I am – Hercules!!

The CW has aired several serviceable series over its short lifetime (“Veronica Mars” and “Beauty and the Geek” among them), but has been less successful launching good shows. The pilot for “Privileged,” the “Devil Wears Prada”-ish tale of a Yale grad and aspiring journalist reduced to tutoring a pair of spoiled Hiltonesque teens, is the best I’ve seen premiere on the netlet.

Based on the book "How To Teach Filthy Rich Girls" by Zoey Dean, the series also cements the status of The CW – home also to “Gossip Girl” and “90210” – as the place to go if you crave hourlongs about wealthy youngsters.

Brainy and highly watchable, “Privileged” was created by Rina Mimoun, whom I credit with transforming “Everwood” from a mawkish, unfunny slog into one of the sharpest comedy-dramas of the decade. She also worked on “Gilmore Girls” and helped Bryan Fuller with the first season of “Pushing Daisies.”

Here’s something slightly curious. Like “True Blood,” which premiered two days earlier, “Privileged” features as one of its more appealing elements a gay, black chef.

“Privileged” stars Joanna Garcia, still fondly remembered as the girl who spent seven minutes in heaven with Bill Haverchuck on “Freaks and Geeks.” Her co-stars include Lucy Hale (“Bionic Woman”) and Ashley Newbrough (Noggin’s “Radio Free Roscoe”) as the bratty Baker twins and Anne Archer (“Fatal Attraction”) as their GILF-y grandmama.

If you own no video recording equipment you should watch “Fringe,” but know that I’ll be season-passing “Privileged” onto my DVRs as well.

Entertainment Weekly gives it an “B” and says:

… Garcia is impeccable, and Newbrough and Hale are likably bratty. Funnier would help, but charm is abundant. …

The Associated Press says:

… a bright, bouncy fairy tale of power and extravagance, tempered by reminders that money can't buy happiness. …

USA Today gives it a star and a half (out of four) and says:

… like most copies, Privileged is a second-rate imitation. Gone is the knowing wink and wit, the sense you get in Gossip that no one is taking the show seriously. In its place on Privileged are clunky jokes, overwrought performances and a tone that implies we're actually supposed to care about the show's would-be heroine, despite her being inept, idiotic and venal. …

The Los Angeles Times says:

… A money-can't-buy-happiness undercurrent dutifully runs through "Privileged," but for a show so clearly determined to be sharp and sassy, the unquestioning acceptance of wealth as some sort of alternate universe or higher state of being is very, very depressing. Which doesn't mean it isn't fun to watch. …

The Chicago Tribune says:

… The CW’s “90210” is getting all the hype, but "Privileged," soap about two willful heiresses who do battle with their new tutor, is much more fun. … The dialogue is witty, the pacing is brisk and there’s some real heart amid all the tokens of the Palm Beach high life.

The Washington Post says:

… a shallow grave of a comedy-drama hybrid … Obviously there are varying grades of escapist fluff; "Privileged" is Grade F.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:

… one of the more pleasant surprises of the new fall season. … less "Gossip Girl" and more "Gilmore Girls" …

The Detroit News says:

… In addition to an appealing storytelling style and plot, "Privileged" has a secret weapon in Garcia. She is all bright eyes and charm, and it's a treat watching her shine in every scene.

The San Jose Mercury News says:

… a breezy new drama that is more "Gilmore Girls" than "Gossip Girl." …

The Boston Globe says:

… more than a snap-a-minute goof on kids drowning in dirty sexy money and designer clothes … has the makings of a more sincere, "Gilmore Girls"-like take on female bonding. … Garcia is an affable lead; she manages to be cynical and spunky at the same time, not an easy pair of qualities to merge. … does have an unexpectedly sweet and cautionary undercurrent that you don't always find in shows that invite us to gawk at opulence.

Variety says:

… smart, breezy and glossy … Granted, not everything works equally well, beginning with Megan’s habit of running off at the mouth, Mary Tyler Moore-style, when she’s nervous -- a little of which goes a long way. Nevertheless, Garcia’s adorableness (including a flattering new mop of red hair) makes her an appealing protagonist, and the setting offers a fertile framework for various misadventures. …

The Hollywood Reporter says:

… This show wants to be an "Ally McBeal"-esque broad piece of serio-comedy but hasn't really the slightest idea how to pull it off. So it makes do instead with something that's really neither animal nor vegetable, looking to combine poignance with zaniness and accomplishing neither without a whole lot of panache. This, even though star JoAnna Garcia is charismatic and comically appealing, and Anne Archer turns in an energetically saucy performance as a self-absorbed society dame. But it's not enough to make you want to return to this opulent address week after week. …

9 p.m. Tuesday. The CW.