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L.A. Law has retired and two of NBC's hit comedies have been transplanted, making room for three new series. The Simpsons has moved out of Fox's Thursday lineup. CBS is sandwiching two new series around Eye to Eye with Connie Chung; ABC will try two new hour dramas leading into PrimeTime Live. And at 10, it's a war of promising medical shows, both set in Chicago.

Chad Everett stars in ABC's McKenna at 9, a drama filmed on location in Oregon. Everett plays Jack McKenna, owner of McKenna Outdoor Wilderness Outfitters. He's devastated after his oldest son is killed on an outdoor expedition. His younger son (Eric Close) returns home to help out his dad and put the family business back on track. Vinessa Shaw, who plays Jack's runaway daughter Cassidy in the first episode, has been replaced by Jennifer Love Hewitt (The Byrds of Paradise).

At 8:30, it's Friends, a comedy from Marta Kaufman and David Crane (Dream On). Very much in the Seinfeld style, it's an ensemble comedy about a brace of young New Yorkers grappling with love, sex and careers. The characters range from heavy-handed (Matt LaBlanc as an unsuccessful actor and swinging bachelor) to familiar (Courteney Cox as the intelligent, unattached beauty) to the wonderfully eccentric (Lisa Kudrow from Mad About You as a spacey waif who senses auras and attributes her peace of mind to aroma therapy.)