Fall Television's Breakout Leading Ladies

This fall, leading ladies are the small screen's biggest stars. Danielle Nussbaum tunes in.

This fall, leading ladies are the small screen's biggest stars. Danielle Nussbaum tunes in. 2 Broke Girls

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This fall, leading ladies are the small screen's biggest stars. Danielle Nussbaum tunes in.

Don't judge, but I spent my summer catching up on TV (from Alias and Supernatural to newcomers Nikita and Happy Endings) and watching pilots. And while I was smitten with two DVRs' worth of new shows (including NBC's Grimm and Up All Night and FOX's special-effects-athon Terra Nova), I was also pretty excited by a trend: Some of my favorite females are taking over this fall. Movie actresses have hijacked the small screen, TV stars are staging comebacks, and newcomers have caught my (very short span of) attention.