7 new dramas for ABC in 2007-08

ABC has picked up seven new dramas, four new comedies and a new primetime series from Oprah Winfrey for its 2007-08 lineup.

"We're heading into the new season with a strong lineup of returning shows that we've developed and nurtured over the past few years," said ABC Entertainment president Stephen McPherson. "That solid foundation will help us launch an exciting development slate as we continue our forward momentum this fall. We're dedicated to working hard week after week to deliver the best stories and most memorable characters on TV."

The network is radically overhauling its Wednesday night lineup with Grey's Anatomy spinoff Private Practice anchoring a night of back-to-back freshman dramas. Comedies - including one based on the GEICO car insurance caveman commercials - take up residence on Tuesday night.

The network's big hitters - Dancing with the Stars, Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy - remain in their current timeslots and Sunday night is completely unchanged.

Among the most prominent casualties are According To Jim and The George Lopez Show. Shows confirmed to return without a current timeslot are Lost, Supernanny, Wife Swap, October Road and Notes from the Underbelly.

New dramas for 2007 include Big Shots, following four "competitive but dysfunctional CEOs"; Cashmere Mafia, following "four ambitious and sexy women" trying to balance their careers and personal lives; Dirty Sexy Money, in which "power, privilege and family money are a volatile cocktail"; Eli Stone, in which a corporate lawyer reconsiders his life after an aneurysm is found in his brain; Private Practice, the much-talked about Grey's Anatomy spinoff starring Kate Walsh; Pushing Daisies, a fantasy crime procedural with a touch of romance from Heroes executive producer Bryan Fuller; and Women's Murder Club, which follows four women in San Francisco solving murder cases and is based on bestselling novels by James Patterson.

Among the new comedies are Carpoolers, in which four commuters from different backgrounds commiserate about their lives, jobs and families; Cavemen, which lampoons stereotypes and "turns race relations on their head" - and is based on a series of caveman-featuring commercials from GEICO; Miss/Guided, in which a guidance counsellor returns to work at her old high school; and Sam I Am, in which an amnesiac confronts her old life of evil and attempts to become a nicer person.

Headlining ABC's alternative slate for 2007 is Oprah's Big Give, the first primetime production from Winfrey's Harpo Productions. Each week contestant will face a "big twist... that will test their nerve, drive, ingenuity and passion." Over 8 episodes the show will travel around America with big name stars and one person will be chosen as The Biggest Giver.

> Take a look at ABC's new lineup night-by-night