Tag Archives: FOX

2010 Fall TV Preview

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It’s mid-September, my favorite time of year.  Brand new television programming begins and old favorites return.  I’m going to run through the new network and cable shows that I’m most anticipating, let you know which returning shows you should be watching, and I’ll hypothesize about which new shows are likely to get the axe.  Not so interested in my opinions?  Simply click here to view the 2010 fall schedule for the big four networks (including synopses, cast/creator info, and trailers) and decide what to watch on your own terms.

CBS: There’s a reason why CBS is the most watched network–they mostly air procedural crime dramas that do not force viewers to tune in every week.  Take, for example, the CSI franchise (which now includes CSI, CSI: NY & CSI: Miami) and the NCIS franchise (NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles).  Sprinkle in some fantastic comedies like The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother plus popular reality shows like Survivor and The Amazing Race, and Undercover Boss and you’ve got a worthy lineup that does not require weekly viewing.  Though I am not not the biggest fan of the procedurals, The Mentalist does a fine job of drawing me in when I happen to channel surf to the network.  Also, I’ve only heard good things about The Good Wife, so you might want to give that a try as well.

Of the five new shows premiering this fall on CBS, there’s only one that I’m fully interested in: Hawaii Five-O.  Again, crime procedurals are usually not my cup of tea but there’s no denying how action-packed and fun this 1960s reboot looks.  (The show originally aired on CBS for 12 seasons from 1968-1980.)   Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (Fringe) serve as executive producers and stars Alex O’Loughlin (Three Rivers), Scott Caan (Entourage), Daniel Dae Kim (Lost), and the beautiful Grace Park (Battlestar Galactica: The Plan) will work together to take down the villains.  Except tons of explosions, violent action scenes, and quick, witty banter from Caan.  It only helps that the backdrop to all of this is Oahu!  Premieres Monday, September 20 at 10PM.

Getting the axe?  $#*@ My Dad Says.

Continue reading 2010 Fall TV Preview →

J.J. Abrams imagines two new dramas

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J.J. Abrams, creator of Felicity, Alias, Lost, Fringe, and the upcoming NBC spy show Undercovers, is readying two new dramas for network TV.  Variety reports that FOX has picked up Alcatraz, a series based on the famous island prison that was shut down in 1963.  The spec script was written by Elizabeth Sarnoff (Lost, Deadwood).  Sarnoff will serve as executive producer along with Abrams and Bryan Burk (Alias, Lost) on the Warner Bros. TV/Bad Robot project.

Next up is Person of Interest, another Abrams-backed project that was just picked up by CBS, according to NYMag.  The source describes it as an hour-long crime thriller.  Jonah Nolan, brother of film director Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight), is penning the pilot script and serves as co-creator with Abrams.  Can someone say dream team?!  This marks the first time Nolan contributing to a TV series.  He is best known for his collaboration work with his brother on The Dark Knight & The Prestige; he also wrote the short story that inspired Memento.  The fact that CBS of all networks reportedly picked up this particular series is somewhat startling.  CBS is known for playing it safe by strictly airing procedural shows that people can tune into at any time without worrying about missing key plot developments (think the CSI franchise, The Mentalist, etc.).  The Abrams/Nolan series might just break the CBS mold by premiering a more serialized show that demands weekly viewing.  And that makes me very, very giddy.

As you might guess, very little to no information regarding plot and casting has leaked about these new Abrams projects.  But you can be sure I’ll report back when things start to ramp up.  If all goes according to plan, I’m hoping the new dramas will be ready to premiere next fall.

[Via Variety; NYMag; IGN, here & here]

House season 7 cast & premiere stills

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Princeton Plainsboro Hospital is almost open for business.  The mad doc has finally found love in Cuddy, Thirteen will be taking some time off, and young Amber Tamblyn will be joining the cast in the beginning half of the season.  Check out these House cast and season premiere stills (organized in the two galleries below); add ’em to the collection that includes the awesome season poster and cast group shot.

House premieres Monday, September 20 at 8PM on FOX.

[Via IGN]


Fringe cast photo, plus more premiere stills

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Look what we’ve got here–more Fringe season 3 premiere stills!  And this time they contain strictly images of Alt-Olivia making her way around our universe.  Add these photos to the ongoing collection.  But before you jump into the stills that are waiting in the gallery below, go ahead and study the cast photo pasted above.  Some things I notice: the mysterious images we are left with at every commercial break lay on the floor amongst a brightly lit flashlight; the Observer peering through the doorway to the alternate universe; Astrid’s badass ‘tude; and Walter is not consuming a beverage!

Fringe premieres Thursday, September 23 at 9PM on FOX.

Update: New cast group shot after the break!

[Via EW, here & here; IGN]

Continue reading Fringe cast photo, plus more premiere stills →

FOX picks up ‘Locke & Key’

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Well, that didn’t take too long.  About one week after it was spilled that Josh Friedman (showrunner/executive producer/writer), Steven Spielberg (executive producer), and Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman (executive producers) were going to work on an adaptation of Joe Hill’s comic book Locke & Key FOX swiftly decided to pick up the show and made a series commitment to the project.  For a show to receive a direct-to-series order says a lot about the potential for it.  Upcoming shows like The Walking Dead (AMC) and Terra Nova (FOX) follow in Locke & Key‘s footsteps; they were given a full series order without having to prove their worth by taping a pilot episode beforehand.  Heather Kadin, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank and Ted Adams join as executive producers.  20th Century Fox and DreamWorks TV are signed on to back the venture.  And according to The Hollywood Reporter, there are talks that the show will be “a potential summer project.”  Glad to hear things are full steam ahead.

Locke & Key follows three teenage brothers, Tyler, Kinsey, and Bode Locke, who move to a Massachusetts mansion where they find the mystical Ghost Door which grants them powers, including the ability to separate his spirit from body and to transport between different worlds.

[Via THR; IGN]

Kara DioGuardi exits American Idol

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Last night FOX released a press statement informing American Idol fans that judge Kara DioGuardi is leaving the show.  DioGuardi says: “I felt like I won the lottery when I joined American Idol two years ago, but I feel like now is the best time to leave Idol.  I am very proud to have been associated with American Idol — it has truly been an amazing experience.  I am grateful to FOX, FremantleMedia and 19 Entertainment, as well as the cast, crew and contestants, for all they have given to me.  I look forward to my next challenge, and want to thank everyone who has supported me.  All the best to everyone on Season 10!”  AI creator and executive producer Simon Fuller shared his sentiments on the matter: “Kara is one of the world’s best songwriters.  She has been passionate and committed to Idol over the last two seasons.  I will miss having her on the show, but I look forward to working with her in music for many years to come.”

DioGuardi is the third judge to leave the show prior to the start of the tenth season.  Simon Cowell bid farewell last season and Ellen DeGeneres departed in July.  Randy Jackson remains the last dawg standing.  The latest reports pin Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler as likely replacements.  Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe publically stated that he wishes for the show to return to a three-person judges panel.  Season 10 premieres in January 2011, so it’s just a matter of time before we are informed about the new slate of judges.

[Via EW-PopWatch]

Fringe season 3 cast & premiere stills

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Walter.  Walternate.  Olivia.  Bolivia.  Our world.  Their world.  Whose side are we on?  Are we the good guys or the bad guys?  What is Walternate going to do with our Olivia?  How exactly is their Bolivia going to infiltrate our world without getting caught by Walter, Peter, and Astrid?  And what of that doomsday device?  So many questions linger from the amazing alternate world-traveling Fringe season 2 finale it’s hard to wrap your brain around all of it.  But fear not because the season 3 premiere is just around the corner and answers will come.  Check out these cast and season premiere stills (organized in the two galleries below) and let the anticipation and theorizing begin.

“The Box”, the Fringe season premiere episode, airs Thursday, September 23 at 9PM on FOX.

[Via IGN]


FOX’s ‘Terra Nova’ pushed to fall 2011

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Wahhhh!  That’s the sound I made when I read this breaking news.  The time-travelling, prehistoric journey to save mankind is being pushed back an entire year.   Terra Nova, from the minds of Steven Speilberg, Brannon Braga (24, FlashForward) and David Fury (Lost), simply isn’t ready for its big debut so FOX made a swift decision to remove it from its fall 2010 premiere slot.  Essentially the highly anticipated show is going to pull a Glee.  Remember how FOX delicately handled the rollout of arguably network TV’s most successful new hit?  Instead of premiering Glee in fall 2008, FOX aired a “preview” episode (the pilot) in May after American Idol.  This allowed the show to generate tons of buzz during the summer and resulted in a huge audience wanting to see more by the time fall 2009 rolled around.  FOX thinks they can do it again with Terra Nova; they plan to preview the pilot this May, generate buzz with an intense marketing campaign over the summer, and officially premiere the show in fall 2011.  Read what FOX President of Entertainment Kevin Reilly has to say about the situation:

“Terra Nova will be one of the most visually stimulating and dramatically grand series to air on network television.  It deserves to have an equally unique launch to distinguish that the show is unlike any other, and the spring promotional platform will give us the perfect opportunity to introduce this bold show to audiences.  ..  We went into it knowing it was going to be ambitious.  It really became apparent that we had to do this show right.  We’ll have an enormous jump on the pilot, and on the marketing side, we’ll let people understand the show.”

It will take time than anticipated for the showrunners, writers, and special FX leads to come up with “ground breaking effects” and an “entire world and mythology.”  And you know what?  I’m not so disappointed about all this.  If the creative teams needs an additional few months to make this show the best it can be, I am certainly willing to wait the extra while until things are properly locked and loaded.  This show promises to be explosive both in storytelling and visuals–I’m already hooked!  I have no doubt that the May preview pilot will wow audiences and everyone will be counting the days until its proper fall 2011 launch.

[Via IGN; EW-HollywoodInsider]

The Simpsons season 22 guest voices: House, Gleeks, Potter, Rudd, Hamm, FOTC & more

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Can you believe that Matt Groening’s 1987 creation is coming into its twenty-second season this fall?  What’s even more crazy is the awesome list of guest voices The Simpsons team plans to use this season.  In the season premiere “Elementary School Musical” Lisa goes to a performance arts camp.  There she will be greeted by artsy counselors Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords fame and a bunch of excited campers voiced by Glee‘s Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, and Amber Riley.  House‘s Hugh Laurie and Daniel Radcliffe (aka Harry Potter) will lend their voices to October’s “Treehouse of Horror” episode.  Later in the season Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, baseball’s Mike Scioscia, and sports writer Bill James will appear in an episode titled “MoneyBart.”  This year’s holiday special “The Fight Before Christmas” will get a kick with Martha Stewart.  Other guest voices that will pop up throughout the season: Halle Berry, Ricky Gervais, Paul Rudd, Kristen Wiig (Saturday Night Live), Rachel Weisz (The Mummy), Alyson Hannigan (How I Met Your Mother), Cheech & Chong, Danica Patrick, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; also Joe Mantegna (Criminal Minds) will reprise his role as Fat Tony.  Excited?  The Simpsons 22 premieres Sunday, September 26 on FOX.

[Via IGN]

Dr. House wants to sing the blues

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House fans, listen here!  Hugh Laurie, aka Dr. Gregory House, wants to record a blues album and he’s going for it!  It was announced Monday that Laurie signed with Warner Music Entertainment to make a New Orleans-inspired blues album.  “I am drunk with excitement at this opportunity,” Laurie said in a press release. “I know the history of actors making music is a checkered one, but I promise no one will get hurt.”  Joe Henry has signed on to produce.

He’s finally got the chance to share his piano and guitar skills he often flaunts on the show with the rest of the world.  And if you were wondering, Laurie is apparently a self-taught pianist due to “creative differences” with his childhood piano teacher.  Oh, House.

[Via EW-MusicMix; USAToday]

Ellen DeGeneres leaves her post as American Idol judge [Update: JLo takes her place]

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Ellen DeGeneres has decided to call it quits after only one year as the judge who just couldn’t fit in on American Idol.  Today FOX released two statements, one from DeGeneres and the other from the network itself.

DeGeneres: “A couple months ago, I let Fox and the American Idol producers know that this didn’t feel like the right fit for me. I told them I wouldn’t leave them in a bind and that I would hold off on doing anything until they were able to figure out where they wanted to take the panel next.  It was a difficult decision to make, but my work schedule became more than I bargained for.   I also realized this season that while I love discovering, supporting and nurturing young talent, it was hard for me to judge people and sometimes hurt their feelings. I loved the experience working on IDOL and I am very grateful for the year I had.  I am a huge fan of the show and will continue to be.”

Peter Rice, FOX Chairman of Entertainment: “We love Ellen and understand and support her decision to bow out of Idol. We were fortunate to receive the humor, energy and love for talent that she brought to the show.”

According to the latest reports, American Idol creator Simon Fuller will be back for season 10, and he hopes to bring new judges to the panel.  Judge Simon Cowell left the show to produce the American version of The X Factor, and this leaves a huge gap to fill.  Justin Timberlake and Elton John are currently in talks with the network concerning this matter.  The state of Kara Dioguardi and our main dawg Randy Jackson remains up in the air until a final decision is made.  The Television Critics Tour begins this Monday; it would be wise for FOX to steal the show by announcing an exciting new panel of judges there.

Update:  According to a report from Deadline, Jennifer Lopez will take DeGeneres’ place as a new American Idol judge for season 10.  FOX and JLo’s reps have yet to comment on the breaking news.  Deadline also spills that “unconfirmed reports” target Steven Tyler as a possible Cowell replacement (that’s in addition to Justin Timberlake and Elton John).

[Via EW-HollywoodInsider]