Some familiar faces will return to the small screen in the next few months. Butt-kicking, wig-wearing double agent Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) is back to battle criminals and her own demons in ABC”s “Alias,” Jan. 5 at 9 p.m. Kiefer Sutherland’s Counter-Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer embarks on another very long day when Fox’s “24” kicks off with a two-hour premiere Jan. 9 at 8 p.m.

And the kill-joy judges of “American Idol” are back for another season of dashed hopes and shmaltzy warbling with a two-hour premiere Jan. 18 at 8 p.m. on Fox.

But a roster of newcomers is also on the lineup, each looking for the kind of success won by “All in the Family,” the king of midseason replacements. Archie Bunker and family arrived Jan. 12, 1971, and spent five years as the top-rated show.

Though the networks have yet to announce premiere dates for most midseason series, here’s what to expect:

ABC

• “Grey’s Anatomy” is not an adaptation of the late Spalding Gray’s sharp-witted monologue. The medical drama gets its title (never mind the slightly different spelling of the last name) from Henry Gray, the turn-of-the-last-century doctor who famously dissected and documented human anatomy. It stars Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey, a first-year surgical intern. In the pilot, she hooks up with a stranger (Patrick Dempsey) in a bar, only to discover, when she first reports to work the next morning, that he’s a staff surgeon. Oops! Her fellow interns include Katherine Heigl, T.R. Knight and Sandra Oh.

• “Blind Justice” is Ron Eldard’s (“ER”) return to series TV. In Stephen Bochco’s latest police drama, Eldard plays Detective Jim Dunbar, who has worked his way back to active duty after being blinded during a botched robbery. Needless to say, he has a hard time finding a partner to work with him. But, there’s good news: Dunbar’s handicap has made him a better detective. The series is tentatively scheduled for the Tuesday 10 p.m. slot that will be vacated when Bochco’s “NYPD Blue” wraps its long run.

• “Eyes” stars Tim Daly as the head of a high-stakes risk-management firm that investigates corporate malfeasance and such dirty dealing as blackmail, embezzlement and even murder. His crack team of investigators includes Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon (“NYPD Blue”), A.J. Langer (“My So-Called Life”), Laura Leighton (“Melrose Place”), Eric Mabius (“The L Word”) and Natalie Zea (“The Shield”).

The spy thriller was created by John McNamara, the man behind the turbocharged “Fastlane,” and promises plenty of high-wire stunts and whiz-bang special effects. Risk-management has never been so sexy.

-“Numbers,” a new crime drama with the big-screen cachet of executive producers Tony and Ridley Scott (“Gladiator,” “Blade Runner”), stars David Krumholtz (“Grounded for Life”) as a math genius who is enlisted by his FBI agent brother Rob Morrow (“Northern Exposure”) to help the Bureau track tough cases. The cast also includes Peter McNicol (“Ally McBeal”), Judd Hirsch (“Taxi”) and Sabrina Lloyd (“SportsNight”).

-“The Will” has money-grubbing friends and family of a wealthy man competing for a favorable place in his will. The reality show’s Mr. Moneybags is not near death, a network rep says, so this is one competition with a serious case of delayed gratification. Staying in the reality vein, Joan Lunden will be hosting the network’s search for the next Martha Stewart. The still-untitled series is scheduled to premiere next year. Remember, Stewart could be released in March.

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FOX

-“The Sketch Show” Kelsey Grammer takes a turn at a different kind of comedy with this remake of a British series described as a hybrid of “Laugh-In” and “Monty Python.”

“Life on a Stick” finds two best friends (Zachary Knighton and Charlie Finn) taking jobs in a mall food court rather than go to college. One gets lucky and meets the girl of his dreams (Rachelle LeFevre). The other is resigned to operating the deep fryer. The comedy was created by Victor Fresco, the quirky brain behind the late, lamented “Andy Richter Controls the Universe.”

-“Jonny Zero” chronicles the life of Jonny Calvo, ex-con and former strip-club bouncer, trying to go legit by becoming a freelance Jack Webb. Brooklyn-born actor Franky G (“The Italian Job”) takes a stab at playing himself, sort of. In real life the one-time bodybuilder (and former Mr. Queens) worked at a strip club. He also studied criminal law in college. But he’s never been in jail.

-“Hell’s Kitchen” has real-life wanna-be chefs enduring the wrath of pompous Michelin-starred chef Gordon Ramsay. Contestants toil in Ramsay’s L.A. restaurant Cordon Bleu, where each week, after a verbal lashing, the crusty cook sends someone packing.

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NBC

-“Committed” stars Josh Cooke and Jennifer Finnigan play a couple of New Yorkers who meet cute and fall in love. But everyone in his family has gone insane, so he’s perpetually negative and she’s a quintessential Pollyanna.

-“Law & Order: Trial by Jury” stays close to the courtroom for drama in the style of an updated “Perry Mason.” “Law & Order” stalwart Jerry Orbach headlines the latest franchise spinoff.

-“Medium” stars Patricia Arquette as a psychic who can see dead people. She can also hear them, and she uses her mysterious gift to help them find their eternal resting place.

-“Revelations” is an apocalyptic drama with Bill Pullman and Natascha McElhone as a scientist and a nun who join forces to prevent the four horsemen from riding roughshod over humanity.

-“The Law Firm,” a reality show from David E. Kelley (“Boston Legal,” “Ally McBeal”), has real lawyers trying real cases for a chance at a $250,000 prize.

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UPN

-“The Bad Girls Guide” has former Playboy pinup Jenny McCarthy in an adaptation of Carmen Tuttle’s books for women about indulging their naughty streak.

-“The Road to Stardom With Missy Elliott” is a reality series featuring the outspoken hip-hip artist as mentor to a group of would-be pop stars. Look for it in January in the Wednesday 8 p.m. slot currently occupied by “America’s Next Top Model.”

-“Cuts,” a “One on One” spinoff, revolves around Flex’s brother (Marques Houston), who runs a barbershop owned by a meddling corporate heiress (Shannon Elizabeth). She couldn’t tell a high-top fade from a highball.

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WB

-“Shacking Up” has Fran Drescher in the Demi Moore role. The former “Nanny” plays a single mom whose twentysomething boyfriend is the same age as her son.

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(c) 2004, New York Daily News.

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AP-NY-12-01-04 0838EST