Until last year, FOX was the place to go for high-concept dramas that people don’t watch because “duh, I don’t get it”. Then Peter Ligouri churned out his first full schedule that he oversaw the development off. Formulaic was the order of the day, and Standoff, Justice, Vanished and all the other one word dramas were gone before the Idol juggernaut came along to save their season. And as for their sitcoms for 06-07… pah. No, not meh, pah.
This year they have some very interesting shows that will be cancelled if they don’t get off to flying starts. The Sarah Connor Chronicles could be a hit amongst nerds of all ages. and if that works, it could filter down to non-nerds. Set after Terminator 2:Judgment Day it chronicles… Sarah Connor. Can you tell I haven’t watched the pilot? It is so hard to get excited about concepts, but thats where you earn your money I guess when you take the plunge as a producer.
Back to You is a sitcom that sounds funnier than anything they unveiled last year to replace Arrested development. Kelsey Grammar stars as a washed up news anchor. In the UK Kelsey’s Frasier character is almost synonymous with Channel 4, so I expect them t obe in the bidding for this “laffer” (yay industry speak. Skein).
K -Ville, a police drama set in post Katrina New Orleans is something I will definitely be giving a watch, but it’s relevance to a UK audience is… negligible. The full schedule is below.
If there is one job in TV I would have loved this time last year, it was the head of the CW network. Just try and beat Telemundo, thats your goal. and they failed every week. Dawn Ostroff cancelled Veronica Mars, so I have absolutely nothing positive to say about the CW at this time. My protest is taking the form of not describing any of their new shows in detail. Here is their schedule.
For readers in the UK, imagine the reputation of CBS to be something like the BBC, in the sense that they are the most revered, and the network most old people turn to in times of crisis. Considering that, you will understand that their viewers don’t like change. Imagine Songs of Praise, Panorama and Crimewatch just wiped from the schedule, after a slight downturn in ratings. CBS canceled Jericho, which I watched (and hated) sporadically, and The Class, which at least got a full season that Channel 4 to burn off this summer on E4/T4. Also canceled was Close To Home, which I’m told was enjoying it’s best season yet, although I have never been able to look at the lead character as anything other than the kooky girl in Committed.
ABC have had a really solid season, and but for American Idol would be celebrating some gains in the major demographics, I’m almost sure of it. So their new schedule didn’t need much tweaking, but it seems at first glance they have made some major changes. With no Lost until January, the Wednesday line up is all new, with the much anticipated (by me) Pushing Daisies kicking things off. Dirty Sexy Money looks like the kind of show my fiancee would be interested in, so I will run that pilot by her before I declare it “for girls”. Women’s Murder Club has the most interesting title, again I’m useless until I know the dealio. I feel so neutered without my pilots. I’m not surprised that Knights of Prosperity got axed, but I wish they had given it a chance. NBC would have given it another year. But then NBC would have given me sitting on the toilet another year. Read the full ‘sked’ after the jump.
True to their word, NBC have almost eliminated scripted programming from the 8pm hour. The only night it still exists is in their 2 hour scripted block of Thursday comedy, where the notable difference is the timeslot swap of 30 Rock and The Office, of which 30 episodes (including 5 hour longs) have been ordered. Will the quality diminish? Like a film starring Mickey Rourke and Liza Minelli… only time, will tell. (If you get that reference without consulting your friendly neighbourhood Google, I salute you)
Me and the TV 
Recent Comments