ABC
I’m with Her (working title)
ABC, Tuesdays 8:30-9 p.m.
(TBA x 30 min.)
the story: Charming everyguy school teacher Patrick hooks up with fabulous movie star Alexandra and finds adjusting to paparazzi and Hollywood glamour is harder than he thought. Based on executive producer/writer Chris Henchy’s real-life experience being married to Brooke Shields.
the cast: David Sutcliffe is the high school teacher in love, Teri Polo (Meet the Parents) is the glamourous Alex.
the verdict: Like Hope & Faith, I’m With Her latches onto the ubiquitous brush-with-fame fantasy in a compelling way. Executive producers Mike Tollin and Brian Robbins are good at this sort of thing, and have a knack for nurturing likable characters. 8 Simple Rules provides a strong lead-in, and the whole ABC Tuesday night comedy lineup stacks up well compared to the bevy of new shows on competing nets.
the backing: As one of the better-received of ABC’s new sitcoms, I’m With Her should be given a solid chance to perform. Produced by Tollin-Robbins Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. DH
Threat Matrix
ABC, Thursdays 8-9 p.m.
(TBA x 60 min.)
the story: The U.S. Homeland Security Agency creates an elite task force to defend America from Al-Qaeda and other murky foreign threats.
Special agent John Kilmer heads this über-agency, deploying the FBI, CIA and NSA forces as needed. Unfortunately, all of his special training wasn’t enough to save his relationship with former wife Frankie.
the cast: Jamie Denton (Primary Colors, Philly) is special agent Kilmer, Kelly Rutherford (Melrose Place) is ex-wife Kilmer.
the verdict: There’s probably quite an appetite in the U.S. for fare that helps viewers to cope with real fears by dramatizing them. In Canada, the appetite will be noticeably less. Still, a good big-budget action drama can have wide appeal if the special effects are up to par. If it wasn’t up against Survivor and Friends, it would be a good bet.
the backing: Will require patience and ongoing promotion by ABC to succeed. Produced by Touchstone Television and Industry Television. DH
Back to Kansas (working title)
ABC, Fridays 8:30-9 p.m.
(TBA x 30 min.)
the story: Fish-out-of-water New Yawker Tom moves to Kansas to cosy up to his wife’s family – and finds them too quirky for comfort.
the cast: Breckin Meyer (Road Trip, Go, Kate & Leopold) plays the hapless transplant Tom; Meredith Monroe plays his wife, Susan.
the verdict: The very phrase ‘working title’ is off-putting and the premise is weakly founded on no more than a regular guy amid the zaniness of the wife’s family. The lead-in is the only moderately successful George Lopez. On the up side, this show falls in the middle of hour-long shows on CBS and NBC, so viewers looking for something to watch at 8:30 won’t have much choice.
the backing: Strong. ABC is already touting its return to the TGIF Friday comedy lineup, and this show’s part of it. Produced by Brad Grey Television (Just Shoot Me), in association with Twentieth Century Fox Television. DH
Hope & Faith
ABC, Fridays 9-9:30 p.m.
(TBA x 30 min.)
the story: Suburban mom (Hope) gets her life shaken up when sleb sister (Faith) is written out of a soap opera and moves in with the family to escape the tabloid press.
the cast: Ironically, Faith Ford (Murphy Brown) plays Hope (not Faith), while Kelly Ripa (All My Children and Live with Regis and Kelly) basically plays herself as the out-of-work soap star Faith.
the verdict: It’s a situation comedy, and this one has a situation with legs for laffs. Both leads are well cast, and if the chemistry’s right, the Ford-Ripa ripostes could anchor a premise that ties nicely into the U.S. (and Canadian) fascination with celebrities acting out at home (see The Osbournes). It’s also one of the few sitcoms in its slot, going up against shows such as JAG (CBS), Dateline (NBC) and Boston Public (Fox).
the backing: Many see this show as the best bet in ABC’s return to a TGIF lineup. The alphabet net’s already pushing the whole lineup with everything it’s got. Produced by Touchstone Television. DH
Line of Fire (working title)
ABC, midseason replacement – time-slot TBA
(TBA x 60 min.)
the story: Shows viewers both sides of an ongoing battle between two organizations that are businesses at heart: the Richmond FBI branch and the Malloy Crime Syndicate.
the cast: David Paymer (The Hurricane) is crime syndie boss Jonah Molloy, Leslie Hope (24) is FBI special agent-in-charge Lisa Cohen. Leslie Bibb (Popular) and Anson Mount (Boiler Room) also star.
the verdict: The premise is intriguing, but hardly novel. We’ve had the striking similarities between cops and robbers pointed out before. Portraying both organizations as just another business, in this post-Enron climate, is a bit more with the times. But with no pilot or time-slot, it’s really too early to tell how it will do.
the backing: Produced by DreamWorks Television in association with Touchstone Television. DH
Stephen King’s Kingdom Hospital
ABC, debuts Jan. 2004, Thursdays 9-10 p.m.
(TBA x 60 min.)
the story: A hospital called the Kingdom is staffed by an eccentric surgeon who lives in the basement, a nurse who faints when she sees blood and an almost-blind security guard. Patients and staff begin hearing the cries of a mysterious girl echoing through the halls and creepiness ensues. Based on the Danish miniseries Riget.
the cast: To be determined.
the verdict: Who cares who’s in it? No one can do creepy like King (except for maybe the Danes). He calls it ER crossed with The Shining, and that should be good enough for anyone to at least give it a try.
the backing: Kingdom Hospital replaces Extreme Makeover in January, where it will go up against CSI on CBS and Will & Grace/Coupling on NBC. Tough slot, but at least it has a name brand behind it. Produced by Columbia TriStar Television in association with Touchstone Television. DH
NBC
The Apprentice
NBC, debuts early 2004
(13 x 30 min.)
the story: Sixteen real people compete in New York City’s corporate jungle for the chance at a serious apprenticeship and the dream job of a lifetime.
the cast: Donald Trump as the ‘Master.’
the verdict: It’s easy to imagine survival in New York being as challenging as survival on a deserted island, but it’s harder to say whether this will make good viewing. For one thing, sassy young candidates will be all wrapped up in three-piece suits – a far cry from those racy little Survivor bandanas that tied up so neatly around the chest. For another, most of the action will take place in an office space, which means personality and acting skills will have to adapt to what is potentially a very dry stage. However, with Donald Trump serving as the master under whom the lucky winner will learn the ropes, the first season is already enticing.
the backing: Mark Burnett of Survivor fame is at it again, and it looks like he’ll do it again. NBC will help him out as much as they can. SM
The Tracy Morgan Show
NBC, air date TBA
(TBA x 30 min.)
the story: A hardworking Brooklyn family man juggles an auto garage business, a no-nonsense wife and their two children.
the cast: Tracy Morgan (Saturday Night Live), Tamala Jones (Head of State), Heavy D (a.k.a. Dwight Myers, The Cider House Rules), John Witherspoon (The Wayans Bros.), Marc John Jeffries (Stewart Little 2).
the verdict: This series is based on the real life of Tracy Morgan, Saturday Night Live’s comedy sensation. Morgan already has a following and a strong sitcom would only enhance it. Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels is among the executive producers.
the backing: NBC originally had this show on hold. In early June, The Family Friendly Programming Forum Script Development Initiative, an American group of over 40 national advertisers that advocates family- and advertiser-friendly programming, announced that it would fund the series (along with three WB shows). To the delight of advertisers such as Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Wal-Mart, Morgan should hit the air mid-season. SM
FOX
Luis
Fox, Fridays 8:30-9 p.m.
(TBA x 30 min.)
the story: A doughnut shop owner and landlord in Spanish Harlem laughs his way through life’s foibles with the multi-ethnic inhabitants of his building, including an ungrateful ex-wife, a Chinese delivery boy, an elderly Irish woman, a pretentious ‘artiste’ and an African American kid.
the cast: Luis Guzman (Traffic, Punch-Drunk Love, Boogie Nights), Jaclyn DeSantis, Diana-Maria Riva, Malcolm Barrett, Charlie Day.
the verdict: This cultural potpourri has the makings of what is at least an ambitious artistic break from the norm. Not too late in the evening either, so audiences won’t be lost to Friday night indifference.
the backing: Guzman comes from a very respectable film background and that star power should keep the show in good stead with the celebrity-conscious and Latino audiences that the big three U.S. nets have been slow to court. SO
The Ortegas
Fox, Sundays 8:30-9 p.m.
(TBA x 30 min.)
the story: Luis Ortega hosts a talk show in the family’s San Fernando Valley backyard. Based on the Emmy-winning BBC series The Kumars at No. 42, The Ortegas features actual celebrities as guests.
the cast: Al Madrigal (2002 Montreal Comedy Festival), Cheech Marin (Nash Bridges), Terri Hoyos (Town and Country), Renee Victor (Never Trust A Serial Killer).
the verdict: With any luck, this effort will turn the same trick Who Wants To Be A Millionaire did when it migrated from the U.K. It’s certainly got pluck and a niche-y audience that should be relatively immune to the uninspired Sunday competition.
the backing: NBC passed on this one, but the big nets ignore the Latino market at their peril. The show’s best chance is that it’s sandwiched between two bona fide hits in The Simpsons and Malcolm In the Middle. SO
Arrested Development
Fox, Sundays 9:30-10 p.m.
(TBA x 30 min.)
the story: Michael Bluth’s plans to move to Arizona with his 13-year-old son George Michael (no, not the ’80s pop star) are kiboshed when his father George Bluth Sr. goes to the slammer for dubious accounting practices. Michael’s stuck in Orange County with his eccentric clan, including his spoiled society mom Lucille, two weird brothers, his sis Lindsay and her odd little family.
the cast: Jason Bateman (The Sweetest Thing) is Michael Bluth; Michael Cera is George Michael; Jessica Walter is Lucille Bluth; Portia De Rossi (Ally McBeal) is Lindsay; David Cross is Tobias; and Alia Shawkat is Maeby.
the verdict: Jason ‘Sitcom Killer’ Bateman has never encountered the same luck that big sis Justine had with Family Ties. In fact, his best shot at TV stardom was The Hogan Family, which ran from 1988 to 1991. Chances are Arrested Development will ‘jump the shark’ not long after it gets up-and-running.
the backing: The good news is that Arrested Development follows Malcolm in the Middle, which has proven itself in this genre. So viewers who tune into Malcolm instead of Alias or Law & Order: Criminal Intent are likely to stick around. Plus, the program has a solid crew of executive producers in Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind, Parenthood), Brian Grazer (8 Mile and 24) and David Nevins (The Ellen Show, Golden Girls). Question is, can they make a star out of Bateman? LD
THE WB
Steve Harvey’s Big Time
WB, Thursdays 8-8:30 p.m.
(13 x 30 min.)
the story: Featuring ‘real people’- not high falutin’ movie and TV stars – comedian Steve Harvey hosts this talk/variety show billed as focusing on folks with extraordinary or unique talents.
the cast: Steve Harvey and a cast of dozens.
the verdict: With the ongoing proletarianization of TV culture, Harvey’s Big Time may find an audience but, against the other nets’ loaded Thursday night lineups, will do little to lift WB from its perennial status as an also-ran.
the backing: U.S. buyers apparently chuckled at some of the comedy, but with the WB giving Steve a mere half-hour, the net evidently doesn’t really consider this ‘big time.’ SO
Run of the House
WB, Thursdays 9:30-10 p.m.
(TBA x 30 min.)
the story: The Franklins are your typical dysfunctional clan, save for the fact that 15-year-old Brooke is left in the care of three adult siblings while her parents take an extended vacation. Her older brother Chris cramps her style when he unexpectedly drops out of law school and returns home.
the cast: Margo Harshman (Recipe for Disaster) is Brooke; Sasha Barrese (Paranormal Girl) is Sally; Kyle Howard is Chris.
the verdict: Chris complains that law school ‘wasn’t fun.’ Well neither is this show. While it may grab a few lingerers from the Jamie Kennedy Experiment at 8:30 and What I Like About You at 9 p.m., it won’t woo the majority of folk away from CSI or NBC’s comedy night lineup.
the backing: WB doesn’t have outlandish budgets, yet some of its programs have been able to draw a niche crowd, thanks to its fresh ideas. This isn’t one of them. LD
Like Family
WB, Fridays 8:30-9 p.m.
(13 x 30 min.)
the story: Two families – one black, one white – play off their differences to comedic effect after a middle-class African American family opens its home to an old friend who needs some help raising her 16-year-old son.
the cast: Holly Robinson Peete (For Your Love), Kevin Michael Richardson (Lilo and Stitch), Megalyn Echikunwoke (24).
the verdict: Different setting but same bad jokes. Replete with cardboard archetypes – the cantankerous father, the mediator wife, the hapless white kid, the uncensored senior citizen – this is apparently how America heals post 9/11.
the backing: There have been reports that some U.S. buyers liked the show. But expect Fox’s Luis – also an interracial comedy – to take this one out. SO
All About the Andersons
WB, Fridays 9:30-10 p.m.
(13 x 30 min.)
the story: Aspiring comedian Anthony Anderson and his eight-year-old son move back home with his parents as he tries to break into Hollywood and raise his son right.
the cast: Anthony Anderson (Barbershop; Me, Myself & Irene), Damani Roberts, Roz Ryan (Amen), John Amos (The West Wing).
the verdict: Though semi-autobiographical, Andersons manages the impressive feat of being derivative of the hundreds of other comedies that have preceded it. On the other hand, Anthony has pull, especially with his Barbershop credit, and it’s hard to say anything unpleasant about journeyman Amos. Look for middling success, mostly because it’s so not Fox’s Boston Public.
the backing: Should get decent support from WB for a number of reasons, including a perception of increasing viability for African-American shows, and the fact that executives have openly acknowledged that the younger demographics gravitate toward ethnically diverse shows. SO
