2009 Faces to Watch - Midseason TV

2009 Midseason TV Faces to Watch

From movie vets (Patrick Swayze, Toni Collette) and TV regulars (Harold Perrineau, Christopher Gorham) to cult show favorites (Nathan Fillion and Eliza Dushku!), the midseason TV schedule packs a star-studded punch this new year.

Here are the 21 faces we can't wait to see -- click through the gallery to find out who made our list.

JPI Studios / NBC / Showtime / ABC

Elizabeth Berkley

Show: 'The L Word' (Showtime)
Plays: Bette's (Jennifer Beals) old college crush. The kicker: She's straight.
Where You've Seen Her: We first saw Berkley rise to fame as Jesse Spano, the hard-working and occasional caffeine-pill-popping student on 'Saved by the Bell.' Then we saw a whole lot more of her in Paul Verhoeven's big screen bomb 'Showgirls.'

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Jamie McCarthy, WireImage

Bobby Cannavale

New Show: 'Cupid' (ABC)
Plays: A guy who thinks he is -- or just might be -- the god of love incarnate. It's the Jeremy Piven role from the original (which you probably didn't see, explaining why it was cancelled in less than a season the first go-round).
Where You've Seen Him: He was Will's sweet (and hot) boyfriend Vince on 'Will & Grace,' and is a staple in such indie fare as 'The Station Agent' and 'The Ten.'

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ABC

Toni Collette

New Show: 'The United States of Tara' (Showtime)
Plays: Tara, a woman with multiple personalities.
Where You've Seen Her: Talk about a triple threat: Collette was Oscar nominated for playing Haley Joel Osment's mom in 'The Sixth Sense.' She also received a Tony nom for the musical 'The Wild Party,' along with an Emmy nod for 'Tsunami: The Aftermath.' Recently, Collette co-starred in the Oscar-winning comedy 'Little Miss Sunshine.'

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Showtime

Courteney Cox

Show: 'Scrubs' (ABC)
Plays: Dr. Maddox, who replaces Kelso as Sacred Heart's chief of medicine -- and promptly fires Janitor.
Where You've Seen Her: You may recognize Cox from a little sitcom called 'Friends,' on which she played chef and control/neat-freak Monica. She's also made a splash on the big screen in 'Ace Ventura' and the 'Scream' movies. More recently, she starred on the USA series 'Dirt.'

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NBC

Hope Davis

Show: 'In Treatment' (HBO)
Plays: A former patient of Paul's (Gabriel Byrne) who blames the doc for the fact that she's single and childless.
Where You've Seen Her: She's the burst of attitude in a very sweet-looking package in off-the-beaten-path (read: small) films like 'American Splendor,' 'Next Stop Wonderland' and 'Synecdoche, New York.'

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Jim Spellman, WireImage

Kara DioGuardi

Show: 'American Idol'
Plays: The fourth judge, spicing things up alongside mainstays Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson.
Where You've Seen Her: This is her first time on TV, but she's a Grammy-nominated songwriter who's worked with Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, the Jonas Brothers and more.

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Fox

Eliza Dushku

New Show: 'Dollhouse' (Fox)
Plays: Echo, one of the "dolls" whose memories are erased and re-set for each assignment; she begins to retain some of her past experiences
Where You've Seen Her: She was bad-girl slayer Faith in 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer,' which led to her own short-lived supernatural series, 'Tru Calling.' Fanboys everywhere rejoiced when her return to the small screen was announced.

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Fox

Edie Falco

New Show: 'Nurse Jackie'
Plays: Jackie, a NYC emergency room nurse who struggles with saving lives while keeping her rebellious side in check.
Where You've Seen Her: After appearing on HBO's prison drama 'Oz,' the award-winning actress became a household name playing Tony's wife Carmela on 'The Sopranos.'

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Showtime

Nathan Fillion

New Show: 'Castle' (ABC)
Plays: Rick Castle, a successful mystery writer who helps the NYPD solve murders -- when they start to mimic the plots of his books.
Where You've Seen Him: He gained a cult following in Josh Whedon's short-lived series 'Firefly' and the horror comedy 'Slither,' but had a bigger audience for his role of Katherine's husband Adam on 'Desperate Housewives.'

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