CHICAGO (thefutoncritic.com) -- "The L Word," Showtime's latest original drama, is set to premiere Sunday, January 18 at 10:00/9:00c. The series is about "a group of young women in Los Angeles, their lives, careers, and romantic relationships - both gay and straight," according to information on the show's official web site.

A more detailed description was also provided:

Jenny Schecter (MIA KIRSHNER) is a gifted young writer of fiction who has just graduated from college and arrives in Los Angeles to begin her "adult life" with her boyfriend - soon to be fianc� - Tim Haspel (ERIC MABIUS). Tim and Jenny reside in West Hollywood, next door to Bette Porter (JENNIFER BEALS) and her partner Tina Kennard (LAUREL HOLLOMAN). Bette and Tina have been a couple for seven years and are trying to find the perfect sperm donor to help them start a family as they struggle with their relationship. Bette's and Tina's close network of friends includes Shane McCutcheon (KATHERINE MOENNIG), who is the resident heartthrob; Dana Fairbanks (ERIN DANIELS), a professional tennis player not yet out of the closet; bisexual journalist Alice Pieszecki (LEISHA HAILEY); and Bette's half-sister Kit Porter (PAM GRIER), who is a musician and a recovering alcoholic. In the two-hour pilot, Jenny's plans for her future are shaken when Marina (KARINA LOMBARD), a beautiful and compelling woman who owns a West Hollywood caf�, makes a pass at her at a party hosted by Bette and Tina. Amid denial and confusion, Jenny starts to question her sexual orientation and her love for Tim. Her attraction to Marina is powerful and ultimately irresistible. Meanwhile, Bette and Tina, stunned at how difficult it is to find a suitable sperm donor, attempt to seduce a handsome, young artist on the night that Tina is about to ovulate. The seduction attempt fails, but the encounter does serve to rekindle, at least momentarily, Bette's and Tina's passion for each other.

In addition, the network has once again pushed back the start date for the third season of "The Chris Isaak Show." The dramedy, which hasn't aired a new episode since July 2002, will kick off its new season on Thursday, January 8 at 10:00/9:00c. Showtime had originally slated the new season to begin this past summer but ended up pushing it to December 11 and now to January 8.