaucratic bumbling? Chaos. Freddy Rodriguez (Ugly Betty) stars as an operative assigned to the agency's Clandestine Administration and Oversight Services division. Foreign spies aren't nearly as dangerous as red tape in this action comedy costarring Eric Close, James Murray, Tim Blake Nelson, and Kurtwood Smith.

Camelot, Starz (new, April 1; preview Feb. 25) This lush revision of Arthurian legend finds medieval England veering toward anarchy. The wizard Merlin (Joseph Fiennes) desperately installs a brash young commoner, Arthur (Jamie Campbell Bower), on the throne. Rank has its privileges, notably the company of Guinevere, but the young monarch must also deal with the perfidy of his half-sister Morgan (Eva Green). It's a young and restless seating for the Round Table.

The Killing, AMC (new, April 3) Based on a Danish series, The Killing looks at the ripple effects of a murder in Seattle. The crime investigation is seen through the eyes of the homicide detectives (Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman), the parents (Michelle Forbes and Brent Sexton) of the slain girl, and the suspects. Billy Campbell (Once and Again) factors into the layered narrative as a Seattle mayoral candidate. Each of the 13 one-hour episodes corresponds to a day of the investigation.

The Borgias, Showtime (new, April 3) They don't make church leaders like Rodrigo Borgia anymore, for which we should all be grateful. Oscar winner Jeremy Irons plays Borgia, better known to history as Pope Alexander VI, father of Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia. And you thought the Sopranos were an interesting family?

Upstairs, Downstairs, WHYY TV12 (new, April 10) In a three-episode sequel to the beloved series of the 1970s, series cocreator Jean Marsh returns as Rose Buck, no longer a parlor maid but head of a domestic agency. The year is 1936, and a new family has replaced the Bellamys in the house at 165 Eaton Place.

Game of Thrones, HBO (new, April 17) April is shaping up as an extraordinary month for costume epics on TV. HBO has crafted a lavish adaptation of author George R.R. Martin's dark fantasy cycle, A Song of Ice and Fire. Powerful factions vie for the throne in the mythical kingdom of Westeros. Mark Addy, Sean Bean, Lena Headey, Peter Dinklage, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau star in this sword-and-sorcery spectacle.