Fall TV Preview » FOX

Terra Nova

jpfeiffer — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 16:58:33 +0000

What’s It All About? The long-delayed sci-fi epic finally makes its debut this fall, and audiences will get to see if the wait has been worth it. The Steven Spielberg-produced spectacular begins in a future where Earth has become virtually uninhabitable (think WALL-E, before all the people left on spaceships), and humanity’s only hope lies in finding a new home. Instead of looking to the stars, however, the answer is found in the past — 85 million years in the past, to a time when civilization didn’t exist and dinosaurs still roamed the earth. The special effects are as eye-popping as promised, and the drama manages to hold up, too. This is really good news, because the charm of watching dinosaurs chomping on people — enjoyable as it is — only gets you so far.

Napoleon Dynamite

rberenz — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 19:03:44 +0000

Based on the eminently quotable cult classic film, FOX premieres an animated series of Napoleon Dynamite in early 2012. Fans of the movie can get excited about this series, as the original cast — Jon Heder, Aaron Ruell, Efren Ramirez, Tina Majorino, Sandy Martin, Jon Gries and Diedrich Bader — will voice their characters. The film’s creators, Jared and Jerusha Hess, also serve as executive producers on the series. Guest voices include Jennifer Coolidge, Sam Rockwell and Jemaine Clement. So with all the pieces in place, can Napoleon capture the magic again? Do the chickens have large talons? (The answer, we think, is yes.)

Allen Gregory

rberenz — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 18:53:57 +0000

What’s It All About? Seven-year-old pretentious prodigy Allen Gregory De Longpre (Hill) has lived a life of home-schooled sophistication. Allen shares a bond with his father Richard (Stewart), but it’s often interrupted by Richard’s life partner Jeremy, and his adopted Cambodian sister Julie. When Allen is forced to attend — gasp! — a public elementary school, he finds himself at odds with the philistine students and faculty.

The X Factor

lacken — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 21:29:44 +0000

What’s It All About? For all the hoopla about bringing Cowell’s latest Americanization of a U.K. hit to your TV — the ever-evolving judging panel (Sean Combs? Nope. Mariah Carey? Nah.), the surprise return of Cowell’s famed frenemy Adbul, and the abrupt dismissal of Brit pop princess Cheryl Cole — The X Factor ultimately looks an awful lot like American Idol doused in Pepsi logos instead of the ubiquitous Coca-Cola signage. There’s the super-cute and polished host in front of a sea of contestant wannabes — only this time it’s Welsh TV presenter Steve Jones instead of Ryan Seacrest. There’s the four-person judges table, at the far right end of which sits Cowell in his trademark plain white Ts and charcoal V-necks with Paula at his elbow to the left. Even the Cups That No One Drinks From look familiar, except they’re Pepsi blue instead of Coca-Cola red (did we mention the show is sponsored by Pepsi?)

So it looks like it’s the contestants who will set The X apart from the Idol. Bucking Idol’s strict solo-singer rule, Factor’s contestants audition in one of four categories — boys age 12-25, girls age 12-25, singers over age 25, and vocal groups of any age. And instead of debuting their talent for the judges alone (well, and several million TV viewers fervently hoping they’re either epically great or laughable), they’ll also face a live audience to instantly weed out stage fright victims and outright disasters.

And then there’s the payout. Forget about that cringe-inducing first radio release followed by months (or years) of silence during which you forget who won in the first place. The vocalist or vocal group whose X factor marks the winning spot scores a staggering $5 million recording contract with Syco/Sony Music, pretty much assuring they’ll be heard from quickly — and for quite a while. Er, we think.

New Girl

rberenz — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 20:03:02 +0000

What’s It All About? After she catches her boyfriend cheating on her, Jess (Deschanel) becomes the roommate of three guys: bartender Nick (Johnson), social/corporate ladder climber Schmidt (Greenfield) and personal trainer Coach (Wayans). But the guys aren’t quite prepared to have a female in their midst, and don’t know how to deal with her watching Dirty Dancing six or seven times a day. Likewise, Jess doesn’t understand men and why they act like they do (even when it costs them $1 to the “Douchebag Jar”). It doesn’t take long before Jess and the guys are like family, helping each other unwrap the enigmas of the opposite sex. New Girl feels a little like the now defunct TBS comedy My Boys, but with a much stronger lead character in Jess. While the guys aren’t all that interesting, Deschanel plays Jess with the goofy, nerdy-girl charm that’s been her appeal in films, and she’ll make New Girl one of the most successful new comedies of the season.

I Hate My Teenage Daughter

jpfeiffer — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 18:16:31 +0000

What’s It All About? Annie (Pressly) and Nikki (Finneran) are best friends and single moms of two spoiled teenage girls. Annie and Nikki were both outcasts in high school, and neither one knows how to relate to or rein in her popular, manipulative daughter. When the girls commit a cruel joke on a classmate, the moms realize it’s time to crack the whip. You remember the feeling when your parent did something embarrassing? That’s what it’s like to sit through one of the season’s most irritating new comedies. Mostly, we’re disappointed Pressly went from such an iconic character like My Name Is Earl’s Joy to such an uninteresting one in this series.

Jamie Foxx Project

jpfeiffer — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:46:04 +0000

What’s It All About? This half-hour sketch comedy series (whose name is currently a working title) is executive-produced by actor Jamie Foxx and set to debut in primetime during the 2010-11 season.

Rising actor and sketch-comedy star Affion Crockett (The Boondocks, Dance Flick) – whose incisive web shorts have created a cult following – will star in and also serve as a producer of this fast-paced comedy.

“Jamie Foxx’s brilliance first shined on FOX, so it’s fantastic to welcome him back to the network,” said Kevin Reilly, President of Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company. “Jamie is an undeniable comedy powerhouse both as a performer and a producer, and teamed with the outrageous next-generation comedy of Affion Crockett, we look forward to the next wave of sketch comedy on FOX.”

“I’m looking forward to delivering a groundbreaking new series and working closely with the talented team at FOX again,” said Foxx.

In the vein of the groundbreaking and network-defining In Living Color, Jamie Foxx Project (working title) will offer a fresh take on pop culture, including spoofs of movie trailers, commercials, TV shows, music videos and celebrities, with a diverse cast made up of the very best new young comedians on the scene today. Additionally, some of the biggest names in Hollywood will be stopping by for a visit.

Lone Star

kpaloucek — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 16:19:58 +0000

What’s It All About? Ever since he was a child, Bob (Wolk) and his father (David Keith) have been living as con artists, gaining people’s trust, fleecing them and running away. Now, as a young man, Bob has managed to get himself into a legitimate, promising and high-paying position with a major oil firm — in part by marrying the daughter of its founder, but also through his own hard work. He wants to get out of the con and go legitimate, but there are a couple of small problems — namely, the girlfriend and the alternate life he’s constructed away from the scam. But there’s also a bigger problem — his father is reluctant to let his son go his own way.

This show has the potential to be huge this season. Con artists and big oil, potential for bigamy (think Dallas-sized drama) and it’s on FOX. This could be this year’s show for the American everyman, and we’re already trying to pipeline our way to Episode 2.

***UPDATE 9/29/10: Zap2It reports that FOX has canceled Lone Star due to very poor ratings. Lie to Me will premiere in the Monday 9pm time slot starting October 4.

The Good Guys

rberenz — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:04:25 +0000

What To Expect: For those who are already fans, it will be important to note that the show moves to Friday nights. For those who aren’t yet, expect the old good cop, bad cop routine from this action comedy. Hanks plays the good cop, a by-the-book detective named Jack Bailey, who has been partnered with Dan Stark (Whitford), a hard-living former hero of the Dallas Police Department who prefers the old-school method of busting punks.

Raising Hope

rberenz — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 19:19:10 +0000

Lucas Neff plays Jimmy Chance, a 23-year-old guy who can barely take care of himself, let alone the baby he has just been charged with raising, after his partner in a one-night stand turns out to be a fugitive destined for death row.