Tuesday, May 08, 2012

SitcomsOnline.com 2012-13 Upfront Preview: Fox; TV Land Celebrates Mother's Day with Raymond, Happily Divorced


Fox
Our upfront preview week continues!  Today we take a look at Fox, who will present its schedule on Monday. Fox is coming off a decent season as X Factor did decent (but not huge) last fall and Fox also found a comedy hit in New Girl. And American Idol is still is the number one show on TV even with massive drops, but they still will need some more dramas to hit, especially in the fall without House and no real drama hits as Glee is declining and Bones is aging.
Here is the SitcomsOnline.com Fox 2012-13 preview:

New Series Already Picked-Up: None.
Already Renewed Returning Series: The Simpsons, Bob's Burgers, The Cleveland Show, Family Guy, American Dad!, Bones, Glee, Raising Hope, Fringe, Hell's Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, The X Factor, New Girl, Cops.
Likely Returning Series: American Idol & Touch.
Likely To Be Canceled or Already Canceled: House, Terra Nova, Allen Gregory, Napoleon Dynamite, Alcatraz, The Finder, Breaking In, I Hate My Teenage Daughter, Mobbed & Q'Viva.
Likely Additional New Series Pick-Ups (our picks): Untitled Mindy Kaling Project (comedy for fall), Mastermind (drama for fall), Untitled Berman & Wright Project (drama for fall), Little Brother (comedy for fall), and Rebounding (comedy for mid-season).

OUR FALL 2012 PREDICTION:

Mondays
8:00PM Bones
9:00PM Untitled Berman & Wright Project (NEW!)

Tuesdays
8:00PM Glee
9:00PM New Girl 
9:30PM Untitled Mindy Kaling Project (NEW!)

Wednesdays
8:00PM The X-Factor 
9:30PM Little Brother (NEW!)

Thursdays
8:00PM The X-Factor Results
9:00PM Mastermind (NEW!)

Fridays
8:00PM Kitchen Nightmares
9:00PM Fringe

Saturdays
8:00PM College Football on Fox

Sundays
7:00PM NFL Overrun / Animated Encores
8:00PM The Simpsons
8:30PM The Cleveland Show
9:00PM Family Guy
9:30PM American Dad!

Comments: Fox will try to turn The X-Factor into a big hit in season two with new judges, but does anyone care at this point? The series is likely to return to its Wednesdays from 8-10pm (later 8-9:30pm) and Thursdays 8-9pm timeslots. Once again the plan will probably be to reduce the performance show to 90-minutes by mid-October or so, so perhaps a comedy will air at 9:30pm--and a better one like John Stamos' Little Brother and not something bad like this past season's I Hate My Teenage Daughter. That's one comedy pick-up that was a big head scratcher. Anyway on to the fall schedule picks,  House is gone and Bones will likely remain on Mondays leading it off. They should use the 9pm slot to try and launch a new drama like the Untitled Berman & Wright Project about a mob doctor. I don't think they should go with a more male oriented drama like Mastermind in this slot, as Terra Nova and Alcatraz fizzled, plus ESPN has Monday Night Football in the fall. Moving on to Tuesdays, I think Glee will remain in the slot leading into a comedy hour. Raising Hope will be back, but perhaps in mid-season so it can make room for a new comedy, almost all but certain to be the Untitled Mindy Kaling Project right after New Girl at 9. On paper it sounds like a perfect match. On Wednesdays, as mentioned The X-Factor will likely air 8-10pm then eventually be reduced to 8-9:30pm into a new comedy, perhaps the John Stamos series Little Brother. That seems like a good fit and the woman will go wild for John. On Thursdays, X-Factor will likely be at 8pm, perhaps leading into a new drama like Mastermind from Kevin Williamson. I think Touch, should it return, will be mid-season. Fridays will likely remain the same as it is now, with Kitchen Nightmares at 8 leading into the final 13-episode season of Fringe. It will be interesting what airs at 9pm in mid-season. Saturdays will now be sports in the fall, with College Football most weeks.  This means Cops is on hiatus until mid-season. And on Sundays, animation domination will continue of course with a mix of the 5 series they have already, but likely one will be benched to January because of NFL overruns and it should be Bob's Burgers again. As Cleveland Show does better at 8:30pm. Every other timeslot should remain intact. Fox is working on a Saturday late night animated block to start in January, so stay tuned for news on that. No more encores on Saturday nights!
So, Fox hopes The X-Factor turns into a big hit this fall in its second season to try and make Fox  bigger in the fall. Look for Fox to try and get a second comedy hit out of New Girl and to try and find a new drama hit as none of this past season's dramas did that well. Only Touch has a chance of returning, as The Finder and Alcatraz do not deserve to return. And finally, Fox could also use In Living Color specials in December or sweeps. Perhaps that will be a good Friday option once Fringe concludes? The question for Fox will be if The X Factor can grow in season 2. If it does, it will be a good launching pad for at least two new series.

Remember, Monday (May 14) is the actual date when we will find out Fox's plans for the 2012-13 season. So, come on back next Monday and we will let you know the details and you can see how much we were right (or wrong). Stay tuned next week for the official fall line-ups for all the networks.
Discuss your thoughts on our prediction and feel free to make suggestions of your own!

Stay tuned tomorrow for our prediction for ABC!

TV Land will air a special Mother's Day-themed episode of Happily Divorced, starring Fran Drescher and guest-starring Rosie O'Donnell, on Wednesday (May 9) at 10:30pm ET/PT. The episode will revolve around Fran (Drescher) looking to spend quality time with her mother, Dori (Rita Moreno), after Fran forgets to make reservations for Mother's Day at Dori's favorite restaurant. Rosie O'Donnell will play Katie, a friend from Fran's past who, more than anything, wishes to have her mother back so she can celebrate the special day with her. Both Drescher and O'Donnell have been very public about their relationships with their moms and how they have influenced who they are today, making this episode particularly meaningful. The series, filmed in front of a live audience, was recently picked up for 12 additional episodes for its second season, set to air later this year.
TV Land will also air its annual Mother's Day marathon, and this year it stars everyone's favorite meddling mom, Marie Barone! With Marie (Doris Roberts) being the loving but overbearing mother that she is, there's no better way to commemorate the day than with back to back episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond, airing Sunday, May 13 from 9pm to 11:30pm ET/PT.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Friday, December 6

Happy's Place - "Ho-Ho Howey" (NBC, 9:15PM ET/PT)
When the tavern's health insurance is threatened to be canceled, Gabby has a plan; she'll persuade her friend Danny to host his company party at Happy's, but the catch is everyone must call Bobbie "Gabby" and Gabby "Bobbie."

Lopez vs Lopez - "Lopez vs Santa" (NBC, 9:45PM ET/PT)
While Mayan tries to track down the perfect Christmas gift for Chance, George has to settle a feud with Santa that stretches back to George's childhood; Quinten tries to shake Rosie out of her holiday blues.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "We Were Beggars, Now We Are Choosers" (The CW, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After Abishola gives her previous suitor a second chance, Uncle Tunde goes behind Auntie Olu's back to warn Bob about the other man who's courting his niece.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Ice Cream for Breakfast" (The CW, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bob must gain the confidence to fight for Abishola when she goes on another date with Chukwuemeka; Uncle Tunde finds an unlikely friend in Dottie in the aftermath of his fight with Auntie Olu.

Children Ruin Everything - "Chores" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Astrid and James question the effectiveness of their own parenting when they meet one of Felix's friends with impeccable manners; Astrid and James worry about the types of adults their kids will become.

Children Ruin Everything - "Feelings" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT)
James, feeling left out when Ennis makes a new friend, inserts himself in Ennis' dodgeball tournament; Astrid struggles to get Viv to control her emotions, especially when frustrations at work make it hard to lead by example.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 2)

Friday, December 6

  • Ralph Macchio (Eight Is Enough) - Watch Ralph on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Ben Stiller (Arrested Development) - Ben is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Rita Moreno (One Day at a Time/Happily Divorced/9 to 5) - Rita appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Emily Osment (Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage/Young Sheldon/Young & Hungry/Hannah Montana), Tien Tran (How I Met Your Father) and Vinny Thomas (Platonic) - Emily, Tien and Vinny are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Hilary Swank (Camp Wilder) - NBC's Today catches up with Hilary in the 10am hour.
  • The Cast of Sex Lives of College Girls - The Sex Lives of College Girls creator Mindy Kaling is joining Drew on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. Then, the case of the show, Pauline Chalamet, Alyah Chanelle Scott, Amrit Kaur, Mia Rodgers and Gracie Lawrence are all chatting about the latest season of the hit show.
  • Ryan Destiny (grown-ish) and Brian Tyree Henry (HouseBroken/Atlanta) - Ryan and Brian talk about their new film The Fire Inside on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Steve Howey (Reba) - Steve talks about NBC's Happy Place on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Krysten Ritter (Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23) - Krysten discusses her film Sonic 3 on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
  • Melissa Joan Hart (Baby Daddy/Sabrina the Teenage Witch/Clarissa Explains It All) - Melissa is a guest on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Friends - The Complete Series (4K UHD) Young Sheldon - The Complete Series Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - The Ropers - The Complete Series (VEI)
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - Video Scrapbook
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K UHD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

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