Sizing up the 2012 midseason TV schedule

It’s that time of year when everyone is making resolutions — even television networks. Midseason offers programmers another shot at tweaking schedules and wooing audiences with new programming. So I’ve headed to Pasadena, Calif., where the semi-annual Television Critics Association press tour is taking place, to view the new offerings and see if the networks’ promises of fresh, exciting shows are long-term commitments or doomed to be forgotten two weeks from now.

For live reports from the TCA press tour, follow me on Twitter @amberatmetro and visit metro-us.go-vip.net/tv. Here are a few TCA highlights that I’ll be covering:

“Smash”: There hasn’t been a show with this much pre-premiere buzz since “Glee.” Perhaps because this is also a music-centric series. On Friday I talk to star Katharine McPhee and the rest of the cast in this Spielberg-produced drama, detailing the opening of a Broadway musical. (Premieres Feb. 6 on NBC)

Set visits: “Suburgatory” and “New Girl”: Funny ladies have been the toast of the TV season, and two of my favorite female-centric sitcoms open their sets to critics Monday. (“Suburgatory” airs Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. on ABC. “New Girl” airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on Fox.)

Vice presidents new and old: Al Gore, Current TV chairman and co-founder — and, of course, our former vice president — speaks to critics about the state of cable news on Jan. 13. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, meanwhile, just plays the vice president on TV. Still, she’ll be talking about the gig and her new HBO comedy, “Veep,” on Jan. 13. (“Veep” will premiere in April on HBO.)