TV briefs | What's on this week

TV briefs | On this week

Tonight: Time to return to the Pie Hole as the fanciful "Pushing Daisies" finally resumes after a long layoff. The Season 2 premiere has Chuck (Anna Friel) going undercover at a honey-based cosmetics company after its new spokesmodel is stung to death. 8 p.m., ABC.

Tonight: Will more "Private Practice" make perfect? The show returns after a creatively uneven first season with producers and star Kate Walsh promising smarter, sexier stories. It airs just before the Season 2 debut of "Dirty Sexy Money." 9 p.m., ABC.

Thursday: It's showdown time between the vice presidential candidates as Republican Sarah Palin and Democrat Joseph Biden face off in their only debate. PBS newswoman Gwen Ifill moderates the event, which will air on all the major networks and cable news stations. 6 p.m.

Chuck Barney, Contra Costa Times

Review: "The Ex List"

Series premiere: 9 Friday, CBS

Basic story: Bella Bloom is a happy-go-lucky flower-shop owner who recently ditched her boyfriend because "I do" was missing from his vocabulary. But her sister is about to walk down the aisle and, at the bachelorette party, a psychic tells Bella she'll be alone forever if she doesn't connect with her future husband within a year. Make that reconnect. The key is that Bella's beau is someone she's been romantically involved with before.

What you'll love: Elizabeth Reaser is Bella, but many viewers know (and loved) her as Ava from "Grey's Anatomy." They'll like Reaser as Bella too — she's a funny character surrounded by quirky pals.

What you won't: Sometimes the quirkiness gets a bit too kitschy, such as a subplot about bikini waxes in the pilot. Also, the first episode features Eric Balfour as Bella's first former fling to come back into her life — he's so funny you'll wish he were a show regular.

Bottom line: Just weeks before the premiere, executive producer Diane Ruggiero ditched the series, citing creative differences with CBS. Makes us wonder whether the rose is off for this Bloom.

Debra Leithauser, The Washington Post