FOX lining up 2003-04 season

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Fox fires up revved sked
'Wonder Falls,' 'The O.C.,' 'Keen Eddie' on the slate

By JOSEF ADALIAN

Fox is living up to its promise to kick-start development for fall, giving early greenlights to a pair of drama projects.
As part of its effort to move toward a year-round sked of original programming, net has ordered 13 episodes (including pilots) of the lighthearted Todd Holland/Bryan Fuller hour "Wonder Falls" and the Doug Liman-helmed and McG/Josh Schwartz-produced SoCal sudser "The O.C."

20th Century Fox TV and Regency Television are producing "Wonder Falls," while Warner Bros. TV is backing "The O.C." in association with Wonderland and Hypnotic.

While Fox won't unveil its summer or fall schedule until next month, entertainment prexy Gail Berman has made it clear the net hopes to bow at least two new dramas and a new laffer this summer (including the already-skedded "Keen Eddie.") New shows will also roll out in the fall, winter and spring as Fox attempts to solve some of the problems created by October baseball pre-emptions.

An announcement on early comedy pickups is expected in a couple of weeks. As per tradition, Fox also still plans to pick up several new dramas and comedies next month at the time of its schedule announcement.

"Our network has some unusual challenges that it faces, and we felt the best way to take advantage of that was to go to year-round development," Berman said. "Doing it in the midst (of traditional development) is challenging, but our drama team has done a marvelous job."

As for pilots that didn't get greenlit Tuesday, Berman emphasized that Fox is far from done with its drama development. "Many of the shows that didn't get an early order will get an order later," she said.

What's more, Fox has already started developing skeins for the 2004-05 season, Berman said.

Fox asked the producers of seven drama pilots to deliver 10-15 minute presentation tapes; several shows were also asked to staff up early with writers. Presentations were screened this week, with pick-ups announced Tuesday.

Under a traditional scheduling plan, Fox would probably need no more than three new dramas for its fall lineup, particularly given its status as TV's top net in adults 18-49 for the second half of the current season.

But because Fox is looking to expand the number of hours it commits to first-run scripted programming, net could end up greenlighting far more hours than normal.

"When you have a year-round schedule, 22 episodes only takes you through half a year," Berman said. "Certain shows will sit in time periods that they'll share with other shows throughout the year."

Indeed, "Keen Eddie" will bow Tuesdays at 9 p.m., the same slot now occupied by hit Fox drama "24."

All this means more money devoted to scripted programming, at least in the short-term.

"Once the system (for year-round programming) is in place, it'll become easier to do and thus become less expensive," Berman said.

Producers of the two greenlit skeins said they welcomed the early pickups, despite the pressures associated with being guinea pigs of sort.

"The big advantage is we don't have the big angst of waiting until May, and extra time is always a good thing," said "Wonder Falls" exec producer Holland.

Assuming "Wonder Falls" bows in the summer or early fall, "There's also less chance of getting lost in the pack (of premieres)," Fuller said.

"O.C" creator Schwartz said he's already working summer storylines into the mix in anticipation of a warm-weather bow.

"Fox has had a lot of success in the past launching new dramas in the summer," he said, referring to "Melrose Place."

As for the specifics of the two projects, "Wonder Falls" was created and is being exec produced by Holland ("Malcolm in the Middle") and Fuller ("Star Trek: Voyager.") Skein stars Caroline Dhavernas as a woman who doesn't really get how cool the world is until she goes a little bit crazy.

"The bottom line is that good things can come out of really crazy shit," Fuller said.

Schwartz created and wrote the pilot for "The O.C.," with McG ("Charlie's Angels"), Liman ("The Bourne Identity") and Dave Bartis on board as exec producers; Liman directed. Benjamin McKenzie and Peter Gallagher star in the ensemble drama, which Schwartz calls a "show about this world of Newport Beach where everyone is supposed to be an informed member of the community, but we find everyone feels like an outsider.""Doug Liman did a fantastic job directing, and (Wonderland topper) Stephanie Savage has been an immeasurable help," he said.

McG's Warner Bros. TV-based Wonderland is off to a fast start, having sold Fox this season's "Fastlane"; "The O.C."; and ABC's Dan Finnerty comedy pilot, "The Dan Band."

Date in print: Wed., Apr. 9, 2003, Los Angeles
Click to expand...
 
The Futon Critic has speculation on Fox's schedule for Fall. No mention at all about True Calling.

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/cgi/gofuton.cgi?action=rant&id=20030411

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/cgi/gofuton.cgi?action=rant&id=20030415

I emailed them and asked if they thought it would be picked up or not. Unfortunately they didn't answer. I'm not sure they're reliability. They seem to think John Doe will be renewed. They also think Fox will start The OC and Wonder Falls in August. Fox is debuting another new show called Eddie Keen in June. I'm hoping those shows would start then too, bomb, and quickly go away, clearing the schedule for True Calling in the fall. If they aren't starting until August, that means we could be waiting for True Calling to debut until January or even later.

The distressing news about Wonder Falls getting picked up is that it's very similar to Eliza's pilot, only with a funny/bizarre take.
 
Fox is announcing their fall lineup on May 15.

Futon Critic has an article about what Fox is expected to be doing for fall:
http://www.thefutoncritic.com/cgi/gofuton.cgi?action=newswire&id=5906
 
KPTM-Entertainment News posted Fox's fall line up and they have Tru Calling on Thursdays at 7:00 right before The O.C..

I don't know about how much competition that it has on Thursdays, hopefully not much. I've never heard of the other show. Anyway, the adress is here:
http://www.kptm.com/entertainment/340476.html

have a good one
 
KPTM is Fox's Nebraska affliate, so its in the Central time zone. It's on against Friends and Survivor still, stuff just on an hour earlier in Central & Mountain time zones. The OC is another new Fox show.
 
Here is all the shows you will see this summer and fall returning and new...

btw hello 😛

entire summer line up
1-800-missing (lifetime)
american juniors (fox)
american princess (nbc)
america's next top model (upn)
anything for love (fox)
average joe (nbc)
banzai (fox)
boarding house: north shore (wb)
charlie lawrence (cbs)
cupid (cbs)
dance fever (abc_family)
dead like me (showtime)
diary affairs, the (abc)
doggy fizzle televizzle (mtv)
domestic goddess hour, the (abc_family)
fame (nbc)
for love or money (nbc)
free for all (showtime)
gary the rat (tnn)
house of dreams (a_and_e)
i'm with busey (comedy_central)
jake effect, the (nbc)
keen eddie (fox)
'l' word, the (showtime)
last comic standing: the funniest person in america (nbc)
love for sale (abc)
nip/tuck (fx)
o'keefes, the (wb)
out of order (showtime)
paradise hotel (fox)
peacemakers (usa)
pepsi smash (wb)
perfect match: new york (abc_family)
perfect partners (nbc)
playmakers (espn)
queer eye for the straight guy, the (bravo)
race to the altar (nbc)
reno 911 (comedy_central)
residents, the (tnt)
restaurant, the (nbc)
rich guy, poor guy (abc)
ride with funkmaster flex (tnn)
second chance (fox)
simple life, the (fox)
spider-man (mtv)
stan lee's stripperella (tnn)
stupid behavior caught on tape (fox)
surf girls (mtv)
untitled roseanne project (abc)
who wants to marry my dad? (nbc)
who's got game (mtv)
wild card (lifetime)
entire fall lineup

10-8 (abc)
all about the andersons (wb)
all of us (upn)
apprentice, the (nbc)
arrested development (fox)
back to kansas (abc)
brotherhood of poland, n.h., the (cbs)
carnivale (hbo)
cold case (cbs)
coupling (nbc)
cracking up (fox)
crash test (tnn)
dating game, the (nbc)
deadwood (hbo)
ebay tv (syndication)
eight-minute workout challenge, the (tnn)
ellen degeneres show, the (syndication)
fearless (wb)
going to college (showtime)
handler, the (cbs)
happy family (nbc)
help, the (wb)
hope & faith (abc)
house rules (tbs)
i'm with her (abc)
it's all relative (abc)
jake 2.0 (upn)
joan of arcadia (cbs)
k street (hbo)
karen sisco (abc)
las vegas (nbc)
like family (wb)
line of fire (abc)
living it up! with ali & jack (syndication)
luis (fox)
lyon's den, the (nbc)
make my day (wb)
marriage (hbo)
mayor, the (wb)
minute with stan hooper, a (fox)
miss match (nbc)
missing (syndication)
mullets, the (upn)
navy c.i.s. (cbs)
newlywed game, the (nbc)
next action star, the (nbc)
o.c., the (fox)
one tree hill (wb)
opposite sex, the (upn)
ortegas, the (fox)
petkeeping with marc morronoe (syndication)
rock me baby (upn)
run of the house (wb)
scene, the (tnn)
sharon osbourne show, the (syndication)
skin (fox)
starting over (syndication)
stephen king's kingdom hospital (abc)
steve harvey's big time (wb)
still life (fox)
stones, the (cbs)
tarzan & jane (wb)
threat matrix (abc)
top ten things every guy should experience (tnn)
tracy morgan show, the (nbc)
tripping the rift (sci_fi)
tru calling (fox)
two and a half men (cbs)
ultimate vacation sweepstakes (tnn)
untitled gilmore girls project (wb)
untitled robert evans project (comedy_central)
who wants to be a superhero? (wb)
whoopi (nbc)
wonderfalls (fox)
entire renewed show lineup for summer and fall
20/20 (abc)
48 hours investigates (cbs)
60 minutes (cbs)
60 minutes II (cbs)
according to jim (abc)
alias (abc)
american dreams (nbc)
american idol: the search for a superstar (fox)
america's funniest home videos (abc)
america's most wanted (fox)
andromeda (syndication)
angel (wb)
bachelor, the (abc)
bachelorette, the (abc)
bernie mac show, the (fox)
blind date (syndication)
boomtown (nbc)
boston public (fox)
c.s.i.: crime scene investigation (cbs)
c.s.i.: miami (cbs)
cedric the entertainer presents (fox)
charmed (wb)
chris isaak show, the (showtime)
chris matthews show, the (syndication)
cops (fox)
crank yankers (comedy_central)
crossing jordan (nbc)
crossing over with john edward (syndication)
curb your enthusiasm (hbo)
dateline nbc (friday) (nbc)
dateline nbc (sunday) (nbc)
district, the (cbs)
dr. phil (syndication)
ed (nbc)
eight simple rules (abc)
enterprise (upn)
entertainment tonight (syndication)
er (nbc)
everwood (wb)
everybody loves raymond (cbs)
ex-treme dating (syndication)
extreme makeover (abc)
family feud (syndication)
fear factor (nbc)
fifth wheel, the (syndication)
frasier (nbc)
fraternity life (mtv)
friends (nbc)
george lopez show, the (abc)
gilmore girls (wb)
girlfriends (upn)
good morning, miami (nbc)
grounded for life (wb)
guardian, the (cbs)
hack (cbs)
half & half (upn)
high school reunion (wb)
j.a.g. (cbs)
jamie kennedy experiment, the (wb)
jerry springer show, the (syndication)
joe millionaire (fox)
john walsh show, the (syndication)
judge hatchett (syndication)
judge joe brown (syndication)
judge judy (syndication)
judging amy (cbs)
king of queens, the (cbs)
king of the hill (fox)
l.a. dragnet (abc)
law & order (nbc)
law & order: criminal intent (nbc)
law & order: special victims unit (nbc)
less than perfect (abc)
life with bonnie (abc)
malcolm in the middle (fox)
martha stewart living (syndication)
maury povich show, the (syndication)
mole, the (abc)
monday night football (abc)
mutant x (syndication)
my life is a sitcom (abc_family)
my wife & kids (abc)
n.y.p.d. blue (abc)
oliver beene (fox)
one on one (upn)
oprah winfrey show, the (syndication)
parkers, the (upn)
people's court, the (syndication)
practice, the (abc)
primetime live (monday) (abc)
primetime live (thursday) (abc)
pyramid (syndication)
real world/road rules challenge (mtv)
reba (wb)
ricki lake (syndication)
scrubs (nbc)
seventh heaven (wb)
she spies (syndication)
simpsons, the (fox)
smallville (wb)
sopranos, the (hbo)
sorority life (mtv)
south park (comedy_central)
still standing (cbs)
surreal life, the (wb)
survivor (cbs)
texas justice (syndication)
that '70s show (fox)
third watch (nbc)
twenty four (fox)
wanda at large (fox)
wayne brady show, the (syndication)
west wing, the (nbc)
what i like about you (wb)
who wants to be a millionaire (syndication)
will & grace (nbc)
without a trace (cbs)
wonderful world of disney, the (abc)
wwe smackdown (upn)
yes, dear (cbs)
 
I watched a special on Court TV about current up-coming line ups on ABC, CBS, FOX, WB, and UPN.

They stated that the realality shows were not getting the networks as many rateings as they were getting when they first ordered them and other programs wouldn't advertise them because of so many realality shows. They were now looking and depending on ordering crime based scripted shows instead, this giving them more chance of rateing and advertisment support. Supernatural, suspense, drama, or comedy, they were were looking for line ups.

C.S.I Miami, Tru Calling, The O.C, N.Y.P.D Blue, and past crime shows were mentioned.
 
Already Fox is messing with their lineup.

Fox announced today that The OC will start on TUESDAY, August 5'th at 9pm following American Idol Juniors, replacing the struggling new drama Keen Eddie.

Then sometime in the fall, it will move to Thursdays at 9pm, following Tru Calling.

So already Fox has backed off their plans to have The OC established on Thursdays before premiering Tru Calling. It will be an all new lineup on Thursdays.
 
I'm wondering how much more changing Fox will do to their fall lineup now.

American Juniors ratings are really falling off. It was Fox's intention to have American Idol & American Junior share the Tues @ 8pm spot, and not have to keep swapping out another show and American Idol. So they committed to a 2'nd season of American Junior before the 1'st season was even on.

American Juniors premiered okay, but it's ratings are now slipping. It only scored 5.3 on Tuesday and on Wednesday, it's scored only a 4.3. If the ratings keep falling, there's no way they can justify a 2'nd season. Since it's a one-shot type show with no reruns, it had to get higher ratings to justify the expensive production costs.

Also, Fox expected American Junior to be a good lead-in for The OC in August, which would be then moved to Thurs and be an established show with Tru Calling. But unless American Junior can improve, it's not going to be the huge hit to bring a large audience in to watch The OC.

I would love for them to put Tru Calling on at Tues 8pm (before 24) when American Idol isn't on. You've got Buffy's audience there. Gilmore Girls is competition, but if TC pulled for American Idol during most sweeps periods, it would mainly be new episodes of TC vs reruns of Gilmore Girls. The timeslot might switch around a little during Season 1, but then it's established and can move to Thurs next season when Friends is off the air.

I also checked the baseball playoff schedule, and Fox would be airing baseball from Oct 7 - about Oct 25.

It was Fox's original intent to start TC after baseball, so it would probably premiere on Oct 30.

In August, Fox has pre-season NFL football on on Thursdays. That's why they had to move The OC to Tuesdays.

The earliest TC would premiere would be September 4'th. There would be possibly 5 episodes, then probably 3 weeks off in October for baseball. If the ratings are good, it might be able to stand that kind of layoff, if they moved reruns to another time and kept promoting the show during baseball. But that layoff absolutely killed Firefly.
 
I was under the impression that they wanted to start September 4th to try and gain Friends and Survivor viewers, before their new shows have started.

I think starting in late October would be a huge mistake on their part. Viewers would be settled into the old shows on the other Networks.

Just my .02
 
No one from Fox has ever said anything other than it starting after baseball. Their plan all along has been to start some shows early in late July or early August, then wait to after baseball in November sweeps to roll out the rest of the lineup.

There's been speculation that starting TC in September would work, but all the quotes from the Fox execs point to them premiering it in October or November.

But Fox changes their minds all the time, so it's kind of useless to over-analyze anything they say.
 
http://www.thefutoncritic.com/cgi/gofuton.cgi?action=newswire&id=6063

Fox is moving the struggling summer drama, Keen Eddie, to Thursdays at 9 starting July 24'th.

Fox has 7 more episodes of the show to air, which would go thru September 4'th. Keen Eddie hasn't been put back into production for a full season, so they don't have any more episodes of it after that and I doubt it's really going to effect TC, but it's just more of Fox messing with their schedule.

Edit- Scratch that. Fox has preseason NFL football on 2 Thursdays in August. That was why they couldn't put the OC on on Thursdays.

So there could possibily be 3 episodes of Keen Eddie on in September. Promoting it during preseason football might be Fox's idea too. I don't think Keen Eddie has high enough ratings to justify keeping it on instead of Tru Calling.

Also, it looks like Fox isn't going to air the special "101 Things Removed from the Human Body" on July 31'st, as previously scheduled. All of humanity thanks them.
 
ABC has tenatively announced their Thursday night lineup for September.

Sept 4'th - Monday Night Football on a special night
Sept 11'th - News coverage for 9/11 aniversary
Sept 18'th - ABC premieres their new Thursday night lineup.


http://www.thefutoncritic.com/cgi/gofuton.cgi?action=newswire&id=6066

Fox is probably waiting to see what the other networks are doing to announce a date. With NFL football on ABC on Sept 4, they might just put Keen Eddie on then, and also on Sept 11'th, if Fox doesn't also have a news special.
 
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