What About Brian, a new show created by Dana Stevens and executive produced by J. J. Abrams, will launch this weekend on ABC. But as it's a return to his more soapy drama days, ABC has chosen to launch it on the back of Desperate Housewives rather than selling it on Abrams' name and airing it after one of his current shows.

Brian is a "new drama series about a group of supportive friends in various stages of romantic relationships and friendships living in Los Angeles," according to an ABC press release. "The just-married Nic and Angelo, the seemingly happily married Dave and Deena and the newly-engaged Marjorie and Adam. Of this close-knit group of friends, everyone else appears to have found their soulmate, while Brian has emerged as the last bachelor standing."

The pilot episode makes its debut on Sunday April 16 at 10pm, bumping Grey's Anatomy out of the schedule so that it can follow Desperate Housewives. It will then settle into a permanent Monday night timeslot. The plot is reminiscent of Abrams' Felicity, which ran from 1998 to 2002 and followed the lives of the titular Felicity, her friends and the romantic entanglements that occurred after she followed a guy she barely knew to college in New York.

Since then he has launched two shows on ABC, which have been a bit more out of the ordinary: spy-drama Alias, which ends this year, and the hit mystery drama (don't mention sci-fi) Lost. It would seem ABC has gone for a show more compatible in content rather, than using the J. J. Abrams name to launch the show by airing it after Alias or Lost.

Stevens' other credits include writing the romantic drama City of Angels, For Love of the Game and Life or Something Like It. This is her first TV series writing gig, and ABC is probably hoping for lighting to strike twice after they commissioned Shonda Rhimes' Grey's Anatomy; Rhimes had previously just been a film writer, but the show has gone on to surpass Desperate Housewives in the ratings.

Tom Dorsey at The Courier Journal reviewed the pilot, and said that the show is similar to Anatomy. "The show is pretty serious at times, but it also is laced with funny incidents," wrote Dorsey. "In one scene, Brian is hitting on a woman in the next car at a traffic light when he literally hits a woman in the car in front of him and winds up having an affair with her. His friends call her Car Girl. A better name might be Mattress Girl. It's not what you think but is a lot funnier. Bottom line? What About Brian looks like one of the best new shows this season, every bit as appealing and magnetic as Grey's Anatomy."

Dorsey also pointed out that the pilot features Carol Burnett, who will appear in Desperate Housewives soon as Bree's stepmother. The first episode also features Amy Jo Johnson, who starred in Felicity, as well as Abrams' friend Greg Grunberg. Grunberg appears in all of Abrams' projects, from series regular roles such as Sean in Felicity to cameos like the short-lived pilot in the first episode of Lost.

However, another review wasn't so complimentary. "The writing shortchanges the supporting characters: only Dave registers as a worthy foil for Brian," wrote Hal Boedeker at baltimoresun.com. "The wretched second episode fritters away any goodwill from the premiere by wallowing in cringe-inducing dialogue and situations. The central problem with What About Brian can be answered simply: He needs to find himself a new group of friends."

Meanwhile, in Sunday night schedule news, ABC said it will need to consider splitting up Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy. TV analysts have for some time said that Grey's Anatomy could be moved away from the Sunday night schedule to anchor another evening, leaving the 10pm slot open for Desperate Housewives to launch another show much like it is doing with Brian. "We have three big shows on Sunday, so there will be pressure to spread the wealth," ABC's Jeff Bader told The Hollywood Reporter, according to UPI. However, the Reporter apparently speculated that Housewives could be the one to move.

The press release for What About Brian can be found at The Futon Critic. The reviews are at The Courier Journal and baltimoresun.com. An interview with the actors can be found at Zap2it, and finally the news item about Sunday night schedules is at UPI.

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