Deja Vu and Taye Diggs, Too

Day Break

Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on ABC

The tagline you'll never see: "Groundhog Day," sans groundhog, sans humor.

The basics: Detective Brett Hopper (Taye Diggs, right) returns to his apartment after a night in the arms of his lover (Moon Bloodgood), who happens to be his police partner's ex. He finds his home in disarray and his dog in a barking frenzy -- and moments later, a battery of officers bursts throught the door with guns pointed at him. Hopper is handcuffed and taken downtown as a falsely accused murder suspect. He sets out to clear his name, but the woman who can back up his alibi is AWOL, the real killer is nowhere to be found and the day starts anew with the same scenario playing out again . . . and again . . .

The lowdown: Perhaps Fox's "24" was an influence on this show's structure, but unlike "24," there are no guarantees the action will move forward without falling back at some point. The show's creator is a newcomer (Paul Zbyszewski), and two of its executive producers worked behind the scenes on "The X-Files."

"Day Break" borrows the time slot of super-hit "Lost" for 13 weeks while that show goes on hiatus. It'll face CBS's "Criminal Minds," NBC's "Medium" and Fox's new "Rich List," with a regular lead-in from newly debuted game show "Show Me the Money."

Reality check: How many times can anyone stand a replay of the same crime? With prime-time police procedurals so plentiful, the "Groundhog Day" premise alone won't be enough to sustain the story unless subsequent episodes rachet up the action with real clues, strong plotting and well-developed characters. Can "Day Break" deliver the goods? It's still too early to tell.

-- Kathy Blumenstock