Fox came up with the biggest surprise of the schedule-announcement season this week when it revealed it will begin broadcasting seven nights a week this fall and that it's adding 11 new series.
The network had been open about its plans to go to seven nights but had projected making the move in 1993. But the fourth network, buoyed by what Fox Entertainment President Peter Chernin called "our strongest development season ever," accelerated those plans.Fox caught the Big Three by surprise. ABC, CBS and NBC, which have already announced their fall lineups, knew they'd have competition from Fox on Wednesdays but did not take Fox into consideration when scheduling for Tuesday nights.
(And combined, ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox will debut 36 new series in the fall - a record. )
In addition to adding six new sitcoms, one half-hour drama and four hourlong dramas, Fox also announced several summer tryout series. And came up with another surprise about one of its returning series.
Several months ago, the Sunday sitcom "Roc" broadcast an episode live. (At least is was live in the East - it was on tape-delay in the West.) Well, every episode of "Roc" will go out live this season (with the obvious exception of reruns).
Fox's new sitcoms are:
Martin (Thursdays, 7:30 p.m.): Comedian Martin Lawrence stars as the "straight-shooting host" of an all-talk radio show in Detroit. "On the air, Martin tells it like it is on the subject of relationships and romance, topics often inspired by his experiences with his girlfriend."
The Edge (Saturdays, 8:30 p.m.): Fox describes this as a "brash, daring, rapid-fire half-hour of sketch comedy." The ensemble cast includes Jennifer Aniston, Julie Brown, Wayne Knight, Carol Rosenthal, James Stephens III, Jill Taly and Becky Thyer. From the creator of "Get a Life."
Flying Blind (Sundays, 9:30 p.m.): Corey Parker stars as a recent college graduate "who finds himself living a life college never prepared him for" as he tries to balance his new job, his new girlfriend and living at home with his parents.
Woops! (Sundays, 10 p.m.): This is a sitcom with a rather unusual premise, to say the least - it's about "six unlikely people stumbling through the difficult and often hilarious process of starting a new world, after the old one was destroyed in an accidental nuclear war." From the producers of "Herman's Head," "The Golden Girls" and "Empty Nest."
Great Scott (Sundays, 6 p.m.): Tobey Maguire stars as a 15-year-old Walter Mitty, "who escapes the pressures of adolescence (school, parents, raging hormones) through daydreams, fantasies and triumphant visions." From the producers of "It's Garry Shandling's Show."
The Ben Stiller Show (Sundays, 6:30 p.m.): The standup comic (who is the son of comedy veterans Stiller and Meara) hosts the show-within-a-show. Stiller "presents outrageous sketch parodies, allowing the audience to enter his world as he and his friends try to put together `The Ben Stiller Show.' "
And Fox's new drama series are:
Likely Suspects (Fridays, 8:30 p.m.): Sam McMurray and Jason Schombing star in this half-hour detective drama in which the viewer helps solve the crime. McMurray plays seasoned Detective Marshak, who leads his partner Spinoza (Schombing) and the viewer as they try to solve each week's "whodunnit."
The Class of '96 (Tuesdays, 7 p.m.): This one-hour drama is about life in Havenhurst, a small, fictional northeastern college, where a group of freshmen are having their first taste of freedom and in the process are discovering their passions for life. The ensemble cast includes Jason Gedrick, Lisa Dean Ryan, Perry Moore, Brandon Douglas, Gale Hanson, Kari Wurher and Caroline Waldron.
Key West (Tuesdays, 8 p.m.): Fisher Stevens stars as Seamus O'Reilly, an aspiring young writer who wins the lottery, quits his job and moves to Key West, Fla., which is "a world unto itself," in this hourlong drama.
The Heights (Wednesdays, 7 p.m.): Another hourlong drama, this one follows the "hopes and dreams of the working class members of a fledgling rock band." It will include plenty of music. From the producers of "Beverly Hills, 90210."
Melrose Place (Wednesdays, 8 p.m.): Nominally a spinoff of "90210," this hourlong drama follows the lives of eight twentysomething men and women living in "one of L.A.'s trendiest neighborhoods."
"Melrose Place" will be the first new show on the air, debuting with a 90-minute episode on Wednesday, July 8, at 7:30 p.m. (after a new episode of "The Simpsons").
"Melrose" moves to 8 p.m. the following week, and for six weeks it will air after original episodes of "90210." ("90210's" regular Thursday time slot will be filled with reruns from that series' first season.)
Among the shows Fox canceled were "Drexell's Class," "Get a Life," "The Ultimate Challenge," "The Best of the Worst," "Totally Hidden Video," "Stand By Your Man," "True Colors" and "Sunday Night Comics."
"Parker Lewis Can't Lose" is not on the fall schedule, but that show will begin airing new episodes this summer (on Thursday, July 16, at 7:30 p.m.), and Fox also includes "Parker" as a midseason replacement show.
Other midseason replacements are: C.C.P.D., a half-hour comedy that features Dan Aykroyd as a police detective who investigates "some of the most unlikely calls imaginable"; Circus, a sitcom about - what else? - a circus, which stars Roger Rees ("Cheers") and Charlie Schlatter (TV's "Ferris Bueller"); Danger Theatre, a half-hour comedy that "mercilessly lampoons television action/adventure shows"; Exposed, a sitcom from the creator of "WKRP" and "Frank's Place" that lampoons reality/tabloid television; Shaky Ground, a sitcom that features Matt Frewer ("Max Headroom," "Doctor, Doctor") as a "white-collar Ralph Kramden"; and Tribeca, an hourlong anthology with continuing characters - and executive produced by Robert De Niro.
Fox has also announced that three sitcoms will get tryouts this summer:
Down by the Shore, a comedy about three guys and three gals sharing a New Jersey beach house, gets a 13-episode tryout. It premieres Sunday, June 21, at 8:30 p.m. - after "Married . . . With Children" - and moves to Sundays at 10 p.m. the following week.
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures is a sitcom version of the movie and does not feature any of the theatrical cast. Originally set to debut last fall, this half hour begins a seven-episode run Sunday, June 28, at 6:30 p.m.
Rachel Gunn, R.N. stars Christine Ebersole as a registered nurse, "a no-nonsense heroine for the '90s who always speaks her mind." Fox has not yet announced an air date.