Networks rely on tried and true for fall schedule
The so-called Upfront major network presentations of the fall TV season are usually a cause for spring optimism. Each May, the networks unveil their fall prime-time schedules to advertisers, complete with previews of new shows, the better to start selling commercial airtime right away. In the process, viewers get wind of what's coming from critics and others who see the shows, and ideally buzz builds over the summer.
Yet this year, diminished expectations met with a distinct feeling of deja vu all over again as the networks trotted out their new shows -- many of which seemed old even when they weren't. The writers' strike didn't just interrupt the TV season this winter, it also stalled development of new shows. The result was many networks decided to stick with what they had, so that even shows that didn't resume production this spring were pegged to come back in the fall, such as ABC's "Pushing Daisies," "Private Practice" and "Dirty Sexy Money" or NBC's "Lipstick Jungle," "Life" and "Chuck."
Most of the few new shows are basically just safe variations on what the networks already do, such as CBS' slapstick comedy "Worst Week," which will be placed after "Two and a Half Men" on Mondays, and "Project Gary," a divorcee comedy starring Jay Mohr, which will be paired with "The New Adventures of Old Christine" on Wednesdays.
More than that, however, overall expectations were lowered by the networks themselves given the hard economic times. NBC, which seems caught in a death spiral under the dubious new leadership of Ben Silverman and Marc Graboff, didn't even put on a formal Upfront, instead opting for smaller meetings with advertisers to chat up shows such as "Crusoe," which hasn't even been fully cast.
In the past, to attend the Upfronts, either in person in New York City or at the satellite presentations beamed to Chicago for the local ad community, was to feel oneself in the belly of the beast that turns the wheel that drives television. There were buffets piled high with shrimp and free booze on the side, the better to get those potential advertisers to open their wallets for their clients.
This year, however, the beast was given sparse rations. ABC had a presentation, but not a party, piggybacking instead on the CW's more desperate eager-to-please affair. ("We expect you to put out, and we're not even buying you a drink," admitted Jimmy Kimmel in trying to loosen up the advertisers in the audience.)
In taking a first look at the fall season, I'm going to go in reverse order of last week's Upfront presentations, because Fox found a way to stay true to itself through innovation, while CBS, ABC and the CW simply stuck with what has already worked for them. NBC, meanwhile, simply struggles to put together a season at all.
I've written before about how the networks seem to get more adventurous at the ends and beginnings of decades, in an attempt to be the first to put a stamp on what's to come. Just as "The Simpsons," "Twin Peaks" and "Northern Exposure" signaled the golden age of TV animation and a period of creativity in TV drama before and after 1990, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and "Survivor" triggered the reality craze almost 10 years ago.
In November we'll have a new president and no doubt a new national mood, but the shows that will be on the air don't seem to reflect that right now. I think we'll see the networks take more risks and deliver more creative programs next spring. For now, however, they're being cautious. Consider the fall TV season just 2007-2008 2.0.
Fox
"We went back to our basics and back to our Fox roots," said Entertainment Chairman Peter Liguori, who quickly added that at Fox that means "scrappy, unconventional, unpredictable" programming. Indeed, while scheduling only two new shows for the fall, Fox seemed to be onto something new with its concept of "remote-free TV," taking two dramas that will run fewer ads in the 8 p.m. Tuesday slot after "House." Both are almost comically high-concept, but the pilots show promise.
"Fringe" will launch in the fall, and it's the one new show that seems to be striving to capture the new national mood: dreadful, anxious, tense. It's about a female FBI agent working with an eccentric scientist and his only slightly less squirrelly son on what appears to be some sort of viral epidemic. It will eventually be joined by Joss Whedon's "Dollhouse," starring Eliza Dushku, the former backup to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," as one of several agents who routinely have their memories "scrubbed" and new mental talents programmed in order to perform top-secret operations.
Jerry O'Connell, who was the best of ABC's "Carpoolers," looks great as a hotel head honcho in the workplace comedy "Do not Disturb," to be teamed with "'Til Death" at 8 p.m. Wednesdays after "Bones." Otherwise, Fox is saving most of its new shows for midseason, when "Idol" and "24" return.
CBS
Give CBS' Les Moonves and Nina Tassler credit for knowing what works for the so-called Tiffany network and sticking to it. There's no "Viva Laughlin" on this fall's schedule. In addition to the aforementioned "Worst Week" and "Project Gary," CBS will also debut three new dramas, all teamed with like-minded successful series. The fast-paced Jerry Bruckheimer action vehicle "Eleventh Hour" checks in after "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" at 9 p.m. Thursday. Simon Baker is a former celebrity psychic who somehow finds himself solving crimes in "The Mentalist," sandwiched between "NCIS" and "Without a Trace" at 8 p.m. Tuesday. On the advice of a fortune teller, a woman goes looking for her future mate among her past loves in "The Ex List," which pretty much reflects CBS' caution in a nutshell, as it replaces the more daring vampire drama "Moonlight" after "Ghost Whisperer" at 8 p.m. Friday.
ABC
The Disney-owned network was perhaps the most cautious of all, preferring to bring back even "Eli Stone" rather than try to launch something new. "Here at ABC, we are very excited about both our new shows," deadpanned Kimmel. Those shows are the Ashton Kutcher-produced "Opportunity Knocks," which takes reality TV into the homes of everyday families, and the remake of the British cop series "Life on Mars," about a detective transported back to the '70s. It appears to be the latest lame competitor to prop up NBC's "ER" at 9 p.m. Thursday.
ABC does have Mike Judge's promising new cartoon "The Goode Family" coming midseason. It concerns a well-intentioned, but ill-fated family so politically correct everything they do goes awry. (They adopted a child from South Africa -- who turns out to be white -- and even the family dog is a vegan, only to feast on any and all wildlife outdoors.) ABC will also salvage "Scrubs" from NBC, but as Kimmel said, "It's always a good idea to borrow shows from the people in last place."
CW
Dawn Ostroff once again redefined the CW as something more than merely the "fifth network" by telling advertisers it's "the place you want to be when you want to reach young women." To that end, it will ditch wrestling and revive and update "Beverly Hills 90210" as simply "90210" at 7 p.m. Tuesday, followed by the determinedly trashy "Surviving the Filthy Rich," about an innocent young woman playing tutor to a couple of spoiled rich kids. Then the reality competition "Stylista" (think "Project Runway," only for aspiring fashion-magazine editors rather than designers) will be paired with "America's Next Top Model" on Wednesdays. The good news is that "Everybody Hates Chris" will be moved to 7 p.m. Friday, finally a time slot that suits the family comedy, and "Reaper" will return at midseason.
NBC
Not only is the former peacock network trying to kill the Upfronts, it doesn't even seem prepared to compete in the fall, as most of its new shows remain unfinished concepts without completed pilots. "My Own Worst Enemy" stars Christian Slater as a nebbish with a double life as a killer spy at 8 p.m. Monday. Molly Shannon stars in a U.S. remake of the crass Australian comedy "Kath & Kim" at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, with a remake of "Knight Rider" at 7 p.m. Wednesday (yes, in spite of the TV-movie flop last winter). NBC will also update the stories of Robinson Crusoe in "Crusoe" at 7 p.m. Friday and the biblical King David in "Kings" for midseason. There's not a new idea in bunch. By this time next year, my guess is Jeff Zucker will be ruing the day he chased Kevin Reilly to Fox by hiring Silverman and Graboff -- if he's still head of NBC.
It will take that sort of calamity to shake the networks into doing something daring, but it looks to be only a matter of time.