Fox Picks Up Four Shows, Dumps Five

Good news today for fans of Manic Pixie Dream Girls and bad news for fans of White Sox-loving cops. With the fall season coming to a close and network upfronts on their way, Fox has picked up four new shows, including The New Girl, a Zooey Deschanel vehicle that features Mrs. Ben Gibbard as a suddenly single teacher who moves in with three guys. Also picked up were J.J. Abrams’ Alcatraz, I Hate My Teenage Daughter, and a Bones spin-off, Finder. To make room, the network is dropping poor performers Breaking In, The Human Target, Lie to Me, Traffic Light, and Sean Ryan’s cop drama The Chicago Code. Rumor is the rest of their lineup will be filled with shows with singing and Seth McFarlane. [Ed. Note: That was a startlingly accurate joke]

2010 Upfronts: Fox

Upfront week continues with our second of the day, Fox.

Monday

The network’s biggest drama, House, kicks off the week for the network at 8 on Monday nights. It will be followed by two new dramas, the first being Lonestar from “Party of Five” creators Chris Keyser and Amy Lippman, their first new show in 10 years. The show is more or less a prime time soap opera set in the Texas oil business. It will be replaced in the spring by the new show from The Sheild creator Shawn Ryan called Ride-Along, a Chicago based cop drama starring Jason Clarke (Brotherhood), Jennifer Beals and Delroy Lindo.

Tuesday

We’ll finally see just what Glee is made of, as it kicks off the comedy night without a lead-in from So You Think You Can Dance or American Idol. Instead, Fox is banking on it being a good lead in for a few new comedies. First is Raising Hope, the new comedy from My Name is Earl creator Greg Garcia, in which a slacker not only discovers he has a child he didn’t know about, but he has to raise it when the mother gets sent to jail. Next is the most anticipated new comedy of the season, Running Wilde, which features an Arrested Development reunion of Will Arnett, creator Mitch Hurowitz, and AD producer Jim Valley. The show is about an immature, rich, jerky guy (Arnett) who decides to woo the much more put together and nicer Kerri Russel, who was his childhood sweetheart. In the spring when American Idol returns, it will go on for 90 minutes starting at 8, followed by either Running Wilde or another new show Mixed Signals, a show about three guys in all sorts of wacky romantic adventures. Sounds original!

Wednesday

In the fall, the surprisingly renewed Lie to Me will kick things off at 8 and will be followed by Hell’s Kitchen at 9. In the Spring, the Idol results show and Raising Hope will serve as the lead in to Glee at 9.

Thursday

Nothing will change with the Thursday night lineup, with Bones and Fringe leading the charge.

Friday

The Human Target landed itself on virtual Death Row for Fox at 8 on Friday (see: Terminator, Dollhouse), and it will be followed up by the bland buddy cop summer series The Good Guys, which will continue through the fall. Kitchen Nightmares will take over 9pm slot in the spring.

Sunday

The Sunday Animation Bloc will return as normal in the Fall, with football coverage preceding The Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, and The Cleveland Show. In the Spring, a new show, Bob’s Burgers, will join them.

Other Notes

The Speilberg produced Terra Nova, which is about a family that time travels to prehistoric times to save humanity, did not get scheduled, which doesn’t bode well for the show. The rumor is that Fox wanted several 24 writers to take over the show, including Brannon Braga, who was widely unpopular when he was in charge of the Star Trek series.

Other than that, it’s hard to say what we’ll get from Fox. Their shows tend to either be successful and widely popular, or they die quickly or painfully. Running Wilde has the most promise given how awesome Will Arnett and Keri Russell are. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see…

Bubble Watch: January 28, 2010 Edition

It’s hard to remember that in the midst of the Late Night Controversy that just ended, we had our first big cancellation of the year with the horrid Jay Leno Show. Sadly, that means it’s time to start Bubble Watch, a semi-regular feature where we check in on some notable shows that are on the bubble of being canceled or renewed. We’ve developed a scale: 0 for goner, 5 for up in the air, and 10 for sticking around. We’ll keep updates coming as we hear them, but here’s what we have in the early goings:

Better Off Ted
Ted hasn’t exactly been a ratings winner in its short time on the air, despite it’s quirky charm. The chances of cancellation seem pretty high given its anemic numbers, but there’s still hope it could become a cheap summer show or jump to another network. Content wise, the best place it would fit would be Comedy Central or FX, but it’s a little to smart of Comedy Central and not quite edgy enough for those brash folks at FX. Either way, we’re hoping Veridian is around for a little longer.
Cancellation Scale: 1

Heroes
For a show that was so good when it started, Heroes‘ slow fall from the top has at times been painful to watch. Its ratings this season have been way down, hardly resembling the hit of season one. With a budget that’s probably too big for cable, I’d say the cancellation chances are very high. At least we’ll get Zachary Quinto in another Star Trek movie.
Cancellation Scale: 0

Scrubs
Like Heroes, Scrubs was once a good show. When ABC picked it up for last season, it was about giving the original cast and characters an ending. This season has more or less been a spin-off, but it’s foolishly been branded with the franchise name. It’s been just plain bad, in content and in the ratings, and is almost assuredly done.
Cancellation Scale: 0

Parks and Recreation / Community
Both of these shows are in similar boats, so we’ll group them together. Parks and Rec suffered from bad reviews in its first year, but has built up a following in its terrific second year. Community has a solid following too as the lead-off hitter in NBC’s comedy lineup. The chances for both are pretty good as a result of the Jay Leno cancellation. Keep in mind, NBC has to fill 5 hours a week now in his old slot, not to mention holes in its lineup next year from possible cancellations of Heroes, Trauma, and Mercy. They aren’t guaranteed to stick around, but the chances are on the good side.
Cancellation Scale: 6

Fringe
A big time bubble show, Fringe is most likely in a dogfight with Lie to Me as to which show is going to stick around, and I’m hinging my bet on Lie to Me, mostly because Fringe has been a disappointment, while Lie to Me has done about what’s expected. There’s a chance both could stick around, but doubtful.
Cancellation Scale: 5

Flash Forward
Another highly touted sci-fi (excuse me, syfy) show that hasn’t done very well is ABC’s Flash Forward, and the chances of it sticking around aren’t very good. It comes back in mid-March, and if it continues to slide (and what show doesn’t after being off the air that long mid-season), it could be a goner. If they stay steady or improve, it might be on next season, though with greatly diminished expectations.
Cancellation Scale: 4

Notable Renewals:
How I Met Your Mother
Modern Family
Glee

Bones
The Cleveland Show

Notable Cancellations:
Dollhouse
The Jay Leno Show
Ugly Betty