Female Lead Actresses on Fall TV

Fall TV 2009 - Strong Women Rule the Screen

For Hollywood's top actresses, the place to be these days is TV. Katey Sagal in 'Sons of Anarchy' and first-time Emmy nominee Elisabeth Moss ('Mad Men') are already stealing scenes in new episodes of their hit series, and the new fall season is full of great turns by female celebs who are proving that one of the themes for fall TV 2009 is this: Chicks rule. Deal with it. -By Kimberly Potts

NBC/ CBS/ ABC

Julianna Margulies
'The Good Wife' (Tue., 10PM, CBS)
The 'ER' Emmy winner plays tough Alicia Florrick, the wife who has to return to her job as a defense attorney when her politician hubby (Chris Noth) is caught in a sex and corruption scandal. Best moment in the Sept. 22 premiere: Alicia greets scoundrel hubby Peter after he 'fesses up to his misdeeds with a giant slap across the face. We're guessing that scene will be in active rewind and replay on the DVRs of viewers like Mesdames Clinton, Spitzer and Edwards.

CBS

Elizabeth Mitchell
'V' (Tue., 8PM, ABC)
We have to wait until next year to see if Juliet survived that season-finale blast on 'Lost,' but Mitchell will be plenty busy trying to outsmart some wily aliens in ABC's 'V' remake this fall. She plays Erica Evans, a Homeland Security expert who discovers that the aliens claiming to land on Earth in peace have really been plotting to take over the planet for years. Erica becomes a leader in the resistance movement, especially since the ETs have nabbed her son as one of their spies.

ABC

Courteney Cox
'Cougar Town' (Wed., 9:30PM, ABC)
Her guest stint on 'Scrubs' last fall was a good reminder of just how wickedly funny the 'Friends' alum is and led to her pairing with 'Scrubs' creator Bill Lawrence on 'Cougar Town,' in which Cox plays Jules Cobb, a recently divorced mom who re-enters the dating pool. She finds that in her small town most of her potential new mates may have more in common with her 17-year-old son than with her ... yep, she's a cougar.

ABC

Tina Fey
'30 Rock' (Thurs., 9:30PM, NBC)
The Emmy/Golden Globe/SAG award winner is back for her fourth season as writer/producer/star of '30 Rock,' where her geeky girl heroine Liz Lemon will become a relationship guru, thanks to her catchphrase from last season: "That's a dealbreaker, ladies!" In typical Liz fashion, it all goes wrong; Jack tries to make Liz the host of a talk show, and she's done in by a cosmetic issue.

NBC

Rebecca Romijn
'Eastwick' (Wed., 10PM, ABC)
After her first attempt at a leading role (on the short-lived WB series 'Pepper Dennis') failed and she left her quirky role on 'Ugly Betty,' new mom of twins Romijn takes the lead again in ABC's adaptation of the 1987 flick 'Eastwick.' Romijn is Roxanne (based on the character played by Cher in the movie), the sassy, single mom artist who dates a much younger guy and has premonitions of some exciting but risky happenings in her future.

ABC

Eliza Dushku
'Dollhouse' (Fri., 9PM, Fox)
Ratings for the Joss Whedon-created 'Dollhouse' weren't stellar for the show's freshman season, but all involved seemed to commit to kicking it up a notch after getting a surprise renewal for season 2. Dushku's Echo, in particular, is off to a big start in the season premiere, as her latest 'Dollhouse' assignment calls for her to get married, complete with fancy dress and hunky, British businessman groom ('Battlestar Galactica''s Jamie Bamber).

Fox

Regina King
'Southland' (Fri., 9PM, NBC)
'Jerry Maguire' star King was one of the best reasons to tune in to NBC's new cop drama last spring, with her Lydia Adams a sensitive-but-tough detective who juggles her duties at work with her responsibilities for taking care of her live-in mom. In 'Southland''s new season, Lydia has find time for another relationship: She's getting a new partner, played by 'Prison Break' star Amaury Nolasco, who will also be Lydia's new love interest.

NBC

Jenna Elfman
'Accidentally on Purpose' (Mon., 8:30PM, CBS)
Elfman, who just announced that she's pregnant with her second child, often makes more headlines with her Scientology beliefs than with her acting projects, but this CBS sitcom could be her first big hit since her 'Dharma & Greg' days. Elfman plays thirtysomething San Francisco movie critic Billie, who, after a one-night stand with twentysomething Zack, finds out she's preggers. And when Billie and Zack decide to move in together, platonically, to deal with the pregnancy, she finds out the downsides to being a cougar.


CBS

Patricia Heaton
'The Middle' (Wed., 8:30PM, ABC)
'Everybody Loves Raymond' mom Heaton has already ventured back to the tube post-'Raymond,' with her short-lived Kelsey Grammer sitcom 'Back to You,' but now she returns to her sitcom-mom roots with 'The Middle,' in which she plays the used-car-selling matriarch of a middle-class, Midwestern family of misfits, like her young son, whose best friend is his backpack.

ABC