NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- A week after the rest of the pack held its meetings with advertisers to offer a peek at what?s in development for the fall season, CBS yesterday unveiled its roster of new shows under consideration.

Off the big screen

The network is evaluating several dramas that bring big screen actors to TV. In ?Smith,? Ray Liotta stars as a thief who leads a crew of career criminals as they carry out big-stake heists; in ?Shark,? Spike Lee directs James Woods as a cutthroat lawyer who leaves his practice as a defense attorney to work for the Los Angeles D.A.?s high-profile crime unit; and Stanley Tucci plays a gifted but troubled brain surgeon in a still unnamed drama.

CBS has several ensemble dramas in the works, as well. Julia Ormond, Peter Strauss, Andrew McCarthy and Jason Behr star in ?The Way,? a show about a family that has achieved its wealth and prestige through witchcraft. ?Waterfront,? starring Joe Pantoliano, Mary Stuart Masterson, William Baldwin and Larenz Tate, tells the story of a charismatic but ethically challenged mayor of Providence. David Crane, co-creator of NBC?s ?Friends,? is behind the ensemble drama ?The Class,? which follows the lives of several 20-somethings who attended grade school together but followed different paths until they were reunited many years later.

Other prospective shows explore dark themes. ?Jericho? depicts a small town in Kansas that becomes isolated from the rest of America when a baffling mushroom cloud appears on the horizon. ?Orpheus? is about a young man who falls in love with a woman, Mena Suvari, who is a member of a mysterious cult-like organization.

Set in the capital

Washington is the locale for several shows. ?Company Town,? starring Sherry Stringfield, Blair Underwood and Micheal Michele, takes place in a D.C. neighborhood that seems serene but is home to government operatives who have dangerous jobs and secrets. For those who miss ?Dawson?s Creek? there are two programs -- one comedy, one drama -- both set in Washington and both starring a ?Dawson?s Creek? alum. Joshua Jackson stars with Kevin Pollak and Alan Tudyk in a law firm drama (still unnamed) created by two of the driving forces behind the program ?CSI.? James Van Der Beek stars with Jane Krakowski and Jay Harrington in a comedy about backstabbing and infighting called ?Sex, Power, Love & Politics.?

Other comedies include: ?Play Nice,? the story of a dysfunctional family starring Fred Willard and Swoosie Kurtz; ?The Angriest Man in Suburbia,? which is about a Manhattan transplant in Southern California; and an untitled project about a man and his mother in Queens, produced by Paul Reiser and stars Mercedes Ruehl and Bobby Cannavale.