After striking it rich with two hits in 2004 -- "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost" -- ABC has been hunting for its next ratings winner ever since, sometimes scoring with critics ("Pushing Daisies") but failing to launch many mainstream successes.

ABC takes a gamble this fall by debuting an all-new Wednesday night lineup, anchored by four new comedy series starring the likes of Kelsey Grammer and Courteney Cox. The network also has two high-concept dramas on tap for midseason: "V," a remake of NBC's 1980s sci-fi saga, and "Happy Town," a "Twin Peaks"-like mystery set in Minnestoa.

Stephen McPherson, ABC Entertainment president, said the network is bullish on prospects for its new shows airing at 10 p.m. once NBC debuts "The Jay Leno Show." (Conventional wisdom in broadcast circles holds that Leno will lose in the ratings race when his show is in competition with original episodes of scripted series. His show is also expected to skew more heavily male.)

"We think it's a throw up for CBS and ourselves, and we think the [available] audience may be more compatible to us," he said. "That will be the challenge for CBS and us, to grab as much of the audience as possible."

ABC renewed several low-rated series -- "Castle," "Better Off Ted," "Scrubs" and "True Beauty" -- but canceled "Cupid" (for a second time), "The Unusuals," "In the Motherhood," "According to Jim" (finally!) and "Samantha Who?"

The "Samantha" cancellation may surprise some viewers given the way ABC trumpeted the Christina Applegate sitcom as a hit, but the reality is it never drew enough viewers to survive except when it aired behind "Dancing With the Stars." "Lost" returns at mid-season as usual.

Most returning series are staying in place with the notable exception of Thursday night staple "Ugly Betty," which gets shipped to Friday, a night that had been threatening to follow rerun-filled Saturday down the drain. But this fall broadcasters seem more invested in the night, filling Friday with scripted dramas, including Fox's "Dollhouse" and NBC's "Southland."

"Ted" and "Scrubs" will debut in late fall following the completion of a new cycle of "Dancing With the Stars."

Here's ABC's fall schedule, with new series in bold:

7 p.m.: "America's Funniest Home Videos."

8 p.m.: "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

9 p.m.: "Desperate Housewives."

10 p.m.: "Brothers & Sisters."

8 p.m.: "Dancing With the Stars."

10 p.m.: "Castle."

8 p.m.: "Shark Tank": Executive producer Mark Burnett ("The Apprentice") creates another reality show set in the business world. Each week entrepreneurs strive to convince five judges to finance their concepts.

9 p.m.: "Dancing With the Stars the Results Show."

10 p.m.: "The Forgotten": Rupert Penry-Jones ("MI-5") and Reiko Aylesworth ("24") lead the cast of this crime procedural about a group of dedicated amateurs who solve crimes that police give up on.

8 p.m.: "Hank": Kelsey Grammer plays a corporate executive who loses his job and must spend time with his family.

8:30 p.m.: "The Middle": Patricia Heaton ("Back to You") and Neil Flynn ("Scrubs") play married parents raising their family in Indiana.

9 p.m.: "Modern Family": Shot from the point of view of an independent filmmaker, this comedy chronicles three diverse American families, including a gay couple raising a child.

9:30 p.m.: "Cougar Town": Courteney Cox ("Friends") returns to the sitcom realm as a recently divorced single mother who jumps back into the dating scene.

10 p.m.: "Eastwick": "The Witches of Eastwick" becomes a TV series starring Rebecca Romijn ("Ugly Betty"), Lindsay Price ("Lipstick Jungle") and Sara Rue ("Less Than Perfect").

8 p.m.: "Flash Forward": A mysterious event causes everyone on the planet to black out, including characters played by Joseph Fiennes ("Shakespeare in Love"), John Cho ("Star Trek") and Sonya Walger ("Lost").

9 p.m.: "Grey's Anatomy."

10 p.m.: "Private Practice."

8 p.m.: "Supernanny."

9 p.m.: "Ugly Betty."

10 p.m.: "20/20."

8 p.m. "Saturday Night College Football."

"The Deep End": A drama about first-year lawyers at a prestigious Los Angeles law firm. Matt Long ("Jack & Bobby"), Tina Majorino ("Big Love") and Clancy Brown ("Carnivale") star.

"V": An alien race invades Earth, claiming to come in peace but harboring a secret agenda. Elizabeth Mitchell ("Lost") plays a homeland security agent, Scott Wolf ("Party of Five") is a TV news reporter, and Morena Baccarin ("Firefly") stars as leader of the aliens.

"Happy Town": Unsolved kidnappings haunt Haplin, Minn., especially when the town's first crime in seven years re-awakens bad memories of past events. Geoff Stults ("7th Heaven"), Amy Acker ("Dollhouse"), Dean Winters ("Oz") and Sam Neill ("Jurassic Park") star.

The peacock network announced its new shows earlier this month, but it didn't announce a schedule and left several bubble series hanging.

Fear not, "Chuck" fans, your show is back with Subway, already featured as product placement on "Chuck," as a "major sponsor." But it won't get a time slot (8 p.m. Monday) until midseason, when "Heroes" takes a break.

In addition, NBC picked up a 20th season of "Law & Order," which will tie "Gunsmoke" as the longest-running drama series in prime time.

"30 Rock" will return to Thursday nights later in the fall after "SNL Weekend Update Thursday" completes a short run.

"My Name Is Earl" and "Medium" are both missing from NBC's schedule although there has been talk of both shows jumping to networks affiliated with the studios that produce them (Fox for "Earl," CBS for "Medium"). "Kings," "Knight Rider" and "Kath & Kim" were canceled.

Here's NBC's fall schedule, with new series in bold:

7 p.m.: "Football Night in America."

8:20 p.m.: "NBC Sunday Night Football."

8 p.m.: "Heroes."

9 p.m.: "Trauma."

10 p.m.: "The Jay Leno Show."

8 p.m.: "The Biggest Loser."

10 p.m.: "The Jay Leno Show."

8 p.m.: "Parenthood."

9 p.m.: "Law & Order: SVU."

10 p.m.: "The Jay Leno Show."

8 p.m.: "SNL Weekend Update Thursday."

8:30 p.m.: "Parks and Recreation."

9 p.m.: "The Office."

9:30 p.m.: "Community."

10 p.m.: "The Jay Leno Show."

8 p.m.: "Law & Order."

9 p.m.: "Southland."

10 p.m.: "The Jay Leno Show."

8 p.m.: "Dateline NBC."

9 p.m.: "Trauma" rerun.

10 p.m.: "Law & Order: SVU" rerun.

At midseason after the 2010 Winter Olympics, NBC will slot new drama "Day One" for 9 p.m. Monday, nursing drama "Mercy" for 8 p.m. Wednesday and the new Jerry Seinfeld executive produced reality show "The Marriage Ref" for 8 p.m. Sunday. New comedy "100 Questions" will launch after a 90-minute version of "The Biggest Loser."

"Friday Night Lights" will return to NBC in summer 2010 after its fourth season first airs on DirecTV.