Fox wants you to feel their electricity. No, really. "“Broadcast television needs a jolt. We feel it’s our responsibility, as the No. 1 network for the last four seasons, to provide that electricity,” Fox Broadcasting Entertainment Chairman Peter Liguori says in remarks prepared for his upfront presentation to advertisers in New York today.
The schedule announced this morning puts the most focus on dramas from J.J. Abrams ("Lost") and Joss Whedon ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer"). The network is not exactly reinventing the wheel, but they are putting something besides repeats on Friday night. And the bloated "American Idol" results show gets cuts back to a half hour in '09.
Fox executives on a conference call with reporters this morning admit that, like the other networks, Fox has fewer new shows due to the writers strike's disruption of the development cycle. Of course, when you're the most-watched network among total viewers as well as viewers 18-49 ...no worries mon. And they say they actually have shows in development now for all the way to the start of 2010.
Two new series debut in the fall:
"Fringe" (above), a thriller from Abrams, stars newcomer Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson and John Noble as allies thrown together to investigate weirdness emanating from a mysterious Boston plane crash. Think "Lost" meets "The X-Files." It will air behind "House" on Tuesday nights in the fall.
"Do Not Disturb" is a comedy with Jerry O'Connell as a manager at an upscale New York hotel; Jason Bateman of "Arrested Development" will direct some episodes.
The "24" prequel also airs in November, as we reported earlier this morning. One Fox exec on the call just termed it "a really cool piece of standalone business."
Coming after the first of the year - along with "24" and "American Idol" - are four more new series, including another giving-it-away reality show, called "Secret Millionaire."
The year's most anticipated drama is Whedon's "Dollhouse" (right). Eliza Dushku, who enlivened the final seasons of "Buffy," stars as one of an underground group who have their personalities "wiped" and replaced with new ones in order to better carry out their secret missions.
In the spring we'll see two comedies, the unlikely "Family Guy" spinoff "Cleveland" and the animated "Sit Down, Shut Up," from "Arrested Development" creator Mitchell Hurwitz. That's about a group of less-than-dedicated teachers, with Bateman leading the voice cast.
Tidbits from the conference call:
Someone just asked the execs how they decided whether to give "Fringe" or "Dollhouse" the fall launch. Entertainment President Kevin Reilly - I think it was him, anyway - said it was "a high-class problem to have." Whedon had seven scripts written from the get-go, but Abrams finished pilot production sooner. Whdeon welcomed the extra time, the execs said.
I know I'm supposed to support digital entertainment, online video and all that good stuff. It helps pay the bills here at MeeVee. It's just like children, in that it's the future. Still, I just want to run shrieking in horror from the latest such venture. It's called "Dating Brad Garrett," and it's coming to a computer or cellphone near you this fall, via Crackle, Hulu, YouTube, V Cast and more. That's right. The giant, hulking, sulking manchild of "Everybody Loves Raymond" and the current "'Til Death" will be dating 10 women found via online search, and you can go along for all the fun. This goes to prove several things, from the old truism that celebrities are desperately fucked up and deeply needy to, well, ... actually I guess that's about all it proves.
