**Warning: Some Spoilers**

Upon discovering that David Crane (Friends) and Jeffrey Klarik (Mad About You) are the executive producers for CBS' The Class, you might expect that the show would hearken back to the days when sitcoms ruled the airwaves. But although Crane and Klarik's resumes give the show a certain credibility that many of this season's newcomers lack, what is truly surprising about The Class is that it seems to draw from an altogether different source material — namely, the involved, complex storylines of ratings giants Lost and 24.

When 27-year-old Ethan (Jason Ritter, John's son) holds a surprise party for his girlfriend commemorating their first meeting — the first day of third grade — he invites as many of his former classmates as he can contact. (Yes, one of them turns out to be gay.) What results is the sudden reintroduction of the show's eight main characters back into each other's lives. These people don't know each other anymore and certainly don't while away their hours together in a coffee shop. Instead, we see them interacting as adults who are largely strangers.

It's not all that unlike, say, surviving a plane crash onto a desert island, but instead of thrills and polar bear chases, Crane and Klarik (who are partners in real life) have this bunch exploring their newfound friendships for laughs. It's an interesting ploy and might just be the gimmick that could set The Class apart from its fellow freshmen this fall.

Ethan's girlfriend immediately dumps him — at the party — and soon the lead characters pair off with others. The sardonic Kat (Lizzy Kaplan, best known as Janis Ian of Mean Girls) comforts the wallowing Ethan. Former high school sweethearts Nicole (Andrea Anders of Joey) and Duncan (Jon Bernthal) reconnect. Loony Lina (Heather Goldenhersh) makes eyes with the suicidal Richie (Jesse Tyler Ferguson). And uptight Holly (Lucy Punch) confronts her prom date, Kyle (Sean Maguire), who long ago traumatized her on that special night by hooking up with another boy.

Perhaps what works best is that the cast does this all over Boston, the show's setting. It's a seemingly minor decision, but not confining the show to a small set helps to loosen up the overall feel of what could have easily been a sitcom in the formula of the very shows that Crane and Klarik helped popularize.

Furthermore, these people don't exist in a vacuum: Duncan lives with his mother, Kyle goes home to his partner, and Holly is married to Perry, a ball of fabulousness whose perfectly matching outfits raise the eyebrows of everybody except Holly. In other words, an already large cast will be interacting with an even larger stable of recurring faces. In offering viewers such an expansive universe, The Class gives the impression that it's aiming higher than most recent sitcoms.

Another big switch from light-hearted fare of the must-see TV set is the show's use of dark humor. When we first meet the long-suffering Richie, for example, he's about to down a handful of pills. The phone rings. He explains that he actually doesn't have any plans and could make it to Ethan's party. Later, just when meeting Lina seems to have turned Richie's luck around, he backs over her with his car.

Bleak stuff, but pulled off nicely by Ferguson, whose deadpan, Niles Crane-esque performance is one of the pilot's highlights. Goldenhersh's portrayal of Lina is also a treasure. Her pop-eyed expressions and unique, goofy delivery recalls some impossible offspring of Parker Posey and Selma Blair. That's a good thing.

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