Byron Cohen/FOXCancellation was the name of the game during Fox boss Kevin Reilly's panel at Fox's press tour today. The shows in question? Longtime favorite House, cult favorite Fringe and the freshman drama Terra Nova.
Another cancellation addressed by Reilly? Whether or not Steve Jones would be returning The X Factor for its second season.
So is Fox cleaning House? And has Fringe lived to see its last season?
Cleaning House? At Fox's summer press tour in August, Reilly seemed to think this season of House would be its last. Now? He's not so sure. When asked if this will be the last season of the medical drama, Reilly says, "I think I've just been avoiding it. It's hard to imagine the network without House." Though a decision has yet to be made, the Fox boss says creator David Shore will be involved in the process. "It's not going to be like the pink slip goes out and that's the end of House," he explains. "We agreed mutually to put it off until the first of the year. We haven't had the big meeting about what do we want to do. We're going to size everything up."
Don't worry, longtime House fans. Reilly says, "Should it be the last season, it's not going to be an unceremonious ending." However, don't hold your breath for any House spinoffs. Reilly says the time has come and gone for that opportunity. "We're not in that desperate place where we're trying to keep some vestige of it going," he says.
Hosting Change: The biggest question after The X Factor's first season is whether or not Steve Jones will return for season two, given viewers' tepid response to his hosting chops. While Reilly says (again) no decision has been made, he hinted that Jones' exit is a definite possibility, saying "there will be changes" when the show returns. "The only thing I'll say is [hosting] is a much harder job than meets the eye," he says. "Everyone has come to realize the value of a Ryan Seacrest." And speaking of Seacrest, Reilly spoke briefly about reports that it was too expensive to keep the Idol host. "It would be hard to imagine the show without him. I really want to keep him. It's a deal issue. It's a tough negotiation, and one that will come to conclusion pretty quickly."
Is Terra Nova Going Extinct? There's no denying that expectations were extremely high for the freshman drama, given its special effects and big budget. Like House, no decision has been made about the future of Terra Nova. "We've done a good job of avoiding some of these big decisions," he says. "I do feel fortunate that we have some high-class problems, that being one of them."
While Reilly is happy with the show's performance, saying, "we made money on it, the studio made money on it, the audience enjoyed it," he does admit that "the perception got away from us at a certain point." Still, a decision is going to be made soon, Reilly promises. "If we had a bit more holes in out schedule, we'd be thrilled to lock that right in. We're going to decide very soon because it does need to get back into production."
Fringe on the Fringe: "Fringe has been a point of pride," Reilly says when asked about the future of the sci-fi favorite. "I share the passion for the show that the fans have. I love the fans that they stuck with it and went to Friday's with it. It's vastly improved our Friday nights. The hesitation in my voice is that it's an expensive show, we lose a lot of of money on that show. On that night, it's almost impossible to make money on it. We're not in the business of losing money. Please don't start the letter writing campaign yet. I'm not quietly doing the soft cancel yet. We haven't even sat down with the studio yet."
So...Should we maybe at least buy the pen and paper for that Fringe campaign? Just sayin'.
Bones Fans Needn't Worry: Creator Hart Hanson assured us during the panel for The Finder that Bones most likely will be back next year. "I'm very confident that we'll come to an agreement and have an eighth season of Bones," he told reporters. "We're all excited about it. We have story ideas. Putting Booth and Brennan together and raising a child, as far as we're concerned, reinvigorated our series. There are still a lot of stories to tell in the Bones universe."
Which show are you most rooting for to stick around? Hit the comments.