Although it probably doesn’t make Maine native David E. Kelley happy, tonight Fox begins its auditions for a replacement for his rapidly aging “Ally McBeal.”

“The American Embassy,” its six-episode run debuting at 9, started out as “Emmy Brody,” named after its young, waifish protagonist. But the title and the direction changed sharply after Sept. 11.

Emmy Brody, played by TV newcomer Arija Bereikis, has taken a vice consul position at the American embassy in London, in part to put some distance between her and her cheating ex-boyfriend and to figure out what she wants to do with her life.

The Toledo native quickly finds out she’s not in Ohio anymore. Her first assignment is to deal with a broke, naked man in the lobby who’s looking for a free ride home. Her embassy-assigned roommate brings home male guests regularly, so she escapes to the fire escape, where she meets her transvestite neighbor Gary.

She also soon attracts the attention not only of a CIA agent assigned to the embassy, but of an engaged British lord as well.

Emma is that cliche, the bewildered American in a strange land (it’s England, not Ecuador, so it shouldn’t be that hard to adjust). But she’s got spunk. It’s like the executive producers (of which there are many) transplanted Mary Richards from Minneapolis to London.

Emma also serves as narrator of the series, and in a too-cute device, phrases from her e-mails to her sister Jules appear on the screen.

The largely unknown cast is appealing, and the embassy setting is rife for drama. The problem is that “The American Embassy” has to decide if it’s going to be a romantic comedy built around Emma Brody or a hard-edged ensemble drama set in the real world. After Sept. 11, it’s not possible to be both simultaneously.

Either way, it shows more promise than an “Ally McBeal” which has faded away to nothing in its fourth season.