Mon May 18, 2009 — by Mike Gold

Upfronts Day One: Fox, ABC and a Bit of CBS

Human Target Returns In Reboot

This is the week the teevee broadcast networks announce their fall schedules at their fabled “Upfront” presentations to advertisers – well, the first drafts of their fall schedules. Starting with Fox.

Len Wein and Carmine Infantino’s DC series The Human Target has been picked up (it was on network a couple decades ago in a forgettable series staring Rick Springfield and Clarence Clemons); it will occupy the coveted spot after American Idol on Wednesdays. Past Life, a series about a psychic detective agency, will hold the same spot on Tuesdays. Slotting after Idol means both will be mid-season shows A new sitcom will be added to Fox’s schedule, Sons of Tucson will be plopped in the middle of their Sunday animation block, replacing King of the Hill. Another sitcome, Brothers, has been given a 13 episode order.

Fox has picked up House, 24, Bones, Fringe, Brothers, ‘Til Death, The Cleveland Show, So You Think You Can Dance and Dollhouse.

In other Upfront news, ABC has approved pilots for a new drama starring Dean Winters and Sam Neill called Happy Town and a comedy starring Courteney Cox called Cougar Town (bet you can guess what that one’s about). They’ve also picked up a second season of Castle as a mid-season replacement, a new V series, along with The Deep End, Jerry Bruckheimer’s The Forgotten (sort of a Without a Trace, but with amateurs), and Eastwick, an adaptation of the hit movie The Witches of Eastwick. They’ve got a comedy going starring Kelsey Grammer called Hank and another sitcom called The Middle. ABC also renewed a version of Scrubs, although much of the ongoing cast is likely to disappear after the first six episodes. True Beauty and Better Off Ted have also been picked up.

CBS has picked up an NCIS spinoff, a medical drama called Three Rivers and The Good Wife starring Julianna Margulies.

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