March 29, 2024

TV Networks Preview the New Season

ABC: Tuesday

WHAT’S WORKING “Modern Family,” now at the end of its fourth season, continues to be a war horse for ABC, even though it is not immune to the ratings erosion that has hurt network television in general. “Scandal,” which made its debut in the spring of 2012, is a bona fide hit around the Twitter water cooler, and in some circles “Nashville” is, too.

WHAT’S NOT WORKING “Nashville” is the only drama introduced at last May’s upfront that is getting a second season. Two sitcoms, “Last Man Standing” and “The Neighbors,” are coming back. Otherwise the list of cancellations is long; it includes the two-year-old shows “Happy Endings” and “Body of Proof.”

WHAT WILL HAPPEN AT THE UPFRONTS Expect a lot of attention around “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” a drama from Joss Whedon that picks up where the 2012 film “The Avengers” left off. ABC will also present a spinoff of “Once Upon a Time” set in Wonderland, a drama about seven lottery winners, a thriller called “Betrayal” and a sitcom called “Super Fun Night,” starring Rebel Wilson. There is some speculation that ABC will reduce the aging “Dancing With the Stars” to a once-a-year format, from its current twice a year. BRIAN STELTER

CBS: Wednesday

WHAT’S WORKING Almost everything. While some of its series are aging, and most of the new ones it tried this season flopped, CBS is in a much stronger position than its rivals. “Elementary,” introduced last fall, is the highest-rated new show on an network.

WHAT’S NOT WORKING CBS is down to one “C.S.I.,” the original, after ending “C.S.I.: Miami” last year and canceling “C.S.I.: N.Y.” last week. Ahead of its upfront presentation on Wednesday, it has also dropped several other series that other networks would probably have kept, like “Golden Boys” and “Vegas.”

WHAT WILL HAPPEN AT THE UPFRONTS Expanding on its existing strengths in comedy, CBS will add another from Chuck Lorre, “Mom,” starring Anna Faris and Allison Janney; one from Greg Garcia, “The Millers,” starring Will Arnett; and “We Are Men,” starring Kal Penn and Tony Shalhoub. The network will also promote Robin Williams’s return to television in the sitcom “Crazy Ones.” It is a single-camera comedy, which is noteworthy because CBS usually schedules multiple-camera ones with audience laughter. Among its new dramas are “Intelligence” and “Hostages.” BRIAN STELTER

FOX: Monday

WHAT’S WORKING Fox has fallen from the days when “American Idol” ruled prime time and 18-to-49-year-old viewers tuned in en masse. A couple bright spots in an otherwise troubled schedule included “The Following,” in which Kevin Bacon plays an F.B.I. agent engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with a serial killer, and “New Girl.”

WHAT’S NOT WORKING Dramas like “Mob Doctor” and “Touch” fizzled early on Fox, while the once-popular “Glee” has lost steam. “The X Factor” is expected to return, but the Simon Cowell singing competition series has shown it is no “American Idol” in the ratings.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN AT THE UPFRONTS Fox will turn on the irreverent charm as it tries to sell marketers on five new comedies, including “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” set in a police precinct, and “Dads,” starring Seth Green. The network’s four new dramas include two police shows: “Gang Related,” set in Los Angeles, and “Almost Human,” a futuristic drama from J. J. Abrams. AMY CHOZICK

NBC: Monday

WHAT’S WORKING “The Voice” has emerged as the top reality series on television, and doubling up on competitions in the same season did not hurt it. “Revolution” showed promise in the fall, but fell off in the spring. “Grimm” is a modest hit on Friday — can it move to another night? “Chicago Fire” proved a modest success. “Parenthood” is underrated. Sports — the N.F.L. and the Winter Olympics — will provide the most ratings muscle. “Saturday Night Live” remains a cultural icon.

WHAT’S NOT WORKING Just about everything else. With “The Office” gone, no semblance of a hit comedy survives; only two comedies, “Parks and Recreation” and “Community,” were renewed. Beyond “The Voice,” there are no islands of real strength to build around. New dramas have been mostly a disaster. The newsmagazine “Rock Center” did not survive.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN AT THE UPFRONTS NBC will make news in late night with the ascension of Jimmy Fallon to “The Tonight Show” and the appointment of Seth Meyers to host “Late Night.” The crucial new series will be Sean Hayes’s and Michael J. Fox’s sitcoms, which will be asked to prop up a whole night. The network will introduce an array of shows, 17 in all, hoping something it tosses against the wall — with formats that touch on medical, legal, police and other traditional themes — sticks this time. NBC will promise to use both the fall and the post-Olympic weeks to introduce new shows. BILL CARTER

UNIVISION: Tuesday

WHAT’S WORKING Univision beat NBC in the February sweeps, coming in fourth place with adults in the 18-49 demographic, while NBC finished fifth. Univision also announced it would rename its second-largest network, to UniMás from TeleFutura, meant to focus on a younger, male Latino audience. The network also participated in the Digital Content NewFronts for the first time this year, where executives announced expanded online content offerings including an original Web series about aspiring salsa-dance champions called “Salseras,” created in partnership with the music video Web site Vevo.

WHAT’S NOT WORKING The network has been in the process of putting together Fusion, a new 24-hour news and entertainment channel meant for bicultural English-speaking Latinos. The channel is the first joint venture between ABC News and Univision, and while it has announced a number of important hirings and a new logo, the question remains whether it will be able to keep the attention of its intended audience. A full slate of programming is expected later this year.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN AT THE UPFRONTS Univision executives will announce more than 30 new shows for the 2013-14 season, including two new telenovelas: “La Tempestad” (“The Storm”), billed as one of the network’s most ambitious productions, and “Mentir Para Vivir” (“Lie So You Can Live”), which will include additional multimedia content on UVideos, the network’s first digital-content platform. Univision has also taken a cue from successful English-language programming to create “Gossip Girl Acapulco.” TANZINA VEGA

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/13/business/media/tv-networks-prepare-for-upfronts.html?partner=rss&emc=rss