This season’s freshest new series is found on adventurous WB.

The coming-of-age drama “Felicity,” airing at 9 tonight, follows a college freshman taking her first tentative steps on her own, and experiencing the consequences of her actions.

A child of privilege, Felicity Porter (played by TV veteran Keri Russell) is set on the fast track to be a doctor, like her father. “He’s had my life planned out for me since I was a zygote,” she laments.

Then introspective Felicity has an epiphany after her high-school graduation. In an impulsive move, she decides to throw out plans for her to go to Stanford in order to follow Ben Covington, whom she has had a crush on for four years, to the fictional University of New York.

She soon feels this is a colossal mistake when she runs into Covington (played by Scott Speedman) and he can’t even remember her name. She soon confronts him, and they decide they can be “just friends.” At the same time, Felicity is making other friends while trying to regain her equilibrium in New York, wrestling with the question of staying or going back to safety in California.

The framing device the show uses is taped correspondence between Felicity and Sally, her former French tutor who is now recovering from a personal tragedy. This enables viewers to hear what Felicity is thinking.

Russell gives a nuanced performance as Felicity, with emotions quietly registering on her delicate face. Russell is the best young actress on network TV since Clare Danes in the cruelly truncated “My So-Called Life.”

The supporting cast is nearly as strong. Speedman shows the turmoil that exists beneath his character’s most-popular-guy facade. Scott Foley (“Dawson’s Creek”) plays R.A. Noel Crane, who steadfastly supports Felicity while dealing with his growing attraction to her. Amy Jo Johnson (“Mighty Morphin Power Rangers”) winningly portrays Julie Emrick, Felicity’s best friend and confidante.

Created by veteran filmmakers J.J. Abrams (“Armageddon,” “Regarding Henry”) and Matt Reeves (“The Pallbearer”), “Felicity” is a soulful gem, one which any of the other networks would be happy to have.

In tonight’s other new entry, Mr. Chapel has a problem with the criminal-justice system. The former crime victim tells his assistant, “We live in a world where people can kill someone and get a book deal out of it because they have the right lawyer.”

Well, Chapel, played by veteran screen actor Michael Madsen, doesn’t just pontificate. He helps those wronged by the system by turning the tables on criminals in the new ABC action series “Vengeance Unlimited,” which debuts at 10 p.m. It moves to its regular time slot of 8 p.m. Thursdays beginning Oct. 1.

As played by Madsen, a brooding presence in such films as “Reservoir Dogs” and “Thelma & Louise,” Chapel is a likable yet frightening character. He adores children and likes chocolate. His fee for those who want to see justice done is $1 million … or a future favor. He never uses a gun or kills.

What he does best is manipulate. Aided by young law clerk K.C. (played by Kathleen York), Chapel is a chessmaster who uses criminals of all sorts as pawns, pitting them against each other in elaborate, often macabre schemes. In the opener, he goes after a murderous money-launderer by forcefully recruiting the banker’s attorney and setting a drug lord, the money’s owner, after the banker.

“Vengeance Unlimited” is bound to draw comparisons to the 1985-89 CBS thriller “The Equalizer.” While nowhere near as stylish as that Edward Woodward starrer, the new series has a certain low-tech charm and enough suspense to keep its audience engrossed.

Although saddled with a title like a straight-to-video B-movie, “Vengeance Unlimited” has the stuff to succeed. Located opposite NBC’s comedy block and CBS’s feel-good “Promised Land,” it offers an action-packed alternative for viewers seeking such fare.