New show gets post-'Dancing' premiere

ABC has tweaked its fall premiere schedule again in hopes of giving its new dramedy "Men in Trees" a little more exposure.

The show, which stars Anne Heche as a self-help author whose seemingly great life crumbles while she's at a promotional stop in Alaska, will air on Friday nights this season. Friday being a typically less-watched night of TV, though, the network decided to give the series some help in the form of "Dancing with the Stars."

"Men in Trees" will now premiere at 10 p.m. ET Tuesday, Sept. 12, following the two-hour season opener of "Dancing." The debut episode will repeat at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, with a second episode to follow at 9 p.m., its regular timeslot.

The change is the second scheduling maneuver ABC has made recently. Last week the network decided to move its buzzed-about series "Ugly Betty" -- which was originally slated to be the lead-in for "Men in Trees" -- from Friday to Thursday nights, where it will now precede "Grey's Anatomy." The long-running "America's Funniest Home Videos" will now fill the 8 p.m. Friday spot.

In addition to Heche, "Men in Trees" stars James Tupper, John Amos ("The West Wing," "Good Times"), Sarah Strange ("life as we know it") and Derek Richardson ("Hostel"). Former "Sex and the City" writer Jenny Bicks created the series.