Fall 2012 Network Shows: GONNA PASS!

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

By this point you've probably already seen a little bit about which shows each major broadcast network has picked up and when they're planning to air them. Some sites have covered them show by show, others network by network, and at least two decided to break it down night by night. We decided to go with our interest in them - what we can't wait for, what we don't think is worth the time, what falls somewhere in the middle, and even what we don't think will last. Of course, this is subject to change, especially come late July when so much more comes to light! Today we look at the ones that we're not really planning on checking out at all. Some of them sound like they could get a nice audience, others maybe not...

Arrow (CW) is based on the comic book Green Arrow, a superhero vigilante who rights wrongs in Starling City. I just don't need a comic book show in my life, but I can see how it could work for other people.

The Carrie Diaries (CW) looks at Sex and the City's Carrie Bradshaw's senior year of high school. I never could stand Sex and the City, so I have no desire to see another incarnation of it. That said, the show had a large following, so this could work.

Cult (CW) is a journalist blogger and a production assistant who investigate mysterious disappearances. This sounds a bit boring to me, but the contemporary idea of a blogger being a main character could do well.

Vegas (formerly Ralph Lamb, CBS) is 1960s mobsters. Stars Dennis Quaid. Not for me. The setting could do great for others, as could Dennis Quaid.

The Mindy Project (formerly It's Messy, FOX) is Mindy Kaling's (The Office) show where she plays a physician living life. Not a fan of Mindy, don't like the premise as it relates to medicine, nothing really grabs me at all. Some people will tune in for Mindy, though... 

The Following (FOX) looks at an FBI agent "in the middle of a network of serial killers." It stars Kevin Bacon. Kevin Bacon isn't enough to draw me in, and this screams "procedural" and "crime-solving" too much for me to bat an eye.

R: Patrick Ecclesine/FOX

Red Widow (ABC) focuses on a woman who is left to take over a small criminal business where her husband is murdered. Eh. How many gangster or family-coming-together shows need to premiere in 2012-2013? This one just blends in and doesn't seem to offer anything special.

How to Live with Your Parents for the Rest of Your Life (ABC) has divorced mom Sarah Chalke moving back in with her parents - Brad Garrett and Elizabeth Perkins. Perhaps the cast is enough to make you tune in, but not me. Perhaps you're interested in people moving in with their parents, but I'm not. The combination doesn't make it any better. And, I agree with the ten thousand others who have already said it: shorter title, please.

666 Park Avenue (ABC) is a drama based on the book series, following a young couple taking over a devil-haunted NYC apartment building. Yeah... I don't do creepy. I think that Sundays at 10pm will be a good slot for this creepy mess, so it might do great, just not with me.

Chicago Fire (NBC) is about firemen in Chicago. Look for Jesse Spencer as some eye candy. Chicago isn't my favorite city, firemen aren't my favorite profession, and Jesse Spencer isn't my favorite hottie. Where's the draw?

(Photo by: Sandro/NBC)

Do No Harm (NBC) will be a Dr. Jekyll/Mr.Hyde type medical drama, starring a brain surgeon. Phylicia Rashad is set to co-star. This borders on creepy, but could also be part House, what with a random time-bomb-type doctor and all. I think this show is trying a bit too hard... and that some concepts are better left off serials.

Next Caller (NBC) is a satellite radio DJ who now has to share a show with an NPR feminist. Stars Dane Cook and Jeffrey Tambor. Meh... I'm a very big fan of Frasier, but hated the episodes where he had tension with coworkers - be it Bulldog's pranks, Dr. Mary's comments, or his love/hate relationship with several others. I just don't see the appeal here.

Hannibal (NBC) based on the characters in the classic novels, a criminal profiler is looking for a serial killer, and partners with an amazing empathizer. Again, I don't do creepy. Or serial killers, for that matter. But I could see this becoming popular with others.

News Roundup: Mostly Scheduling & Casting Updates

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Renewals, Cancellations, & Scheduling:
Revenge for Real will air on ABC March 7th and 14th at 10pm ET/PT. This is a limited series from ABC News.

After this week's (3/8) The Finder on FOX, it will move from Thursday nights to Friday nights, airing on April 6th in the 8pm ET/PT slot.

USA's Fairly Legal (season2) and In Plain Sight (season 5) are back on Friday, March 16th.

Unchained Reaction, a show that has people building a series of mechanisms across five days, will premiere on the Discovery Channel on Sunday, March 18th at 10pm ET/PT

La-La's Full Court Life (season 2) and Styled by June (season 1) will be airing on VH1 starting Monday, March 19th.

My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding returns to TLC on Friday, March 23rd at 10pm ET/PT.

MTV's Savage U begins Tuesday, April 3rd at 11pm. This docuseries will follow Dan Savage "as he travels to college campuses across the country, talking to students and offering them a creash course on relationships, responsibility, sex, and love."

BBC America's No Kitchen Required, an outdoor cooking competition series, will begin airing on Tuesday, April 3rd, at 10pm ET/PT.

USA's Common Law will premiere on Friday, May 11th at 10pm ET/PT.

Anger Management, the FX series starring Charlie Sheen, will premiere on Thursday, June 28th at 9pm ET/PT.

Cast & Plot Updates:
Leonard Nimoy will provide a voice in the March 29th episode of The Big Bang Theory.

Looks like we're in for less girls like Amber and Catelynn on future episodes of 16 and Pregnant. MTV seems to only want to cast mothers who don't have "train wreck" backgrounds. It also seems that many of the upcoming girls are from affluent families and are quite attractive - two cheerleaders and two models are among the teens.

Matthew Perry will star as a sportscaster on the NBC comedy pilot, Go On, where he is part of a mandated group therapy session.

Dane Cook will star in the new NBC comedy Next Caller Please, which will revolve around a DJ and his co-host at a radio station.

Phylicia Rashad will be part of the NBC drama, Do No Harm, where she will play a doctor who works with a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde character.

Jesse Spencer will star in NBC's new drama, Chicago Fire, where he'll play a firefighter who is in the process of separating from his wife.

So long as Pan Am doesn't get renewed, Karine Vanasse will be a clothing designer on ABC's Scruples, a drama based on the 1978 book.

Leah Remini will star in ABC's new comedy, White Van Man.

Amy Smart has joined the cast of Bad Girls, an NBC drama where she'll play a "Barbie-type who was busted for stealing and running up her friend's credit card."

Shows in Development & Other Fun Stuff:
If you're interested, Timothy Omundson will be available to answer questions during the Eastern airing of Psych this Wednesday, March 7th, at 10pm ET.

If you'd like to be on The X-Factor, there are open auditions coming up... Kansas City on March 14th, Austin on March 22nd, San Francisco on April 20th, Greensboro, NC on May 1st, and Providence on May 10th. You only have to be twelve years old, but to read about the other requirements, check it out online.

ABC's Shark Tank has gotten an expansion of two episodes, bringing the season total to fifteen.

Lifetime has picked up Bristol Palin: Life's a Tripp as a ten-episode docuseries.

The Hub has four new original series coming in the 2012-2013 season, including Care Bears: Welcome to Care-a-Lot, Littlest Pet Shop, Kaijudo: Rise of the Duel Masters, and Spooksville (this one is live-action). They'll also begin airing The Facts of Life, Mork & Mindy, and Sabrina, The Teenage Witch.

The Game Developers Conference in San Francisco this week will have an exclusive first look at the Game of Thrones online game, which is planned to be free to play.

Canadian animation company Cuppa Coffee Studios has a new, 20-episode program coming up in April that will focus on the Osbourne family... The F'n Osbournes.