FOXThe 2009 upfronts are here! Fox is up first with all sorts of goodies, including a lot more of So You Think You Can Dance (aka the dance world's finest choreography workshop and/or the Dancing With the Stars farm team), a split decision on those Friday-night genre shows and a shot of Glee for us all! What's returning, what's cancelled, what's new and what's waiting in the wings? Here's what we're hearing...
WHAT'S RETURNING?
More Dancin'! Fox is bringing season six of So You Think You Can Dance into the fall (instead of saving it until summer 2010) as both a bulwark against Dancing with the Stars' ever-growing brand power and as a fall version of Idol's two-night reality-show success. The nervous Nellie inside of us wonders if this will kill SYTYCD (Last Comic Standing never really recovered after NBC doubled down), but the SYTYCD fangirl inside of us just duct-taped Nellie's mouth shut and is now doing a Charmin-sponsored happy dance. Whee!
Dramas: Fox is bringing back most of its characteristically edgy lineup of dramas, including 800-pound gorilla House; young comer Fringe; our beloved Bones; utility player Lie To Me; and in an expected display of network grace, Joss Whedon's morally challenging zombie/incubus series Dollhouse.
WHAT'S DEAD?
Sorry TSCC fans, but at this late date it's probably safe to say that all hope for a Terminator renewal by Fox is lost. It's probably all over for Sarah Connor except for the final twitter from show runner Josh Friedman. We can offer you only sweaty big-screen Christian Bale in consolation...
WHAT'S NEW?
Fox's new series orders include a musical comedy, a sitcom and a familiar-sounding animated series.
Brothers: Fox football analyst Michael Strahan (formerly of the New York Giants) and Daryl "Chill" Mitchell (formerly of The John Larroquette Show) star in this Sony-produced comedy about, yes, two brothers. Cool cats Carl Weathers and CCH Pounder play their parents. Pretty sure Cleveland was announced as a new Fox show here at upfronts last year! There are 22 episodes already on the ledger, and Fox just ordered 13 more, so when this Family Guy spinoff finally premieres (theoretically this fall), there will be at least 35 episodes in the hopper.
The Cleveland Show: Pretty sure Cleveland was announced as a new Fox show here at upfronts last year! There are 22 episodes already on the ledger, Fox just ordered 13 more, so when this Family Guy spinoff finally premieres (theoretically this fall), there will be at least 35 episodes in the hopper.
Glee: You'll see Glee for yourself tomorrow night, you lucky kids! This musical dramedy from Ryan Murphy, the creator of the WB's Popular (and FX's not-quite-as-family-friendly Nip/Tuck), is the tale of glee-club nerds at a midwestern high school. It's inspirational and full of catchy songs waiting to be iTunes hits. It's also possibly quite expensive for the associated conglomutainment entities that make, so please watch this wonderful little show and help make it worth their while!
WHAT'S HOLDING UNTIL MIDSEASON?
Fox has ordered at least three other new series, but we probably won't see them until 2010 because Fox's fall schedule is so cramped with baseball.
Human Target: Fringe star Anna Torv's husband, Mark Valley, stars in this adaptation of the Human Target comic book. Imagine the Pretender meets Dollhouse, as Valley's character, Christopher Chance, is a bodyguard who actually impersonates his clients in order to stay between them and danger. This crime procedural investigates crimes by digging into the (multiple) past lives of victims. : No, this isn't an Arizona chapter of the Sons of Anarchy (or a cousin of the WB's Greetings from Tucson). Fox has ordered 13 eps of this half-hour comedy about three shady kids who hire a dude to play their dad while their real father is in prison. Reaper's Tyler Labine (that's Sock, yo) played the substitute father in the pilot—his presence in the full series will be determined by the future of Reaper, which reportedly could become a syndicated series.
Past Life: This crime procedural investigates crimes by digging into the (multiple) past lives of victims.
Sons of Tucson: No, Sons of Tucson isn't an Arizona chapter of the Sons of Anarchy (or a cousin of the WB's Greetings from Tucson). Fox has ordered 13 eps of this half-hour comedy about three shady kids who hire a dude to play their dad while their real father is in prison. Reaper's Tyler Labine (that's Sock, yo) played the substitute father in the pilot—his presence in the full series will be determined by the future of Reaper, which reportedly could become a syndicated series.
SCHEDULE
The official Fox schedule will be released later today, but here's some speculative noodling to get you started:
Monday: House, Lie to Me
Theme: Everybody lies.
Tuesday: SYTYCD competition (substitute Idol in spring), Fringe
Theme: None.
Wednesday: SYTYCD results (substitute Idol in spring), Glee
Theme: Fox's fabulous all-singin', all-dancin' musicale extravaganza!
Thursday: Bones, paired with Kitchen Nightmares in the fall and Past Life in the spring
Theme: Fall theme is none (or perhaps butchery), spring theme is crime-solving
Friday: 'Til Death and Brothers in the fall, and then Human Target in the spring, topped by Dollhouse at 9 in both cases
Theme: Fall theme is none, spring theme is multiple personalities
Sunday: The Simpsons, Cleveland, Family Guy, American Dad
Theme: Animation domination
So, what looks tasty on the Fox entertainment buffet?