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« Roush Dispatch
Upfront Update: CW = Curiously Wealthy?
Blake Lively, Ed Westwick, Leighton Meester in Gossip Girl by Andrew Eccles/The CW
With only two new shows on the fall schedule, ABC’s Upfront presentation at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall was short on bells and whistles, completely lacking the customary food and drink. (The CW would pick up the slack in that regard. More on that in a few.) As Tuesday afternoon’s sole ABC “talent” Jimmy Kimmel put it, the network decided instead to concentrate “on making shows that aren’t Cavemen.” Funny.
From the clips, the new Life on Mars looks like a creditable remake of the BBC original—but its time-travel/culture-shock premise had a limited trajectory that wrapped in two seasons. American networks rarely think so short-term, so how will this show rethink things for the long haul? Remains to be seen. The other fall newbie, the elaborate family game show Opportunity Knocks, looks good for some laughs—but not as many as were garnered during the screening of clips for the raucous summer game show Knockout, which mainly consists of slapstick stunts (falling into mud, swinging into abutments) on a mammoth obstacle course. Beware of summer reality hits. They could become the next mainstream prime-time staple. (Dancing With the Stars, anyone?)
ABC wrapped its muted presentation with teasers of shows in midseason development, including the animated The Goode Family (which indeed is being considered as a partner to Scrubs on Tuesdays at midseason) and an especially promising-looking sitcom, In the Motherhood, based on an Internet comedy series about desperately overwhelmed mommies. For the climax, ABC left us with a clip from the next episode of Lost, revealing a pivotal and emotional moment in the homecomings of the Oceanic Six. It was the best piece of TV I saw all day.
Immediately following ABC, the media troops trooped next door to a tent outside Lincoln Center where the CW held court with food, drink and a performance by Maroon 5. All a prelude to the parade of pretty people who populate the CW’s new wave of teen glamour soaps, epitomized by Gossip Girl (which is staying put on Mondays, paired with the apparently undying One Tree Hill). Introducing the sorta new lineup: CW entertainment pres Dawn Ostroff, first glimpsed as side-by-side holograms. The real Ostroff eventually appeared to talk about how her shows are “defining pop culture,” which apparently means reaching back into the old Fox playbook for one of teendom’s most enduringly iconic titles: 90210, which kicks off an all-new Tuesday. No real footage, but all that mattered was how young and pretty the cast was. And that they were, including a few familiar faces among the up-and-comers, most notably AnnaLynne McCord, the poisonously trampy daughter of Portia de Rossi on Nip/Tuck last season, again apparently primed to play a bad girl. And for a little diversity: Tristan Wilds, who played student-turned-outlaw Michael on the final seasons of The Wire, trading the mean streets of Baltimore for a more posh zip code. (The slogan for the new 90210: “You wanna live in the zip, you gotta live by the code.”)
90210 will be paired with the comedy-drama Surviving the Filthy Rich, starring Reba’s JoAnna Garcia as the tutor to a spectacularly bratty pair of mega-wealthy twins (think Hilton sisters) in Palm Beach. This is an awful lot of upscale teen debauchery in just two nights of TV. I guess this is what is known as “brand” management.
The teen pandering continues into Wednesday, with CW perennial America’s Next Top Model joined by another fashion-obsessed reality contest: Stylista, a battle to become an editor for Elle magazine, provided they survive an apprenticeship with fashion news director Anne Slowey. They want us to think The Devil Wears Prada meets Project Runway. Struck me as something more suitable for fringe cable, but these days, those lines are getting awfully blurry.
Thursdays remain fantasy night, with Smallville and Supernatural returning (and Reaper waiting in the wings for midseason, a pleasantly surprising renewal, especially in light of CBS's shocking cancellation of Moonlight). Fridays are now the comedy ghetto, with Everybody Hates Chris and The Game hung out to dry. Ostroff called it “counterprogramming.” I call it another nail in the coffin for the sitcom genre.
Sunday has been rented out to an independent company (Media Rights Capital) that will produce a three-hour block of comedy and drama projects. No details were announced or explained in the CW press release, but a projection during the presentation flashed these titles: Surviving Suburbia, Book of Murphy, I.M. Valentine and FAT City. (FAT apparently standing for Fugitive Apprehension Team). Make of that what you will. And say a little prayer for anything on the CW, regardless of origin, getting noticed on this busy night.
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May 13, 2008 8:20 PM
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If Reaper is coming back mid season does that mean one of the shows( Smallville, Supernatural) on thursday will be over by than? I am so cunfused
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May 13, 2008 10:22 PM
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Glad you found the Moonlight cancellation shocking. So did I.
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May 13, 2008 10:26 PM
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Matt:
Totally with you on your skepticism regarding Life on Mars. Not only am I worried about how the premise can be sustained, but whether the show can be played without being a parody of '70's cop shows.
The original BBC production managed to walk that line, but I'm not so sure that the US production will.
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May 14, 2008 12:13 PM
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So this means that CW is planning to air Reaper in SPN timeslot again aren't they?
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May 14, 2008 12:24 PM
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Oh, Fugitive Apprehension Team, love that show! Starring Mitch Riverton (Love Boat, A-Team), Shanie "Shasta" McRivers (Young and the Restless) and that wonderfully kooky Elmer Oakdale (McGuyver, Sherrif Lobo) as the comic relief! Gosh, and I can't forget how much I love their mascot Toga the Party Pooch, that rascal of a golden retriever! I can't wait!!
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May 14, 2008 12:48 PM
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smallville is supposed to be done next season, so reaper would ideally sub for that...of course it won't get half the ratings,(why do people keep watching smallville? its been downhill for the last 2 years at least! i know cause i still watch it myself wondering why do i still watch this most of the time too!) but on the other hand i love reaper and i'm just glad its getting another shot!
they;d be smart to try and go after moonlight though, the ratings they got on fris would serve them well on thurs, also they wouldn't have to worry over promotion as the internets and fan campaigns would take care of that.
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May 14, 2008 4:56 PM
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oh yeah and does this mean that beauty and the geek is cancelled caue it was really good to watch with my sister...i hate to think of her getting into 90210 redux....lord bad enough i watched most of the original's run...shudder at the idea of 90210 the next gen.
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May 14, 2008 4:57 PM
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Hi Matt--and anyone else who might know..Has Aliens in America been canceled? I really like that show.
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May 15, 2008 4:55 PM
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shawlaw2002 > Of course it has been canceled how could the CW keep anything with quality on the air. It could put a strong dent in their ever lasting quest to become the crappiest network.
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May 17, 2008 5:06 AM
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