Now that the networks have unveiled their fall lineups, it’s time to see what Fox is up to.
The biggest news for many is that Jack is back.
Kiefer Sutherland will reprise his brooding, tortured Jack Bauer when 24: Live Another Day debuts as a 12-part miniseries next year, probably in May and extending into the summer.
Hopefully Bauer’s heroics will help the network recoup some of the 20 percent loss in ratings it suffered this season.
Fans never warmed to Touch, Sutherland’s shot at a new series following the 2010 ending of 24 after eight seasons.
Touch wasn’t the only Fox series that didn’t catch on. Other shows canned or ending this season are Fringe, Ben & Kate, The Mob Doctor and The Cleveland Show.
Cops has also been canceled, but is taking its drunken, shirtless perps over to the Spike network.
Part of Fox’s ratings woes is due to the continued declining viewership of American Idol. The venerable series is still one of the most popular shows on TV, but nothing lasts forever and it’s not the unchallenged juggernaut it once was.
The last original judge, Randy Jackson, has announced he’s leaving the show. Speculation remains over the fates of the remaining judges, Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban. Whatever happens, Fox says there will only be three judges next season.
So what does Fox do to stem the slide? It invests in its largest new programming effort ever. Fox has ordered up 11 new shows, along with 24 and a second miniseries. The shows will roll out in early fall, late fall (after baseball playoffs) and mid-season.
Fall shows:
Dads. The live-action comedy comes from Seth MacFarlane and the wacky team behind the movie Ted. It’s about two video game entrepreneurs (Seth Green, Giovanni Ribisi) whose lives devolve into chaos when their dads(Martin Mull, Peter Riegert) move in with them.
Almost Human. This is yet another drama from the prolific J.J. Abrams (Felicity, Alias, Lost, Fringe, Revolution and NBC’s forthcoming Believe) and deals with a future cop and his android partner. Karl Urban, Michael Ealy and Lili Taylor star.
Sleepy Hollow. A drama where Washington Irving’s timid schoolmaster Ichabod Crane is resurrected in current times and teamed with a young female police officer to save the world. Tom Mison is Crane, and Nicole Beharie is the cop.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine. This comedy stars Saturday Night Live’s Andy Samberg as a hot dog police detective and the marvelous Andre Braugher as his old-school captain.
Enlisted. It’s a comedy starring Geoff Stults (Ben and Kate) as one of three brothers and a band of misfits on a small Florida Army base.
Junior Masterchef. This reality competition features Gordon Ramsay and a gaggle of budding chefs ages 8 to 13. Let’s hope he screams quietly at them or they’ll be scarred for life.
Midseason:
Rake. From executive producer Sam Raimi, this legal drama is based on an Australian series and has been compared to House. It’s about a brilliant, but self-destructive, criminal defense attorney, not a doctor. Greg Kinnear stars in his first scripted TV series.
Gang Related. Ramon Rodriquez and rapper-producer RZA play former gang members now on Los Angeles’ elite Gang Task Force headed by Terry O’Quinn.
Murder Police. This animated comedy about an inept detective features the voices of Jason Ruiz, Will Sasso, Chi McBride and Jane Lynch.
Surviving Jack. The coming-of-age sitcom is set in the ’90s and has Christoper Meloni (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) playing an oncologist learning to be a father just as his son is starting high school.
Us & Them. Based on the BBC comedy Gavin & Stacey, the series stars Jason Ritter (looking more and more likehis late dad John) and Alexis Bledel as a couple with wacky friends and family standing in the way of their romance. Those in the mix include Jane Kaczmarek and Kurt Fuller as his parents and Michael Ian Black as her uncle.
Wayward Pines. This is the mid-seasonw miniseries and it comes from M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Signs). Matt Dillon will play a Secret Service agent searching for two missing agents in an Idaho town. It’s based on the novel Pines by Blake Crouch.
Here’s the Fox early/late fall lineup.
Monday: Bones/Almost Human; Sleepy Hollow.
Tuesday: Dads; Brooklyn Nine-Nine; New Girl; The Mindy Project.
Wednesday: The X Factor (performances).
Thursday: The X Factor (results); Glee.
Friday: Junior Masterchef/ Bones; Raising Hope; Enlisted.
Saturday: Fox Sports Saturday.
Sunday: The OT; The Simpsons; Bob’s Burgers; Family Guy; American Dad.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. E-mail: [email protected]
Style, Pages 32 on 05/21/2013