Greetings from the TCA press tour [1]! I'm coming to you live from the Universal Hilton, where Fox is presenting its Winter and Spring shows today. A few minutes ago, the network's entertainment president, Kevin Reilly, took the stage to make some announcements about the network's future plans. Here are some highlights:
- Prison Break [2] is officially wrapping up this Spring after four seasons; its final batch of episodes (at least four, maybe a few more) will start Friday, April 17. "Prison Break has had a hell of a run and is just at the end of that run," Reilly said. "We'll put that one in the win column, but it just got down to the point where a lot of stories have been told."
- Is this good news for Dollhouse [3]? Reilly said "we're going to let the show play out for 13 episodes."
- More on Dollhouse and the decision to put it on Friday: "Joss does a certain kind of show. I think he's right in the zone again on that. It's the kind of show that has a core passionate audience." If the show hadn't been put on Fridays, Reilly said, "there was going to be enormous pressure on it."
To see Reilly's thoughts about Fringe [4], the future of Fox comedy, and more, just .
- Twice in the session, Reilly said Fringe "is a keeper." He said it's been "a bear creatively because it's been very ambitious," but the writers seem to have figured out the best way to tell their stories now. "If you follow the show week to week, you will not be disappointed in the serialized through-lines," he said, "and yet the stories really do reset themselves week to week." Usually, he said, closed-ended shows do better after American Idol [5], and while he doesn't expect Fringe to take off after Idol, he does expect it to "tick up."
- Of Bones [6] jumping all over the schedule, Reilly said the network has faith in the show even if all the moving around is "a strange way of showing the love." He called it the kind of show you build a network with, "these shows that can go in there and do a job for you."
- The Family Guy [7] spinoff, The Cleveland Show [8], has "frankly, a sweeter tone than Family Guy" and could be good for a younger audience. A full season of it has been ordered.
- The network still has a full season of The Moment of Truth in the can for whenever it's needed and is considering doing more Secret Millionaire.
- Reilly said Fox is in "a rebuilding period" for comedy, and they won't put something on the air just for the sake of having a comedy.
- But, on that note, the animated Sit Down, Shut Up [9], which includes a ton of Arrested Development [10] alumni, will premiere Sunday, April 19.
You can follow all my TCA adventures here and on Twitter [11] all week.
Photos courtesy of Fox [12]