Eastwick, on ABC
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This is, I guess, based on a novel I've never read, which was previously adapted into a movie, which I might have seen at some point, but I don't remember anything about it, if I did. Anyway, in spite of some obvious darkness to the plot, for the most part it's fairly light, breezy, almost quirky entertainment. And the show (and its characters) seem to switch fairly quickly and easily (and often) between the light and dark....
Well, the show is set in the town of Eastwick. It focuses on three women, who didn't know each other until the pilot episode, when they all happened to make a wish in a fountain at the same time. After that, they become friends. They include a sculptor named Roxanne Torcoletti (Rebecca Romijn), a nurse named Kat Gardener (Jaime Ray Newman), and a newspaper journalist named Joanna Frankel (Lindsay Price). Soon after making their wish, a mysterious and wealthy man named Darryl Van Horne (Paul Gross) comes to town, and begins to involve himself in their lives. While they all find him attractive, they're also suspicious of him, and don't seem to like him much, especially considering how conceited he is. Still, he does seem to be generous toward them. He hires Roxie to make a sculpture of him, which she doesn't want to do, but accepts because she needs the money. He gives, like, gifts and advice or whatever to all of them, though he seems closest to Roxie, even if she's the most open in her distrust of him.
Meanwhile, all three women have been starting to notice strange things. Roxie has been having dreams that later come true. Joanna is able to compel people to do whatever she says, when she looks them in the eyes. And Kat seems to have some control over nature, though so far it seems subconscious. Anyway, it also seems like Darryl knows more about their new found powers than they do, and somewhat obliquely encourages them to develop and embrace these powers, perhaps.
I should also mention that Roxie has a teenaged daughter named Mia. And Roxie is a widow, and there's gossip around town that she killed her husband. Now, she's dating a younger man named Chad (Matt Dallas, whom I knew from Kyle XY). Kat is married to her high school sweetheart, Raymond, with whom she has five kids. Their marriage seems to be close to ending, because Raymond has been out of work for some time now, and hasn't been a particularly good husband in general. Meanwhile, Joanna does some investigations into Darryl's past, which is, as I said, mysterious. She's aided, somewhat reluctantly, by her best friend, Penny Higgins (Sara Rue), who is also suspicious of Darryl. There's also a photographer named Will St. David, who works at the paper, and on whom Joanna has had a crush for a couple years now, though she's never done anything about it. Now he's suddenly taking an interest in her, though Joanna fears it's just because of her power, and not how he really feels, so she's avoiding getting involved with him. There's also a woman in town named Bun, who is the head of the Eastwick Historical Society, and she seems to know something about Darryl. The three main characters will eventually learn that she was one of three women who were in a situation similar to theirs, years ago, with a man who may have actually been Darryl. And eventually, a man named Jamie moves in next to Roxie, and he's secretly dating Penny, but even more secretly, he has a grudge against Darryl for a reason that will be explained by the end of the series....
And speaking of the end of the series, it came all too soon. Only 11 episodes aired, and the really weird thing is that they skipped the actual 11th episode, going straight from 10th to 12th, thus avoiding the onscreen resolution of a couple of cliffhangers from the 10th ep (aside from some fleeting visions Roxie seems to have of what we missed). And I gather there was a 13th episode, which also never aired. So, I dunno what to say. There were some plot developments that I'm leaving out, which I suppose means there are no real spoilers in my review (though I will say the three women's powers continue to develop, and they all eventually begin to trust Daryll a bit more, especially Roxie, ironically). Still, it would've been nice to see where the show went, if it had lasted longer. There were times when I felt like I might not keep watching anyway, but it was still fairly enjoyable, and the last episode did introduce some stuff that would have been interesting to learn more about....