Just when you thought NBC was the only major network with major problems, along comes ABC which had nearly as horrendous a development slate last year and a very real problem with aging serieseseses like Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives. Brothers & Sisters finally bit the dust, and it's looking like GA and DH will soon follow. Bearing that in mind, ABC really needs some hits this fall to replace the dinosaurs. Their new slate has some promising pilots, but ABC's schedule doesn't exactly lend itself to hit-making these days, so even the best and brightest are likely to struggle.
After canceling everything but Body of Proof and Happy Endings, ABC has a lot of new shows for the coming year. As with all the other networks, some of the promising options are being held till midseason, but ABC has a good foot forward this fall, Charlie's Angels notwithstanding. Oy.
Here's how the schedule is stacking up for fall (new shows are in caps and the times are Eastern Time):
MONDAY
8/7c Dancing with the Stars
10 pm Castle
TUESDAY
8 pm LAST MAN STANDING
8:30 pm MAN UP
9 pm Dancing with the Stars Results Show
10 pm Body of Proof
WEDNESDAY
8 pm The Middle
8:30 pm SUBURGATORY
9 pm Modern Family
9:30 pm Happy Endings [new time slot]
10 pm REVENGE
THURSDAY
8 pm CHARLIE’S ANGELS
9 pm Grey’s Anatomy
10 pm Private Practice
FRIDAY
8 pm Extreme Makeover: Home Edition [new time slot]
9 pm Shark Tank [new time slot]
10 pm 20/20
SUNDAY
7 pm America’s Funniest Home Videos
8 pm ONCE UPON A TIME
9 pm Desperate Housewives
10 pm PAN AM
They've made some peculiar scheduling choices, I must say... Placing new thriller Revenge after a block of comedies seems like a odd move to me and having new show Charlie's Angels anchor the night on Thursdays rather than feeding off a Grey's lead-in is a bit perplexing. I guess Grey's is in even more trouble than I thought. It's an interesting strategy... whatever it may be.
At any rate, here are the dramas slated for fall:
REVENGE
Description: Stars Emily Van Camp (Brothers & Sisters), Connor Paolo (Gossip Girl), Nick Wechsler (Roswell), Josh Bowman (Make It or Break It) and others. Mike Kelley (Swingtown) wrote the script and will executive-produce.
First Impressions: When the new slate was initially announced, this show had a different, less interesting promo. Based on the new one, I have to admit I'm intrigued. This show is billed as a modern spin on The Count of Monte Cristo, a book I loved, so if they can do the story even partial justice, they're probably in the right ballpark. It's not a literal enough translation to be annoyed by any heavy-handed or missing parallels, it seems, so hopefully they capture the spirit of the thing and play off the beats from the book without pulling everything. I'll cop to being an Everwood fan, and even though Amy was fairly annoying on the show, Emily Van Camp brought as much likability to an unlikable role as she could. I'm not sure she has the gravitas to carry a series like this, but I'm hopeful. The supporting cast looks solid and is populated by the kind of actors you recognize, but don't remember their names. Marc Blucas will only be sucking the life out of every scene in flashbacks, so that's a big help. All in all, I'm not sure how this will work as a multi-year series, but its base concept, at the very least, has me interested. I assume that once the The Count of Monte Cristo elements have been revealed a whole host of other mysteries and scandals will rise up (assuming the show has long enough to get there), but it's hard to tell. It'll be interesting to see how long they draw out the reality of her identity at the very least. With a reputable source material for the foundation of the show, hopefully the writers will have enough of a guide that they can really pull this off and keep the soap opera elements in check. So far, I'm in.
CHARLIE'S ANGELS
Description: Stars Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights), Rachael Taylor (Grey's Anatomy), Annie Ilonzeh (General Hospital), Ramon Rodriguez (The Wire). Original series producer Leonard Goldberg, Drew Barrymore and Smallville's Miles Millar and Al Gough are all producing.
First Impressions: As much as I loved Friday Night Lights and want to give Minka Kelly the benefit of the doubt, this completely unnecessary reboot looks like a substance-less waste of time. I point this out in case "Executive Producer Drew Barrymore" didn't tip you off the probable quality of the show. As with Hawaii Five-O before it, this show appears to be a lot more concerned with looking cool than with telling a good story. It's a cast of beautiful people in a fabulous location with lots of guns and car chases and explosions and crap... which is a set-up that appeals to a whole lotta people. I can see where this show could do pretty well, because there are a lot of viewers out there who are looking for this kind of thing, but I seriously doubt I'll make it past the pilot. I can see where programming that is easy to watch and requires no effort whatsoever has a certain appeal. Sometimes you just don't want to have to try. I get it. But for me, not trying at all generally equals not caring at all. Even my lowest commitment shows tell a good story, even if I don't have to work very hard to watch. From the trailer alone, I'm already bored with this tired routine and the cheesy dialogue. At least Hawaii Five-O has Scott Caan to bring some actual depth and acting ability to the table. Minka, I love you dearly, but this just isn't the role for you, methinks. I honestly don't even want to screen the pilot, I'm not going to lie. I will, of course, but not without bias. I have my fingers crossed that this is secretly excellent, but I'm not holding my breath.
ONCE UPON A TIME
Description: Stars Jennifer Morrison (House), Ginnifer Goodwin (Big Love), Lana Parrilla (Swingtown), Robert Carlyle (Stargate Universe) and others. From from Lost scribes Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz who will produce and write.
First Impressions: Um, wow. VERY intrigued. I can't quite tell if this is going to be an amazing and beautiful exercise in literary structure or a disaster, but count me in either way. From what I've heard from people who've seen the pilot, it's definitely the former. I loves me a good fairy tale and this looks like a theatrical blend of fantasy and reality told in a stylized way. It kind of has a Pushing Daisies bent to it, but with a darker lining. Unlike Grimm, NBC's stab at the the blurring of lines between the real world and the storybook, I think Once Upon a Time will actually pull it off. While Lost certainly had its ups and downs, no one can argue that it didn't play with convention in a successful way, so with any hope, the creative team really brings their A-game and makes this work. The cast is excellent, with erstwhile House underling Jennifer Morrison and the always delightful Ginnifer Goodwin (taking a break from her SYTYCD run) at the helm. It'll be nice to see Morrison in a role that doesn't suck. She's a wonderful actress, but often misused or underused. Goodwin is a pure delight anyway you slice it and already looks like she was plucked from a fairy tale, so, win-win. I'm more willing to suspend disbelief and go with a concept than a lot of viewers out there, so I can see where this show might struggle, but if it can find a core following, I think it's going to be a whimsical, fascinating, and exhilarating ride (those sword fighting scenes looks stylish and exciting). If nothing else, this is a concept that I haven't ever seen before, so even if it has problems, at least it's not another crime procedural or medical drama. It's anchoring the night on Sunday, so it might be in for a challenge, but here's hoping. Why ABC is having these new show up first for the evening, I simply don't understand. Not that they have any returning shows that would really do this show a ton of favors, but even Grey's is better than nothing.
PAN AM
Description: Stars Christina Ricci (Monster), Michael Mosley (Justified), Kelli Garner (My Generation), Jonah Lotan (CSI: NY) and others. Jack Orman (ER) wrote the pilot and will executive-produce with Tommy Schlamme (The West Wing), who is also directing the pilot.
First Impressions: I think I speak for everyone when I say, "Holy shit, that's Christina Ricci?!" Wow, unrecognizable. With that out of the way, this looks like a much more successful foray into a Mad Men-ish vintage setting than NBC's The Playboy Club. So, after these last two reviews, I think the moral of the story is, both ABC and NBC picked a lot of similar-ish set-ups, but ABC's invariably look more promising. The big difference here is that the creative team totally speaks to me here. I was a quite the ER devotee and Tommy Schlamme is an absolute pro. At first blush, I thought this would be a light, soapy romp set in the 60's, but the trailer portends a lot more depth and intrigue. In just the two-minute promo, it raises a lot of questions and social issues, ranging from the rights and roles of women in the 60's to international espionage to the overall experience and security of flying. As with any period piece, setting a show in a different era gives the writers a different rubric within which to work. It's sets up different rules and restrictions and makes the narrative seem fresher. The creative team seems to be having a lot of fun with the concept without sapping it of substance. At the same time, the cast seems very solid and gives a lot of strong female actresses an interesting set-up to work with. My only concern would be the apparent lack of minority actors involved. I'd be more critical, but based on the profession at hand and the era they're in, it makes sense. There won't be any male flight attendants either. Anyway, this looks a lot better in execution than it did on paper. I'm not sure it's the kind of thing that will be a firestorm in the ratings department, but it should certainly appeal to the same demo as Desperate Housewives, so that should prove an effective pairing (that is, assuming anyone still watches DH--I'm hearing this will be the last season though, so maybe that will spark more interest). I'm not saying this will be a perennial favorite for me, but it looks like a true contender for fall.
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