Before I begin, fair warning. Not only will this post be about pickups and non-renewals of shows, but also delve into what actors are not returning. If you are not caught up with shows like House and Bones and Fringe this might spoil some things for you, so tread carefully.
The biggest news out of Fox of course was the X-Factor coming on as a Fall tent pole. Simon Cowell’s new show will prop up Wednesdays and Thursdays, which is likely good news for the Bones franchise.
“Our goal is to achieve the same incredible level of success, fandom and spectacle that TheX Factor gets in the U.K.” said Kevin Riley. By the way, TheX Factor in the U.K. last year was a 45 share and the finale posted a 65 share, and we’ll settle for nothing less. Obviously, those numbers are unheard of in the U.S., but if we can capture even a fraction of that audience, we’re going to have the biggest show on television.”
No pressure of course. House last week was renewed for it’s eighth season. It’s no secret, however, that House’s ratings have been on the decline. Which is why it was no surprise when reports came out that Omar Epps and Lisa Edelstein were asked to take pay cuts (Hugh Laurie was already signed on through season 8). According to deadline.com, Lisa Edelstein has declined and will not return for season 8. With only the season finale left in season seven, it’s safe to say House and Cuddy won’t end up together forever.
As far as scheduling is concerned, House will be moving back an hour to 9pm on Mondays. It will be going on after new pickup Terra Nova:
“We talk a lot about Terra Nova. It is one of the most ambitious undertakings we’ve been involved with. It has over 250 digital effects in the first two hours alone, an exotic backdrop that we’re shooting halfway around the world — in Queensland, Australia — and a storyline that’s set both 140 years into the future and 85 million years in the past.”
Because while the intimate Sci-Fi of Fringe is nice and all, you really haven’t invested in science fiction until you back a really big failure, ala V. I stake my journalistic reputation on Terra Nova not getting a second season renewal. I think it’s time for TV to admit that there are some things that movies can do better, and be okay with that. Be you, television, don’t be them.
Tuesdays should look, for the most part, familiar. Glee on at 8, Raising Hope returns at 9. While Running Wilde ran itself out of town, and Traffic Light (despite being fairly good) got stuck blinking red, Fox has a doozy for the 9:30 slot. Zooey Deschanel’s New Girl. The show is written by a young new female writer (I’m on board twice already) named Liz Meriwether.
“Liz took a pretty familiar premise – a girl moves in with three guys – and makes it all feel like the voice of a new generation. This is really one of the funniest, sweetest ensemble comedies I’ve seen in a long time. I think it’s the kind of show that both men and women will watch together, and will make a point to watch together.”
Wednesday will be 1.5 hours of X-Factor, and then new comedy I Hate My Teenage Daughter. The premise is fairly simple, nerdy girls grow up to spawn daughters who are mean girls. Poor moms!
Thursdays will be X-Factor results, and then Bones. Shortly after news of Bones’ seventh season renewal came out, so did news of Emily Deschanel’s pregnancy. Hart Hanson said via a phone interview she may have to miss stretches of season 7, so it’ll be Bones without Bones. How this will be written in is anyone’s guess, but it’s worth noting that the finale coming up on Thursday is called “The Change in the Game”. Last week’s “The Hole in the Heart” was very much about the cast and not the case, so I can’t imagine the finale will be much different.
No changes on Fridays, which remain Kitchen Nightmares and Fringe. Saturday Cops, Sunday Animation Domination.
That’s just Fall, folks. I’ll come back tomorrow and tell you all about what’s coming up in Spring for Fox.
