We Love TV!
This is just an unofficial fan page, we have no connection
to any shows or networks.
Please click here to vote for our site!
By
Suzanne

Fox 2014 Programming Presentation 5/12/14
Final Transcript
FBC PUBLICITY: Fox 2014 Programming Presentation
May 12, 2014/9:00 a.m. EDT
SPEAKERS
Shannon Ryan
Kevin Reilly
Joe Earley
Toby Byrne
Eric Shanks
Dan Harrison
PRESENTATION
Moderator: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by
and welcome to the Fox 2014 Program Presentation. At this
time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later, we
will conduct a question and answer session. As a reminder,
today’s conference is being recorded. I would now like to
turn the conference over to our host, Shannon Ryan. Please
go ahead.
Shannon: Hello, there. Thank you. Good morning, everyone.
Thanks for joining us today. Before we run through our
portfolio of content for 2014-2015, I just want to remind
everyone that you can download today’s press release along
with the show descriptions, photos and other helpful
information through our press Web site, foxflash.com. In
addition, after today’s upfront presentation, we will post
video trailers from the new series that Kevin and Toby are
going to present this afternoon.
Now, while people are still dialing in, I’ll just take a
moment to highlight a few of FOX’s key achievements this
year. We’re ending the season steady with last year and we
came out with a number of wins, including the No. 1
unscripted series with Adults 18 to 49 in MASTERCHEF JUNIOR,
the No. 2 new drama with Adults 18 to 49 in SLEEPY HOLLOW,
six of the Top 25 comedies out of 127, four of the Top 25
dramas out of 145, and seven of the Top 25 unscripted shows
out of over 500 on television.
We also set records once again in the younger adult and teen
demos. We’re going to win the 12th consecutive season among
Adults 18 to 34 and this year, we’ll mark our 14th straight
wins among Teens. Okay. So, hopefully, everyone should be on
now. So, let’s get started.
To talk a little bit about the upcoming season and answer
your questions, we have with us FOX’s Chairman of
Entertainment, Kevin Reilly; our COO, Joe Earley; President
of Sales, Toby Byrne; Fox Sports President and COO and
Executive Producer, Eric Shanks; and our Executive Vice
President of Strategic Program Planning, Dan Harrison. And
now, I’m going to turn it over to Kevin.
Kevin: Good morning, everybody. How are you? Thanks for
joining us. I know you’ve got a lot to ask and to do today.
So, with that said, let me review the schedule.
First of all, I would just say that although I don’t really
acknowledge the official season as defined by Nielsen, if
you were to look at the official season as defined by
Nielsen, this past one was a tough one for us, especially
the second half of the year. Some of our returning shows
just did not perform as well as anticipated. But as Shannon
mentioned, we did come out with a cluster of some very
strong assets in SLEEPY HOLLOW, MASTERCHEF JUNIOR and
BROOKLYN NINE-NINE, and it was great to get our new event
series franchise off to such a strong start with 24: LIVE
ANOTHER DAY, which premiered last week.
I think you’ll see a particularly strong crop of development
from us this year. We’ve got 12 new series and three new
stand-alone specials for 2014-15. I’ll just give you three
quick strategic points that you’ll be hearing from us today
at the upfront.
The first is that we deliver the most useful audience at
scale, and that really is supported by our 18 to 34 demos.
We have the highest concentration of 18 to 34 demo, which is
double that of any of our competitors. We’ll talk more about
that later. The second is that we are redefining the network
experience. We’re really transforming FOX into a 24/7-365
platform, that embraces the non-linear viewing experience.
The third point is that on the linear channel, we are
eventizing our entertainment slate, which is where the power
of broadcast television really shines through. It’s about
urgency to view, and you see that in our sports package, and
we’re going to be bringing more of that to the entertainment
side.
We’re going through a real transitional time in television
right now. People are watching more of it than ever before,
and on a multitude of platforms, and we are certainly
embracing that at FOX. Let’s quickly go through the schedule
and you guys can fire away.
On Mondays, we’ve got a particularly potent combination of
dramas here with our hot and biggest hit of last season,
SLEEPY HOLLOW, paired up with what I think is sure to be
this season’s biggest and noisiest hit. Thankfully, it is a
show that delivers on its promise in GOTHAM at 8:00.
On Tuesdays, I loved the four-comedy block that we’ve been
doing the last number of years. I think we’ve had some
terrific shows. It has been a frustration not having cover
for it, from a ratings perspective. We’ve been a little
vulnerable, so we got very strategic about this year and put
in good shows where I think they have some protection. So,
we’ve got a very big bet in UTOPIA, our new unscripted show
that’s coming in from John de Mol. I think that show is
going to be very, very noisy and the most exciting new entry
in unscripted for quite some time. That should give us a
real boost going into NEW GIRL and MINDY at 9:00 and 9:30
PM.
On Wednesdays, we’re adding one new drama in the fall with
RED BAND SOCIETY, which really turned out to be something
special. If you go back to “Beverly Hills, 90210” and GLEE
and “The O.C.,” we have a history of young-appeal soaps.
This feels like the next iteration of it. It’s
inspirational. It really feels like it moves the genre
forward.
At 8:00, we have a show in HELL’S KITCHEN that is one of the
heroes of our schedule. It’s been in about five time
periods. It’s a Top 10 unscripted show. It’s been the top
show in its five time periods over the last number of years.
It’ll give us some real boost, a very broad-based audience
going into RED BAND SOCIETY.
On Thursdays, we’ve got two female-appeal dramas: BONES,
which is very similar to HELL’S KITCHEN, in that it has
performed wherever it’s been, and it’s been a lot of places.
It has been on Thursday night before, and performed there.
It goes into our second event series, GRACEPOINT, a
10-episode close-ended series. We acquired [the U.K.’s] “Broadchurch.”
Many of you asked two things about “Broadchurch.” Is
GRACEPOINT going to be as good as “Broadchurch?” The answer
is yes. And secondly, is there a new twist and a new ending,
and the answer is yes, there is. So, I’m thrilled at the way
this has turned out. It’s really an excellent cast, headed
by David Tennant, and Anna Gunn in her first role after
winning the Emmy for “Breaking Bad.” That’s going to be a
very good night of television on Thursdays.
Fridays, we’re going to double-pump UTOPIA initially, where
we’re going to get some momentum with that show by going
twice a week for the first six weeks. And then MASTERCHEF
JUNIOR will rejoin its time period where it was a winner
last fall.
Over on Sundays, as you know, we’re shaking things up; a
little bit of returning back to our roots. If you go back
historically, some of our biggest live-action comedy
successes – “Married with Children,” “Malcolm in the
Middle,” “That ’70s Show,” – really came out of our
animation lineup, back when FOX didn’t have as many comedies
to play with. We’ve got a very big flow out of SUNDAY NIGHT
FOOTBALL in the fall, and both THE SIMPSONS and FAMILY GUY
are two of the most potent comedies on television. So, we
think putting in BROOKLYN NINE-NINE and MULANEY is really
going to give those shows some protection there.
In addition to that, we’ve got our two digital studios.
ANIMATION DOMINATION HIGH-DEF—you’re going to see them
setting up over-the-top series this year and taking some of
that content and bringing it back to the network. We already
have one show, called GOLAN THE INSATIABLE, which is in the
pipeline, and which will air next June on FOX in prime, and
that’ll be paired up with another ANIMATION DOMINATION
HIGH-DEF show, as well. So, that studio is continuing to go
in a very good and fruitful direction.
We also have a new studio that I’ve talked about. Andy
Samberg and his comedy group, The Lonely Island, are now in
business with us. Their online digital videos have gotten
over a billion views. Nobody has been more potent in the
online world-- and consistently so. They will also be doing
things for the over-the-top universe this season. That’s our
fall.
As you also know, we have several comedies that are in
production right now and will be joining the schedule later
in the year: WEIRD LONERS from Michael Weithorn, who created
“King of Queens.” It’s a weirdly funny take on
relationships; and Jake Kasdan who’s really a fantastic
director and has been on NEW GIRL, directed that pilot. THE
LAST MAN ON EARTH, which is going to be one of the most
talked-about shows of next year, created by and starring
Will Forte, and our friends [directors] [Phil] Lord and
[Chris] Miller who did “The Lego Movie.” Later on this
afternoon, there’s going to be an online trailer going up,
which you should check out. It’s really funny and will
really give you a flavor of that show.
We also have our third event series, WAYWARD PINES, with
Matt Dillon, Melissa Leo, Terrence Howard and Juliette Lewis
joining. This turned out very, very strong. M. Night
Shyamalan directed it. It’s a 10-part thriller. I just think
we’re off to such a great start on this event series
franchise. The potency of having something that plays out in
10 episodes and answers questions and solves mysteries,
really separates it from the traditional series, and I think
it’s going to make the difference in our schedule.
We’ve got three more dramas going. We had a struggle this
year trying to figure out which to lead with, because, to be
honest with you, we needed a strong crop of one-hour
programs this year. And with the seven one-hours, between
the five dramas and the two event series, I’m very happy to
say we got what we needed.
We’ve got HIEROGLYPH, a big epic adventure set in Ancient
Egypt, shooting in Santa Fe and Morocco. It’s very cool.
Hart Hanson, who’s just been one of our most creative and
reliable producers, comes in with BACKSTROM, starring Rainn
Wilson. That’s going to do some business, and I think we can
get that paired up with BONES at some point.
And EMPIRE, which I think will also be one of the signature
shows for next season. Academy Award nominee Lee Daniels.
It’s got Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson. It’s a behind
the scenes, sort of an Upstairs/Downstairs, of the hip-hop
world. I think it’s timely. It feels really contemporary.
And once again, we’re going to have chart-topping music,
because we have a deal with Timbaland to do original music,
and the music that you’ll see in the pilot is very, very
strong.
That’ll be paired up with AMERICAN IDOL next year, which
will be streamlined and have a new format. I think that’s
going to be a potent night.
All right. So, I’ll stop talking while you guys fire away
and we’ll take it from there.
Moderator: We’ll go to the line of Alan Sepinwall with HitFix.
Please go ahead.
Alan: Kevin, this is the first time as far back as I can
remember that you guys haven’t announced a midseason
schedule at upfront time. How much of that is due to some of
the struggles that IDOL has had this year and have you
figured out how many times that’s going to air in the
spring?
Kevin: Yes, that’s a good question, Alan. It’s not due to the
struggles of IDOL, although the format of IDOL will change.
We’ve always built our second season schedule around IDOL,
knowing that it was a fixture and knowing pretty much
exactly what the format was going to be.
Next year, the format will be different. It’s going to be
less hours. It will be 37 hours. It’s going to be
streamlined. I think you’ll see a two-night format, at least
initially, during the audition phase. It’s quite likely –
and we’ve not locked into it exactly – but I think it will
end up being a two-hour show on one night, through most of
its run. That is a work in progress. We have a pretty good
sense of where things are going to go, but we’re going to
let that shake out a little bit.
Moderator: Thank you. We’ll go the line of Brian Steinberg
with Variety. Please go ahead.
Brian: Thanks very much. Could you tell us a little bit more
about shaking up Sunday night? This has long been a really
individual thing for FOX, the animation stuff. What did you
guys think about—what were the pros and cons of breaking out
with live-action stuff?
Kevin: Yes, it has been. The animation business is something
that we’ve had a monopoly on for our entire run. These are
incredibly potent and culturally impactful and profitable
shows for us. We’re going to remain in that business for as
long as we’re in business.
But at the end of the day, comedy is comedy. If you look at
this season in particular—well, even beyond – if you kick
out some of the shows like “Big Bang Theory,” that have been
on for seven seasons, five seasons or more, one of the
challenges right now of live-action comedy, across the
landscape, is that without some protection, even in this
more on-demand world, having a lead-in and some time-period
protection is still meaningful, particularly for comedies
which very, very rarely can self-start. You saw that this
season, there was a lot of comedy introduced by the
networks. Really, the only ones that had any sort of success
at all, had some lead-in protection.
We love the comedies that we have, and that are returning to
the schedule, but I just couldn’t face it again having them
exposed without some protection. So, we utilized some of the
strongest assets we had, which is the SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
audience that flows in, in the fall. We have seven
double-header games in the fall. It really juices up our
Sunday night, and two of our most consistent and
highest-rated shows, year in and year out, with THE SIMPSONS
and FAMILY GUY.
And again, that was the history of FOX. That’s where we
started. The biggest move that put FOX on the map, from an
entertainment perspective, was when THE SIMPSONS went over
to Thursday night and was paired up with MARTIN and LIVING
SINGLE. That’s where the Bundeys came out of, initially on
Sunday night, as well.
Brian: Thanks.
Moderator: Thank you and we’ll go to the line of Joe Flint
with the LA Times. Please go ahead.
Joe: Hello. Kevin, I was just wondering; can you talk a
little more just about the previous season or the previous
nine months? We won’t call it a season, and what you thought
the challenge—what were the big challenges? What was
happening? Was it partially creative? Was that an issue, or
was it also just kind of the landscape of today? I mean
we’re just seeing so many fewer shows being able to pop now
and yet, the business is still being approached the same way
in a lot of ways, the fall lineups and everything else.
Kevin: Yes. Look, I could fill the rest of the call talking
about that, because I don’t think it’s a quick one-word
answer. But, when you get to the second half of the season,
in particular, and you have factors like daylight savings
time—let me start here.
Being in the on-demand world, in particular, on FOX—the
double-edged sword of being the youngest network, is that a
lot of that viewing goes on to other platforms. That’s not
bad. We’re embracing it as a business. But in terms of your
on air, linear circulation – with some of our returning
shows, you see upwards of a 70-something percent lift on
these other platforms, including the DVR – your circulation
can get challenged. If you don’t have a show in the second
half of the season that really can lift all shifts, the way
IDOL did for so many years and tie it all together, it is
challenging. NBC certainly benefited from that this year.
They did have the Olympics to juice that up, going into the
first quarter. And then, “The Voice” was a good spine for
them this year. I think without it, they wouldn’t have their
story to tell.
We didn’t have that. And some of our returning shows either
struggled to come back, or our circulation just wound down
in the second half of the season. There are systemic issues
out there right now, having to do with the way people are
watching television. So sometimes, you have to drill into
it, because the story is better than it looks on the
surface. But, other factors impacting this landscape include
the fact that when you hit a little bit of a challenging
patch, it becomes double the challenge, because when you hit
a tough patch in the linear channel, that circulation
problem, which has always been an issue, can really be
exacerbated in this world of on-demand viewing, particularly
in the late spring, when viewers have established their
viewing patterns, of what they’re watching on television.
Cable is doubling down, and then daylight savings time kind
of whacks the hot levels. So, those are the topline things
that really factor in.
Joe: Okay. Thank you.
Moderator: We’ll go to the line of Michael Schneider with TV
Guide Magazine. Please go ahead.
Michael: Kevin, sort of elaborating on that, you’re saving a
lot of programming for midseason and for spring. Will some
of that not appear until next summer, and does that require
even more marketing than it has in the past? I know you
mentioned you thought that this was the biggest investment
you’ve ever made in programming; if you can elaborate on
that too.
Kevin: Part of that big investment is because of the fact we
are year-round. I love having 24: LIVE ANOTHER DAY on the
air right now. Don’t think I wasn’t sitting there in
February going, “Oh, my God. Why don’t I have 24 on the air
right now?” But I’m very glad that by putting 24 on in May
and having it arc into the summer, we’re signaling that June
is just as important as January. That’s why we’re putting
another quality drama, GANG RELATED, on in a couple of
weeks.
We really want to be a 12-month network. And some of this
programming will extend with a 12-month span. The other part
of the big investment is that “The X Factor” was quite a big
chunk of ours, which is now gone from our schedule, and as I
said, we are now reformatting IDOL. So, in supplementing
those hours with scripted, we have more in the fall.
And then you’re right. In the second half of the season, our
marketing budgets are quite big and we’re doing the most
robust marketing that we’ve ever done. That’s what it takes.
But, that’s one of the reasons why we did some of our
scheduling shifts, to try to provide a schedule that can
hold together, because if you’re looking at nights that
you’re trying to put together in the second half of the
year, it’s tough sledding.
Joe: This is Joe [Earley]. Once we do get up and going,
year-round, and it stays up and going, while you have the
marketing investment to launch those shows, to have
originals on through the summer will give us back some of
that circulation that we’ve lost in order to promote the
fall. So, the cycle should start to, at least, support
itself, as well. Until we get there, it definitely takes
more marketing, as we launch more original shows than ever.
As we reduce the number of repeats on our air, it means a
lot more marketing dollars.
Michael: Thank you.
Kevin: One last thing I would add to that, Michael, is if you
look at, pound-for –pound, the amount of shows that we’ll
have in our back pocket, particularly rolled out on a longer
horizon, I think we’ll strategically be [spending] less than
some of the other guys, who are going to have too many
launches. And you saw that this year, shows that came and
went, and nobody even knew they were on.
Moderator: Thank you. We’ll move to the line with David
Bauder with Associated Press. Please go ahead.
David: Hello. Many of my questions were answered, but I have
one very quick one. UTOPIA is going to be on twice in the
fall, but Friday is a rerun?
Kevin: No. Friday will be an original, initially for six
weeks. We’re going to start this before the official
Nielsen-defined season, to try to get this up, and have
viewers form a habit. This show is going to be a bit of a
soap, in that sense – following a character, getting caught
up in the world – and we want to really get that
habit-forming started by putting it on in advance of the
premiere week, and then also doubling it up during the first
batch of weeks.
David: Very good. Thank you.
Kevin: Sure.
Moderator: We’ll go to the line of Ellen Gray with
Philadelphia Daily. Please go ahead.
Ellen: Hello, Kevin. What about episode orders? I know a lot
of people were very disappointed when they’d gotten hooked
on SLEEPY HOLLOW and then it went away. The way that was
structured, I don’t know that you had any choices, but
you’re coming back with more of those. When you were looking
at other shows, were you looking at things that could be
expanded if needed?
Kevin: Yes, but again, there are a number of components to
that. First of all, I think you’re a little damned if you
do, damned if you don’t. If you look across the broader
landscape, most cable shows are 13 to 15 episodes and the
audience seems very, very satisfied and excited to have
those, and then wait, sometimes upwards of nine months, for
them to return to the schedule. There’s anticipation. On
broadcast, I hear just as many complaints about shows that
seem to go on forever.
I say this a lot, but there’s no standard order for a show
anymore. I think the show should be tailor-made to what’s
right for that particular show. Last year, SLEEPY HOLLOW, in
its first season, was making mini-movies every week. It was
a big show. We stopped when we felt we could put on a
creatively excellent product, and I think the show ended on
a high note, as opposed to teasing it out for six or nine
more episodes and having it really, barely hold together and
have a lot of repeats to get there.
The other part of that is that SLEEPY HOLLOW has now been
back in series production for already a month for next year,
and next year’s order on SLEEPY HOLLOW is 18 episodes. We
will have almost all 18 in a row, and they are now in
serious production, a good two months before just about any
other returning drama on television, and the show is going
to be really strong.
So, yes, I wish I had more last season too, but I think it’s
healthier in the long run, and it fit that show well.
Joe: This is Joe. Another point that was in there is: dramas,
especially if they have any sort of big action or visual
effects, they cannot produce 22 in a row.
Kevin: Particularly during its first season.
Joe: Particularly its first season, and then, it’s another
benefit of us shifting away from pilot season and not
scheduling year round. The benefit of that is that shows go
back into production and we can produce a run of them so
that they can be scheduled in order. In the past, you could
stretch 22 over 35 weeks. That gave producers time to catch
their breath, but that just doesn’t exist anymore.
Moderator: We will go to the line of Lynette Rice with
Entertainment Weekly. Please go ahead.
Lynette: Hello, Kevin. Why did you decide so early on to give
a two-year pick up to GLEE and is there a chance when it
does come back, it’ll come back just as 13 episodes?
Kevin: Why did we give it a two-year pickup? That was really
a business negotiation. We sat down creatively and heard
where it was going and we felt that there was a creative,
compelling reason to do it that way. I think Ryan has a
really good beat on how the show is going to conclude. It
will be its last season, for sure. When it comes back in the
second half of the season, it will also air all of its
episodes in a row.
Lynette: So, is it just 13 then?
Kevin: No. The order currently is for 22, but we’ve actually
got to sit down with Ryan and talk about how we’re going to
end it and figure that out. Now, the advantage of having it
on later in the season is that we don’t have to feel the
pressure of delivery. We can do them in a row. So, we’re
going to sit down and talk about exactly the best way to end
the show now, and how many that is.
Lynette: Okay, cool. Thanks, man.
Moderator: We’ll go to the line of Gary Levin with USA Today.
Please go ahead.
Gary: Hello, Kevin. Last year, “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” was
supposed to be ABC’s big hit and it didn’t quite work out
that way. I’m wondering what your expectations are for
GOTHAM. And why you think it is a perfect show for the
network.
Kevin: Well, when you get these franchises with some built-in
profiles and anticipation, the burden of that can be that
the anticipation and the build-up can exceed the delivery.
So, while I felt like we had something potentially really
huge in GOTHAM, you’re always nervous that it won’t live up.
This is conjecture on my part, but I think they struggled
with that, to find the creative footing on “Agents of
S.H.I.E.LD.”
Also, those weren’t the actual franchise characters. GOTHAM,
I think you should look at the pilot when it’s available,
and you’ll see that this thing is very, very sure-footed,
creatively. So, any concerns as to whether this will live up
to its promise were put to rest when I saw it a month ago.
We’ve also looked at the written material, our series-bible
for the 13. We have a staff now in there. It really feels
like it knows what it is.
The real selling point to me on GOTHAM, right from the
get-go, was that these are the actual series franchise
characters. It is the prequel story. These are stories never
told of The Penguin, Commissioner Gordon, Bruce Wayne, The
Riddler. There are characters we created out of whole cloth.
The Jada Pinkett Smith character. It’s a new character
called Fish Mooney. You’ll see characters like that, but the
tentpoles of the world are the great characters we know and
love. So, I am feeling very good about where we are with
GOTHAM.
Joe: Yes. The trailer that we’ve put online already has over
six million views. It’s incredible. So, the fans are already
embracing it.
Gary: Great. One quick follow-up. You said there’ll be 37
hours of IDOL next season. How many hours are you airing
this season?
Kevin: We’ve been airing in the 50s for quite some time.
Gary: Okay. Thank you.
Moderator: We’ll go to the line of Hal Boedeker with Orlando
Sentinel. Please go ahead.
Hal: Yes, Kevin. Why do you think IDOL can turn it around
next season, and what went wrong this season, the main
problems?
Kevin: What were the main problems?
Hal: Yes.
Kevin: I’m sorry. Can you be more specific about that? I’m
not quite—
Hal: My question is why do you think IDOL can turn it around
next season, and what do you think the main problems were
this season?
Kevin: Well, look, I don’t think it’s a matter of turning it
around. I think it’s about being a vital show. IDOL is not
going to come back to being the ratings champion it once
was. But, what we believe is that the show could be on the
air for many years to come, and will be as a potent time
period contender and a top-rated unscripted show, that’s a
quality show, that people love, that we can do business with
in the same way that “Survivor” hasn’t been at the top of
the ratings for many years, and it has vital seasons year
after year. That’s the mode we’re now in with IDOL.
It’s not about turning it around. I think that story has
been filed, and now it’s just about making it a good show
for many years to come.
Joe: Yes. It isn’t that there aren’t problems. The judging
panel is amazing. The set is beautiful. The production
values are top notch. So, it’s more just a matter of
saturation and gravity…
Kevin: The show is 13 years old. I think eventually—plenty
has been written about its epic run. I think at a certain
point, 13 years in with the category sort of very crowded,
you’re seeing that in general, on these competition shows.
“The Voice” had an incredible year, but it’s been down every
quarter that it’s been on. So, that’s just what’s happening
in that particular category.
Hal: Will those judges be back?
Kevin: I think it’s likely. We don’t really ever confirm that
until after the season wraps, but we’re getting good
indications from all of them.
Moderator: Thank you. We’ll go to the line of Daniel Fienberg
with HitFix. Please go ahead.
Daniel: Hello, Kevin. Just a couple of postmortems on a
couple of canceled shows. ALMOST HUMAN and SURVIVING JACK
had ratings comparable to a number of shows that you guys
picked up. What were you not seeing in those shows that you
would have liked to have seen for them to have gotten picked
up?
Kevin: There are always “bubble” shows, and I think right
now, because—particularly when you look at the live same-day
ratings, a lot of shows look like they’re grouped together
with the same rating. But, ultimately, you can only afford
to float so many of those. We have some shows that have been
on the air for a couple of years that have small, but very
passionate and distinct audiences, and you’ve got to make
choices.
Every show is its own conversation. We look to the ratings
performance as one marker. We look to how the show was run
as another marker, and then ultimately, is it profitable,
and then, where can we schedule it and can we support it
going forward.
SURVIVING JACK actually was a really nice show, very
well-run, creatively. We liked it. All things being equal,
we’d like to bring it back. We had a couple of those this
year. The same goes for ENLISTED. We had a good conversation
about DADS. These are shows that we would have liked to have
brought back. We just felt like we couldn’t support them for
various reasons in a way that would have really given them a
shot. So, we’re all moving on.
Daniel: Fair enough. Thank you.
Moderator: Thank you and our last question comes from Caryn
Robbins with Broadway World TV. Please go ahead.
Caryn: I’m sorry. My question was just asked. I apologize.
Kevin: Okay. One more?
Moderator: We’ll go to the line of Rick Porter with Zap2It.
Please go ahead.
Rick: Okay. I hope I can do it justice. I had another quick
question about GOTHAM and the way you might schedule it. Do
you see it as being 13, or can you kind of scale it out a
little more if it does well and you think you—
Kevin: Well, we’ve already ordered it proactively for 16
episodes. So, that’s the No. 1 comment on how strongly we
feel about it. We were only contractually obligated to order
13, and we ordered 16, because we think that’s the way that
show, at least in its first iteration, will be very strong
to arc to. Could we do more next season? We certainly could,
but that’s where we’re starting with that one.
That show is going to have a very strong, serialized
element, and because I think that they’re off to such a
strong start—
Joe: And starting earlier.
Kevin: Yes, we’ll size that up, but 16 felt like the right
amount. That’s just what I’m saying. There’s no, in our
mind, no set standard order any more. It didn’t come down on
stone tablets that television had to be made in 13- and
22-episode increments. So, we handcraft them over here at
FOX.
Rick: All right. Thanks a lot.
Kevin: All right, guys. They were great questions. I
appreciate it. Thank you very much.
Moderator: Thank you and ladies and gentlemen, this
conference will be made available for replay after 10:45
a.m. eastern time today until May 19th at midnight.
That does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for
your participation and for using AT&T Teleconference. You
may now disconnect.
Back to the Main Articles
Page
Back to the Main Primetime TV Page
We need more episode guide recap writers, article
writers, MS FrontPage and Web Expression users, graphics designers, and more, so
please email us
if you can help out! More volunteers always
needed! Thanks!
Page updated 8/14/14
    
|