For fourteen straight days – 15 if you include the opening night party thrown by Nat Geo, the Television Critics Association summer press tour took over the Beverly Hilton for its semi-annual look at participating networks’ programming. The nearly nonstop series of panels and parties give those who cover television multiple opportunities to have access to executives and talent, who field a wide array of questions from media members. Network honchos also use the occasion to make announcements and to expound upon television industry trends.
Here are some of the highlights from the broadcast networks:
ABC: Sure, Kerry Washington and “Scandal” are and will be in the spotlight for the Emmy Awards on September 22, but right after that it will be “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” that will suck up nearly all the attention for the alphabet net. (It premieres on September 24.) The entire pilot was screened for TCA before the creators and cast took the stage. For those without intimate knowledge of the secret intelligence organization, it stands for Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division– and has been alluded to in Marvel properties including “Thor,” “Captain America” and “The Avengers.”
Led by Jed and Joss Whedon, who is also working on the new Avengers film, SHIELD will lead off a Tuesday night on ABC comprised of other new shows, including “The Goldbergs,” “Lucky 7″ and” Trophy Wife.”
Another promising newcomer is the Chicago-set “Betrayal,” starring Hannah Ware and the always intrinsically complex and fascinating James Cromwell. It’s based on a Dutch program that combines the elements of crime and romance surrounding a privileged, dysfunctional family. “It resonated with me because of ‘Lear,’” Cromwell said.
Also family-based, “The Goldbergs” is a comedy set in the 1980s based upon creator Adam Goldberg’s formative years. During its panel, cast member Jeff Garlin got a little defensive. “I’m not doing anything that’s shit except ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm,’” he said when questioned about his character’s propensity to scream and yell.
James Caan returns to broadcast television in “Back in the Game.” “Bad movies brought me back,” said the legendary actor, who will always be known for playing Sonny Corleone. On cable, he recently had a compelling mobster arc in the period drama “Magic City,” which, to our great dismay was recently canceled by Starz.
“Back in the Game” is a comedy revolving around a group of kids that no one else would want on their baseball team and Caan says his character chased two umpires over the fence with a baseball bat.
CBS: The Eye likes to stick to tradition, and will launch most of its new shows during the week of September 23. One thing that’s a little different than usual is it will air to back-to-back episodes of the hit comedy “The Big Bang Theory” on that Thursday night leading into the new Robin Williams comedy “The Crazy Ones,” set for 9 p.m., where it will compete with NBC’s new “The Michael J. Fox Show.”
Meanwhile, CEO Les Moonves declared that it was “unfair” that its much-lauded drama “The Good Wife” has to compete for Emmy attention against shows like HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” “It probably cost three times as much to make and takes three times as long to shoot,” he said, while admitting that “GoT” is a brilliant show that he loves as much as anyone.
Moonves also announced that the Eye’s limited summer Stephen King series “Under the Dome” will return next summer for 13 more episodes. “It’s the way television should be,” Moonves said. “It’s the way television can be.” Especially when it’s averaging 14 million viewers.
Other high profile new shows include Chuck Lorre’s “Mom,” about a recovering alcoholic, played by Ana Faris and her mother, portrayed by Allison Janney. Lorre said he had considered doing a vampire show, but opted to go in this direction. “I wanted to tell a story about a woman starting her life over again repairing the mistakes that have been done,” he said. “Getting another start is very much a story of Los Angeles, even though this isn’t set in Los Angeles, because this is the city of second chances or fifth or sixth chances.” Hmmm, veiled allusion to Charlie Sheen?
In late night, it’s the return of Arsenio Hall that’s making headlines. Syndicated by CBS television distribution, “The Arsenio Hall show” will appear nearly 20 years after Hall bowed out of his previous late-night talker whose highlights included Bill Clinton playing the saxophone and Magic Johnson talking about AIDS. “Basically, what I’ll do is just assert my personality and hope people will hang with me,” he said. “But the challenges are gigantic now. What I’ve got to be is better than one guy that’s there already. You don’t have to go after Chelsea’s fans or Leno’s fans to be in the game.”
Casting a shadow over all the proceedings was CBS’s carriage battle with Time Warner Cable, which resulted in a blackout in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas customers that continues as of press time. We miss David Letterman and “Entertainment Tonight,” to name just a few CBS shows that TWC is withholding.
The dispute revolves around the monthly fee that TWC pays for each subscriber who receives programming from the stations that CBS owns. Reportedly, the broadcaster was lobbying for as much as $2 per subscriber monthly, more than double the current rate the cable company pays.
NBC: Entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt, formerly of Showtime, created a lot of noise when he called broadcast television the “bastard child” of the industry when compared with cable.
The Peacock net ordered four miniseries, including one about Hillary Clinton that will star Diane Lane as the former Secretary of State and FOTUS, which is already drawing threats of boycott from the GOP and may or may not come to fruition. Also on tap, a reboot of King’s 1987 novel “The Tommyknockers” about residents of a small Maine town and a remake of Roman Polanski’s 1968 iconic horror thriller “Rosemary’s Baby.”
But first, high-profile dramas are on the way, including “The Blacklist,” starring James Spader, who spent a lot of time explaining his shaved head look. “Actors are burdened with their past and this is an entirely different person and look for me,” he said. “He moves swiftly and needs a haircut he can do himself – or at a barbershop in Cambodia. It’s the same with his clothes. They’re streamlined.”
And then there’s the remake of “Ironside” with Blair Underwood in the title role, a fact that has drawn some controversy that a disabled actor was not cast. The producers say about 10% of the show will be in flashback, before Ironside was injured, and informing his emotional state. Cast member Pablo Schreiber joked that he will be clean-shaven, as opposed to his porn-stache sported in “Orange is the New Black.” And yes, Pablo is Live’s younger (half) brother.
Michael J. Fox’s eponymous new show premieres Thursday, September 26 at 9 PM. Coping with Parkinson’s disease will be part of his character’s travails as he returns to work as a television news anchor in the sitcom upon which the network is counting on strong ratings.
It may not have the biggest numbers, but “Parenthood” is a beloved show that is returning for its fifth season. Creator Jason Katims and cast members, including Monica Potter, Dax Shepard, Peter Krause and Craig Nelson, took questions about last season’s cancer storyline. “I didn’t want to know too much. I wanted it to be real and fresh,” Potter said. “I had a good bald cap. It took four hours to put on.”
Also, going into its fifth season is “The Voice,” with original coaches Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green returning to their red chairs alongside Blake Shelton and Adam Levine. Those seats were ably filled by Usher and Shakira and Christina especially seemed eager to regain the spotlight on the hit reality show.
Fox: Long known as the edgiest of the broadcast networks, Fox is drawing some unwanted attention for its upcoming comedy “Dads,” which stars Seth Green, Peter Riegert, Martin Mull and Vanessa Lachey, who defended charges of racism that were leveled in the depiction of an Asian woman, played by Brenda Song. “You have to laugh at yourself,” she said. “I’m Asian, and I’m not good at math. When a guy hits on me, I say that I don’t speak English.”
During the panel for “X Factor,” Simon Cowell faced some embarrassing questions about reports that he’s fathered a child with a married woman, reports on which he declined to comment.
The bigger topic was the revolving panel of judges, which now include Paulina Rubio– fresh off her stint coaching “The Voice Kids” on Telemundo, Demi Lovato and Kelly Rowland, who was a judge on the British version several years ago. The new all-femme crew replaces Britney Spears and L.A. Reid on the panel. “I’m the youngest judge on any of these shows,” said Lovato. “Fans and parents are watching to see if I’m worthy of being a judge.”
Genre fans are sure to enjoy the new “Almont Human,” run by Joel Wyman and Roberto Orci. “It’s about man and machine,” Wyman said of the cop/android drama. “Technology isn’t bad. It’s how we use it.” He also claimed the new show is more accessible than his previous series “Fringe,” which recently completed its run on Fox.
“Enlisted” is a comedy about three brothers on a military base and are somewhat misfit pals, which creator Kevin Beigel said will not be at all disrespectful to the military. The show is scheduled for 9:30 PM Friday timeslot, of which cast member Geoff Stults said, “We’re just happy to be on. Lowe’s quote
CW: Taking a half day at TCA, the network showcased new programs
“Reign” “The Tomorrow People” and “The Originals.” “Reign,” about the 16th century Mary Queen of Scots, is coming under scrutiny for historical inaccuracies. But hey, folks, it is not a documentary. The CW will use its biggest hit, “The Vampire Diaries” to launch it on Thursday nights.
“In each episode we’ll educate people on what element of history helps our story,” said exec producer Laurie McCarthy. “There is a certain amount of latitude,” she acknowledged. “It’s TV so, you know, we can take creative license with it. It’s entertainment,” added star Adelaide Kane, who plays the title character.
“The Tomorrow People” is based on the 1970s British program and stars Robbie Amell, who looks a lot like his cousin Stephen of “Arrow.” Tomorrow people are supposed to represent the next stage of human evolution and have powers like teleportation, telepathy and telekinesis. The drama follows Amell as he learns that he in fact possesses those powers as part of an elite group that are fighting against it, possibly more powerful group called Ultra. As per all CW shows, all of the characters are extremely attractive.
“The Originals” is a spinoff of “The Vampire Diaries” and revolves around the concept of embracing vampirism rather than struggling with it. “It’s about the power of the family community and the power struggle over the family community and the supernatural community of an entire city,” said executive producer Julie Plec.
