BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- After the end of "Lost" and the failure of "Heroes" to sustain its initially promising premise, broadcast networks are shying away from serialized dramas this fall in favor of close-ended procedural shows.

If you like spy, cop and lawyer programs, there are plenty of new series choices. But if you prefer continuing stories, the options are limited. NBC's "The Event" fits the bill with a time-hopping, propulsive pilot episode that's long on raising questions but short on giving answers.

A related question "The Event" raises: Do viewers have any trust left when it comes to television shows of this nature? (Think: "FlashForward.")

Jason Ritter ("The Class") stars in "The Event" as an everyman drawn into a mystery when his fiancee (Sarah Roemer) goes missing in a conspiracy thriller that also involves his future father-in-law (Scott Patterson, "Gilmore Girls"), the U.S. president (Blair Underwood) and a detainee (Laura Innes) in a high-security Alaska prison.

Friday, a press conference for the show was brimming with testy questions from jaded critics who feel burned by too many unsatisfying serialized shows. Cast members came to "The Event" with similar concerns.

"We all had the same fear that we don't want to end up on a show that drives people crazy," Ms. Innes said.

Creator/co-executive producer Nick Wauters, who describes himself as a "major geek" and fan of "Lost," "24" and "Battlestar Galactica," said a goal for producers is to "keep the audience hungry but not frustrate people."

Executive producer Evan Katz, a veteran of "24," said "The Event" is designed to raise questions and answer them quickly. He promised the two biggest questions posed in the pilot -- and there's a doozy of a "Whaaa?" moment in the last few minutes -- will be answered in the second episode.

"This show will not be as dark as '24,' which got so forbidding yet was faithful to [the Jack Bauer] character," Mr. Katz said. "I like starting with Jason's character, an ordinary man, an innocent. It will, hopefully, give us a many-season arc. But there will be that intensity, that roller coaster of a visceral response to what you're watching."

Producers said "The Event" will offer stories from multiple points of view because of the large cast, and the goal is for viewers to have emotional connections with the characters and the dilemmas they face in the Sept. 20 premiere.

"The pilot is an invitation to the series," Mr. Wauters said. "It's an appetizer. As a viewer myself, and a fan of 'Lost,' I think I'd ask for people's trust."

It may be unfair to "The Event," but viewers have been burned so many times that Mr. Wauters might be asking too much. At the same time, if viewers give up on more ambitious-than-procedural storytelling, the networks won't even make an attempt.

Angela Bromstad, president of NBC Prime-time Entertainment, said she accepts the skepticism of viewers and critics in returning to the serialized drama genre.

"If you can get this show right, even though the risks are tremendous, the rewards are really great. This was something that when you read the script, it was so compelling that even though it was very complex, it was very clear," she said.

That's true. "The Event" was surprisingly easy-to-follow despite jumping around through time.

"We are going to do everything in our power to guard against the 'FlashForward' [syndrome]," Ms. Bromstad said. "That was a great script, a really good pilot, something we were afraid of competitively, and I understand it did disappoint the audience. We take those lessons really seriously. The audience and critics will be rightfully skeptical and we're going to have to prove it, and I think we will."

Daytime talk show host Ellen DeGeneres has bowed out of Fox's "American Idol" after just one season as a judge. In a network-released statement, Ms. DeGeneres said, "My work schedule became more than I bargained for. I also realized this season that while I love discovering, supporting and nurturing young talent, it was hard for me to judge people and sometimes hurt their feelings."

The Washington Post reports judge Kara DioGuardi's contract has not been renewed, and she may also depart.

With the loss of lead judge Simon Cowell, who left the show to start a new singing competition series for fall 2011, "Idol" is undergoing a major revamping that may include the addition of Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler as judges, according to published reports. Fox has not yet announced new additions to the show's judging panel for when it returns in January.

Season four of The CW's "Gossip Girl" begins Sept. 13 with a field trip for its first two episodes -- to Paris. Executive producer Stephanie Savage dreamed up the Paris trip and pursued it beginning in January, convincing production company Warner Bros. to spend the money to send the cast abroad. Producers also got some help from the lousy world economy.

"We got a 20 percent tax credit and the Greek economy collapsed -- that was a bonus for us -- and the Euro plunged," Ms. Savage said.

As for the creative reason for the trip, Ms. Savage said she was tired of having the characters come back from summer vacation talking about their fantastic summer travels; she wanted to show it.

"The trip to Paris was the ultimate expression of the 'Gossip Girl' universe," she said. "The characters are so in love with fashion, architecture, music, lingerie, coffee, everything that Paris has to offer. Those elements are all part of our 'Gossip Girl' world."

Cast members were swamped by fans when shooting on location, even though the show gets lousy ratings in Paris.

"It airs a year later on Sunday afternoons at 4:30, terribly dubbed," said executive producer Josh Schwartz. "So we don't do that well in Paris, but all the kids watch it online."

For the new season, Little J (Taylor Momsen) will be back before the midway point of the season, and Georgina Sparks (Michelle Trachtenberg) will return "in more ways than one," according to Savage. Plus, Gossip Girl herself gets a face-lift (presumably producers mean the look of her blog).

TNT has ordered a seventh season of "The Closer," a fourth season of "Leverage" and a second season of "Rizzoli & Isles." ... Comedy Central's "Tosh.0" continues to set ratings records, drawing 2.7 million viewers Wednesday night.

Looking for more from the Post-Gazette? Join PG+, our members-only web site. You'll get exclusive sports content, opinion, financial information, discounts from retailers and restaurants, and more. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.