If viewers are looking for good television shows to watch this fall, they will have plenty to choose from. There are a plethora of new and returning shows in this year’s fall lineup, so TV junkies should be prepared to sit in front of the set for a while.

Highly anticipated shows returning this season include ABC’s Lost, a mystery/adventure drama focusing on the lives of plane crash survivors struggling to survive on an unknown island in the Pacific Ocean. This season, the main characters are expected to cope with numerous complex situations. According to www.abc.com, a previously undiscovered survivor of the plane crash named Ana Lucia (played by Michelle Rodriguez) will be revealed.

Also returning this season is CBS’s Survivor, the reality show in which contestants compete for a cash prize by trying to survive horrific conditions. Survivor: Cook Islands made waves with the producers’ controversial decision to separate the teams by race. According to an article on www.about.com, Jeff Probst, the host of Survivor, told CBS’s Morning Show that the idea to split the groups by race came after complaints that Survivor was not ethnically diverse enough.

“It is a social experiment,” Probst said in the article. “And this is adding another layer to that experiment, which is taking the show to a completely different level.”

According to the article, people have spoken out against the new season of the show online, mainly through blogs and message boards. Members of the New York City Council’s Black, Latino and Asian Caucus also spoke out against the show, calling on CBS to pull Survivor: Cook Islands from its fall schedule. The network responded that Survivor is no stranger to controversy and “has always answered its critics on the screen.”

The CW, a new network replacing the WB, will try to make its mark this Thursday night by premiering new episodes of hit shows Smallville and Supernatural. Smallville, a new twist on the telling of the Superman mythos, will pick up where it left off in last season’s finale, with Clark Kent being sent to the phantom zone by General Zod.

Supernatural, a drama about two young brothers who travel around looking for ways to destroy the paranormal forces that tore apart their family, will come back for a second season following Smallville.

According to www.tvguide.com, other returning must-see shows include The Amazing Race, a reality show about couples who race around the world, and Battlestar Galactica, a frighteningly realistic sci-fi drama chronicling the plight of the human race as they defend themselves from extermination by their alien foes, the Cylons.

The Office is another returning must-see. A remake of a British comedy, it was expected to fall flat with American audiences but became a breakout hit, winning an Emmy award for Outstanding Comedy Series.

A few new shows this season are expected to become hits. One of these is CBS’s Jericho. According to an article by Rachel Thomas on www.about.com, Jericho is a drama based on the lives of the residents of Jericho, Kansas, who suddenly become isolated from the world after a nationwide nuclear attack.

Another new show premiering Thursday at 8 p.m. is ABC’s Ugly Betty. The show was originally slotted for Friday night but was moved to Thursday alongside the hit series Grey’s Anatomy. According to an article on www.about.com, the show is about a less than perfect girl from Queens named Betty who works at a fashion magazine and doesn’t fit in with her svelte and stylish coworkers.

NBC’s newest addition, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, is also expected to be a hit thanks to some star powered producers and actors. The series is a drama about the lives of producers of a late night show similar to Saturday Night Live. According to www.nbc.com, the show was created by Emmy Award winner Aaron Sorkin, who executive produces alongside Thomas Schlamme of The West Wing. The show airs Mondays at 10 p.m. and brings Friends‘ Matthew Perry back to eagerly anticipating audiences.

Regardless of taste, there is a new or returning show out there for just about anyone. The lineup this season is full, and there will surely be breakout hits and shows that just don’t make it, but overall there will be more than enough on television to keep viewers entertained.