Here's your first glimpse of the costumed superhero in NBC's new show The Cape, starring Dave Lyons and Summer Glau. It's just one of seven new genre shows the networks have given the green light to for fall 2010.


Here's your rundown of the "big five" networks' new genre offerings that have already been announced in advance of next week's upfronts.


The Cape, starring Dave Lyons (NBC)

Official synopsis : Lyons [plays] Vince Faraday, an honest cop on a corrupt police force, who finds himself framed for a series of murders and presumed dead. He is forced into hiding, leaving behind his wife, Dana (Jennifer Ferrin, "Life on Mars") and son, Trip (Ryan Wynott, "Flash Forward"). Fueled by a desire to reunite with his family and to battle the criminal forces that have overtaken Palm City, Faraday becomes "The Cape" his son's favorite comic book superhero — and takes the law into his own hands.

Additional cast: James Frain ("The Tudors") plays billionaire Peter Fleming - The Cape's nemesis - who moonlights as the twisted killer named Chess. Keith David (Death at a Funeral) plays Max Malini, the ringleader of a circus gang of bank robbers who mentors Vince Faraday and trains him to be The Cape; Summer Glau ("Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles") plays Orwell, an investigative blogger who wages war on crime and corruption in Palm City; and Dorian Missick ("Six Degrees") is Marty Voyt, a former police detective and friend to Faraday.

Cheese factor: Well, he turns himself into a superhero from his son's comic books. So...

G/O Media may get a commission Subscribe and Get Your First Bag Free Promo Code AtlasCoffeeDay20

No Ordinary Family, starring Michael Chiklis and Julie Benz (ABC)

Official synopsis : The Powells are pretty much your average, everyday American family. That is until their plane crashes in the Amazon jungle. After that, well, let's just say the Powells are a little less ordinary. Jim is a frustrated police sketch artist married to Stephanie, a brilliant and successful scientist. Although they still love each other, their marriage has lost some of its spark. All of that changes, though, when Stephanie takes Jim and their two teenage kids along on a research trip to the Amazon. The Powell's plane crashes into a swampy river; they manage to escape, but, their pilot, unfortunately, isn't so lucky. As the Powells gratefully return to their old lives, they are shocked to discover that they have suddenly developed some rather extraordinary abilities. Jim is super strong with amazing reflexes. Stephanie can suddenly move at lightning speed. Daphne can hear everyone's thoughts including those of her 16-year-old-boyfriend, ick! Then there's JJ, who miraculously goes from clueless to brainiac, seemingly overnight. The Powells are reinvigorated by their new powers, but they quickly discover that the toughest challenges may be the most ordinary ones. Sure, they can stop criminals, but all the super powers in the world can't fix emotional problems. The Powells better get their act together, soon, though, because that pilot they left for dead at the bottom of a river... he just woke up. From Brother & Sisters' Greg Berlanti and Jon Feldman comes a wild new dramedy about a totally relatable family who just happen to be a little bit amazing.

Additional cast: Kay Panabaker (CSI) and Jimmy Bennett (Star Trek) play the Powell children. And Tate Donovan (Damages) plays an unspecified character.

Cheese factor: There are superpowered kids. On the other hand, Chiklis and Benz.


Terra Nova starring as yet unknown (Fox)

Official synopsis (via EW): Terra Nova, which begins in 2149 A.D. The scene: a large group of settlers are preparing to leave the apocalyptic world they live in to time travel back millions of years via a massive, high-tech contraption. Their goal is to see trees, enjoy a blue sky, eat real food – basically, to start over in this so-called Eden. But what they find is unlike anything they were expecting.

Additional cast: Not known yet. But apparently a 13-episode order is a sure thing, and producer Steven Spielberg is expected to videotape an intro to the show, to be played at Fox's Fall 2010 upfronts this coming week.

Cheese factor: The showrunner is Brannon (Enterprise) Braga. But the concept sounds amazing.


Undercovers, starring Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw (NBC)

Official synopsis : Outwardly, Steven Bloom (Kodjoe) and his wife, Samantha (Mbatha-Raw), are a typical married couple who own a small catering company in Los Angeles and are helped by Samantha's easily frazzled younger sister, Lizzy (Jessica Parker Kennedy). Secretly, the duo were two of the CIA's best spies until they fell in love on the job five years ago and retired. When fellow spy and friend Nash (Carter MacIntyre) goes missing while on the trail of a Russian arms dealer, the Blooms are reinstated by boss Carlton Shaw (Gerald McRaney) to locate and rescue Nash. The pair is thrust back into the world of espionage as they follow leads that span the globe — and Steven and Samantha realize that this supercharged, undercover lifestyle provides the excitement and romance that their marriage has been missing.

Also starring: Ben Schwartz (Parks And Recreation)

Cheese factor: It's from executive producer J.J. Abrams, who also directed the pilot. So it should be pretty fun and awesome, without going too dorky.


The Event, starring Jason Ritter (NBC)

Official synopsis : The Event is an emotional high-octane conspiracy thriller that follows Sean Walker (Ritter, The Class), an Everyman who investigates the mysterious disappearance of his fiancee, Leila (Sarah Roemer, Disturbia), and unwittingly begins to expose the biggest cover-up in U.S. history. Sean's quest will send ripples through the lives of an eclectic band of strangers, including: newly elected U.S. President Martinez (Blair Underwood, Dirty Sexy Money); Sophia (Emmy Award nominee Laura Innes, ER), who is the leader of a mysterious group of detainees; and Sean's shadowy father-in-law (Scott Patterson, Gilmore Girls). Their futures are on a collision course in a global conspiracy that could ultimately change the fate of mankind.

Additional cast: Ian Anthony Dale and Emmy winner Zeljko Ivanek.

Cheese factor: It's trying to be the new 24, but with vaguely science fiction overtones about a mysterious facility in Alaska. (Set pic via Tim Ryans Reel Hawaii)


Nikita, starring Maggie Q (The CW)

Official synopsis: None yet. But apparently it's about a newly recruited spy getting trained, so she can track down her predecessor as Nikita. (This one's not officially announced yet, but sources have been telling reporters it's as good as on The CW's fall schedule for a week or so now.)

Cheese factor: If it's anything like the movie and the earlier TV spinoff, it should be pretty entertaining.


Betwixt, starring actors unknown (The CW)

Official synopsis: This is the other show the CW is reportedly close to announcing for its fall schedule — an adaptation of a young-adult novel series about kids who go to a rave and discover they are really magical creatures known as changelings.

Cheese factor: They go to a rave and discover they're magical.


And don't forget — returning this fall are V, Chuck, Smallville, Supernatural, Vampire Diaries and Fringe.