"Smith" sports a growing TV fashion: a coat of moral gray.

The new CBS drama, which premieres Sept. 19, follows a band of master thieves and is the latest series to feature a lead character of questionable virtue, joining "The Sopranos," "The Shield" and "Rescue Me." With "Smith," the trend gets a stronger foothold in broadcast TV.

Executive producer John Wells ("ER," "The West Wing") wants to look at people on the wrong side of the law for a simple reason: "There are plenty of people on TV trying to catch criminals. I thought it was time to explore the people they're trying to catch."

Actors, too, are fascinated by the darker side, which helped attract Emmy winner Ray Liotta, who plays ringleader Bobby, and Oscar nominees Virginia Madsen and Shohreh Aghdashloo.

"Bad guys have the best lines. Bad guys get to do all the good stuff," says Madsen, who plays Bobby's wife, Hope.

"Shark," another new CBS series premiering Sept. 21, also features a complex character, a defense-lawyer-turn- ed-prosecutor (James Woods) who doesn't hesitate to use underhanded tactics to gain a conviction.

"Smith," a law-enforcement term for an unknown suspect, raises the moral stakes in its opening episode with an art heist that results in the death of a museum guard.

But Bobby and Hope aren't caricatures. They're a loving couple raising two kids. Bobby, who has a day job as a salesman, even has thoughts of giving up the criminal life.

Those aspects may help viewers relate to the characters, CBS entertainment chief Nina Tassler says. "The thing that's so unique about what John Wells is doing is that he's placing these characters in real life."

Liotta is drawn to his character's contrasts. "Hope is the girl of my dreams. I love my wife and kids. I just also love to steal."