Sadly, this is it. The end of Upfronts week. Traditionally FOX has the last announcements of the season and they've made a pledge to keep their presentations this year to a shorter-than-short one-hour, a welcome respite from this week's low points which included a song-and-dance from the cast of Ugly Betty, a gruesomely dull (and yet unintentionally hilarious) interactive Bingo Night preview, and Les Moonves using the word "dude."Will FOX do something zany like shift their popular Sunday night animation block to the middle of the week? Or push Bones to Friday? Let's find out.
"This is the most stable and most vibrant schedule ever presented by FOX one that is sure to help us secure our fourth consecutive season as the No. 1 network in key demos," said FOX Entertainment President Peter Liguori. "We'll have a balanced schedule across the week, and we expect a significantly stronger fourth quarter. And in early 2008, 24 and American Idol, along with unprecedented sporting events in primetime including the Super Bowl on Feb. 3 will allow us to launch additional series and position ourselves for another dominant season.
We'll have returning shows on six nights in the fall and every night of the week come January. We're introducing new series that are distinctive, compelling, and which have impressive auspices. New series will be paired with returning hits to create a balanced, competitive, solid schedule"
Without further ado, here's a look at FOX's official schedule now.
FOX Primetime Schedule for the 2007-08 Season (Fall):
MONDAY
8-9 pm: Prison Break
9-10 pm: K-Ville
TUESDAY
8-9 pm: New Amsterdam
9-10 pm: House
WEDNESDAY
8-8:30 pm: Back to You
8:30-9 pm: 'Til Death
9-10 pm: Bones
THURSDAY
8-9 pm: Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?
9-10 pm: Kitchen Nightmares
FRIDAY
8-9 pm: The Search for the Next Great American Band
9-10 pm: Nashville
SATURDAY
8-9 pm: COPS
9-10 pm: America's Most Wanted
11 pm-Midnight: MADtv
Midnight-12:30 am: Talk Show with Spike Feresten
SUNDAY
7-8 pm: The OT (NFL post-game)
8-8:30 pm: The Simpsons
8:30-9 pm: King of the Hill
9-9:30 pm: Family Guy
9:30-10 pm: American Dad
FOX Primetime Schedule for the 2007-08 Season (Midseason):
MONDAY
8-9 pm: K-Ville (January)/Prison Break
9-10 pm: 24
TUESDAY
8-9 pm: American Idol
9-10 pm: House
WEDNESDAY (January)
8-8:30 pm: Back to You
8:30-9 pm: 'Til Death
9-10 pm: American Idol
WEDNESDAY (Spring)
8-8:30 pm: Back to You
8:30-9 pm: The Return of Jezebel James
9-9:30 pm: American Idol Results Show
9:30-10 pm: 'Til Death
THURSDAY
8-9 pm: Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?
9-10 pm: Canterbury's Law
FRIDAY
8-9 pm: Bones
9-10 pm: New Amsterdam
SATURDAY
8-9 pm: COPS
9-10 pm: America's Most Wanted
11 pm-Midnight: MADtv
Midnight-12:30 am: Talk Show with Spike Feresten
SUNDAY
7-7:30 pm: King of the Hill
7:30-8 pm: American Dad
8-8:30 pm: The Simpsons
8:30-9 pm: Family Guy
9-10 pm: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
For those of you keeping track of such things, here's how the FOX schedule stacks up.
Returning Series:
Bones, House, Prison Break, 'Til Death, The Simpsons, American Dad, King of the Hill, Family Guy, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?, COPS, America's Most Wanted, MADtv, Talk Show with Spike Feresten
New Series:
Back to You, Kitchen Nightmares, K-Ville, New Amsterdam, The Search for the Next Great American Band, Nashville
Midseason Launches/Returns:
24, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, American Idol, Canterbury's Law, The Return of Jezebel James, The Rules for Starting Over
Summer Launch:
Anchorwoman, So You Think You Can Dance, On the Lot, Hell's Kitchen
Cancelled:
Drive, Wedding Bells, The O.C., Standoff
Reactions:
As usual, FOX has announced both its fall and spring schedules, shifting a few series around (and bringing in a few new ones) once 24 and American Idol return in January. Launching Sarah Connor Chronicles on Sunday nights in January, rather than behind 24? Gutsy, though it's the same timeslot that made The X-Files a global phenomenon.
I wish that Jezebel James was launching in the fall (need my AS-P fix ASAP) rather than midseason, though I have to be honest and say that I wasn't blown away by the sizzle reel they assembled for the new midseason comedy (I'll watch the pilot itself tomorrow night and report back).
Kitchen Nightmares could be some good counter-programming or it could backfire completely (after all, I'm devoted to The Office as much as I love Ramsay's original UK version), but it will probably find some traction behind Are You Smarter?
No interest in K-Ville. Sorry, but it's true. I'll be watching the pilot next week but it's not on my radar whatsoever.
Why in the world would they order Nashville? Friday nights seem doomed as usual over on the FOX network. I wish they'd stick New Amsterdam over there now rather than in midseason. And where, oh where, will The Rules for Starting Over go come spring? Hmm...
And thus ends another network upfronts week. Whew. It's been a tiring one, but I do love my recycled billboard tote from the CW. It's a nifty gifty.
Comments
Washington, DC May 14, 2007- America's Hot Musician, a reality competition for instrumental musicians, www.americashotmusician.org, may seek an injunction to halt the broadcast of Search for The Next Great American Band, a spin off of American Idol by its producers FreemantleMedia North America.
American Youth Symphony (AYS), a non-profit organization promoting instrumental music in the MTV/Hip Hop Generation and producers of America's Hot Musician, contends possible copyright infringement.
According to Variety.com, Cecile Frot-Coutaz of FreemantleMedia said,"the 'Idol' brain trust first decided to do the new show at the end of last year's 'Idol'."We sort of thought it was a no-brainer and asked ourselves why we hadn't thought of it before," she said. "It's a natural extension of 'Idol'."
However, American Youth Symphony contends it had conversations with FreemantleMedia in February 2006, three to four months before the American Idol season ended, "as a good faith measure to alert them about our program and to make sure no potential legal conflicts existed", says Gregory Charles Royal, Artistic Director of AYS and creator of America's Hot Musician."We shared our format and title ideas and were given a greenlight as far as they were concerned. Their only caveat was against any use of the word 'Idol' in our title", says Royal.
America's Hot Musician ran as a pilot on YouTube and several PEG channels across the United States in 2006. Currently, the national version of the show will debut on the Oxygen Network in July, 2007 and begins taping in late May. Musicians from all over the country will compete and the show features National Symphony Orchestra Violinist Marissa Regni, Ex-Kittie Bassist Talena Atfield and Royal, a former trombonist with the Duke Ellington Orchestra.
The program formats are very similar in particular, that musicians of every genre are allowed, audition rounds, interpersonal exploration of the competitors, number of semi finalists and finalists, and frequency. Also, it is unclear whether bands- as opposed to individual musicians-are truly the focus of the show.
"We may seek some sort of injunctive relief because aside from the possible copyright issues, the FreemantleMedia producers seem, according to published reports, intent on rushing their show to the marketplace, which would be in direct competition with our program set to air beginning July," says Susan Veres, AYS Executive Director.
"The mission of our program, to promote instrumental music in the MTV/Hip Hop Generation,and provide non-traditional music advertisers, such as schools, a platform to recruit on national television, is too important a cause not to fight for", says Royal.
Thanks