Five new serial dramas worth your time

‘Jericho,’ CBS, 8 p.m. ET, Wednesdays
Let’s be honest here: “Jericho” is good but far from making most critics’ 10-best lists. But it does feature one element that no other show has: Gerald McRaney.

After a mesmerizing turn as the vicious George Hearst in HBO’s seminal western series “Deadwood,” McRaney has become the new “we’ll watch him anywhere he goes and whatever he does” actor. He's also a pivotal part of “Jericho,” where a nuclear bomb has gone off near a small Kansas town, leaving the townsfolk to wonder if most of the country just might have been obliterated.

McRaney, as the town’s mayor, tries to get a handle on how to cope with such a catastrophe — all the while dealing with a few hotheads who believe that creating even more chaos is in their best interests.

As the season unfolds, it’ll be interesting to see how and which of the characters survive, who tries to circumvent the town’s power structure, and what group is responsible for the blasts that have wreaked havoc on the nation.

‘Kidnapped,’ NBC, 10 p.m. ET, Wednesdays
“Kidnapped” is probably the truest serial of this bunch — the teenage son of a wealthy New York family has been taken hostage and it’ll take all season long to know if he’s ever coming back home alive. The NBC drama might also have the deepest cast, featuring “Six Feet Under’s” Jeremy Sisto, “Boomtown’s” Mykelti Williamson, Delroy Lindo and Timothy Hutton.

Sisto plays a soft-spoken, pay-under-the-table independent operator, hired by the victim's dad (Hutton) to do whatever it takes to get his boy back. Naturally, he and the FBI don’t exactly agree on the best way to do that.

The big question isn’t whether the or not the kid comes back alive but, rather, how NBC will handle the show if it starts to falter ratings-wise. Up against “The Nine,” “Kidnapped” could find itself in trouble early on, but here’s hoping that the network has the gumption to keep the series on the air and let the mystery play out.

If not, jaded viewers will ultimately be the ones held for ransom.

Stuart Levine is a senior editor at Variety. You can reach him at .