Syndicated series premiere on local stations

Vampire twins, arise.

Glad to see you again, Elvira. Could you lean over and wake Nancy Grace?

Joshing, Nance. Just joshing. Keep the cape at home, though, when you leave to host your new show -- hey, Elvira's got one, too! -- as new syndicated series unfold across local station schedules.

Practicing her Spanish Inquisition-style legal grilling, Grace has arrived at KVVU-TV, Channel 5 this fall in the new "Swift Justice with Nancy Grace" (4 and 4:30 p.m. weekdays) with "ripped from the headlines" stories. Elsewhere on the Fox affiliate, Elvira (Cassandra Peterson) returns to pop out of her coffin in the dead of night (2:30 a.m., early Sundays) to host "Elvira's Movie Macabre," making creepy fun of horror flicks.

First run-wise, Channel 5 also adds the musical game show "Don't Forget the Lyrics" (noon and 12:30 p.m. weekdays), a "Name That Tune"-ish newbie in which contestants must guess missing song lyrics. Don't forget "American Dad" (3 and 3:30 p.m. Saturdays ), an animated sitcom about a man named Stan, who juggles a hectic family life with his job as a CIA agent. Fans of established network/cable dramas can find newly syndicated weekend episodes of "The Closer" (4 p.m. Saturdays and 1 a.m. early Sundays), "Numb3rs" (6 p.m. Saturdays and midnight Sundays) and "Criminal Minds" (7 p.m. Saturdays and 11 p.m. Sundays).

Modest changes are on tap at KTNV-TV, Channel 13, which swaps out court shows, with "People's Court" replaced by "America's Court with Judge Ross" (3-4 p.m. weekdays). TV's newest jurist, Kevin Ross, was, at 35, the youngest judge ever elected to the bench in California. Ousting "Extra" -- which relocates to Channel 5 -- Channel 13 slots the locally produced, infomercial-ish "Cool in Vegas" (7 p.m. weeknights).

Status quo is nearly the MO at KSNV-TV, Channel 3, with no new series scheduled, and only "Legend of the Seeker" yanked as of Oct. 30, to be replaced by weekend editions of "Jeopardy" and "Wheel of Fortune" (7-8 p.m. Saturdays).

Activity is amped up a bit more at KLAS-TV, Channel 8, which dumped "The Brian McKnight Show" and "Lost" reruns. Joining the weekend lineup are "The Unit" (11:30 p.m. Saturdays and 4 p.m. Sundays) and "Brothers and Sisters" (12:35 a.m. and 1:35 a.m. early Sundays).

Only first-run pickup: "The Nate Berkus Show," set for a rock-a-bye-baby slot (1:37-2:37 a.m. weeknights) and featuring Oprah's -- and America's -- interior decorator blending interviews with tips to "turn homes from drab to fab."

Busier beavers are stations with schedules unimpeded by local news.

Premiering on KTUD-TV, Channel 25 (Cox Cable 14) is "Steven and Chris" (9 a.m. weekdays), a Canadian talk show hosted by Steven Sabados and Chris Hyndman, imported from CBC Television, where it has aired since 2008. Tyler Perry's sitcom twosome about Atlanta families each get double doses: "House of Payne" (1 and 1:30 p.m. weekdays) and "Meet the Browns" (3 and 3:30 p.m.), separated by back-to-back "Everybody Hates Chris." "Payne" and "Browns" also get Sunday slots (3 and 3:30 p.m.).

Later in the day come those cheesy but addictive "True Hollywood Stories" from E! (5 p.m. weekdays and 6 p.m. Saturdays). "Ugly Betty" reruns arrive on the weekends (5 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays), and locally produced, mixed martial arts shows "MMA: 30" and "Tuff Nuff" are paired on Saturdays (10 and 10:30 p.m., respectively).

Cutely nicknamed "MY LVTV" -- i.e., KVMY-TV, Channel 21 (Cox Cable 12) -- gets mileage from two newly syndicated network sitcoms: "The New Adventures of Old Christine" gets a weekday double dip (5:30 and 10:30 p.m.), while "How I Met Your Mother" earns a double-double-dip (7 and 11:30 p.m., weeknights, 11 and 11:30 p.m. Saturdays).

Finally, CW affiliate KVCW-TV, Channel 33 (Cox Cable 6) indulges the bickering "Real Housewives of Orange County" (2-3 p.m. weekdays), then cribs syndicated versions of a couple of HBO hits: Hollywood-skewering "Entourage" with multiple Emmy-winner Jeremy Piven (10 p.m. weeknights and 11 p.m. Sundays), followed by Larry David's hilarious whine-fest, "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (10:30 p.m. weeknights and 11:30 p.m. Sundays). And another Canadian entry, "Heartland" -- an hourlong drama about the struggles of a debt-ridden family of Rocky Mountain horse ranchers -- migrates to U.S. TV (4 p.m. Saturdays).

Nothing new to watch around sunrise? That works out for Elvira and Nancy.

They're heading to bed then, anyway.

Contact reporter Steve Bornfeld at sbornfeld@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0256.