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NBC and Fox unveil new fall shows, reveal cancellations

Out with the old; in with the new. Every year at this time, the broadcast networks quietly confirm which shows they have canceled and noisily introduce the fancy new gewgaws that will replace them in the fall.

Martin Short (left) in a scene from 's "Mulaney," in which stand-up comic John Mulaney plays a comic trying to take his career to the next level. Fox
Martin Short (left) in a scene from 's "Mulaney," in which stand-up comic John Mulaney plays a comic trying to take his career to the next level. FoxRead more
    by By David Hiltbrand, INQUIRER TV CRITIC | Columnist, Inquirer
    Published 

Out with the old; in with the new. Every year at this time, the broadcast networks quietly confirm which shows they have canceled and noisily introduce the fancy new gewgaws that will replace them in the fall.

NBC and Fox were the first to make their presentations in New York on Monday, though not with the same amount of enthusiasm.

NBC, which is owned by Comcast, is coming off a strong season. Thanks largely to the Winter Olympics and Sunday Night Football, viewership is up 35 percent. More significantly, the network is poised to win the season among 18- to 49-year-olds for the first time in a decade.

Blacklist, NBC's freshman drama hit with James Spader, will get a thrill ride in the fall. In November, it will be bumped out of its current slot (Mondays at 10 p.m.) by State of Affairs, which stars Katherine Heigl (Grey's Anatomy) as the president's indispensable CIA analyst.

After a post-Super Bowl turbo boost in February, Blacklist will move to Thursdays at 9 p.m.

Other new NBC series: The Mysteries of Laura with Debra Messing as an NYPD homicide detective and harried mom; Constantine, a supernatural series starring Matt Ryan as a demon hunter; the sitcom Bad Judge, with Kate Walsh as an unconventional jurist whose private life is out of order; A to Z, a comedy with Ben Feldman and Cristin Milioti as an oil-and-water couple; and Marry Me, a comedy with Ken Marino and Casey Wilson as lovers having trouble tying the knot.

Among the shows canceled by NBC are The Michael J. Fox Show, Sean Saves the World, Dracula, Community, Believe, Crisis, Revolution, and Growing Up Fisher.

Parks and Recreation got a surprise renewal, but it is unclear how many episodes will be produced and the Amy Poehler comedy is not on the schedule NBC announced Monday.

Fox was not in as festive a mood as it introduced its new roster. Only two of its 2013 shows - Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Sleepy Hollow - will enjoy second seasons. And the network's behemoth, American Idol, has curled up into a little ratings ball.

Acknowledging the singing show's diminished status (an episode last week drew 7 million viewers - this from a series that once averaged 30 million), Fox Entertainment Chairman Kevin Reilly said Idol will be "streamlined" in its next go-round, from more than 50 hours a season to 37, with a single two-hour segment most weeks.

The big gun next fall is Gotham, a Batman prequel with Ben McKenzie as the man who will become Commissioner Gordon and Jada Pinkett Smith as crime boss Fish Mooney.

Fox's other dramas are Red Band Society, about a group of teens who meet at a hospital's pediatric ward, and Gracepoint, a 10-episode remake of the acclaimed British series Broadchurch, with David Tennant (Doctor Who) reprising his role from the original as a detective investigating a boy's murder in a small coastal town.

The network also has stand-up comic John Mulaney playing a stand-up comic in a sitcom titled Mulaney; and an ambitious reality show/social experiment, Utopia, airing two nights a week, in which 15 people set out to create order in the wilderness.

Among the series Fox canceled are Dads, Surviving Jack, Enlisted, Raising Hope, Rake, The X Factor, and Almost Human.

Yet, Glee will be coming back. In case you were wondering.

THE FALL TV LINEUP

NBC

New programs in boldface

Sunday

7 p.m. - Football Night in America

8:20 p.m. - Sunday Night Football

Monday

8 p.m. - The Voice

10 p.m. - The Blacklist / State of Affairs (Nov. 17)

Tuesday

8 p.m. - The Voice

9 p.m. - Marry Me

9:30 p.m. - About a Boy

10 p.m. - Chicago Fire

Wednesday

8 p.m. - The Mysteries of Laura

9 p.m. - Law & Order: SVU

10 p.m. - Chicago P.D.

Thursday

8 p.m. - The Biggest Loser

9 p.m. - Bad Judge

9:30 p.m. - A to Z

10 p.m. - Parenthood

Friday

8 p.m. - Dateline NBC

9p.m. - Grimm

10 p.m. - Constantine

Saturday

8 p.m. - Repeats

Fox

New programs in boldface

Sunday

7 p.m. - NFL on Fox

7:30 p.m. - Bob's Burgers

8 p.m. - The Simpsons

8:30 p.m. - Brooklyn Nine-Nine

9 p.m. - Family Guy

9:30 p.m. - Mulaney

Monday

8 p.m. - Gotham

9 p.m. - Sleepy Hollow

Tuesday

8 p.m. - Utopia

9 p.m. - New Girl

9:30 p.m. - The Mindy Project

Wednesday

8 p.m. - Hell's Kitchen

9 p.m. - Red Band Society

Thursday

8 p.m. - Bones

9 p.m. - Gracepoint

Friday

8 p.m. - Masterchef Junior

9 p.m. - Utopia

Saturday

7 p.m. - Fox College Football

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