Looking Ahead: FOX's Comedies and Dramas for 2013

During their presentation, the big thing FOX mentioned was the goal of year-round programming. This means that the 22-episode season that runs from September to May isn't their primary agenda anymore. Shorter seasons, year-round premieres, and some show-juggling will all occur to make this happen. On the one hand, it's innovative and will probably get people watching, especially couch potatoes who are always upset that nothing "good" runs in the summer. On the other hand, less episodes rarely satisfies fans, and not having a steady schedule can be confusing to those without DVR or Tivo.

Head's up - in a nutshell, I'm not huge on any of FOX's upcoming works... I might try one of the comedies, but none of the dramas or other works. And, honestly, that worries me!

COMEDY:
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (previously the untitled Dan Goor/Mike Schur comedy) may sound like a drama (or at least it does to me), but with Andy Samberg as part of the cast, it has to be a comedy. The series is based on a group of NY detectives in which there's a slacker who learns to mature and play by the rules. Not my cup of tea, but it could find an audience.

Dads is the Seth MacFarlane project that's keeping his reboot of The Flintstones off the air, or so it seems. Seth Green and Giovanni Ribisi are BFFs whose respective fathers move in with them on short notice. I love Ribisi as much as the next person (or perhaps more), and that's the only thing that might convince me to tune in. MacFarlane is sure to sell at least a few episodes to viewers, though!

FOX

Enlisted is the new home for Geoff Stults. As you might imagine, it's a military show about three brothers who work together on an Army base in Florida. I was willing to check it out for the Floridian in me, but after taking a look at the trailer, I just have no interest in this comedy.

Murder Police is an animated comedy about am "inept" detective and his colleagues. Jane Lynch will do some voicework for the series. People who suck at their jobs are a pet peeve of mine, so I'll gladly be turning to something else. 

Surviving Jack (once known as I Suck at Girls) is based on a coming-of-age book where a boy becomes a man and a man becomes a father. I can't look away quickly enough on this one, and feel that FOX might not have been the best network for it.

Us and Them (previously Friends and Family) is yet another BBC ripoff, but with Jason Ritter and Alexis Bledel. The premise is basically that you can have all the friends and family in the world but still struggle with relationships. I'm not impressed.


DRAMA:
Almost Human (previously Human and The Untitled Bad Robot/J.H. Wyman project) is a futuristic police series with robot assistants. On the surface, it's not worth a second thought. The fact that there are no huge names in it, either, doesn't help.

Gang Related is pretty much like it sounds. A young member of the Gang Task Force in LA is teamed with a veteran to take down the three most dangerous gangs in the city. The catch is that rookie has ties to one of them. I'll pass due to lack of interest, but be aware that we're actually looking pretty far into the future here, as it isn't set to debut until next May.

Rake examines a criminal defense lawyer reminiscent of Dr. House, as he's "brilliant but self-destructive." The series is ripped off of an Australian show and we're looking at a January premiere. I absolutely believe that there is an audience for this one, and we might have a contributing author cover it here, but it's not for me. 

Sleepy Hollow is a modern version of the novel, with Ichabod Crane resurrected to find the apocalypse forthcoming. He will buddy-up with a female police officer to save humanity. Now, besides the fact that it's a really rather ridiculous idea, how does one make a series out of this??

OTHER:
24: Live Another Day is the much-anticipated miniseries sequel to the hit show of ten years ago. It'll run twelve episodes, each encompassing an hour like the original drama, but some hours will be skipped. While the idea behind 24 always fascinated me, I never got into the Jack Bauer stuff and will be passing this time around, too.

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey is a 13-part docu-series that's basically just updating Carl Sagan's original. As much as I love documentaries, space isn't really my thing, so I'm out. 

Wayward Pines is the midseason miniseries from M. Night Shyamalan, focusing on the disappearance of some federal agents in Idaho. I'm not one for a lot of "thriller" stuff on television, and Idaho isn't the most exciting place to me, so I'll pass.

What do you think you'll try?

[quick links to the other networks: ABC, CBS/CW, NBC.]