You tend to know what you will get with a Jerry Bruckheimer series. It usually:

* is a crime procedural, with just about every case solved in one hour.

* features an ensemble cast with one member designated as the lead character.

* and is incredibly dark and foreboding, often causing viewers to think there's something wrong with their brightness settings.

Occasionally, Bruckheimer strays from the formula, but those shows - "Justice" (Fox), "E-Ring" (NBC), and more recently, "Eleventh Hour" (CBS) - tend to fail.

"Dark Blue," the new Wednesday drama on TNT starring Dylan McDermott, sticks to the pattern. I predict it will have the same kind of success as such previous Bruckheimer efforts as the "CSI" franchise, "Without a Trace" and "Cold Case."

"Dark Blue" is gritty. McDermott plays Lt. Carter Shaw, the leader of an off-the-books undercover police task force in Los Angeles.

On his team are three cops - played by Logan Marshall-Green, Omari Hardwick and Nicki Aycox - who make lying look easy.

The pilot is intense - opening with a torture scene - and it never lets up until the bad guy is caught.

It's nice to see McDermott back on TV; he has been noticeably absent in anything good since his series "The Practice" ended in 2004.

This time he's a brooding cop who doesn't shave instead of brooding clean-cut lawyer. The whole brooding thing works for him. When he's not on the screen, he's missed.

TNT has produced a series of good dramas in "The Closer," "Saving Grace" and "Leverage." "Dark Blue" is another winner for the cable network.

Across the remote

Broadcast and cable networks went all out with their coverage of Michael Jackson's funeral on Tuesday, as they should have.

Some believed news organizations made too big a deal over MJ's death. Not me. I chided local radio stations on our blog for not doing enough on the day it happened.

Regardless what you think of Jackson as a person, you can't argue the impact he had on popular music and culture. There is not - and may never be - another person like him.

* Sci Fi (channels 75 and 157) changed its name Tuesday to Syfy, but viewers shouldn't expect any major changes in programming because of it.

"Our development strategy has not changed, nor do I expect it to, other than we'll still be doing creative, smart, risk-taking, ambitious programming, both in scripted and reality," Syfy president Dave Howe told Newsday.

The new name gives the cable network, which is part of the NBC family, one to trademark. The previous name was a generic phrase that couldn't be branded.

* Larry the Cable Guy's concert in Memorial Stadium is slated for a January airdate on Comedy Central.

Those who didn't attend the sold-out event and can't wait until January can watch it now for $10 on Larry's Web site at www.larrythecableguy.com.

* Other new shows premiering this week that may pique your interest include:

"Drop Dead Diva," 8 p.m. today, Lifetime. The dramedy tells the story of a shallow model-in-training who dies and comes back as a plus-size attorney.

"Michael & Michael Have Issues," 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, Comedy Central. Longtime comedic partners Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter play hosts of their own fictitious sketch show.

* Shows premiering new seasons this week include:

"Entourage" (season six), 9:30 p.m. today, HBO

"Leverage" (season two), 8 p.m. Tuesday, TNT

"The Bill Engvall Show" (season three), 8 p.m. Saturday

* ABC continues to clean out its closet, airing the final four new episodes of the canceled "Dirty Sexy Money," beginning 9 p.m. Saturday.

Reach Jeff Korbelik at 473-7213 or jkorbelik@journalstar.com.