Best New TV Shows of 2011

Ordered annually by top networks like CBS, ABC, NBC and FOX, the best new shows provide us with new storylines, fresh characters and the return of some of our favorite actors and actresses. While often these new shows, such as some of the worst new shows of 2011, only last a few episodes before they are axed by the cancellation gods, others begin what will become a long and prosperous run on television.

Created to fill the open slots on the prime time television schedule left by other shows that ended, moved or were cancelled, these new shows vary in subject matter with drama series, such as "Person of Interest," comedies, like "2 Broke Girls," and even give us fantasy settings, like on "Once Upon a Time." Not to leave reality television or animated programming out, the CW introduced a new reality series "H8R" while FOX expanded its "Animation Domination" with the new series "Allen Gregory."

But just because these shows are new to the fall 2011 television lineup does not mean they are things we've not seen before. "Charlie's Angels" for instance has been remade numerous times from its original showing, both in film and on television. In the reality competition world, "The X Factor" aired for the first time in an American version in 2011 after becoming wildly popular in the United Kingdom.

Going a step further, many new shows took a bit of inspiration from shows we're familiar with, like the return of patriarch Tim Allen in "Last Man Standing," a sitcom rebooted from the premise of "Home Improvement," and the new CBS series "How to Be a Gentleman," which has been compared to a modern-day "Odd Couple."

Be them fresh ideas for dramas or remakes of sitcoms, the best new dramas are all looking for one thing, success. Without that many will go the way that "The Playboy Club" already has in the 2011 season, right down the crapper to cancellation land.