By: Mary Fran Bontempo

I came back to renew my membership as a Gleek and ended up, like many of the high schoolers in the show, with a crush on the new girl.

New Girl, the new comedy starring Zooey Deschanel as a single version of her quirky, adorable self, debuted Tuesday night on Fox, directly following Glee, which, sadly, failed to inspire. It seems as though Glee, only three seasons old, has simply lost its mojo, with a tired premiere and lackluster performances.

But the follow up to TV’s version of High School Musical was worth the wait. Deschanel plays a newly dumped single gal in search of an apartment who ends up moving in with three guys with not a clue between them as to how to deal with women in general and their new roommate’s melancholy break-up woes in particular. Nor does Deschanel, as Jesse, have a clue about how to get back in the dating game.

After multiple attempts to figure out how to cope with Jesse’s angst fail (Damon Wayans Jr., as “Coach,” continually shouts “Stop it!” to no avail) the three guys inadvertently set Jesse up with a cad and find themselves racing to her rescue by the show’s end. It’s a sweet, funny, albeit, reluctant circle of friendship that holds promise for a sweet, funny television run. (Full disclosure: The show is about young 20-somethings, so occasionally the language is a bit rough.)

And immediately following New Girl, the wild and crazy Raising Hope returns for a second season, complete with its cast of lovable misfits. Led by the off-center and hysterical Martha Plimpton, the show centers on Jimmy (Lucas Neff), father to toddler Hope, and their lives with Jimmy’s parents (Plimpton and Garret Dillahunt) and Maw Maw, Plimpton’s grandmother, played by the very funny Cloris Leachman. Always struggling to make the best of whatever life throws their way, the Chance family affectionately squabbles their way along, providing loads of laughs for lucky viewers.

I’m not sure I’ll stick with Glee (boo-hoo!), but I’m already setting my clock for next Tuesday at 9 PM on Fox for the second episode of New Girl, followed by Raising Hope. Here’s “Hoping” these shows live up to their promising premieres!

What do you think of the new television season? Click “comments” below and share!