LOS ANGELES — You want trends? We got trends.

When you turn on your television set next fall, expect to see rip-offs, spin-offs and clones. Doctors return with a vengeance. Reality series are stronger than ever and comedy is all but dead.

Because there are so many similar shows, producers are quick to point out they had the bold new concept first.

"The Benefactor," for example, is an "Apprentice" clone in which billionaire Mark Cuban gives someone a million dollars. First, though, that person has to earn it through a series of stunts and games. Executive Producer Clay Newbill says he sold the idea long before "The Apprentice" hit the radar.

Cuban, meanwhile, isn’t afraid to do a little Donald Trump bashing along the way.

"In that show, the winner gets a job," Cuban says. "In our show, the winner doesn’t need a job."

At NBC, the cloning has almost provoked fisticuffs. Sylvester Stallone, Sugar Ray Leonard and "Survivor’s" Mark Burnett are behind a boxing show they say has been ripped off by Fox. That network’s "The Next Great Champ" is merely a pretender to "The Contender."

"If imitation is the highest form of flattery," says "Contender’s" producer Jeffrey Katzenberg, "then theft is the lowest form of creativity."

Adds Stallone: "Boot-licking has finally made it to prime time."

Similar medical themes show up in "House" and "Grey’s Anatomy." A third doctor show, "Medical Investigation," even manages to reference "CSI."

ABC’s "Wife Swap" (in which two wives switch places for two weeks) will premiere after Fox’s "Trading Spouses" hits the air. "Wife Swap" actually began as a British series, so it does have some precedent. "One obviously hopes the Fox show, because they’re rushing it to air, will be a weaker show," says Executive Producer Stephen Lambert. Still, timing can mean everything.

Last year when "Joan of Arcadia" and "Wonderfalls" were previewed, most thought "Wonderfalls" was the stronger of the two. "Joan," however, premiered in the fall; "Wonderfalls" had to play catch up. It lasted less than six weeks.

The producers of "Grey’s Anatomy" believe their medical show, slated to premiere in midseason, has a better chance of survival.

"You have time to really work on your scripts," says Executive Producer Mark Gordon. "If you get picked up for the fall, you’re really jamming right in."

Originals? There are a few: "Desperate Housewives," a clever drama about suburban women who lead secret lives; "Father of the Pride," an adult cartoon about the lions who perform in Sigfried and Roy’s Vegas show; and "Jack and Bobby," a look at the childhood of a future president and his brother.

Clones? If any of the original series hits, expect plenty of them. It’s just the name of the game.