While we love Gossip Girl and Vampire Diaries as much as the next television fan, neither of those shows tugs on the proverbial heart strings like former CW hits such as Gilmore Girls.

But the network is about to launch a new series that reverts back to its old formula of fun, emotional family viewing.

Life UneXpected premieres on January 18, taking over Gossip Girl's Monday night time slot for six weeks.

The show centers on a teen named Lux (Britt Robertson) that tracks down her biological parents: Cate (Shiri Appleby), a talk radio personality, and Baze (Kristoffer Polaha), a bar owner.

They haven't seen each other since high school and, in many ways, Lux is more mature than the adults that brought her into the world. Watch an official, extended preview for Life UneXpected below:

[video url="http://www.tvfanatic.com/videos/life-unexpected-preview/" title="Life UneXpected Preview"] [/video]

We've already posted a few Life UneXpected quotes to get viewers in the mood. This looks like a hit.

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.