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http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,14106,00.html

 

Ready or Not, Here Come Fall Lineups

 

by Kimberly Potts

May 14, 2004, 4:35 PM PT

 

 

 

How will NBC fill the holes left by Friends and Frasier?

 

Will a plethora of remakes--from Dark Shadows and Mr. Ed to Lost in Space and The Office--ever see even a minute of airtime?

 

a d v e r t i s e m e n t

 

Will UPN beam up another season of the ratings black hole that is Star Trek: Enterprise?

 

And will ABC launch yet another fall full of bombs?

 

The answers come next week in New York, as the networks unveil their plans for the fall 2004-05 season at the annual upfront presentations to advertisers and the press.

 

NBC, which kicks off upfront week with a Monday afternoon presentation, is actually among the networks in good shape for the new season, with the pilot episode for Joey, Matt LeBlanc's Friends spinoff, getting good early reviews, and another season of the wildly successful Donald Trump reality series The Apprentice already in production.

 

Among the other buzz-generating new shows: Three series produced by Mel Gibson may extend his recent big-screen success to the tube; both Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey may end up starring in scripted comedies; and NBC brings back the always-welcome Heather Locklear.

 

And then there's Fox, which has been touting its summer series premieres as the launch of its new season. The network will officially announce its summer-is-the-new-fall lineup at its Thursday presentation, but Fox's more interesting offerings include: The "rich girls go road-tripping" show The Simple Life 2, featuring (once again) Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie; The Casino, a Mark Burnett reality series that follows the renovation and promotion of a Las Vegas casino; and Method and Red, a sitcom in which rappers Method Man and Redman move into a swanky, uptight community, much to the chagrin of their snooty neighbors.

 

Here's a network-by-network preview of upfront happenings.

 

ABC

 

Returning shows confirmed: According to Jim, Alias, America's Funniest Home Videos, The Bachelor, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, The George Lopez Show, Hope & Faith, Monday Night Football, My Wife & Kids and NYPD Blue.

New fall 2004 series already picked up: David E. Kelley's spinoff of The Practice, starring James Spader, William Shatner, Rhona Mitra and Rebecca De Mornay; and the Mel Gibson-produced Savages, a Home Improvement-ish comedy about a man (Keith Carradine) raising five sons.

Pilots with good buzz: Desperate Housewives, a soapy, Knots Landing-ish drama about the lives of four housewives living in a suburban cul-de-sac; Blind Justice, a drama starring Ron Eldard as a blind detective; Gray's Anatomy, a medical drama starring Patrick Dempsey; a John Stamos romantic comedy in which the entire season revolves around one blind date (it actually is the longest blind date in history); and Jessica Simpson's sitcom in which she plays a ditzy singer turned newscaster named Jessica Sampson.

Other pilots in contention: A sitcom starring Jennifer Love Hewitt as a TV sports producer and single mom (though TV execs were said to be unhappy with Hewitt's new jet-black hair color, according to Variety); Hot Momma, a comedy with Gina Gershon as a wedding planner and Nick Lachey as her handyman; The Catch, a drama about bounty hunters (costarring Don Rickles!) and Lost, about a group of survivors stuck on a deserted island, both from Alias creator JJ Abrams; a sitcom starring comedian Rodney Carrington; and Doing It, a coming-of-age drama based on a racy British young-adult novel and costarring the freshly rehabbed Kelly Osbourne.

 

CBS

 

Returning shows: The Amazing Race, CSI, CSI: Miami, Cold Case, Everybody Loves Raymond, 48 Hours Investigates, Joan of Arcadia, King of Queens, Navy NCIS, 60 Minutes, 60 Minutes II, Still Standing, Survivor and Two and a Half Men.

New fall 2004 series already picked up: The network, which is typically the most secretive prior to its upfront presentation, hasn't announced any official pick-ups yet.

Pilots with good buzz: CSI: New York, the latest Jerry Bruckheimer franchise extension; a sitcom with Ricki Lake as a cop's widow raising her children and Kirstie Alley as her mom; Dr. Vegas, a drama starring Rob Lowe as the house doctor at a hot Vegas casino; The Amazing Westerbergs, a family sitcom starring Chris O'Donnell; and Shut Up and Listen, a comedy starring Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Jason Alexander based on the writings of Washington Post sportswriter Tony Kornheiser.

Other pilots in contention: The Clubhouse, a Mel Gibson-produced drama about a teen who lands his dream job as a batboy with the New York Yankees; Colderan, a tube take on the novel and big-screen drama Practical Magic, starring Kim Delaney; the LAPD drama Wanted; and The Webster Report, starring Stanley Tucci as a private investigator.

 

Fox:

 

Returning shows: American Idol; The Bernie Mac Show; King of the Hill; Malcolm in the Middle; The O.C.; The Simpsons; The Swan; That '70s Show and 24.

New fall 2004 series already picked up: Branson's Big Adventure, an Apprentice knockoff starring Virgin billionaire Richard Branson; House, a medical drama revolving around a team of doctors who tackle hard-to-diagnose medical mysteries; and boxing reality series The Next Great Champ.

Pilots with good buzz: American Dad, a new animated sitcom from The Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane; Jonny Zero, a drama which recalls The Equalizer, from ER producer John Wells; and Ricochet, a crime drama where the action unfolds backwards à la Memento.

Other pilots in contention: Hollywood Division, a drama about a group of cops who go undercover at an L.A. high school; Lucky Us, a sitcom about a guy and a girl who end up as a couple when she gets pregnant on their blind date; a remake of Mr. Ed; and a Chris Rock-produced comedy based on his childhood.

 

NBC:

 

Returning shows: American Dreams; The Apprentice; Crossing Jordan; Dateline NBC; ER; Fear Factor; Las Vegas; Law & Order; Law & Order: Criminal Intent; Law & Order: SVU; Scrubs; Third Watch; The West Wing and Will & Grace.

New fall 2004 series already picked up: Joey; Father of the Pride, a CGI comedy about a family of lions who work for Siegfried and Roy in Las Vegas; The Contender, a boxing talent search produced by Mark Burnett and Sylvester Stallone; the spinoff Law & Order: Trial by Jury; Plain Jane, a flip-side version of Average Joe; and Revelations, a biblical drama starring Bill Pullman which retells the story of the final showdown between God and the Devil.

Pilots with good buzz: Medium, a Kelsey Grammer-produced drama about a mom (Patricia Arquette) who uses her psychic abilities to help solve crimes; Hub, a quirky airport drama starring Heather Locklear and Blair Underwood (because the new millennium needed a new Wings); Crazy for You, a New York romantic comedy starring Daytime Emmy winner Jennifer Finnigan; Hawaii, a detective drama starring Eric Balfour (Six Feet Under, The O.C.); testosterone-heavy sitcom The Men's Room; and The Cure, starring Boomtown's Neal McDonough as a man who solves medical mysteries.

Other pilots in contention: My 11:30, a sitcom starring Jeff Goldblum as a businessman hooked on his sessions with his therapist; The Office, a remake--said to be as dismal as NBC's makeover of the British comedy Coupling, another cult favorite Britcom; and Nevermind Nirvana, a culture-clash comedy, directed by David Schwimmer, about a woman (30 Going on 30's Judy Greer), whose Indian-American in-laws move in with her.

 

UPN:

 

Returning shows: America's Next Top Model and WWE Smackdown!

New fall 2004 series already picked up: None.

Pilots with good buzz: Kevin Hill, a drama starring Taye Diggs (and produced by Mel Gibson) as a playboy attorney who suddenly has to raise his brother's infant daughter; Play Nice, a sitcom starring Charisma Carpenter (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel); and The Bad Girl's Guide, a comedy starring Jenny McCarthy and based on The Bad Girl's Guide books by Cameron Tuttle.

Other pilots in contention: Beck & Call, a drama starring Vanessa Williams and set in the New York fashion world; Veronica Mars, about a teen who works with her P.I. father; and the Tru Calling-ish Silver Lake, a drama starring Kerr Smith (Dawson's Creek) as a record-store owner who has psychic abilities that allow him to communicate with the dead.

 

WB:

 

Returning shows: Charmed, Everwood, Gilmore Girls, Grounded for Life, One Tree Hill, Reba, 7th Heaven, Smallville and What I Like About You.

New fall 2004 series already picked up: Jack & Bobby, a drama produced by Everwood's Greg Berlanti and The West Wing's Tommy Schlamme, about a single mom raising two sons, one of whom is the future President of the United States; and The Mountain, produced by McG (The O.C.) and Shaun Cassidy, a drama about a slacker (Oliver Hudson) who inherits his family's mountain resort and takes over operation of the business.

Pilots with good buzz: Blue Collar TV, a sitcom based on the Blue Collar Comedy Tour with Jeff Foxworthy; Wannabe, a sitcom produced by comedian Robert Schimmel and pal Howard Stern and based on Schimmel's true story of falling in love with his daughter's best friend; and Shacking Up, a comedy produced by Jamie Kennedy and starring Fran Drescher as a mom whose adult son moves back home.

Other pilots in contention: Miles to Go, a comedy based on Survivor producer Mark Burnett's experience as a British commando turned Beverly Hills nanny; and remakes of Lost in Space and Dark Shadows.

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Guest El Satanico

ABC

 

David E. Kelley's spinoff of The Practice, starring James Spader, William Shatner, Rhona Mitra and Rebecca De Mornay;: Shatner in a Practice spinoff? That's just bizarre, so I'll have to tune in despite disliking such shows.

Desperate Housewives, a soapy, Knots Landing-ish drama about the lives of four housewives living in a suburban cul-de-sac;: Sounds...awful

Blind Justice, a drama starring Ron Eldard as a blind detective;: Say What?

Jessica Simpson's sitcom in which she plays a ditzy singer turned newscaster named Jessica Sampson.: The pain...the burning :shudders:

 

Fox:

 

American Dad, a new animated sitcom from The Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane: I don't have high hopes for this based on the description, but I'll give it a chance due to being a fan of Family Guy

Ricochet, a crime drama where the action unfolds backwards à la Memento.: Could be interesting...I'll be watching it

Hollywood Division, a drama about a group of cops who go undercover at an L.A. high school: hooray...21 Jumpstreet Version 2.0

a remake of Mr. Ed: why?

Chris Rock-produced comedy based on his childhood.: Could be good...I'll check it out

 

NBC:

 

Father of the Pride, a CGI comedy about a family of lions who work for Siegfried and Roy in Las Vegas: awful...just awful...how long until they reference Roy being attacked?

Revelations, a biblical drama starring Bill Pullman which retells the story of the final showdown between God and the Devil. : Could be good if it doesn't get preachy. I'll check it out

Hub, a quirky airport drama starring Heather Locklear and Blair Underwood: hooray...Wings Version 2.0

Hawaii, a detective drama starring Eric Balfour: hooray...Hawaii Five-O Version 2.0

 

WB:

 

Blue Collar TV, a sitcom based on the Blue Collar Comedy Tour with Jeff Foxworthy: I wonder how much this will resemble Foxworthy's first sitcom? I'll watch it if the 3 other guys make regular appearances.

a remake of Lost in Space: no thanks

a remake of Dark Shadows: I'll be watching and I'm hoping for the best

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Guest El Satanico

I don't believe those returning shows lists are complete. There's at least a few shows missing from each one.

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Fox:

 

Returning shows: American Idol; The Bernie Mac Show; King of the Hill; Malcolm in the Middle; The O.C.; The Simpsons; The Swan; That '70s Show and 24.

No Arrested Development!?!?

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Guest El Satanico
Fox:

 

Returning shows: American Idol; The Bernie Mac Show; King of the Hill; Malcolm in the Middle; The O.C.; The Simpsons; The Swan; That '70s Show and 24.

No Arrested Development!?!?

I don't believe those returning shows lists are complete. There's at least a few shows missing from each one.

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Fox:

 

Returning shows: American Idol; The Bernie Mac Show; King of the Hill; Malcolm in the Middle; The O.C.; The Simpsons; The Swan; That '70s Show and 24.

No Arrested Development!?!?

I'm pretty sure it got cancelled.

 

 

 

The main actor guy was on Carson Daily's show a few weeks back, and basically begged for people to watch due to the ratings being low.

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Guest Choken One

Nope.

 

The execs at Fox love the show and I'm, pretty sure they extended it.

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- Ricochet, a crime drama where the action unfolds backwards à la Memento.

 

It will last 2 shows and get canceled because your average TV viewer doesn't have the mental copacity to understand the whole "backwards" thing.

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Guest El Satanico

I'm sure Boston Public is done...Fox shuffled it off to Friday night and stopped showing it after a few episodes.

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Guest Crazy Dan

I hope they do renew Arrested Development. It is pretty funny and has a lot of potential to be good show with longevity, and I think it has a good cast that could gell together given time. Now a days too many shows get cancelled before they get a chance to catch on. It seems that too many execs will kill a show, unless it gets huge ratings right away.

 

For Example, imagine if Cheers was a new show in this era. As I remember, that show took a few years to really catch on. It's ratings were not the greatest at first. It was still a good show (even though I was too young at the time to get all the jokes, which I now get) which needed time to grow an audiance. I have feeling that Cheers might have gotten the axe after the first season. Then we would not have gotten Sam, Norm, Woody, Carla, Cliff betting everything on Jeopardy when he didn't know the answer, and many other classic moments from a classic show. Well we might not have gotten Frasier's show, but then the Simpsons would not have gotten Sideshow Bob, so we would never have gotten Frasier as well, which even though I didn't like the show Frasier, I still liked how he was the BUTT end of everyone's jokes on Cheers, even though he was the smartest one, well book smart at least. And who could forget the show where Lilith plays footsies with him on TV. And of course the contest between Robin and Sam. Man what a great show.

 

And I know that many shows which showed promise, have met the axe after only two or three shows. Some shows like "Lady's Club?) was deservedly canned, but one show I saw, "Wonderfalls" I thought was pretty cool show, was different, and could have built an audiance if it had been given time. Another example would be the show "FireFly" which was building an audiance, but got canned. (I never saw the show, but judging by some posts on this board, it definately had a cult following, and deserved more time to build an audiance). I also thought that show with Jay Mohr, Action, was also a show that was pretty funny. It had no problems skewering the way Hollywood works. It was a show that was not afraid to piss off people. But, it didn't get ratings, and it goes to the graveyard before its time.

 

Then there are the shows that do get ratings, but absolutely stink. Yes, Dear comes directly to mind. Who watches this show?? Because I know absolutely no one who has ever watched this crap. And I couldn't get by three minutes before changing the channel. These are the shows which need to go away, not shows that are willing to take chances, but it gets ratings, so we get the show that had the unfunny guy, who used to do the unfunny ESPN commercials.

 

But I have feeling that we are going to get more and more reality shows, and less and less sitcoms/non reality TV (which is every show that has actors and fictional settings). The reason, reality shows get the quick fix big ratings, and that seems to drive decisions of the Execs these days. And yes I know you want those ratings to make money, but how many "Make-Over-Stab-Your-Friend-In-The-Back, while stranded in the middle of a war zone" type shows are we going have to endure before this craze goes away. And when you think that the reality craze will end, they come up with even more bad ideas, which means I look for VH1, CNN, Fox News, and so forth.

 

Sorry for the rant, but I am not happy the direction TV is headed. I watch TV to get away from reality. And these reality shows are not very realistic, heck I am sure many are scripted, with the participants told to act in a certain way. But what do I know, and I am just happy this is not the 50's where you were lucky enough to get two channels, so I can change the channel.

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I don't think they'll cancel Arrested Development(which is one of my favorite shows too) if they're planning to release a DVD of the first season. Then again it's Fox, so who knows.

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The only reality shows I've ever liked was "Murder in Small Town X" and "Fear," and that's because they weren't just some stupid fucking "HEY! WACKY SITUATIONS! HEY LOOK! THIS GUY IS VOTING AGAINST THAT OTHER GUY, AND HE DOESN'T KNOW IT! OH MY! THIS RICH GIRL IS GOING TO HAVE TO WORK NOW!" horseshit we get now. My friend Monica put it best: "I'm just expecting 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire's Janitor For A Week' to come on Fox any day now."

 

Ricochet doesn't look too bad. That 70's Show is still on? I'm surprised. I mean, the first season took place in 1977, right? Who would've thought that they'd squeeze 6 seasons out of a show that has a 3-year span (story-wise). Plus, the show's sucked ever since Eric and Donna broke up. That...and Hyde started caring for Jackie. Motherfucker, WHY?!

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Guest El Satanico

The returning show lists aren't complete...there's a few missing from each channel...honestly does anyone listen.

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WHERE THE HELL IS MY OPRAH?!! I SWEAR, I WILL BLOW UP THE STUD--

 

Wait, this isn't the daytime list.

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My gods.

 

This.....this is possibly the worst fall lineup I've ever seen.

 

Of the new shows, pretty much NOTHING is there that I'd want to see.

 

Although I may catch the first couple episodes of the 21 JumpStreet rip-off. But will they succeed without the heartthrob that is Johnny Depp?

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My gods.

 

This.....this is possibly the worst fall lineup I've ever seen.

 

Of the new shows, pretty much NOTHING is there that I'd want to see.

I'm watching the CSI: New York "pilot" (CSI: Miami where Caruso goes to New York) and so far it's looking pretty good. I think I'm already enjoying Sinese more than Caruso...

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New fall 2004 series already picked up: David E. Kelley's spinoff of The Practice, starring James Spader, William Shatner, Rhona Mitra and Rebecca De Mornay;

 

This show (called "Fleet Street") is my early contender for best new show of the year, given how awesome Spader was all year on the Practice, and how well the new characters worked as they started to introduce them late in the season as the focus of the show shifted to the new one. I am eagerly anticipating this one next year.

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I'm appalled nobody mentioned the new John Stamos romantic comedy. An entire series based around one blind date... that could be genius.

John Stamos is such a horrid actor, that no way this show lasts.

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ABC

David E. Kelley's spinoff of The Practice, starring James Spader, William Shatner, Rhona Mitra and Rebecca De Mornay;:

Denny Krane 0wns everyones face on television now. This might be the ONLY show that I watch next year. De Mornay's character is the right amount of bitch for me to like her and Spader is da man.

 

Fox:

 

American Dad, a new animated sitcom from The Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane: I'll Watch. Why not.

Ricochet, a crime drama where the action unfolds backwards à la Memento.: It will get old quickly and thus stupid.

Hollywood Division, a drama about a group of cops who go undercover at an L.A. high school: They are going to be HOT cops in a LA Hight School, undercover, yet they aren't going to have sex with any of the students. They are not going to blend in.

Chris Rock-produced comedy based on his childhood.: Everything that Chris Rock has touched has been crap except comedy special. NO.

 

NBC:

 

Father of the Pride, a CGI comedy about a family of lions who work for Siegfried and Roy in Las Vegas: I'll watch the first ep for the CGI...thats all.

Revelations, a biblical drama starring Bill Pullman which retells the story of the final showdown between God and the Devil. I am THERE.

Hub, a quirky airport drama starring Heather Locklear and Blair Underwood: I support Blair Underwood...thats is all.

 

WB:

 

A remake of Lost in Space:So You don't pick up Firefly, a sci-fi action/drama with a built in audience to start a sci-fi action/drama that I am willing to wager noone will watch becasue they remember the god awful movie from a few years back. Okay.

a remake of Dark Shadows: So you cancel Angel, a Vampire action/drama with a built in audience and critically acclaimed(a year removed from requesting that the lead character not be shown as a Vampire too much) and replace it with Vampire drama without the built in audience seeing as the people that watched the original don't fit into your channels demographic. Okay...

 

FUCK the WB.

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I thought that this current season was the last for NYPD Blue? That's good though, I'm a fan and it's a really good show.

 

Didn't see "Weekends" on there, but it was listed on TVTome. It's an NBC show about a pair of Gen-Xers dealing with married life and their first child, and it's going to have Eddie Kaye Thomas (Finch from American Pie), Amanda Detmer, and Caitlin Mowery from City Guys on it.

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