BORED TO DEATH

(HBO, Sunday, Sept. 20, 9:30 p.m.)

In spite of its title, HBO's new series Bored to Death isn't deadly dull. But this mild-mannered comedic spin on Raymond Chandler-style detective stories could just as easily have been called “The Big Yawn.”

Considering the premium network's edgy reputation and the talent involved, it's surprising that this noir-lite effort goes for the cute rather than the cutting edge.

Jason Schwartzman, best-known for quirky movies such as Rushmore, plays a fictional version of series creator and author Jonathan Ames. Schwartzman's Ames is a New York writer in a rut who loses his girlfriend and can't get his second novel in gear — so, in a Walter Mitty moment, he decides to moonlight as a private detective.

By day, Ames hangs out with his comic book illustrator pal Ray (played by The Hangover's Zach Galifianakis), smokes pot with his magazine editor boss (Ted Danson) and drinks too much white wine. By night, he gumshoes around the city searching for missing sisters and trailing unfaithful boyfriends.

The whimsy wears thin fast, though, and it's no mystery that the show's sad-sack hero just comes off looking bored. — George Vernadakis

CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM: SEASON 7

(HBO, Sunday, Sept. 20, 9 p.m.)

Curb Your Enthusiasm returns for a seventh season, and even loyal fans will concede the inevitable déjà vu. But the show has lost none of its bad-taste touch, drawing big laughs from topics such as cancer, mental illness and lyme disease.

As the season opens, Larry David is trying to shake free of Loretta Black (Vivica A. Fox) and her family, while dealing with his separation from wife Cheryl (Cheryl Hines), who is trying to resume her acting career.

David is once again surrounded by familiar faces (Jeff Garlin, Susie Essman, Richard Lewis) and some new ones, including Lewis' latest girlfriend (Lolita Davidovich) and a hilarious Catherine O'Hara as the unstable sister of Marty Funkhouser (Bob Einstein).

This season's major plotline, which gets rolling in episode three (ironically, the weakest of the season's opening trio), concerns a Seinfeld reunion. David (who co-created the original sitcom) persuades the show's initially reluctant stars, including Jerry himself, to reteam in the hopes of wooing back Cheryl with a part on the show.

Time will tell if the Seinfeld story arc is pretty, pretty good for the season or just a schmohawk. — George Vernadakis