Whedon, Abrams, 24 Prequel, Oh My
Fox speaks geek.
The network unveiled falland springschedules fit for Comic-Con, replete with new series by Joss Whedon and J.J. Abrams, a Family Guy spinoff, a returning Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and a 24 prequel.
The autograph lines are to the left.
Today's announcements were not all fanboy fun. There were sober assessments of American Idol. There were cancellations, most notably of the heavily promoted comedy Back to You.
And there was a ringing endorsement of Paula Abdul.
"We love Paula. She's coming back," Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly said of the oft-judged Idol judge.
But asked if he was happy with Idol overall this seasonthe show is down 5 percent on Tuesdays, and 10 percent on Wednesdays, neither an unusual decrease for television, circa 2008Fox Entertainment Chairman Peter Liguori sounded surprisingly like he wasn't. Not entirely, anyway.
"I would say I'm satisfied creatively," Liguori said, "but not necessarily satisfied with the performance."
"Both the network and the producers really want to take a look at the show for next year."
No specific changes were discussed. And after Reilly reminded that Idol, seven seasons old and still bigger than anything else on TV, was "not exactly in its death throes," Liguori chimed in, "This show still has a lot of juice in it."
Out of juice were the likes of New Amsterdam, Unhitched, The Return of Jezebel James, K-Ville, Nashville, The Next Great American Band and Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton's Back to You, all shunned for spots in the fall and spring.
Though Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles was never as big as its big premiere in January, it earned a fall berth. Ditto for 'Til Death, a perennial borderline show that will live to see its third season.
24, which sat out all of this past season because of the writers' strike, will launch its long-delayed seventh season in January. Viewers' reward for the wait: the two-hour prequel that'll air in November. Fox says the story will find Jack Bauer in South Africa. In the timeline of the series, it'll take place "a few months" before the clock on season seven begins ticking.
In all, Fox announced two new fall shows, including Fringe, a sci-fi-ish thriller from J.J. Abrams featuring the prime-time return of Dawson's Creek's Joshua Jackson.
Dollhouse, the Joss Whedon project starring Eliza Dushku as the leader of gang of personality swappers, will launch in the spring as part of Fox's annual American Idol-is-back schedule.
The other new shows:
- Do Not Disturb (working title): A fall comedy about the antics at a hotel, starring Carpoolers survivor Jerry O'Connell.
- Sit Down, Shut Up: A spring animated series about the antics at a high school, from Arrested Development's Mitchell Hurwitz.
- The Cleveland Show: The Family Guy spinoff, set for a spring launch, starring the Griffin family's neighbor, Cleveland Brown.
- Secret Millionaire: A new reality series in which millionaires are dispatched to rub elbows with the little people, and make their rich selves feel better. Oh, and do good and stuff, too.
Here's a night-by-night look at Fox's fall lineup:
Sunday: The OT (football postgame show), The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Family Guy, American Dad
Monday: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Prison Break
Tuesday: House, Fringe
Wednesday: Bones, 'Til Death, Do Not Disturb
Thursday: The Moment of Truth, Kitchen Nightmares
Friday: Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, Don't Forget the Lyrics
Saturday: Cops, America's Most Wanted
And here's a night-by-night look at Fox's spring schedule:
Sunday: Various reruns, The Simpsons, King of the Hill/Sit Down, Shut Up, Family Guy, American Dad/The Cleveland Show
Monday: Dollhouse, 24
Tuesday: American Idol, Fringe
Wednesday: Bones, American Idol (30 minutes), TBA comedy
Thursday: Hell's Kitchen, Secret Millionaire
Friday: Bones, 'Til Death, Do Not Disturb
Saturday: Cops, America's Most Wanted
Head over to Watch With Kristin for more on the new TV schedules!
Fox trims commercials on Fringe and Dollhouse
Writing this post had me pondering how I feel about commercials. In short, they really don’t bother me.
Since I write about TV and movies, I have a work-related TV in my office, and I use those few minutes here and there to slam through some work or get caught up on whatever show I’m recapping. In fact, while watching commercial-free shows on HBO and Showtime, I actually miss those little interludes.
But, apparently, Fox hasn’t been peering through my window, because at their upfront presentation yesterday morning, they announced their “Remote-Free TV” idea. Two new dramas, J.J. Abrams’ Fringe and Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse, will air with reduced network commercial breaks — just five minutes per hour, or about half the usual.
“It’s a simple concept and potentially revolutionary,” said Fox Entertainment Chairman Peter Liguori. “We’re going to have less commercials, less promotional time, and less reason for viewers to use the remote. We’re going to redefine the viewing experience.”
You might be wondering how they’re going to pay for those pricey sci-fi shows, especially in light of the fact that without commercials, the episodes will be longer. The answer: Charge advertisers a premium.
Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly acknowledged that reducing commercials is risky business, but said there needs to be a “paradigm shift” in network TV.
Ad buyers were generally upbeat about the idea. “We’re always clamoring for an uncluttered environment,” said Carat Media’s Andy Donchin, but said he’ll hold final judgment until he sees how much the premium will be.
Fringe and Dollhouse are the highlights of Fox’s six new shows — the most any broadcaster presented at the upfronts.
What do you think? Is this a big deal? Or, like me, are you underwhelmed with the news?
Another sign that Sarah Connor won’t be terminated
Recently, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Fox Entertainment president Kevin Reilly dropped a little nugget regarding Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles that should make fans of the show sigh a little more in relief.
In the interview, Reilly mentions that Sarah Connor and Back to You are the “lead candidates” for returning for a new season, adding that they’ve “already started staffing” the show.
We already mentioned the high likelihood that the show would be returning before; several times, even. Is it because of Fox’s track record with canceling shows, seemingly so quickly, that’s got everyone so nervous about Sarah Connor’s return? At this point, after hearing all of the rumors and mumblings that the show’s safe, it would be extremely cruel for them to bring the axe down during the upfronts next month. Die hard fans are probably already planning a backup plan, thinking of what kind of crap they’re going to send Fox studios to beg for the show to return. Any suggestions?
It’s Always Sunny… in space?
Huge news for fans of the FX comedy It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Not only was the show recently renewed for a 13 episode fourth season, but according to The Hollywood Reporter, the show’s creators have a new pilot in the works as well. Charlie Day, Rob McElhenney, and Glenn Howerton (first, fourth, and fifth from the left in the above picture respectively) have been tapped by FOX to write and executive produce a new sitcom about everyday life on a spaceship called Boldly Going Nowhere.
Originally pitched to the trio by their assistant, Day, Howerton, and McElhenney were busy wrapping up season three of Sunny. Once the strike hit, they had some time to think about future projects and the space idea stuck. After the strike ended, McElhenney and Day banged out the pilot in a few days and FOX entertainment prez Kevin Reilly picked it up almost immediately, with an order for five additional scripts.
It should be noted that the Sunny gang will not be starring in the show as they’ve made it clear that the FX comedy is their number one priority. However, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least to see them make a few random goofy cameos.
I’m pretty excited about this. I’m glad that Sunny is still at the top of their list but my only fear is that this new project will suffer as a result. Plus, we all know how “wonderfully” FOX tends to treat new comedies in terms of scheduling. But if the script is as amazing as it sounds then it will just boil down to casting. This sounds like it might be right up Zach Braff’s alley once that elusive final season of Scrubs is done.
Post-production on the fourth season of Sunny is expected to be done by the Fall, at which point the rest of the Boldly Going Nowhere scripts will be worked on. No date for the season four premiere of Sunny has been set by FX yet.
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