A first look at next fall's new gay TV

Later this week, the five major broadcast networks will announce their schedules for the 2007-2008 TV season. We're already getting a preview of what the upcoming season will look like, however, since ABC, NBC and Fox have announced some of their series orders.

ABC has the largest number of series to hit my radar. At the top of the list is Pushing Daisies, the latest series by the openly gay Bryan Fuller (pictured above). Daisies follows a man who can briefly bring the dead back to life in "an unprecedented blend of romance, crime procedural and high-concept fantasy." You might know Fuller best as the Heroes producer who also wrote the series' riveting "Company Man" episode, but Fuller is also the creator of Wonderfalls and Dead Like Me, two smart, quirky and short-lived series that earned a very loyal fanbase. Fuller has a history of pushing for gay visibility in his shows, so this will be one to watch.

Meanwhile, out Brothers and Sisters producer Greg Berlanti (pictured at right) has two new series coming out with ABC. Berlanti co-created Eli Stone, which follows a cutthroat lawyer in San Francisco who goes from defending evil corporations to heading a pro-bono department in his law firm. Belanti also produces Dirty Sexy Money, focusing on a lawyer tasked with keeping a wealthy and scandal-prone family from public embarrassment.

Out Sex and the City creator Darren Star's Cashmere Mafia also got a pickup. Cashmere focuses on four successful female executives living in Manhattan and supporting each other though business and personal hurdles.

ABC also picked up Perfect Gentlemen, a series that previously hit our radar for a transgender subplot and a producer with a gay friendly history.

Meanwhile, NBC announced that it will be airing Lipstick Jungle next season. Jungle is based on the book by Candace Bushnell, who also penned the inspiration for Sex and the City, following three powerful businesswomen in New York. Hopefully this series will turn out to be as gay-friendly as SatC did.

Fox has one upcoming series of interest, ordering The Sarah Connor Chronicles. You might recall that this is the series that, according to Bryan Fuller, caused Thomas Dekker's manager to demand that Dekker's Heroes role be de-gayed.

Official announcements are yet to come from CBS and The CW and there's still a chance that ABC, NBC or Fox may order additional new series, so there's still a good chance that there will be more series worth keeping on our radar. Stay tuned for more updates!