Another variety of specialty investigation is detailed in tonight’s new CBS series “Without a Trace,” debuting at 10.

The series takes viewers inside the world of the FBI’s Missing Persons Squad. That group uses psychological profiling to determine the victim’s whereabouts. Their goal is to learn who the victim is in order to learn where the victim is.

Senior Agent Jack Malone (Anthony LaPaglia, “Murder One”) heads the squad, which knows that every second counts when someone vanishes. Neither he nor any of the other characters is terribly well-developed in the opener, but in a show like this, it’s essential that the process be set in the viewer’s mind first and foremost. Better characterization, however, still needs to follow for the series to succeed.

Also from Jerry Bruckheimer, “Without A Trace” is another offspring of “CSI,” both in terms of having a demographically desirable cast and in its exhaustive use of police procedure. It’s more emotional, less scientific. If a viewer finds it fascinating to watch a case unfold, he or she will enjoy this new entry in the field.

CBS has given “Without a Trace” a good opportunity to succeed, slotting it opposite two tired programs: “ER” on NBC and “Primetime Thursday” on ABC. If producers build on this solid first episode, the series should become a keeper.

Also tonight, the creative team behind “Will & Grace” returns with a new comedy, which not surprisingly will air behind “Will & Grace” at 9:30 on NBC.

The new offering from Emmy Award winners David Kohan and Max Mutchnick is “Good Morning, Miami,” set at a low-rated morning show in that Florida hotspot.

Mark Feuerstein has turned a number of memorable recurring roles (“The West Wing,” “Once and Again”) into a starring role here, portraying Jake Silver, a hotshot producer. Jake is in Miami under the guise of a job interview, but really is there just to visit his earthy grandmother (Suzanne Pleshette, “The Bob Newhart Show”).

Jake, fielding a host of offers, has no intention of staying in Miami. Then he meets and falls for the show’s hair stylist Dylan (Ashley Williams) and changes his mind.

The home scenes with old pro Pleshette sizzle. Unfortunately, much of the workplace scenes fizzle, and that’s a big problem in a series set mainly in the studio. Most of the morning-show characters are one-note: the arrogant host, the fiery Cuban-American, sexpot co-host, the insecure station manager and his burned-out assistant.

Based on its pedigree and time slot, “Good Morning, Miami” should get the time it needs to develop. Neither “CSI” on CBS nor “Push, Nevada” on ABC are simple shows to pick up on halfway through. So maybe Kohan and Mutchnick can fine-tune this new series enough to keep it from signing off.