‘Deal or No Deal,’ Bonnie Hunt among local stations’ new offerings

Howie Mandel and Bonnie Hunt are bringing an element of risk to daytime TV.

Starting Monday, Mandel will host a new, 30-minute version of "Deal or No Deal" (5 and 5:30 p.m. weekdays, KVCW-TV, Channel 33). The daily game, which is independent from NBC's prime-time version, offers a $500,000 top prize -- down from $1 million in the original -- but with four fewer cases to choose from, contestants have better odds of winning the top amount.

"The pace is much quicker than in prime-time," Mandel says. "There's a lot more energy." That's mostly because each episode is self-contained, wrapping up every player's game in 30 minutes with none of the filler of the prime-time version.

"Within a half-hour, you know, you will laugh for moments, you will cry, you may scream at the television," he says. "It elicits every possible kind of emotion all in one game."

Also on Monday, Hunt will enter into one of the most dangerous jobs around: celebrity daytime talk show host.

Scores of famous names have flopped in the format, and the past four years alone have seen the high-profile failures of Jane Pauley, Tony Danza and Megan Mullally. But the versatile actress, long considered the perfect talk show guest, thinks she's found the right format with her "Ellen"-esque "The Bonnie Hunt Show" (4 p.m. weekdays, KVVU-TV, Channel 5).

"It's a tough business to succeed in. It's daytime television. It's just tough," she says. "I think that if we are authentic and at the top of our intelligence, women will feel a welcome relief to have something like that to relate to during the day."

Here's a look at the other new syndicated offerings, a mix of original programs and network reruns, that local stations have on tap for the fall. Unless noted, all shows begin this week.

KVVU-TV, CHANNEL 5

"The Bonnie Hunt Show" is just one of six series the Fox affiliate has added.

The original offerings are "Family Court with Judge Penny" (1:30 p.m. weekdays), which will focus on domestic abuse and child custody hearings, and "Trivial Pursuit: America Plays" (7 p.m. weekdays, starting Sept. 22), a game show hosted by "The Brady Bunch's" Christopher Knight.

Also joining the lineup are the CBS duo of "CSI: NY" (7 p.m. Saturdays and 11 p.m. Sundays) and "Without a Trace" (5 p.m. Saturdays and 1 a.m. Mondays, starting Sept. 20), as well as MTV's "Punk'd" (12:30 a.m. weekdays, starting Sept. 29).

KVBC-TV, CHANNEL 3

The original drama "Legend of the Seeker" (7 p.m. Saturdays, starting Nov. 1) is based on Southern Nevada author Terry Goodkind's "The Sword of Truth" series. From the creative team behind "Dr. Phil," "The Doctors" (2 p.m. weekdays) will dispense medical and health advice from a team that includes an ER physician, an obstetrician and gynecologist, a plastic surgeon and a pediatrician. USA's "Monk" (9 p.m. and midnight Sundays, starting Sept. 28) rounds out the new lineup.

KLAS-TV, CHANNEL 8

Weekends will feature two of prime-time's biggest hits with "House" (11:30 p.m. Saturdays and 4 p.m. Sundays, starting Sept. 27) and "Lost" (1:30 a.m. and midnight Sundays, starting Sept. 14). Also new is "The New Detectives" (4 p.m. Saturdays), the series that inspired the "CSI" franchise.

KTUD-TV, CHANNEL 25

"Tyler Perry's House of Payne" (11 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. weekdays and 5 and 5:30 p.m. Saturdays, starting Sept. 22) and "American Chopper" (6 p.m. Sundays, starting Sept. 26) make the move from cable, while "That '70s Show" (9 and 9:30 p.m. weekdays and 6 and 6:30 p.m. Saturdays) makes the move from Channel 5.

KVCW-TV, CHANNEL 33

In addition to "Deal or No Deal," the station has added "Boston Legal" (7 p.m. Saturdays and 11 p.m. Sundays) and "Nurse TV" (1 p.m. Saturdays), a "Cops"-style look at nursing.

KVMY-TV, CHANNEL 21

Miami judge Karen Mills-Francis presides over "Judge Karen" (2 and 2:30 p.m. weekdays), and conservative political commentator Armstrong Williams hosts a weekly series (9:30 a.m. Sundays, starting Sept. 14).

KTNV-TV, CHANNEL 13

The ABC affiliate has held onto one of the network's biggest hits in "Desperate Housewives" (11:35 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, starting Sept. 20).