Upfronts Day One: Fox, ABC and a Bit of CBS
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.
While the networks and studios try and figure out how to make serious profit from airing their productions online, a new study shows that ABC’s Lost is the king of the net. According to 
Great, another British comics invasion, only this time it’s on television. 
Sam Raimi’s entry into reality game shows, 13 Fear Is Real, has been given a January 7 premiere date on the CW. Contestants are brought to a haunted house and must endure challenges akin to the sort found in the modern day horror film. The challenges., though, are also designed to exploit each contestants greatest fear and the last person standing will win $66,666. For those who miss out, the series is scheduled for repeats on Friday nights, beginning January 9.
When the writer’s strike crippled audiences getting to know and love many freshman series last season, NBC and ABC decided that five would be held back for reintroduction this fall. The shows — Chuck, Life, Pushing Daisies, Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money. On Friday, the verdict came down that the plan didn’t work as anticipated.
TV Week
The studios and networks are asking their producers to save money on their shows. ABC yesterday ordered a 2% across the board cut for all their prime time programming. Other networks have ordered similar trims as the economy makes the advertising revenue iffier.
While too expensive to pickup new episodes, Cartoon Network has purchased the off-network rights to King of the Hill and will add it to their Adult swim programming. As a result, Adult Swim will now be expanded by an hour, beginning at 10 p.m. and running through till 6 a.m. seven days a week. 
ABC could become King of the Hill, if they decide to pick up the show which Fox just said would be canceled after the current season. While they already have The Goode Family coming as an animated midseason replacement, also created by Mike Judge, they may choose to add the series according to 
Harold Perrineau is safely off the island and away from Lost so has signed to executive produce and star in a drama Case 219. According to 
