FOX is going hard after pilots this year after a rough season that saw declining reality shows, a big sophomore drop for New Girl, and only one new success (The Following). After picking up four dramas, FOX just picked up four comedies to join the already ordered Dads from Seth McFarlane and starring Seth Green and Giovanni Ribsi: Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Surviving Jack, Enlisted, and Us and Them. That brings their total to nine new series, which is WAY up from the five last year (and only four have even aired so far with The Goodwin Games getting burned off this summer).
Brooklyn Nine-Nine was one of the hottest projects throughout pilot season because of its star Andy Samberg. From writers and producers of Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn is about a police precinct on the edge of New York City with Samberg as a free-spirited detective who gets a serious new boss played by Andre Braugher. The show also stars Melissa Fumero, Terry Crews, Stephanie Beatriz, Joe Lo Truglio, and Chelsea Peretti.
Surviving Jack is a new comedy starring Christopher Meloni, who spent over a decade on Law & Order: SVU. Based on the book "I Suck at Girls" by Justin Halpern, the show is set in southern California in the 1990s. The show is about a father and son relationship in a different era and is, I believe, the first "period" show set in the 90s. The show also stars Alex Kapp Horner, Connor Buckley, Claudia Lee, Kevin Hernandez, and Tyler Foden. Hopefully it fares better than the last series based on a Halpern book: CBS' short-lived $#*! My Dad Says.
Enlisted is a new military comedy about three brothers on a small army base in Florida. Starring Geoff Stults, Keith David, Angelique Cabral, Parker Young, and Chris Lowell, Enlisted has long been a hot pilot for FOX despite no major names attached. It is the first military comedy awhile but that has been a genre that's been explored back to the 1950s.
Us and Them (formerly Friends and Family) with a strong cast led by Jason Ritter and Alexis Bledel. Based on a British series, the show is about a romance between Ritter and Bledel who are surrounded by friends and family making their relationship more difficult. The show also stars Jane Kaczmarek, Dustin Ybarra, Karri Kenney-Silver, Kurt Fuller, and Ashlie Atkinson. This seems like it might be a great fit for the post-New Girl slot.
With these pickups and the returning New Girl, Raising Hope, and The Mindy Project, FOX has eight comedies on deck which almost certainly means they will open up at least another hour of comedy, probably for some of the more male-skewing comedies they just picked up. Another possibility is some of these shows, particularly McFarlane's Dads, getting mixed in with the animated shows on Sunday. Either way, good for FOX for picking up so many shows. Aggressiveness is needed and FOX showed they aren't afraid to throw a lot at the wall and hope something sticks. I have to wonder if this means they will cut back on The X Factor like they should.
These pickups mean the others were passed on: family comedy The Gabriels starring Rob Riggle, law office comedy To My Future Assistant which had a strong cast led by Catherine O'Hara, Stephen Root, and Brittany Snow, and romantic comedy Two Wrongs starring Kelli Garner.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine was one of the hottest projects throughout pilot season because of its star Andy Samberg. From writers and producers of Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn is about a police precinct on the edge of New York City with Samberg as a free-spirited detective who gets a serious new boss played by Andre Braugher. The show also stars Melissa Fumero, Terry Crews, Stephanie Beatriz, Joe Lo Truglio, and Chelsea Peretti.
Surviving Jack is a new comedy starring Christopher Meloni, who spent over a decade on Law & Order: SVU. Based on the book "I Suck at Girls" by Justin Halpern, the show is set in southern California in the 1990s. The show is about a father and son relationship in a different era and is, I believe, the first "period" show set in the 90s. The show also stars Alex Kapp Horner, Connor Buckley, Claudia Lee, Kevin Hernandez, and Tyler Foden. Hopefully it fares better than the last series based on a Halpern book: CBS' short-lived $#*! My Dad Says.
Enlisted is a new military comedy about three brothers on a small army base in Florida. Starring Geoff Stults, Keith David, Angelique Cabral, Parker Young, and Chris Lowell, Enlisted has long been a hot pilot for FOX despite no major names attached. It is the first military comedy awhile but that has been a genre that's been explored back to the 1950s.
Us and Them (formerly Friends and Family) with a strong cast led by Jason Ritter and Alexis Bledel. Based on a British series, the show is about a romance between Ritter and Bledel who are surrounded by friends and family making their relationship more difficult. The show also stars Jane Kaczmarek, Dustin Ybarra, Karri Kenney-Silver, Kurt Fuller, and Ashlie Atkinson. This seems like it might be a great fit for the post-New Girl slot.
With these pickups and the returning New Girl, Raising Hope, and The Mindy Project, FOX has eight comedies on deck which almost certainly means they will open up at least another hour of comedy, probably for some of the more male-skewing comedies they just picked up. Another possibility is some of these shows, particularly McFarlane's Dads, getting mixed in with the animated shows on Sunday. Either way, good for FOX for picking up so many shows. Aggressiveness is needed and FOX showed they aren't afraid to throw a lot at the wall and hope something sticks. I have to wonder if this means they will cut back on The X Factor like they should.
These pickups mean the others were passed on: family comedy The Gabriels starring Rob Riggle, law office comedy To My Future Assistant which had a strong cast led by Catherine O'Hara, Stephen Root, and Brittany Snow, and romantic comedy Two Wrongs starring Kelli Garner.
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