CBS has ordered four new series, including its reboot of Hawaii 5-0 starring Alex O’Loughlin, the Jim Belushi legal drama Defenders, the Tom Selleck police drama Blue Bloods, and the plus-sized comedy Mike and Molly.
Noticeably missing from the Eye’s first wave of pickups: The Criminal Minds spinoff. But CBS’ upfront is still two days away, so there’s still time. THIS JUST IN: The Minds offshoot is a go!
Image Credit: Sylvain Gaboury/PR Photos; Glenn Harris/PR Photos; Albert L. Ortega/PR Photos; Tina Gill/PR PhotosFox will add three new dramas and four new comedies to the schedule next season that is “designed to be aggressive, not just to maintain.” Talking with reporters today in anticipation of the network’s presentation to advertisers in New York, Entertainment President Kevin Reilly touted the network’s new “modern-day Dallas” in Lonestar that stars Jon Voight (24) and talked about the coup in scoring Keri Russell (Felicity) for the comedy Running Wilde that also stars Will Arnett. He also announced that Fox will air a special episode of Glee when the network airs the Super Bowl next year.
As usual, the conversation veered toward American Idol and its future without judge Simon Cowell. ”Auditions don’t begin until September, so we do have time,” explains Fox Entertainment Chairman Peter Rice. ”There is no bigger question for the summer.”
By far, the network’s most ambitious project for next season is Terra Nova, a high-concept drama from the auspices of Steven Spielberg, ex-Fox Chairman Peter Chernin, agent-turned-producer Aaron Kaplan and scribe Brannon Braga (24). The prehistoric, time-traveling drama is in pre-production and has yet to be cast but Reilly says they’ve already hired the production designer from Avatar to work on the special effects (the show will feature dinosaurs). Because of the size of the production — it is expected to shoot in Hawaii — the show has yet to earn a time slot on the midseason schedule.
Finally, Fox did not say what it plans to do on Saturdays now that it has canceled The Wanda Sykes Show.
MONDAY
8:00-9:00 PM House
9:00-10:00 PM Lonestar (new)
TUESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM Glee
9:00-9:30 PM Raising Hope (new)
9:30-10:00 PM Running Wilde (new)
WEDNESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM Lie to Me
9:00-10:00 PM Hell’s Kitchen
THURSDAY
8:00-9:00 PM Bones
9:00-10:00 PM Fringe
FRIDAY
8:00-9:00 PM Human Target
9:00-10:00 PM The Good Guys
SATURDAY
8:00-8:30 PM COPS
8:30-9:00 PM COPS
9:00-10:00 PM America’s Most Wanted
SUNDAY
7:00-8:00 PM The OT (NFL post-game)
8:00-8:30 PM The Simpsons
8:30-9:00 PM The Cleveland Show
9:00-9:30 PM Family Guy
9:30-10:00 PM American Dad
Fox midseason schedule
MONDAY
8:00-9:00 PM House
9:00-10:00 PM Lonestar / Ride-Along (new)
TUESDAY
8:00-9:30 PM American Idol performance show
9:30-10:00 PM Running Wilde (new) / Mixed Signals (new; spring)
WEDNESDAY
8:00-8:30 PM Raising Hope
8:30-9:00 PM American Idol results show
9:00-10:00 PM Glee
THURSDAY
8:00-9:00 PM Bones
9:00-10:00 PM Fringe
FRIDAY
8:00-9:00 PM Human Target
9:00-10:00 PM Kitchen Nightmares
SATURDAY
8:00-8:30 PM COPS
8:30-9:00 PM COPS
9:00-10:00 PM America’s Most Wanted
SUNDAY
7:00-7:30 PM The Simpsons (encores)
7:30-8:00 PM American Dad
8:00-8:30 PM The Simpsons
8:30-9:00 PM Bob’s Burgers (new)
9:00-9:30 PM Family Guy
9:30-10:00 PM The Cleveland Show
Here are descriptions of the new shows:
Raising Hope A single-camera family comedy from Greg Garcia (My Name Is Earl) about a family that receives an unexpected new member into their already flawed household. Stars Cloris Leachman and Martha Plimpton.
Running Wilde A romantic comedy starring Will Arnett as an immature playboy trying to win the heart of his childhood sweetheart, played by Keri Russell.
Lonestar From the creators of Party of Five, this Texas-based soap opera about big oil families stars Adrianne Palicki and Jon Voight.
Bob’s Burgers A new animated series about a man, his family and a burger joint.
Terra Nova A time-traveling drama back to prehistoric earth from executive producers Steven Spielberg, Peter Chernin, Brannon Braga and David Fury (it has yet to be scheduled).
Ride-Along A Chicago-based cop drama starring Jason Clarke. It’s from Shawn Ryan (The Shield).
Image Credit: Eric McCandless/ABC; Inset: Ron Tom/ABCSPOILER ALERT: If you have yet to watch last night’s Desperate Housewives finale, stop reading now. I repeat, if you have yet to watch last night’s Desperate Housewives finale, stop reading now. For the last time, if you have yet to watch last night’s Desperate Housewives finale, stop reading now. Everyone else, onward and downward…
In tonight’s Desperate Housewives season finale, the show welcomed back — as a series regular — Mark Moses as literal lady killer Paul Young. But that’s old news. Here’s some new news: When we return to Wisteria Lane next fall, he just might be joined by the amazing Harriet Samson Harris as his victim’s vigilante sister, Felicia. READ FULL STORY »
Conan O’ Brien won’t be returning to his old Tonight Show sound stage to shoot his new talk show for TBS. Though his old custom-made stage on the Universal lot sits largely vacant since he stepped down as host in January, it was announced today that O’Brien will perform his new TBS gig from Stage 15 on Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank, Calif. O’Brien’s hour-long, yet-to-be-titled show will air Mondays through Thursdays at 11 p.m. (ET/PT) starting in November, and will be followed by Lopez Tonight at midnight.
“I can’t wait to interview the cast of Jersey Shore on the same lot where they filmed Casablanca,” said O’Brien in a statement. He’s currently touring the United States and Canada with his live show, “Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour.”
It wouldn’t have been that shocking for O’Brien and TBS to rent his old Tonight Show space from NBC Universal. Entertainment companies rent studio space to the competition all the time: The CBS-owned lot at the corner of Fairfax Avenue and Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles, for example, is home to American Idol and Dancing with the Stars, two of the highest rated shows on TV. The lot also has enough space to accommodate (soon-to-be-canceled) The Wanda Sykes Show, Fox’s late-night talk show that airs on Saturdays, and CBS’ own The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.
Having O’Brien tape from the Burbank lot, however, keeps it all in the family since Warner Bros, like TBS and EW, are owned by Time Warner.
Image Credit: Paul Drinkwater/NBC; Will Hart/NBC; Mitchell Haaseth/NBC; Dean Hendler/NBCEncouraging news (somewhat) for disappointed fans of the canceled Law & Order and Heroes: NBC will talk to the creators about producing either a two-hour movie or some kind of event to give the shows closure next season (unfortunately, there are no air dates yet). And though Parks & Recreation didn’t make the cut on Thursdays this fall – NBC chose instead to launch the new half-hour Outsourced at 9:30 to lead into the hour-long comedy Love Bites – NBC promised that Amy Poehler’s laugher will not only return by midseason but possibly earn the 9:30 p.m. berth behind The Office.
“It was our toughest decision to make,” NBC/Universal TV Entertainment Chairman Jeff Gaspin told reporters Sunday in anticipation of the network’s upfront presentation Monday in New York. “But to get new comedies on our schedule, Thursday is still the best place to launch. We expect Parks and Recreation to be back on the schedule Thursday and it’s not any way an indication that we don’t think it’s as good as any other comedy. We’ve learned from cable that you can wait as long as a year, create more anticipation and not lose any momentum.”
NBC will unveil five new comedies, seven new drama series and one new reality program for the 2010-11 season to advertisers on Monday. The network hopes to convey a message of consistency – at least when it comes to the common theme of its shows. “I think there is a realism that is consistent throughout all of our dramas,” explains Angela Bromstad, NBC’s primetime entertainment president. “If you are going to do a law franchise, you have to find a way to make it different. With Kathy Bates and David E. Kelley’s dialogue (in Harry’s Law), we’ll have a distinct provocative character like Hugh Laurie as House. It will be the same with Outlaw with Jimmy Smits. Chase is very much a straight ahead procedural but with an adrenaline rush. We tried to be as broad as possible but at same time a little more distinctive.”
Bromstad didn’t reveal too much about the back and forth discussions she had with uber-producer Dick Wolf about airing another season of Law & Order, other than to say everyone “knew the mother ship was coming to an end at some point. Ultimately it was our decision. We felt it was time to move forward and reinvent the brand.” As for launching a Los Angeles version this fall, Bromstad stressed the importance of keeping the brand name in the title – however unoriginal it may sound to critics. “It’s the most successful franchise in the history of TV,” she insisted. “In this cluttered environment, it’s to our advantage to keep.”
As for picking up another season of the low-rated Chuck, Bromstad explained that “it came as a wild card. It performed solidly for us. We can’t change every hour of the schedule at once, so we were looking for stability and it was a good companion for The Event.”
Finally, Bromstad said the network’s much-ballyhooed remake of The Rockford Files will go back to the drawing board for a possible debut later this year or in fall 2011. But Beach Lane, the Matthew Broderick starrer about a millionaire (Patton Oswalt) who hires a celebrity author (Broderick) to help his struggling newspaper in the Hamptons, didn’t make the cut for fall. And remember Day One – the apocalyptic drama developed by Heroes’ Jesse Alexander? Yeah, it’ll never see the light of day. There was talk of burning it off as a movie but even that plan is dead now. Here’s the official fall schedule:
MONDAY
8-9 p.m. Chuck
9-10 p.m. The Event
10-11 p.m. Chase
TUESDAY
8-10 p.m. The Biggest Loser
10-11 p.m. Parenthood
WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m. Undercovers
9-10 p.m. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
10-11 p.m. L&O: Los Angeles
THURSDAY
8- 8:30 p.m. Community
8:30-9 p.m. 30 Rock
9-9:30 p.m. The Office
9:30-10 p.m. Outsourced
10-11 p.m. Love Bites
FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. Who Do You Think You Are?/School Pride
9-10 p.m. Dateline NBC
10-11 p.m. Outlaw
SATURDAY
Reruns
SUNDAY
7- 8:15 p.m. Football Night in America
8:15-11:30 p.m. NBC Sunday Night Football
SUNDAY (beginning March 2011)
7-8 p.m. Dateline NBC
8-9 p.m. Minute to Win It
9-11 p.m. The Celebrity Apprentice
The new series The Cape, Friends With Benefits, Perfect Couples, Harry’s Law and The Paul Reiser Show will premiere later in the season along with a new version of The Apprentice, The Marriage Ref and the new series America’s Next Great Restaurant starring celebrity chef/restaurateur Bobby Flay.
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UPDATE: Judging by the comments, this spoiler was already, um, spoiled a few days ago. In my defense, I’ve been very busy.
Either Grey’s Anatomy boss lady Shonda Rhimes has relaxed her anti-spoiler stance or someone made a huge goof. I’m talking about ABC’s decision to release the following clip from Thursday’s two-hour season finale that features a spoiler so big I’m not even going to tease it with asterisks. Press play below if you dare! (And for the record, this is not related to a certain blind item I posted a few weeks back.) READ FULL STORY »
UPDATE: Trailers for all of NBC’s new shows can be found here.
Insiders are confirming that the following NBC schedule — which the trades got a hold of this AM — is legit. The highlights? 30 Rock moving to 8:30, Parks and Recreation being held to midseason, and the romantic anthology Love Bites landing the Thursday at 10 pm perch. READ FULL STORY »
UPDATE: Here’s NBC’s new fall schedule!
The wait is almost over: Upfront week officially kicks off in a few hours with the announcement of NBC’s new fall schedule (the network unveils the sked to advertisers tomorrow morning). In the meantime, here’s a quick rundown of the latest pickup/cancellation buzz… READ FULL STORY »
TBS and the Fox TV stations nabbed the off-net rights to The Big Bang Theory beginning in the fall of 2011, it was announced today. The comedy cabler, along with Fox stations located in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Dallas, among others, will air the reruns as weekday, or five-day-a-week, strips.
“The Big Bang Theory presents an increasingly rare proposition for broadcast stations and cable services: the chance to acquire a traditional, multi-camera, A-tier comedy that is still expanding its audience on network television and which is poised for continued growth in future seasons, making it an asset that will only increase in value for Fox and TBS for years to come,” according to Ken Werner, President, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. “A-tier sitcoms are a very rare breed that only come along once in a television generation. Past generations have each had their examples: Seinfeld, Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond and Two and a Half Men have each transformed the performance of their broadcast and cable outlets.”
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NBC just wrapped up its fall 2010 orders by picking up a reality show called School Pride from Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Denise Cramsey (Extreme Makeover: Home Edition). The feel-good series will give communities the chance to fix up their aging schools and was inspired by a similar (though untelevised) effort in Compton, Calif., in which the locals spruced up a local campus.
Just like what happens on ABC’s Home Edition, camera crews will follow volunteers as they turn around a school. The show was announced as an NBC special earlier this year.
NBC is expected to announce its fall lineup Monday in New York.
Click here for Lynette Rice’s full report on the demise of Heroes. My Bubble Show Scorecard has been updated.
Image Credit: Chris Haston/NBCIt seemed inevitable but the news is nonetheless shocking: NBC’s drama Heroes won’t be back for a fifth season. The beleaguered drama only averaged 6.5 million viewers this year. It last aired on Feb. 8, when it only brought in a mere 4.4 million.
The show never managed to recapture those stellar ratings from its critically-beloved first season, when it averaged a whopping 14.5 million. There has been talk that NBC may air a movie that allows the producers to wrap up the story, but nothing has been set in stone. NBC will announce its fall lineup to advertisers Monday in New York.
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Image Credit: Albert L. Ortega/PR Photos (2)Shonda Rhimes’ schedule just got a little busier. ABC has picked up the Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice boss’ latest medical-themed drama, Off the Map, for fall. Additionally, the Alphabet network has ordered to series Body of Proof, a crime procedural starring former Desperate Housewives star Dana Delany. READ FULL STORY »
James Hibberd
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Lynette Rice
@EWLynette
