A look at new series

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Strike? What strike?Broadcast networks are trying to put the best face on their winter prime-time schedules with promos touting all the new programming that's on the way in '08. True, there will be reality shows galore, but there are also plenty of scripted series premiering in the next month despite the writers' strike. Viewers just won't see a lot of their established favorites.With new episodes of network hits dwindling (the last new "Grey's Anatomy" is slated for Jan. 10) or exhausted ("The Office," "Big Bang Theory"), networks are turning to midseason replacements.January is often a time for these series to premiere but so is March. Most networks aren't waiting until March this year, opting instead to put all their stockpiled shows on the table as soon as possible in a gambit to preserve the illusion that everything is fine.And when will these shows run out of episodes? By March in most cases.If the strike continues, that's when viewers will really start to notice the dearth of new scripted programming. Until then, content yourself with these new series, both scripted and unscripted (all times EST):-- "How to Look Good Naked" (9 p.m. Jan. 4, Lifetime): Provocative title for just another reality show. This one features Carson Kressley ("Queer Eye for the Straight Guy") as a host who tries to convince women of all shapes and sizes that they can look good without extreme dieting or cosmetic surgery.-- "Cashmere Mafia" (previews at 10 p.m. Jan. 6, ABC; time-slot premiere 10 p.m. Jan. 9): Four women who are best friends try to balance their high-powered-executive jobs with their personal lives. Call it "Sex & the City: The Sequel" or maybe "Lipstick Jungle" (see below).-- "Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann" (8 p.m. Jan. 7, ABC): "Dancing With the Stars" judges/choreographers Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba will battle one another by each selecting a team of amateur performers who can dance and sing. Their two teams will then compete, with viewers as the judges.-- "Parking Wars" (10 p.m. Jan. 8, A&E): Sounds more like a parody of a reality show, but it's just a reality show about the daily beat of Philadelphia's meter maids.-- "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" (previews 8 p.m. Jan. 13, Fox; time-slot premiere 9 p.m. Jan. 14): The "Terminator" movies come to TV with this series set after "T2" and following Sarah (Lena Headey) and son John (Thomas Dekker) as they evade evil robots from the future.-- "Breaking Bad" (10 p.m. Jan. 20, AMC): The network that brought us "Mad Men" brings us another mad man. Bryan Cranston ("Malcolm in the Middle") stars as a high-school chemistry teacher who teams with a former student to convert an RV into a rolling meth lab in a bid to secure his family's financial future.-- "Hollywood Residential" (10:30 p.m. Jan. 23, Starz): A struggling actor (Adam Paul) who appears on a home-makeover show tries to improve his career prospects.-- "In Treatment" (9:30 p.m. Jan. 28, HBO): A psychotherapist (Gabriel Byrne) treats his patients while confronting his own issues in this half-hour series that airs a new episode every weeknight.-- "Eli Stone" (10 p.m. Jan. 31, ABC): A San Francisco lawyer who represents soul-crushing corporations, Eli Stone (Jonny Lee Miller) begins having visions and discovers, yes, it is a tumor, and an inoperable one at that. Could he also be a prophet?-- "Welcome to The Captain" (8:30 p.m. Feb. 4, CBS): An aspiring filmmaker (Fran Kranz, "The TV Set") moves into the building where his best friend (Chris Klein, "American Pie) lives and meets the other tenants, played by Jeffrey Tambor ("Arrested Development"), Raquel Welch and Joanna Garcia ("Reba").-- "Lipstick Jungle" (10 p.m. Feb. 7, NBC): Three women who are best friends try to balance their high-powered-executive jobs with their personal lives.-- "The Baby Borrowers" (8 p.m. Feb. 18, NBC): Based on a British reality show, couples ages 18-20 get on the fast track to adulthood with jobs, homes and children.-- "Quarterlife" (9 p.m. Feb. 18, NBC): This series from the executive producers of "Once and Again" has been airing in small chunks on MySpace.com, but it will air in one-hour episodes on NBC, following a young woman (Bitsie Tulloch) who talks about her life in a video blog.-- "Oprah's Big Give" (9 p.m. March 2, ABC): Oprah Winfrey's production company is making this feel-good reality show, where contestants compete to see who can give away the most money.-- "New Amsterdam" (previews at 9 p.m. March 4; time slot premiere 9 p.m. March 10, Fox): John Amsterdam (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) is a New York homicide detective with a perk that might allow him to skip the bulletproof vest: He's immortal!-- Returning series include: "Law & Order" (Wednesday, NBC), "Power of 10" (Wednesday, CBS), "The Apprentice" (Jan. 10, NBC), "1 Vs. 100" (Jan. 4, NBC), "The Wire" (Jan. 6, HBO), "The L Word" (Jan. 6, Showtime), "Medium" (Jan. 7, NBC), "One Tree Hill" (Jan. 8, The CW), "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (Jan. 9, NBC), "Kyle XY" (Jan. 14, ABC Family), "10 Items or Less" (Jan. 15, TBS), "Reno 911!" (Jan. 16, Comedy Central), "Head Case" (Jan. 23, Starz), "Lost" (Jan. 31, ABC), "The New Adventures of Old Christine" (Feb. 4, CBS), "Survivor" (Feb. 7, CBS), "Jericho" (Feb. 12, CBS), "Big Brother" (Feb. 12, CBS), "Dancing With the Stars" (March 17, ABC) and "The Bachelor" (March 17, ABC).(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)