MY OWN 2007-2008 SEASON UPFRONT GUIDE
‘Tis the season for the network up fronts. For those who don’t know, those are the presentations made by the major networks laying out their proposed Fall schedules. This means that they’ll be announcing the fates of their current shows and outlining the pilots ordered for new series. Oddly enough, a lot of the big announcements have been made a bit early, especially with NBC deciding to bring back Friday Night Lights, Medium, and Scrubs. Of course nothing is ever set in stone. Tru Calling was renewed for a second season but was cancelled before they ever even aired a single episode of the eventually burned off semi-season. Traveler was announced as a new Fall 2006 show and just premiered Thursday night. And I still wish I could find a copy of Still Life, a greenlit show that somehow never actually aired.
Still, excitement abound and a horrible feeling that some beloved shows won’t make the cut. Below, you’ll find the relevant info on the shows I watch and some pilots that have caught my eye. You can expect an updated schedule next week.
SCHEDULE OF UP FRONT PRESENTATIONS
ABC
Tuesday, May 15
4:00 PM EST
Lincoln Center
CBS
Wednesday, May 16
2:00 PM EST
Carnegie Hall
CW
Thursday, May 17
10:30 AM EST
Madison Square Garden
FOX
Thursday, May 17
4:00 PM EST
New York City Center
NBC
Monday, May 14
3:00 PM EST
Radio City Music Hall
CANCELED/ENDING SHOWS
ABC
· DAY BREAK (Didn't get a fare shake - excellent show)
· SIX DEGREES (I gave up a few episodes in when I figured out that the concept wasn’t at all what was advertised)
CW
· GILMORE GIRLS (I'm still crying inside)
FOX
· DRIVE (Brilliance cut down after 4 episodes aired - I hate FOX)
· ANDY BARKER, P.I. (Awesome show that didn't really get a shot and suffered from a difficult timeslot)
FATE TO BE DETERMINED
ABC
· KNIGHTS OF PROSPERITY, THE (A really great show that kept getting better - It's as good as cancelled)
· NINE, THE (I watched until the end, but it never really satisfied me - Also as good as cancelled)
CBS
· CLASS, THE (I really enjoyed this show and thought it kept getting better - Doesn't have a great shot of renewal apparently so I don’t expect to see any resolution to the finale’s cliffhanger)
· HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (This show is pretty amazing and I'll be very upset if it isn't picked up, which seems very likely - Luckily, the more recent rumors have it renewed - here’s hoping…)
· JERICHO (Seemed like a sure thing for renewal until it returned to much lower ratings after a long hiatus - Very good when it focuses on the action-filled plot, not so much with the human drama - The finale was the best episode yet)
CW
· SUPERNATURAL (Very fun show that looks good for renewal because the CW can use all the moderate successes it can get)
· VERONICA MARS (Apparently the CW shit themselves over the fake preview for the proposed FBI Agent Veronica version of another season, so it's looking like the more probable scenario)
FOX
· 24 (I'm sure it's going to be on the schedule for next season despite the official pickup - Supposedly there will be a big change to the feel of the show, which I welcome whole-heartedly)
· KING OF THE HILL (I believe this "season" of excellent episodes was really just leftover eps from previous, cut short seasons -Not looking promising)
· WINNER, THE (I have no idea how the very enjoyable 6 episode season did ratings-wise, which probably isn’t great for its chances)
ALREADY RENEWED
ABC
· BOSTON LEGAL (Better than I usually admit to myself, I'll surely enjoy next year)
· LOST (We get 3 16-episode seasons and apparently the producers are thrilled with this number - I'm really loving this show right now)
FOX
· FAMILY GUY (This season has shown marked improvement over last year's)
· HOUSE (I'm really digging the new focus of the show where the cases always seem to relate to more human conflicts between the main characters, making this once episodic show, ever so slightly serialized)
· PRISON BREAK (The season 2 finale threw me for a loop - Here's hoping they manage to sell this new concept)
· SIMPSONS, THE (A mainstay)
NBC
· FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (The critical praise, love from the execs, and a growing fan base finding the show online means it's actually been renewed and that’s the happiest news of the season)
· HEROES (Very happy to see that this show is still doing well - If they can keep providing us with so many fast and satisfying answers, hopefully the normally fickle TV audience won't turn on this show like they do to so many others)
· MEDIUM (I'm really thrilled this show got picked up - It deserves a smart and geeky audience, not just middle-aged females - Seriously, check out the syndicated Lifetime episodes)
· MY NAME IS EARL (great show, happy to see it return)
· OFFICE, THE (Obviosuly, I'm thrilled to see this renewed so early, especially knowing that recent ratings would have put it in a precipitous place had they not already made a decision)
· SCRUBS (A very fun show that I thought was ending because of Braff's film career and how expensive the show is, but he's apparently game and if NBC opted for a slightly shortened season, certain to be its last)
NEW OR RETURNING THIS SUMMER
ABC
· TRAVELER (I remember reading up on this when it was planned as a Fall show - I'll be giving the pilot, which I taped Thursday, a shot)
CBS
· CREATURE COMFORTS (I loooove the BBC original and can't wait to see the American version - Please watch June 4th at 8PM on CBS))
FOX
· ON THE LOT (Just my kind of reality show - I only wished I had the time, equipment, and money to have submitted a film)
· STANDOFF (Why FOX killed this show, which had decent ratings, we may never know - I'm glad we at least get to see the unaired episodes)
NBC
· STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP (Since pulling this fantastic show, every replacement has also failed - Think NBC might realize that it was more about the time slot than the show itself? No, it’s cancelled despite the airing of the final eps)
OTHER NETWORKS, OTHER SHOWS…
BRAVO
· TOP CHEF is returning sooner than I expected (June 13). It's one of the few reality shows I enjoy these days.
CARTOON NETWORK
· FUTURAMA, in a very confusing series of developments, is apparently being made into a series of direct-to-DVD movies that will then be split up and aired episodically on Cartoon Network. All this after years of no new episodes.
COMEDY CENTRAL
· DAILY SHOW and
· COLBERT REPORT are as always, my Monday through Thursday source of political news and snickering. They are ongoing.
· DRAWN TOGETHER will return this summer and I'll of course watch despite feeling guilty about it.
· FREAK SHOW is totally up in the air, and I'm really not worried either way.
· RENO 911! is finishing up its current season this Sunday and should be back next year. Hooray.
· THE SARAH SILVERMAN SHOW will be returning next year and I couldn't be happier.
· SOUTH PARK will of course return at some point this year
FX
· 30 DAYS is officially renewed with a return in the fall. it's a truly inspirational show.
· RESCUE ME is returning this Summer and I can't wait. One of my very favorite shows.
HBO
· BIG LOVE also comes back and I hope it can attract enough attention for a third season. Really great show.
· CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, after a very long break, will indeed return in the fall.
· DEADWOOD is still set to wrap up its major arcs in a series of movies, but no word on when that will be. Sigh...
· ENTOURAGE soon finished its split-up 3rd season, which has been great, and then comes back about a couple weeks later with season #4. Maybe only Hollywood is watching, but thankfully, HBO seems to think that's enough.
· EXTRAS will return with a Christmas special before sailing away, far too early.
· THE SOPRANOS is of course ending and I'll be sad to see it go. In the meantime, stop complaining about the pacing, haters. This is exactly how the show has moved since it started,
· THE WIRE is miraculously coming back at some point despite never attracting a huge audience. It’s an incredible show everyone who likes cerebral drama should watch. Season 1 is perfect for Netflix.
SCI-FI
· BATTLESTAR GALACTICA is in the early stages of a long hiatus. Next season could be the last. I do love the show, but wouldn't be sad to see things wrapped up soon.
· EUREKA returns this Summer. Fun show, if not overly exciting.
SHOWTIME
· MASTERS OF HORROR I've caught via downloads and I've enjoyed even the worst episodes so far. It's currently up in the air and I hope it keeps going. Anthology horror is almost always a good time.
· THIS AMERICAN LIFE is very cool and will return to Showtime for a second season.
USA
· THE 4400 comes back this summer as well, and I'm psyched. It's really a very satisfying sci-fi story.
(I watch a perfectly normal amount of TV, thank you very much.)
POSSIBLY INTERERSTING PILOTS…
ABC
· CAVEMEN (Already ordered to series - The half hour sitcom version of the Cavemen Geico ads with the creative team behind the commercials exploring the story of sophisticated cavemen in modern day Atlanta)
· THE HILL (Comedy about young people in Washington working at the lower levels of opposing parties with the talented Michelle Trachtenberg)
· LIFE ON MARS (David E Kelley’s take on a very cool looking BBC show about a modern detective who suddenly wakes up in the 70s)
· MISS/GUIDED (Comedy starring Judy Greer as a high school loser turned guidance counselor run by the man behind Malcolm in the Middle)
· MR. AND MRS. SMITH (TV adaptation of the feature film, produced by that film’s director, Doug Liman)
· PUSHING DAISIES (Already ordered to series - Drama co-starring Chi McBride and Kristin Chenoweth about a man who can temporarily resurrect the dead with a touch, using his power to help a detective friend while suffering the knowledge that he will kill his one true love if he ever touches her - from Barry Sonnefeld and Bryan Fuller of Heroes, Dead Like Me, and Wonderfalls)
· SUSPECT (Guy Ritchie’s TV debut starring Charles S. Dutton and Carrie-Anne Moss as detectives investigating extremely dark murders)
· THE THICK OF IT (Comedy about Washington with John Michael Higgins, Michael McKean, and Oliver Platt, created by Christopher Guest and Mitchell Hurwitz - insane talent)
CBS
· BABYLON FIELDS (Series starring Amber Tamblyn and Kathy Baker about the dead being resurrected and trying to resume their lives - produced by Michael Cuesta of Six Feet Under)
· DEMONS (Series from Barbara Hall of Joan of Arcadia about an exorcist - with Harold Perrineau)
· I’M IN HELL (Comedy about a Wall Street guy who dies in a “blackberry related car crash” and returns as a regular Joe, starring David Cross, Erica Christensen, and Jason Biggs with Frank Coraci as a director)
· LAW DOGS (A legal drama starring Janeane Garofolo produced by Tony and Ridley Scott)
· THE STUMPS OF HOLLYWOOD (Comedy starring Michael Rappaport and Nikki Cox about three homely siblings from North Carolina who pay to make one of them gorgeous and move to California to take advantage of their new good looks - Run by Greg Garcia of My Name is Earl and Todd Holland of Malcolm in the Middle and Wonderfalls)
CW
· REAPER (Drama about a bounty hunter working for the Devil, Ray Wise, tracking down escaped demons with a Kevin Smith directed pilot)
FOX
· ANIMALS (An animated comedy about suburban animals created by Adam Sandler and Robert Smigel)
· CANTERBURY’S LAW (Legal drama starring Julianna Marguiles created by Dennis Leary and Jim Serpico, creators of The Job and Rescue Me)
· NEW AMSTERDAM (Already order to series - Drama about an immortal man who has witnessed Amsterdam’s transformation into NYC who finally faces possible mortality upon meeting his one true love - Created by Lasse Hallstrom)
· THE RETURN OF JEZEBEL JAMES (Already ordered to series - From the creators of Gilmore Girls, Parker Posey and Lauren Ambrose star as estranged sisters, brought back together when one of them is looking for a surrogate mother)
· THE SARAH CONNER CHRONICLES (Already ordered to series - Series taking place between Terminator 2 and 3 following Sarah Connor’s work preparing her son to lead the revolution against the machines, with Summer Glau as their protector)
· THEM (A sci-fi drama about a sleeper cell of emotionless aliens created by a number of talented producers)
NBC
· AREA 57 (Comedy about the titular top secret location with Paul Reubens as an alien)
· THE BIONIC WOMAN (Already ordered to series - The people behind Battlestar Galactica, and Starbuck, team up for a remake of the classic series)
· FORT PIT (A drama about reject cops created by Denis Leary, Jim Serpico, and Peter Tolan of The Job and Rescue Me)
· LIPSHITZ SAVES THE WORLD (Comedy about a teenager charged with saving the world, following a team of villains made up of Leslie Nielson, Jenny McCarthy, and Dr. Ruth, all playing themselves)
Keep in mind that a year ago I knew Heroes would rock, but was only mildly interested in Friday Night Lights and thought Six Degrees sounded fantastic. These are all my best guesses based on plot descriptions and talent involved. It’s very likely that I’m going to love a show that is not listed above and hate one that is.