Mr. TV: Midseason Scoop

Unlike the fall season, there is no official start date for midseason, with new programming rolled out at any given time after January. Back in the day, January was the primary month for new shows’ winter debuts, but as the years past, midseason has expanded. And this week we have three new shows on the agenda: ABC drama Castle, NBC cooking competition The Chopping Block and NBC drama Kings.Castle tells the tale of a famous mystery novelist (former Desperate Housewives star Nathan Fillion) who partners with the NYPD after a copycat killer begins staging various murder scenes depicted in his novels. It airs out of Dancing With the Stars (and opposite CBS’ CSI: Miami) on Monday. The Chopping Block, which anchors Wednesday at 8 p.m., will feature eight teams of hopeful chefs competing for $250,000 while learning firsthand what it means to open a restaurant. Chef Marco Pierre White (from the U.K.’s Hell’s Kitchen) hosts. And Kings, Sundays at 8 p.m., focuses on a young hero as he rises to prominence in this story of greed and power, war and romance in a modern day kingdom. Ian McShane leads the ensemble cast. This trio doesn’t sound all that promising, does it?Castle, of course, will have a built-in advantage airing out of Dancing With the Stars. But nothing, of course, is a guarantee. And so far, midseason ’09 to-date has been a complete bust as a result of a rash of new D-level reality, including ABC’s True Beauty and Homeland Security, U.S.A.; NBC’s Howie Do It, Momma’s Boys and Superstars of Dance, not to mention 13—Fear Is Real on The CW. The only new scripted series to be introduced thus far after January has been Fox drama Lie to Me, and it has completely squandered the American Idol lead-in support on Wednesday.Don’t be fooled, though. Midseason has introduced us to some of the biggest hits in the history of television, including, deep breath, Seinfeld, All in the Family, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Barney Miller, Dallas, Knots Landing, Good Times, One Day at a Time, Sanford and Son, Dynasty, Fantasy Island and Three’s Company. And let’s not forget Batman, Eight Is Enough, Moonlighting, Malcolm in the Middle and, currently, Grey’s Anatomy, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, The Office and The New Adventures of Old Christine. The list goes on and on.It’s a shame the networks have not come up with a better mix of new product at present because midseason is still a better time to launch a new series. Fewer new shows compete head to head and most of the “big guns” from the fall have already petered out. And viewers are looking for something fresh. But before we give up all hope of anything new of a scripted nature breaking out, there are a number of upcoming options that sound like they have potential.The first is Harper’s Island, a 13-episode mystery on CBS about a group of family and friends who meet to celebrate a wedding and are murdered off one by one. It has shades of Agatha Christie and it leads out of CSI on Thursday. Look for its debut on April 9.Premiering opposite Harper’s Island on the same night is Southland, from ER creator John Wells, which promises to take viewers inside the lives of cops, criminals, victims and their families. While I have yet to see the pilot, it reminds me of ’80s time-period occupant Hill Street Blues, which also debuted in midseason. One day earlier, ABC is launching The Unusuals, an ensemble crime drama set in a NYC homicide division, in the Wednesday 10 p.m. hour.If it’s comedy you crave, ABC has two new sitcoms: Better Off Ted, the story of a successful nice guy who has to wrestle with his conscience at his morally questionable firm; and In the Motherhood, which focuses on three very different mothers as they try to juggle work, love and their parental duties. Better Off Ted debuts Wednesday, March 18 at 8:30 p.m. (out of Scrubs). In the Motherhood bows on Thursday, March 26 at 8 p.m. (into Samantha Who?).NBC, meanwhile, is also banking on chuckler Parks and Recreation, with former SNL star Amy Poehler as a perky town official in Indiana who is trying to turn a construction pit into a park. It also debuts on April 9, but out of My Name Is Earl at 8:30 p.m. While the premise of this show in particular sounds dull, so did a comedy set in a junkyard and that little show about “nothing.” Do you agree or disagree with Mr. TV? Please e-mail mberman@mediaweek.com and let him know if you would like your response published in an upcoming issue.

Convergent TV

Mr. TV: Midseason Scoop

Marc Berman

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Marc Berman