I haven’t been a TV watcher much, if at all, lately. I can count with my hands how many times per month I turn it on to watch a scheduled program. When I do, it’s either to watch the news, weather, or whatever happens to be on when I get on my elliptical machine. Somehow it’s almost always Two-and-a-half Men reruns, which is fine, I’d rather watch a sitcom over some stupid reality show any day. In any case, there’s finally a show I’m looking forward to this Fall with the debut of Alex O’Loughlin’s new drama since his Moonlight show on CBS got canceled.

Wow, come to think of it, Moonlight‘s the last show I regularly watched. Yes, I know, it’s not one of the best-written ones out there I got to admit. I mean, it’s not The Office or Mad Men, but hey isn’t that what guilty pleasure is? We all got one, and for a while, it was vampire detective Mick St. John and his love interest Beth (played by the very talented British actress Sophia Myles). It’s rather ironic that CBS yanked it off just as vampire fever began to hit thanks to Twilight, but you know the phrase ‘when God closes a door, somewhere he opens a window?’ Well, that seems to be the case for Alex. CBS apparently has a soft spot for the Aussie actor, and having a loyal fan base from his Moonlight stint certainly can’t hurt. So they cast him as the lead in this Fall’s medical drama Three Rivers. So instead of  sucking people’s blood, he’d be saving ’em. Here’s the synopsis from the CBS site:

THREE RIVERS is a medical drama that goes inside the emotionally complex lives of organ donors, the recipients and the surgeons at the preeminent transplant hospital in the country where every moment counts. However, dealing with donor families in their darkest hour and managing the fears and concerns of apprehensive recipients takes much more than just a sharp scalpel. Leading the elite team is Dr. Andy Yablonski (Alex O’Loughlin), the highly-skilled workaholic lead organ transplant surgeon, whose good-natured personality and sarcastic wit makes him popular with his patients and colleagues. His colleagues include Dr. Miranda Foster (Katherine Moennig), a surgical fellow with a rebellious streak and fiery temper who strives to live up to her deceased father’s excellent surgical reputation; Dr. David Lee (Daniel Henney), a womanizing surgical resident who’s broken as many hearts as he’s replaced; Ryan Abbott (Christopher J. Hanke), the inexperienced new transplant coordinator who arranges the intricately choreographed process of quickly and carefully transporting organs from donor to patient; Dr. Sophia Jordan, the head of surgery and a dedicated medical professional; and Pam Acosta (Justina Machado), Andy’s no-nonsense operating assistant and best friend. In this high stakes arena, in which every case is a race against the clock, these tenacious surgeons and medical professionals are the last hope for their patients.

From the teaser clips, this one actually looks pretty decent and seems much less campy than the vampire show. I can’t judge the writing at this point, but it’s got the dignified Oscar nominee Alfre Woodard, so it can’t be that bad, right? Alex looks a heck of a lot better here without Mick’s ridiculously perfect mane only Zoolander could match. He seems more natural and at ease with his character Andy, sans the obligatory angst-y pout and stop-you-dead-in-your-track-with-my-sexy-glare pose. Well, an 85 year-old hopeless romantic vampire might be able to get away with it, but a surgeon? Not so much. So, bring on the scruff Alex, and easy on the hair gel!

Another reason to watch the show is the tall and hunky Korean-English actor Daniel Henney. I’ve only seen him in Wolverine which wasn’t exactly an ‘acting’ role, so I’m looking forward to see what he’s got to offer. I thought his role was pretty minimal—typical for Asian actors on American TV—but he’s on the marquee banners and other promos that CBS put out there, so I’m hoping he gets a pretty good amount of screen time. Who knows, maybe he’ll be such a scene-stealer he’d get his own spin-off show? One can only hope =)

Here’s the promo clip of the show:

Three Rivers launches on Sunday, October 4th. What a fabulous way to end every weekend!