It’s dawning on him

THE stakes couldn’t be deadlier for Brett Hopper, the police detective at the center of “Day Break,” ABC’s new thriller. Hopper has been framed for murder, his loved ones are in jeopardy, and he’s caught in a dangerous cycle where he keeps living the worst day of his life over and over again.

The arrival of the drama tonight marks perhaps the riskiest gamble of the television season as ABC hopes that “Day Break” will captivate viewers until “Lost,” which concluded the first part of its season last week, returns in February. ABC and Touchstone Television, the producers of “Day Break,” are well aware of the hazards, and they have been addressing them with a multimillion-dollar, saturation-level promotional campaign of TV spots, theater trailers, bus placards, billboard and online elements such as an exclusive “Day Break” game available on ABC.com. The network is giving the two-hour premiere of “Day Break” a prime slot -- following the expected blockbuster finale of “Dancing With the Stars.”

Still, the show’s challenge is formidable as it will kick off as an unknown in the face of growing competition from CBS’ already potent “Criminal Minds,” only to be hit near the end of its run by the behemoth “American Idol.” The drama will also face off against the third-season debut of NBC’s “Medium.” And, in a twist, the Nov. 22 episode of “Medium,” Allison (Emmy winner Patricia Arquette) relives the same horrific day over and over again -- a story line NBC says was hatched ages ago.

Much of the “Day Break” burden rests on Taye Diggs, a familiar face yet hardly a household name or a star with a large following. And if that weren’t pressure enough, Diggs is breaking ground as one of the only African Americans in broadcast history to headline a prime-time weekly dramatic series on a major network.

If the stress of all this is getting to Diggs, it’s certainly not evident as he stretches out on a photo studio couch, a gray T-shirt and fashionably shabby jeans on his muscular frame. He still has the assured confidence -- and the impossibly white smile -- that launched his career in 1998 as the sexy young Jamaican lover who steals the heart of an older woman (Angela Bassett) in “How Stella Got Her Groove Back.” Diggs is not sweating the big stuff.

“I don’t know if I’m choosing to be blissfully ignorant or what, and whenever I get asked about it, I forget that a lot of this is on my shoulders,” says the 34-year-old actor. “I’m just about doing the work, and everything else is just a byproduct. The fact that there’s so much press, that I’m No. 1 on the call sheet, that I’m a black man -- all of that stuff comes secondary to me. To me, this is just a really good gig.”

Executive producer Matthew Gross says he couldn’t be more pleased with Diggs or with ABC’s full-court press: “We have an outstanding show, and ABC has shown incredible confidence in us,” said Gross. “Taye is just phenomenal.”

But will “Lost” fans embrace the fantastic premise -- think “Groundhog Day” only far darker -- of “Day Break,” the latest in the stream of new serialized dramas that have drawn mixed reactions from audiences? While “Heroes” and “Ugly Betty” have scored with huge ratings, most other new serialized shows, including “Kidnapped,” “Vanished,” “Smith,” “Six Degrees” and “The Nine,” which will follow “Day Break” starting next week, have been yanked or are struggling.

Despite the promotion, it won’t be easy for “Day Break” to find its footing. The show’s second episode will air on Thanksgiving eve, a historically low viewing night for TV watching. Meanwhile, “Criminal Minds” is gaining strength in its second season, becoming the only scripted series competition to beat “Lost” in total viewers. “Criminal Minds” earned nearly 17 million viewers and 17.6 million viewers in the last two weeks, while “Lost” attracted just more than 16 million and 17.2 million. CBS declined to say whether it plans any special strategy to capitalize on the momentum.

And then there’s Diggs, whom ABC is positioning as a major star. Even Diggs admits he has not had roles that measure up to the hype which followed his splashy debut -- his starring roles have mostly been in romantic comedies targeted for black audiences (“The Best Man,” “Brown Sugar”). And his only series, UPN’s “Kevin Hill,” in which he starred as a hotshot New York entertainment lawyer who suddenly finds himself the guardian of his late cousin’s 10-month-old daughter, was a flop.

The creative forces behind “Day Break” downplay the pitfalls.

Jeff Bader, ABC executive vice president of program scheduling, said that he was not that concerned about the showdown between “Day Break” and “Criminal Minds.” “The audience for ‘Criminal Minds’ is older,” he said. He added that there is “plenty of room” in the time period for two hit shows, and that original episodes of “Day Break” would be facing off against a lot of repeat episodes of other series during the holidays.

Bader and others also said they are not worried about the risk of debuting another serialized drama. “We know we have serialized elements, but we also have self-contained elements,” said Paul Zbyszewski, creator and co-executive producer of the series. “The show does not rise and fall on being a serial drama.”

The advertising on the series has been almost constant, with “Day Break” getting the same intense push that launched “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Desperate Housewives” and “Lost.” “At the end of the day, we’re trying to get as many eyeballs as we can for that first episode,” said Mike Benson, the network’s senior vice president of marketing, advertising and promotion. “We’re trying to reach 90% of our target audience, which is the 18-to-49 demographic.”

He would not specify how much ABC is spending on the campaign, though rivals estimated the cost at around $6 million. Said Benson: “We’re putting our resources behind the show because the quality is there. We’re also in a position where we’re doing well, and we want to continue to do well, to remain competitive. Having a show like ‘Day Break’ work is critical for us, but we’re spending our money in all the right places.”

Additionally, Diggs’ lack of headline credentials is not necessarily a disadvantage. Some of TV’s recent hits -- “Heroes,” “Lost,” “Jericho” and “Ugly Betty” -- feature unknown performers or stars without huge followings (America Ferrera, Skeet Ulrich). And Kiefer Sutherland was just another reliable young actor in town before “24” transformed him into a major Hollywood star.

Diggs believes his fans will be drawn to “Day Break”: “I’m blessed and fortunate enough to have a certain amount of fans who like me.... For people who are into me, they will be excited to see Taye Diggs do this different type of thing. For the people who aren’t necessarily into me, it’s an interesting premise.”

The actor is not shy about confronting critics. Last summer during a Television Critics Assn. news conference, he spoke out, apparently fed up with the constant inquiries from reporters.

“You’ll have to excuse us if we come off as a little sarcastic or maybe defensive ... but we’re not dumb. I’m Taye Diggs. I wouldn’t sign up for [bad TV],” Diggs said during the rant.

Looking back on the session, Diggs says now the “I’m Taye Diggs” comment was meant as a joke. But he doesn’t back down from lashing out against the TV writers.

Diggs said: “It wasn’t a mistake that I got this role. I know how the game works. I’m saying, ‘Trust us. There’s a lot of garbage on TV. I’m here and I want to answer intelligent questions.’ I did have a bit of an attitude and I don’t take it back one bit.”

He paused, then flashed his trademark smile. “It’s a smart show, and they should be asking smart questions.”

The actor is much higher on “Day Break” than his last TV series outing. “I feel far better taken care of than I was at UPN. They didn’t have as much experience under their belt, and we were always asking for more. And the quality of writing here is of a different caliber.”

But only if “Day Break” is a hit will Diggs finally relax. “If it’s a success, I’ll probably take the time to pat myself on the back and say this was something worth congratulating myself on. But right now it’s all about staying the course.”

greg.braxton@latimes.com