Patricia Heaton and Kelsey Grammer in Back to You by Joe Viles/Fox
If you could just ignore those pesky months between September and December, Fox would be sitting pretty. The challenge each year for this network is how to schedule a fall start that will live up to the blockbuster spring finish provided by late-arriving shows like American Idol and (even a diminished) 24.In the last of the week’s Upfront presentations, Fox Entertainment president Peter Ligouri made the curious choice of putting himself in the middle of a 24 parody, trading exchanges on the phone with clips of Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland, not in attendance in New York this year) from 24, in which Jack addressed “the president.” The ticking-clock (ticking bomb?) metaphor isn’t the most natural fit for a sales presentation, you’d think. And given that the first thing anyone in Los Angeles (where I’ve been the last three weeks) wants to talk to me about is the steep decline in 24’s quality this season, is this really putting your best foot forward? ...
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Anthony Anderson in K-ville by Rebecca Brenneman/Fox
3:50: Fox upfront. The words still send shivers down my spine. As you recall, the network's presentation last year was widely considered to be the single most grueling upfront in the history of upfrontmanship. The post-traumatic stress still hasn't worn off.3:51: Good news. Fox has clearly learned from their mistakes. In stark contrast to last year, the check-in process was easy-breezy. Even better, the air conditioning is working! Now if we can wrap this thing up in under two hours, almost all will be forgiven.4:01: I'm in complete denial about the VM thing, BTW. Just thought I'd share. Ooooh, the show is starting... with a 24 parody!4:05: Jack Bauer urges Fox president Peter Liguori to keep this year's presentation under an hour! LOL!4:06: They're bringing all their stars out onstage. Fox always has a good talent turnout at these things. 4:08: Well, most years they have a good turnout. The only Prison Breaker in attendance is Sucre (Amaury Nolasco)!4:09: No Kiefer Sutherland, but ...
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Fox's pickups for the fall include the Terminator-inspired, sci-fi The Sarah Connor Chronicles; K-Ville (concerning cops in post-Katrina N.O.); and New Amsterdam (about an immortal homicide detective), says the Hollywood Reporter. Comedy-wise, Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton's Back to You (FKA Action News) has been officially ordered to series, as have Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino's The Return of Jezebel James (starring Parker Posey) and The Rules of Starting Over (courtesy of the Farrelly Brothers).FALL TV UPDATE: The fates of Law & Order and CI decided!A new TVGuide.com blog — "First Look: The Hottest Fall TV" — starting Monday morning will serve as a veritable clearinghouse for all official upfront announcements/schedules. Bookmark it now!
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Jimmy Smits
The networks are just days away from unveiling their fall lineups. Here's the early word on what new shows to expect.
ABC will try hard to diversify its program lineup with a few dramas that don't fall into the soap category. That's why Marlowe, based on the famous Raymond Chandler detective character, and Pushing Daisies, a quirky supernatural drama about a man whose touch brings people back to life ("with procedural elements" as the pilot's log line says), are on the list of possible pickups. A sitcom based on the Geico cavemen and Sam I Am, starring Christina Applegate, are contenders on the comedy side. And oh, yes — the network also has a new series that will be spun out of a little show called Grey's Anatomy.
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Question: Is their any chance that 'Til Death will be renewed for next season and possibly paired up with the new sitcom starring Patricia Heaton and Kelsey Grammer? Since Heaton and Grammer are so well-known for the characters that they have played on other series, what are the chances that their new show will be successful? Sure, they have name recognition, and perhaps people will tune in to watch the first week. Will those viewers accept the actors in their new roles, or will they expect to see Frasier Crane and Debra Barone?
Answer: Case in point regarding the previous question: 'Til Death is now looking more and more like a contender for renewal, thanks in large part to the ratings spike that occurred once it was scheduled behind the American Idol results show on Wednesdays. And given the fact that 'Til Death is something of a star vehicle, with the Brad Garrett-Joely Fisher squabbling the primary reason to tune in, it probably would be a good fit with the star-driven
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Question: Kelsey Grammer! Patricia Heaton! Together! Color me excited! Now I read that Action News won't be seen on CBS, NBC or even ABC, but has been bought by Fox. I have to wonder how this bodes for the show. What do you think?
Answer: There apparently was a bidding war for this comedy pilot, and Fox's series commitment makes Action News already one of the more-anticipated shows for next season. While it's true that Fox has had a lousy track record with live-action comedy, precedent tells me that people will find a show on any network if it lives up to the hype. And on paper anyway, this sounds a lot more mainstream than the beloved Arrested Development. Speaking of which... ...
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• Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton are in talks to topline Action News, a comedy from Christopher Lloyd (Frasier) and Steve Levitan (Just Shoot Me), about the reteaming of two local news anchors. If the pair of heavy hitters can be landed, expect a bidding war among the networks, says Variety.• Fox has greenlit K-Ville, a drama following the police officers who stayed put in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. K-Ville is the only one of four proposed N.O.-themed projects pitched this season to make it to the pilot stage.• CBS has granted a pilot pickup to 22 Birthdays, a dramedy about a group of parents who gather virtually every week for one kid's birthday party or another. (Boy, do I hear that.) Other pilot orders, per Variety: Fox's The Cure, a medical drama, and NBC's The Mastersons of Manhattan, a sudser centered on two well-off sisters.
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For the first game of its new "flex schedule," NBC Sunday Night Football has scored no less than the Bears versus the Giants for Nov. 12, reports Variety.... Bones, Criminal Minds and My Name Is Earl are among the shows and stars to be honored at the 14th Annual Diversity Awards on Nov. 19.... Monk's Tony Shalhoub will join Patricia Heaton in The Scene at Second Stage, a black comedy opening off-Broadway on Jan. 11, 2007.
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Question: How can Lauren Graham get nominated for an Emmy in the comedy category when all of her best scenes this season are dramatic (i.e., the car scene in the final episode)? Do you think Desperate Housewives will sweep the nominations once again? I can probably live with two or three nominated wives, but taking four spots is kind of pushing it. In a sense I think Lauren has a great chance of being nominated because Emmy favorites Patricia Heaton and Sarah Jessica Parker are no longer contenders, and because the Housewives aren't as dominant as they used to be. However, she may not get nominated just because this has been the most dramatic (and least comedic) season of Gilmore Girls — although she did get nominated for a TCA this year. I don't get it.
Answer: Lauren Graham falls between the cracks in so many ways: between comedy and drama, and being on a network, now defunct, that almost never could find its way onto the Emmy radar. The category is a little more wide-open this year,
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OK, Katie Couric is replacing Bob Schieffer and Meredith Vieira is replacing Katie. But who will fill Mer's chair at The View? Insiders tell the New York Post that Everybody Loves Raymond's Patricia Heaton — who has been eyeing a View-like talker of her own — is a front-runner. But the addition of Heaton, a Republican, could dictate the replacement of like-minded Elizabeth Hasselbeck (with, perhaps, a Latino audience-grabber like Fuse TV's Marianela Pereyra), a source tells the paper. A View rep labels the buzz as "rumor and conjecture," saying it will be some time before Vieira's successor is named.
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