Thursday, May 17, 2007

Upfront Watch: Fox

Gotta do this one quick, as the press call with Peter Liguori is in about a half-hour and I have an early deadline overall. Fox's press site is password-protected from the jump, so I can't link to the press release, but I'll plug in the usual three-pronged schedule (fall, January and spring) below, along with brief descriptions of the new shows (bolded to break up the clutter) and my own thoughts:

FALL
MONDAY
8:00-9:00 PM PRISON BREAK
9:00-10:00 PM K-VILLE (cop drama set in post-Katrina New Orleans, with Anthony Anderson and Cole Hauser)

TUESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM NEW AMSTERDAM (immortal Manhattan cop)
9:00-10:00 PM HOUSE

WEDNESDAY
8:00-8:30 PM BACK TO YOU (Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton as bickering local news anchors)
8:30-9:00 PM 'TIL DEATH
9:00-10:00 PM BONES

THURSDAY
8:00-9:00 PM ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5th GRADER?
9:00-10:00 PM KITCHEN NIGHTMARES (remake of Gordon Ramsay's UK show, hosted by him)

FRIDAY
8:00-9:00 PM
THE SEARCH FOR THE NEXT GREAT AMERICAN BAND (working title)
9:00-10:00 PM NASHVILLE (working title) (docu-soap reality show about country music
wannabes)

SATURDAY
8:00-8:30 PM COPS
8:30-9:00 PM COPS
9:00-10:00 PM AMERICA'S MOST WANTED: AMERICA FIGHTS BACK
11:00 PM-MIDNIGHT MADtv
MIDNIGHT-12:30 AM TALK SHOW WITH SPIKE FERESTEN

SUNDAY
7:00-8:00 PM THE OT (NFL post-game)
8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS
8:30-9:00 PM KING OF THE HILL
9:00-9:30 PM FAMILY GUY
9:30-10:00 PM AMERICAN DAD

JANUARY/SPRING
MONDAY
8:00-9:00 PM K-VILLE (January)/PRISON BREAK (Spring)
9:00-10:00 PM 24

TUESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL
9:00-10:00 PM HOUSE

WEDNESDAY (January)
8:00-8:30 PM
BACK TO YOU
8:30-9:00 PM 'TIL DEATH
9:00-10:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL

WEDNESDAY (Spring)
8:00-8:30 PM
BACK TO YOU
8:30-9:00 PM THE RETURN OF JEZEBEL JAMES (working title) (Amy Sherman-Palladino-created sitcom with Parker Posey and Lauren Ambrose as sisters who are so distant they're more like mother and daughter; flipside of "Gilmore Girls")
9:00-9:30 PM AMERICAN IDOL Results Show
9:30-10:00 PM 'TIL DEATH

THURSDAY
8:00-9:00 PM ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5th GRADER?
9:00-10:00 PM CANTERBURY'S LAW (Julianna Margulies in a Denis Leary-produced defense lawyer show)

FRIDAY (Spring)
8:00-9:00 PM BONES
9:00-10:00 PM NEW AMSTERDAM

SATURDAY
8:00-8:30 PM COPS
8:30-9:00 PM COPS
9:00-10:00 PM AMERICA'S MOST WANTED: AMERICA FIGHTS BACK
11:00 PM-MIDNIGHT MADtv
MIDNIGHT-12:30 AM TALKSHOW WITH SPIKE FERESTEN

SUNDAY (Spring)
7:00-7:30 PM KING OF THE HILL
7:30-8:00 PM AMERICAN DAD
8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS
8:30-9:00 PM FAMILY GUY
9:00-10:00 PM
THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES (what happened to Sarah and John after "Terminator 2")

Brief thoughts:
  • After seeing Anthony Anderson as Antwon Mitchell, I've been itching for him to get the lead in a drama, so I'm hopeful about "K-Ville."
  • Between "New Amsterdam" and CBS' "Moonlight," do we now have a trend of immortal detective shows, or do we need a third?
  • I've said before that Fox is trying to turn into CBS circa 2001, and now they've paired two different sitcoms starring "Everybody Loves Raymond" actors. On the other hand, "New Amsterdam" and "Sarah Connor Chronicles" both seem like the sort of thing that Gail Berman or one of her half-dozen predecessors might have tried.
  • This one gives me less of a headache to explain than the usual triple-layered Fox lineup, so that's something.

Gotta write, then see if Peter Liguori has anything interesting to say.

20 comments:

Unknown said...

First question: Has there ever been a successful TV show with the word "Chronicles" in it?
Also, I think a better premise for the show would be to have the Terminator hunt down a different Sarah Connor each week. They could even do a crossover ep with "How I Met Your Mother."

Anonymous said...

When are they bringing back "Futurama"? Nice to see KotH get the post-Simpsons slot again, though.

Taleena said...

Re: Immortal Detectives

Won't Blood Ties or Dresden Files work for you Alan?

Anonymous said...

I know Fox always stumbles in the fall and then rebounds in the spring when Idol and 24 come on, but it's like they're not even trying this fall. Their midseason shows sound great and the fall ones sound terrible. Plus, this is the second year in a row they've threatened to move Bones to Fridays in January. Does anyone think that'll ever actually happen? I don't know why they even bother announcing January timeslots in May. They never stick to what they announce anyway.

Eric Fingerhut said...

Wow, a new or retuning in midseason (24, Idol) show on every night of the week from Sunday-Thursday in January. That's an awful lot of change to promote in the middle of a season--I guess Fox is really counting on football and the return of Idol to help, but it just seems like way too much. Holding back so many of their interesting shows until Jan. just seems odd, especially when their baseball interruption is much shorter this year.

Anonymous said...

dez, Futurama is coming back on Comedy Central sometime in early 2008. It won't be on FOX.

Adam said...

King of the Hill is still on tv? Wow.

Anonymous said...

The pilot of Seinfeld was called "The Seinfeld Chronicles."

Anonymous said...

I also was unaware that King of the Hill is still on. That show is hilarious. I usually watch the reruns on FX.

Bobman said...

King of the Hill has been on pretty regularly preceding the Simpsons on Sundays at 7:30. I didn't really realize they were making new episodes until a few months ago, actually. They don't advertise it much.

Alan Sepinwall said...

Plus, this is the second year in a row they've threatened to move Bones to Fridays in January. Does anyone think that'll ever actually happen? I don't know why they even bother announcing January timeslots in May. They never stick to what they announce anyway.

And yet I get great amusement out of pointing out the unreliability of these schedules year after year. And thank you for reminding me of the Bones thing, which I was able to use as an example in my story for the paper.

Anonymous said...

And thank you for reminding me of the Bones thing, which I was able to use as an example in my story for the paper.

No problem, Alan. The real question is, do you think there's a contender for the "announced but never aired" game that Fox plays almost every year?

Anonymous said...

Terminator nerdery alert: are there going to be ANY Terminators in the Sarah Connor Chronicles? Because Sarah died believing the threat would never occur.

Anonymous said...

Thanks, andrew!

King of the Hill has been quietly plugging along, usually funny as hell.

dark tyler said...

I think Summer Glau is playing a robot. I'm not sure though.

BF said...

If Sarah Conner thought the threat was over, why did she turn her casket into an arsenal? PS: Does anyone know if Earl Boen will be in it?

Anonymous said...

Clearly, Fox is at it again ripping off other people's ideas. This time, they aren't even ripping off CBS on this whole vamp detective thing, they are ripping off "Angel" which is being ripped off by "Moonlight".

OK, so basically, Fox has gotten so blatantly sad, they are now ripping off a ripoff!

Unknown said...

Are they really going to shoot all of K-Ville in New Orleans? If so, bully for them, spending the extra $ in a location that needs it.

Anonymous said...

I guess I'll only be watching 1 hour of Fox next year (Simpsons/King of the Hill). I might tivo the first 4 or so episodes of 24, but after this awful season I don't have much hope.

Unknown said...

"Homertojeebus said...
First question: Has there ever been a successful TV show with the word "Chronicles" in it?
Also, I think a better premise for the show would be to have the Terminator hunt down a different Sarah Connor each week. They could even do a crossover ep with "How I Met Your Mother."

The show would be retitled "Are You Sarah Connor?", and there could be a spinoff starring Robert Patrick called "Say, That's a Nice Bike."