The fall television season is in full swing, and the returning shows are obviously the stars of primetime. However, there are two new shows that need to be added to everyone's viewing schedule.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (Mon. 9 p.m., NBC Ch. 4)

By far, airing "Studio 60" is the greatest step NBC could have taken to poke fun at itself (hey, "Studio 60" airs on the NBS network). As an obvious spin-off of NBC's "Saturday Night Live," this show within a show is smart, funny and just keeps improving.

Creator Aaron Sorkin, of "West Wing" and "Sports Night" fame, has taken his behind-the-scenes know-how and let the audience in on the making of a sketch comedy.

"Studio 60" lost its executive producer within the first few moments of the season premiere, as he stepped in front of the camera and told people they were being lobotomized. The network just got a new president and she brings in two writers/producers who had put the show on the map. Now the newbies are working to raise the intelligence and humor levels of the show by lampooning whomever they can: Christians, Democrats, Republicans and themselves.

Sorkin isn't afraid to put himself into the show either. First, he's got one of the producers (played by Bradley Whitford) as a recovering drug addict, which mirrors Sorkin's own arrest from 2001. He also likes taking quotes from his past shows, scramble them a bit and put them in the new show. He's already taken a few from "Sports Night" and reinvented them for "Studio 60."

Also a big plus, Matthew Perry shows he's not just the funny guy from "Friends."

Brothers and Sisters (Sun. 9 p.m., ABC Ch. 12)

Anyone from a large family — whether it be your own experiences with brothers and sisters or vicarious living through your parents, aunts and uncles — can appreciate ABC's new offering. The exploration of the Walker clan, which includes parents, three brothers, two sisters, spouses and children, is poignant.

What happens when a parent dies? The group comes together, just like the Walkers. But this rag-tag group of misfits conveys the trials of a large family that isn't stereotypical. The children are diverse, as is the plot.

There's the staunch conservative sister with her own television show, a brother who's a gay lawyer, a sister with problems in her marriage who gains control of the family business, an Iraq war veteran brother with drug problems and a brother who wants control of the business. It's a bit confusing, but good television all the same.

For fans of the now-defunct "Alias," there are three former cast members (Balthazar Getty, Ron Rifkin and Patricia Wettig) plus director Ken Olin on "Brothers and Sisters." But no no butt-kicking or mystery involved.