Winter TV Preview: Scoop on Fox Shows from Television Critics Association
What’s up with House, Terra Nova, Fringe, and the new midseason shows on Fox? Snakkle has all the scoop you need from the Fox panel at Television Critics Association! By Erin FoxFrom the executive session with chairman Kevin Reilly (a.k.a. the bigwig) at Fox:
Glee
Kids will be graduating! And no, there will not be a Glee spin-off for the graduating characters. Reilly says, “We are graduating the characters that are [on track] to graduate, and what’s come out of it is Ryan [Murphy] and the guys have come up with a really cool idea.” Our friends at TVLine.com confirmed that while Lea Michele will be back next year, Chris Colfer’s fate is up in the air due to contract issues. Don’t freak yet, kids—we have a feeling those contracts will work themselves out just fine.
So You Think You Can Dance
Reilly tried to clarify the decision behind getting rid of the elimination episode of the hit dance competition show. His answer was, well, less than clear, saying they wanted to get more shows on the air during the summer and that “we just thought creatively—I think it’s a nice change of format for [the show].” There are many angry dance-offs happening in the name of Reilly right now!
See Cat Deeley before she was famous!
House, Terra Nova, and Fringe
Reilly and crew said they haven’t decided the fate of House yet, and that it’s a “hard decision,” but he knows the show will have a satisfying conclusion for fans. Speaking of undecided fates, add Terra Nova and Fringe to that list… again. The network seems to love both shows in theory. But Reilly admits that Terra Nova has been “hunting for itself” throughout the season. Reilly says about Fringe, “I share a passion for the show like fans, and fans stuck with it on Friday night—the hesitation is that it’s expensive and we lose a lot of money on that show.” Reilly also begged the fans, “Don’t start the letter-writing campaign. I can’t take it!” We’ll hold off then… for now.
Touch
Do you hear that? It’s the sound of Kiefer Sutherland not chasing baddies with a ticking clock in the background! Come this March 25 at 9 p.m. ET, we’ll see a softer side of Mr. Sutherland as he portrays Martin Bohm, a widower and single father who is desperate to reach his emotionally challenged 11-year-old son, Jake. Jake is obsessed with numbers, which we’ll later discover is a gift that will shape the destiny of the entire planet. No pressure, little man!
Kiefer’s back on TV… and so soon! After eight grueling seasons on 24, Sutherland told critics that he wasn’t ready to return. However, 35 pages into the Touch script he knew he was in real trouble, because he loved it! Sutherland says, “It spoke to me,” but he needed to give the script a second read to make sure he connected to the emotional side of the show.
Touch is brought to you by Tim Kring—you know, that guy who brought us that crazy ride known as Heroes? Should be very interesting.
24 Movie???
And you didn’t think we’d leave you hanging about the fate of the 24 movie, did you? Straight from Kiefer’s mouth: They’ll begin shooting “end of April or early May.” Start the clock!
See Kiefer Sutherland in our Stand By Me 25th-anniversary photo gallery.
Alcatraz
The man, the myth, the legend—the guy who wore hipster Buddy Holly glasses before anyone else—J.J. Abrams has a new show about the mysterious island prison, Alcatraz. He joined the panel at TCA along with producers and cast to pump us up about the drama that investigates the reappearance of 302 of the island’s most notorious prisoners and guards, 50 years after they vanished. Wha???
The show was able to shoot at the infamous prison and explore areas that were not open to the general public. Series star Sam Neill, who plays the old-school G-man Emerson Hauser, says there is a real “charisma of that strange place that permeates the show,” and that there’s something about the cruelty of a prison where you sit behind bars and look at something as beautiful as San Francisco. We have goosebumps already.
Alcatraz’s two-hour premiere is on Fox on January 16 at 8 p.m. ET.
Napoleon Dynamite
You voted for Pedro, but will you trade your tots for the new animated version of the cult film classic Napoleon Dynamite? Based on the reaction at TCA, we think you’ll all be happy little ligers. The funniest part of the panel was Jon Heder explaining that he gets to have a much more wide emotional range in the animated series than the movie. He even experimented with giggling. That’s right, Jon (as Napoleon) got to participate in a giggle workshop. How could you not tune in now?
And if you needed any more of an incentive to tune in, how about amazing guest stars? Expect the awesome Amy Poehler, Sam Rockwell, and Jennifer Coolidge to visit Preston, Idaho, soon!
The Napoleon Dynamite two-episode premiere is January 15 at 8:30 p.m. ET and 9:30 p.m. ET on Fox.
For more scoop from TCA, follow us on Twitter @Snakkle.