If it’s fall, it must be time for another new series from David E. Kelley.

One would think that the uber-producer, who grew up in Waterville as the son of then Colby hockey coach Jack Kelley, would have enough on his hands with his existing shows. He radically overhauled his fading “The Practice,” replacing half the cast, and made the usual handful of personnel changes to “Boston Public,” for which school must nearly be out.

Still Kelley found time to launch “The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire,” debuting at 10 tonight on CBS. It’s a family drama set in a small, struggling New England town.

The brotherhood referred to in the title is the Shaw brothers, who grew up and stayed in Poland. Former high-school hockey stars, two of the three are now big wheels in the small town.

Hank (played by Randy Quaid) is the police chief and high school hockey coach, who has a bad tendency to talk with his fists.

His inability to communicate results in his and wife Dottie’s (Mare Winningham) going to therapy with an internist, the only doctor he would agree to see.

Garrett Shaw (John Carroll Lynch), the town mayor, sees his family life start to slip away when he’s forced to hide a secret from his wife, Helen (Elizabeth McGovern).

The youngest brother, Waylon (Chris Penn), is unemployed and insecure and yet still optimistic, and is supported by his teacher-wife, Julie (Ann Cusack).

This extended family may squabble among itself, but its members close ranks against those in town who would threaten them.

The series closest to “Brotherhood” in the Kelley canon would be “Picket Fences.” In the early going, it doesn’t seem quite as quirky as that CBS drama. Although it has a healthy amount of humor, it’s got a serious dramatic vein as well. Kelley is also committing the cardinal sin of creating a program that will appeal most to adults.

The Kelley cachet should give “Brotherhood” the time it needs to grow and mature, even opposite NBC’s dominant “Law & Order.” This is the producer’s most balanced show in recent years, and viewers should give it a chance to thrive.