Truth, fiction and heroism blend in a series that salutes the spirit of post-Katrina New Orleans.

"K-Ville" premieres at 9 tonight on Fox, and it stands out as one of this fall's best new dramas. The series premiere is much better than the third season premiere of Fox's "Prison Break," which precedes it at 8, but more about that later.

In "K-Ville," Anthony Anderson stars as Marlin Boulet, a police detective who refuses to leave New Orleans two years after Hurricane Katrina. He's determined to help his city rebuild.

He's the police veteran who doesn't always play by the rules in his work with the Felony Action Squad. Anderson brings both gritty honesty and compassion to this role.

It's a matter of trust

The first episode starts with Katrina and Boulet's efforts to save people in the floods. He sees his partner desert him during the storm. The episode then jumps to two years later and Boulet's hesitation in working with another partner, Trevor Cobb (Cole Hauser).

Hauser makes Cobb a good, low-key contrast to Boulet, and the two make an effective team as they try to protect the Lower Ninth Ward, the area rebuilding after Katrina.

"K-Ville," which was filmed on location in New Orleans, shows both the city's problems and its determination to rise above them. In addition, the chemistry between Anderson and Hauser makes them a better TV cop duo than others. And their characters have good personal stories.

Boulet is struggling to keep his family together; his wife doesn't want to stay in New Orleans. Cobb, a former soldier in Afghanistan, has a dark secret, and Boulet wonders whether he can trust him.

'Prison Break' lowers its bar

It's too bad there isn't as much intrigue in "Prison Break," which falls short of its first two fantastic seasons.

The series excelled in its storyline about the so-called murder of the vice president of the United States and a conspiracy to place the blame on Lincoln (Dominic Purcell), but unfortunately, that story ended last season after an exciting two-year adventure. (Lincoln was exonerated.)

The problem now is how to top the first story.

"Prison Break" writers are trying get interest in a new story by placing Lincoln's brother Michael (Wentworth Miller) in yet another prison, a ruthless facility in Panama. It's ruled by unsupervised prisoners who have a code for settling differences: If one prisoner angers another, they must fight to the death.

It's a good episode, the prison is interesting, and Miller and Purcell continue to do a great job in making these characters realistic. Michael remains the hero who doesn't plan on being a hero, but circumstances force him into the role.

Unfortunately, the plot seems contrived. The details seem put together for the sake of keeping Michael in prison and "Prison Break" on the air. It's not giving away too much to say the story involves another escape.

There's a good story here and even some surprises that I won't spoil. But "Prison Break" lacks the larger-than-life conspiracy of the first two seasons. The shows' further success will depend on the writers' ability to surprise us with some more intriguing plot twists.

There has to be another good conspiracy out there somewhere.