The second season premiere reintroduces Nick, lawyer to the Kennedyesque Darling family.  Most of the episode engages in a regurgitation of last season’s relationships and conflicts for audiences who missed the dirty sexy good time.

Darling patriarch and matriarch Patrick and Letitia struggle with their public image and their four troublemaker children with Nick’s assistance.

Eldest son Patrick reluctantly fulfills family expectations to run for political office while dealing with his alcoholic wife and missing transsexual lover, Carmelita.

Eldest daughter and perpetual divorcee Karen seduces Simon Elder, a competing business mogul, at the behest of her father.

Disaffected son Brian joins the family business and tries to be father to his by-blow of an affair after his family leaves him.

Youngest son Jeremy Darling is in love with Nick's wife, Lisa and unwisely pursues her.  Twin Juliet is nowhere to be found which coincides with actress Samaire Armstrong's contract drop.

Last season featured Nick's foray into the Darling family to investigate the "accidental" death of his father, their family lawyer, and the effect the decision had on his wife Lisa and their daughter.  This season throws in a few new twists:

1. Lucy Liu plays a temptress to Jeremy and a distraction from his crush on Nick’s wife, Lisa.  This is a welcome change in the storyline which previously villainized Lisa as a potential adulterer and made Nick’s forbidden attraction to childhood crush Karen more sympathetic.

  Better and more angsty conflict can be attained by keeping Lisa and his family life pure and better justifying Nick’s dedication to the family and especially to Karen who spurned his childhood proposal for yet-to-be-revealed reasons.

2. Patrick’s alcoholic wife confesses she is responsible for his lover Carmelita’s disappearance and in a tirade has a fatal accident which the Darling family covers up against Nick’s recommendation.

3. Simon Elder is revealed to be stringing Karen along and thinks he has her in his pocket.  There is a possibility she is actually still stringing him along even as she lets him believe he is stringing her along.  Karen’s always smarter than people give her credit for.

4. Letitia is arrested for the murder of Nick’s father, her lover, Dutch (who was revealed last season as Brian’s biological father).

The show's tone hasn't returned to last season's giddy, gleeful humor.  Nary a vicious word was exchanged between Brian and Nick.  Karen and Nick didn’t share the same level of genuine connection.  Without petulant Juliet, Jeremy was shenanigan-less.  The series has a promising start and the cast is still first rate.

Peter Krause (Nick) is undeniably yummy.  Natalie Zea (Karen) is incomparable and my favorite girl crush of the season.  Who wasn’t rooting for the comeback of William Baldwin (Patrick)?  Pros Donald Sutherland (Patrick aka Tripp) and Jill Clayburgh (Letitia) are lovely to watch.  Glen Fitzgerald (Brian) brings a sympathetic viciousness the way no one else could to an adulterous, lying ex-man of god.

Dirty Sexy Money is still your best bet for a prime time soap opera.