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Every year, American broadcast networks produce dozens of pilots, but only order a bunch of them as a weekly series. Only a few of those new shows then actually become a success and survive for multiple years. Last week the networks presented their new shows to advertisers, praising even their worst new shows as shows with the “highest testing results ever, as something you haven’t seen before, as something relatable and unique, as something that is character-based and certainly going to strike a chord with viewers”. Since most new shows fail and only few shows succeed, advertisers surely must have become cynical and sceptical over the years, but at the same time there is always hope that the networks have a hit series hidden among their freshmen crops that offers the greatest opportunity for advertising. What follows is a Top 10 list that includes the most promising looking new network offerings, based on the trailers the networks presented to us during the last week. Of course these first impressions can sometimes be terribly wrong, as trailers can oversell or undersell a series, so this list should be taken with a grain of salt.

Runner-ups: Grimm (NBC), Pan Am (ABC), Up All Night (NBC)

10. Scandal (ABC)

Shonda Rhimes created Grey’s Anatomy, one of the biggest television hits of the last decade. While Grey’s Anatomy can be hit or miss, one can’t deny that Rhimes writes interesting characters and attracts talented actors, even though her most recent attempts Private Practice and Off The Map were rather mediocre. Her new drama Scandal revolves around a professional crisis manager and her dysfunctional staff. Olivia Pope (played by Kerry Washington) and her staff fix the lives of other people, but can’t seem to fix their own lives. It’s a marketable premise and the show has a great cast that could keep viewers afloat, even if the first episodes should turn out to be underwhelming. Kerry Washington looks well cast and the different setting sets it apart from Rhimes’ signature series that more viewers should be interested in this than in Off The Map from last season.

09. Terra Nova (FOX)

Executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Terra Nova follows an ordinary family who travels back in time to prehistoric Earth as a small part of an experiment to save the human race, as the world is in danger of dying in 2149 thanks to overpopulation, lack of resources and extinction of plant and animal life. While the concept itself sounds a bit like a headscratcher and while the show’s production problems have been very public with delayed premiere dates and a fluctuation of writers and producers coming in and out, FOX has spent so much money and time on it, that one hopes that the product will come out well in the end, considering that FOX is still high on the show despite its production troubles. But we wouldn’t be surprised if the show never went on the air either.

08. Person Of Interest (CBS)

Written by Jonathan Nolan (Memento) and executive produced by J.J. Abrams (Alias), Person Of Interest is a crime thriller that revolves around a presumed dead former CIA agent (played by Jim Caviezel) who teams up with a mysterious billionaire (played by Michael Emerson) to prevent violent crimes from happening by using their own brand of vigilante justice. While Jim Caviezel looks a bit like a Rambo or a Terminator rip-off in the previews, it’s an interesting set-up, coming from proven creators and the fact that CBS believes in the show so much that they are willing to give it one of their most lucrative timeslots on Thursdays at 9pm, gets our hopes up, even thought it might just turn out to be another crime procedural.

07. Prime Suspect (NBC)

Prime Suspect is a remake of the British series of the same name. It’s about a female detective (played by Maria Bello), who has to contend with the men in her police department who don’t respect her. Since there have been lots of strong and respected female cops on television in the last ten years, the concept of the show seems a bit outdated, even though it might still be relevant in reality. Even though the show doesn’t look highly original, it looks like a competent crime procedural with a strong actress at its center, which is sometimes better than going for the most outlandish concepts. Only time will tell whether the show will give Maria Bello material worthy of her time. It will air on Thursdays at 10.

06. The River (ABC)

Every year the networks try to find the next X-Files or the next Lost, but they fail more often than they succeed. This year’s big mystery thriller that is trying to fill the Lost void is ABC’s adventureous mystery thriller “The River”. Executive produced by Steven Spielberg, The River is about a wildlife expert and tv personality who goes missing in the Amazon. His wife, his son, his friends and a documentary crew embark on a mysterious and deadly journey to find him, but will they find him alive and will they actually survive the dangers that they’re about to face? It’s to early to tell whether The River will be the next big thing or a high profile-failure like The Event or Flash Forward, but as a mixture of Lost and Blair Witch Project, it looks like a clever attempt to appeal to the Lost audience and we appreciate the effort. ABC keeps the show for midseason, which means it won’t premiere until 2012.

05. Suburgatory (ABC) / Apartment 23

Two new ABC comedies share the fifth place of this list. Suburgatory is a comedy about a young girl who is moved to the Suburbs by her dad . The show features a stellar cast of talent including Jane Levy (Shameless), Jeremy Sisto (Six Feet Under), Alan Tudyk (Firefly), Ana Gasteyer (Reefer Madness) and Allie Grant (Weeds) and was written by Emily Kapnek (Parks & Recreation). While it’s a good question, whether the show can bring something new to the Suburbs that Weeds, American Beauty or Desperate Housewives have not covered yet, first scenes of the show look quirky, tongue in cheek and funny, with a little bit of a ‘Mean Girl’ vibe to it and there is enough talent involved to hope that the show will turn out good. The show will air on Wednesdays at 8.30, starting in the fall. Apartment 23 meanwhile is about a young naive girl (played by Dreama Walker) who moves in with a mean girl (Krysten Ritter), whose best friend is James Van Der Beek (played by James Van Der Beek who is mocking himself). Krysten Ritter was wonderful in Breaking Bad’s second season and the pilot of the series was helmed by Modern Family director Jeff Morton. The show might offer bitchy fun and if the first scenes are indication, the humor won’t be too broad. ABC keeps the show for midseason, which means we won’t see the show until 2012.

04. The New Girl (FOX)

The New Girl stars Indie movie star Zooey Deschanel (500 Days Of Summer) in her first regular tv gig. It’s a comedy about a woman who breaks up with her boyfriend and then moves in with three single guys. Not a spectacular premise, but Zooey Deschanel is adorably charming and more than able to carry a show on her shoulders. The trailer shows sympathetic characters and the actors themselves have some chemistry, which could help the show transcend into something worth watching. It will air on Tuesdays at 9.

03. Ringer (The CW)

Ringer marks Sarah Michelle Gellar’s return to television, after her previous attempt, the half-hour dramedy The Wonderful Maladys, was rejected by HBO in 2008. Ringer was originally developed for CBS, but when the network realized that it didn’t fit in with their current programme and their older audience, they moved it to their corporate sibling The CW. Ringer is about a recovering drug addict named Bridget, who is on the run from the mob and the police. She seeks out her identical twin sister Siobhan (also played by Gellar) for help, but when Siobhan winds up dead, she decides to take over the identity of her sister, only to discover that her sister did also have a few skeletons in her closet. While the story itself seems to be a bit far-fetched, Sarah Michelle Gellar is a severely underrated actress and the noir vibe the show is going for looks intriguing. If the show can combine unpredictable plot twists with clever writing, without dumbing down things for audiences, it might be worth a look. It will air on Tuesdays at 9.

02. Alcatraz (FOX)

Alcatraz, brought to you by J.J. Abrams and Lost writer Elizabeth Sarnoss, is a new mystery series that centers on America’s infamous prison. While investigating a homicide, detective Rebecca Madsen (played by Sarah Jones) makes a shocking discovery: Her prime suspect was one of 302 prisoners who supposedly died decades ago. As she continues to investigate, she finds out that those prisoners never died, but actually vanished into thin air. Now they’re returning and it’s up to her to find out how they vanished, why they’re returning and what they’re returning for. Alcatraz looks like it’s more in line with Abrams’ biggest cult hits Lost, Fringe and Alias than with his failed attempt Undercovers from last year and while it looks familiar, like a mixture of The4400 and Prison Break, it’s safe to assume that Alcatraz will at least be suspenseful and entertaining and maybe just as good as Abrams’ biggest success stories. FOX will premiere Alcatraz in early 2012.

01. Awake (NBC)

Awake is a series about Michael Britten, a cop (played by Jason Isaacs), who starts living in two different realities after a tragic car accident. When he regains consciousness, he is being told that his wife (Laura Allen) has died, but that his teenaged son (Dylan Minnette)has survived the accident. But then he falls asleep and wakes up in a parallel reality in which his wife has survived and in which his son has died. In both realities he has different therapists and different cops as partners. Not knowing which of these two realities is real and unable to let go of both, his wife and his son, he is embracing his life in both realities, but it will test his sanity. The creator of the show is Kyle Killen, who was also behind the critically acclaimed, but very shortlived series “Lone Star” last year, and if the trailer and his pedigree is any indication, then Awake will be a thought-provoking, challenging series with honest characters, great visuals and smart writing. NBC is keeping the show for midseason, so it probably won’t premiere until 2012. Which means that we will have to wonder for quite a while until we see if the fascinating concept of the show works as a weekly series.