‘Deadline’ a look at a modern newsroom> Strong casting, unpredictable story lines give promising NBC series a chance to succeed

A familiar name strikes again on NBC tonight as “Deadline” debuts at 9. The newspaper drama is the brainchild of Dick Wolf, whose “Law & Order” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” already are dependable ratings draws for the network.

“Deadline” stars Oliver Platt (“Bulworth,” “Dr. Doolittle”) as Wallace Benton, a crusading columnist for the Post-like New York Ledger. The thrice-divorced Benton seeks to ferret out the truth behind the headlines.

The show really takes off in the newsroom of the Ledger, with Platt supported by Tony and Emmy winner Bebe Neuwirth as his long-suffering managing editor, Tony and Oscar winner Tom Conti as the paper’s acid-tongued publisher and film veteran Lili Taylor (“The Haunting”) as the paper’s well-connected gossip columnist. It’s the best re-creation of the inner workings of a newspaper since “Lou Grant.”

Benton also teaches a class in investigative journalism, and he uses the class’s graduate students, played by unknown actors, as his research assistants. They don’t add much momentum to the series, and fortunately were used sparingly in the previewed episodes.

The quality of the previewed episodes was uneven. The pilot spent much time introducing the larger-than-life Benton as he implausibly solved a murder case at a fast-food joint. The second episode features less of the conniving Benton and more of the supporting characters, and was much more enjoyable and believable as a result.

Still, “Deadline” features many of Wolf’s trademarks: strong casting, authentic settings and unpredictable story lines. It’s placed where it has the opportunity to flourish, up against the older-skewing CBS comedy pairing of “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “Becker,” the fading “Ally McBeal” on Fox, and the male-oriented “Monday Night Football.” One hopes

NBC won’t be too quick to fold the promising “Deadline.”

Also debuting tonight are two sitcoms, one poignant and one painful.

The poignant one is “Tucker,” debuting at 8:30 on NBC. Tucker Pierce (played by Eli Marienthal, “American Pie”) is a sensitive but scrawny 14-year-old making a difficult transition. He and his recently divorced mother Jeannie (Noelle Beck) have had to move in with her older sister, Claire (Katey Sagal, “Married … With Children”), who takes every opportunity to lord it over them.

In addition, Tucker has to share a room and deal with the attacks of his dim, wrestling-obsessed cousin Leon (Nathan Lawrence). His allies in his new life are his knowing Uncle Jimmy (Casey Sander, “Grace Under Fire”) and the pretty, mysterious girl next door (Alison Lohman).

As constructed by executive producers Ron Milbauer and Terri Hughes (the teen flick “Idle Hands”), “Tucker” has a little more on the ball than your average family sitcom. Tucker is a likable protagonist, and the cast rings true. The characters aren’t black-and-white, but have shades of gray in their relationships with one another.

The painful one is “Yes, Dear,” also debuting at 8:30, but on CBS. It’s built on the moldy concept that men are unable, unwilling parents.

“Yes, Dear” follows the fatherly misadventures of two men married to sisters. Greg (Anthony Clark, the forgettable “Boston Common”) at least wants to be a good dad, faithfully reading all the parenting manuals. His loutish friend Jimmy (Mike O’Malley, whose self-titled show was one of last season’s worst) spends his time constructing ways to get out of his responsibilities.

To give an idea of how lowbrow this sitcom is, in the previewed episode Greg finds out that his wife, Kim (the criminally wasted Jean Louisa Kelly), is still nursing their more-than-1-year-old son, Sam, because she likes having bigger breasts. So Greg is given the job of weaning Sam to the bottle. Comic high jinks ensue.

When making a choice at 8:30, it’s no contest. Watch “Tucker” for a more multidimensional view of life.