Spring bringing new series to TV

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As the economy continues to head south and ratings slide for the broadcast networks, March and April bring new series to television.

Mystery, comedy, reality and fantasy are in the mix.

But the familiar favorites, such as “Dancing With the Stars” (March 9 on ABC), are expected to generate the most excitement. Among those on the dance floor this round are Go-Gos singer Belinda Carlisle, comic David Alan Grier, 17-year-old Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson, rapper Lil’ Kim and actress Denise Richards.

Here are some other March offerings:

Sunday: “Celebrity Apprentice” comes back with Donald Trump and a motley crew that includes Joan and Melissa Rivers, Clint Black, Andrew Dice Clay, Annie Duke, Tom Green, Natalie Gulbis, Scott Hamilton, Jesse James, Claudia Jordan, Khloe Kardashian, Brian McKnight, Brande Roderick, Dennis Rodman, Herschel Walker and Tionne Watkins. (9 p.m. on NBC).

Monday: “Rules of Engagement” returns to explore the battle of the sexes with loopy David Spade, sardonic Patrick Warburton and the rest of the cast. (9:30 p.m. on CBS).

Tuesday: “Reaper” returns for another offbeat romp with the devil and his reluctant bounty hunter (9 p.m. on The CW).

March 7: “Ashes to Ashes” is a sequel to the original British “Life on Mars.“ A policewoman (Keeley Hawes) in a coma goes time and mind tripping back to London in the ‘80s where she solves crimes. (9 p.m. on BBC America).

March 9: “Castle” stars Nathan Fillion as a famous author who switches from writing about murders to investigating them. He gets help from real life novelists such as Stephen King, Sue Grafton and James Patterson as themselves. Susan Sullivan is his Broadway diva mother (10 p.m. on ABC).

March 11: “The Chopping Block” gives us wild and crazy chef Marco Pierre White, who is tougher than a Marine drill sergeant. (8 p.m. on NBC)

March 15: “Kings,“ loosely inspired by the Old Testament, is set in a fictional country at war. “Deadwood’s” Ian McShane is the ruthless King Silas. Chris Egan plays a young hero who defeats the killer “Goliath” tank and rises to power. Susanna Thompson, Miguel Ferrer and Macaulay Culkin are in the cast. (8 p.m. on NBC).

March 18: “Better Off Ted” stars Jay Harrington as an ethical researcher at a sinister company that develops bizarre things in this comedy. Also in the cast are Andrea Anders and Portia de Rossi (8:30 p.m. on ABC).

March 26: “In the Motherhood” teams Megan Mullally (“Will and Grace”) and Cheryl Hines (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”) in this sitcom based on a Web site that collects family experience stories from real moms (8 p.m. on ABC).

March 29: “The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency” is based on Alexander McCall Smith’s charming and successful crime novels. Jill Scott plays his beloved African crime solver Precious Ramotswe. (8 p.m. on HBO)

March 31: “Cupid” is “a romantic dramedy” about a man (Bobby Cannavale) who thinks he is the Roman god of love. He needs to bring 100 couples together before he can return to Mount Olympus. Sarah Paulson plays his therapist (10 p.m. on ABC)

COMING IN APRIL: ABC’s “Surviving Suburbia” (April 6) stars Bob Saget and Cynthia Stevenson has a cynically married couple with kids; CBS’s “Harper’s Island” (April 9) is set on a mysterious island where members of a wedding party die one-by-one; and NBC’s “Parks and Recreation’ (April 9) finds “Saturday Night Live” alumnus Amy Poehler working in a small town where the wheels of government turn so slow.