or


[05/26/04 - 12:00 AM]
2004 Broadcast Upfront Presentations Wrap-Up, Part 2
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- While over 50 new projects are set to debut over the course of the 2004-05 season on the six major broadcast networks, nearly twice that amount that were in development won't ever see the light of day.

One of the most commonly asked questions now that the upfronts - when the networks announce their 2004-05 season plans - are over is what are the chances one of the various pilots that weren't picked up will get a midseason order?

Realistically the chances are pretty slim. To illustrate our point we've gone over the upfront presentations from last season of ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, UPN and the WB and compared them with what eventually made it to air.

Aside from additional reality series, the development of which generally doesn't follow that of scripted programming, only seven comedies or dramas were given series orders by the broadcast networks beyond those announced at their respective upfront presentations:

"The Big House" (ordered by ABC on 6/27/03)
"The D.A." (ordered by ABC on 11/24/03)
"Becker" (ordered by CBS on 6/17/03)
"Century City" (ordered by CBS on 7/8/03)
"Come to Papa" (ordered by NBC on 8/13/03)
"Game Over" (ordered by UPN on 6/27/03)
"Summerland" (ordered by the WB on 8/18/03)

Overall, here's a comparison of what did and did not appear in each network's upfront presentation's midseason plans:

ABC (announced at upfront) - "Line of Fire," "Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital"

ABC (eventually ordered) - "The Big House" (6/27/03), "Celebrity Mole: Yucatan" (3/17/03), "The D.A." (11/24/03), "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (11/13/03)

CBS (announced at upfront) - "The Stones"

CBS (eventually ordered) - "Becker" (6/17/03), "Century City" (7/8/03), "Star Search" (11/25/03)

FOX (announced at upfront) - "American Idol 3," "Banzai," "Cracking Up," "The Ortegas," "Still Life," "Wonderfalls"

FOX (eventually ordered) - "Forever Eden" (12/22/03), "My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance" (1/5/04), "Playing It Straight" (8/21/03), "The Simple Life" (2/11/03), "The Swan" (10/9/03), "Totally Outrageous Behavior (12/19/03), "World's Craziest Videos" (12/19/03)

NBC (announced at upfront) - "The Apprentice," "Crossing Jordan," "The Tracy Morgan Show"

NBC (eventually ordered) - "Average Joe" (4/23/03), "Come to Papa" (8/13/03), "The Restaurant 2" (11/13/03)

UPN (announced at upfront) - None.

UPN (eventually ordered) - "Game Over" (6/27/03), "I'm Still Alive" (3/16/04)

The WB (announced at upfront) - "Fearless", "Gilmore Girls Spin-Off", "Make My Day", "The Help," "The Mayor", "High School Reunion 2," "The Surreal Life 2"

The WB (eventually ordered) - "Summerland" (8/18/03), "Superstar U.S.A." (4/15/04)

It's also worth mentioning that a half-dozen of the projects announced for midseason at the upfronts were never made or shelved completely - "The Ortegas," "Still Life," "Fearless," "Gilmore Girls Spin-Off," "Make My Day" and "The Mayor." In addition, "The Stones" and "Fearless" were both targeted for fall bows however over the course of the summer CBS and the WB respectively opted to go with a new season of "Becker" and the then new drama "One Tree Hill" in their place.

Nevertheless, despite such odds more than a few projects that didn't make the cut last week have been mentioned as being considered for midseason orders: "My 11:30" (NBC), "Nevermind Nirvana" (NBC), "Point Pleasant" (FOX), "Beck and Call" (UPN) and "The Bad Girl's Guide" (UPN). Also more than a few pilots are being shot or are potentially in the works for early 2005: "Nice Guys" (CBS), "Vinyl Cafe" (CBS), "Washington Street" (CBS), "The Perez Family" (FOX), "Spellbound" (FOX), "Untitled Chris Rock Project" (FOX), "Never in My Wildest" (NBC), "Untitled R. Lee Fleming Jr. Project" (NBC), "I Do, I Did, Now What?" (UPN), "Two Kings" (UPN), "Global Frequency" (WB), "Rocky Point" (WB) and "Untitled Schimmel/Stern Project" (WB).

Fans of any of the projects that didn't get picked up should also note that the options on the cast of the majority of the pilots shot generally expire by late July or early August.

Click here to read ABC's original 2003 upfront presentation press release.

Click here to read CBS' original 2003 upfront presentation press release.

Click here to read FOX's original 2003 upfront presentation press release.

Click here to read NBC's original 2003 upfront presentation press release.

Click here to read UPN's original 2003 upfront presentation press release.

Click here to read the WB's original 2003 upfront presentation press release.





  [may 2004]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
      


· AMERICAN IDOL (ABC)
· APPRENTICE, THE (NBC)
· AVERAGE JOE (NBC)
· BAD GIRL'S GUIDE, THE (UPN)
· BANZAI (FOX)
· BECK & CALL (UPN)
· BECKER (CBS)
· BIG HOUSE, THE (ABC)
· CENTURY CITY (CBS)
· COME TO PAPA (NBC)
· CRACKING UP (FOX)
· CROSSING JORDAN (NBC)
· DA, THE (ABC)
· EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS (CW)
· EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION (HGTV)
· FEARLESS (WB)
· FOREVER EDEN (FOX)
· GAME OVER (UPN)
· GLOBAL FREQUENCY (WB)
· HELP, THE (WB)
· HIGH SCHOOL REUNION (TV LAND)
· I DO, I DID, NOW WHAT? (UPN)
· I'M STILL ALIVE (UPN)
· LINE OF FIRE (ABC)
· MAKE MY DAY (TV LAND)
· MAYOR, THE (WB)
· MOLE, THE (ABC)
· MY 11:30 (NBC)
· MY BIG FAT OBNOXIOUS BOSS (FOX)
· NEARLY NIRVANA (NBC)
· NEVER IN MY WILDEST (CBS)
· NICE GUYS (CBS)
· ONE TREE HILL (CW)
· ORTEGAS, THE (FOX)
· PEREZ FAMILY, THE (FOX)
· PLAYING IT STRAIGHT (FOX)
· POINT PLEASANT (FOX)
· RESTAURANT, THE (NBC)
· ROCKY POINT (WB)
· SIMPLE LIFE, THE (E)
· SPELLBOUND (FOX)
· STAR SEARCH (CBS)
· STEPHEN KING'S KINGDOM HOSPITAL (ABC)
· STILL LIFE (FOX)
· STONES, THE (CBS)
· SUMMERLAND (WB)
· SUPERSTAR USA (WB)
· SURREAL LIFE, THE (VH1)
· SWAN, THE (FOX)
· TOTALLY OUTRAGEOUS BEHAVIOR (FOX)
· TRACY MORGAN SHOW, THE (NBC)
· TWO KINGS (UPN)
· UNTITLED GILMORE GIRLS PROJECT (WB)
· UNTITLED R. LEE FLEMING, JR. PROJECT (NBC)
· UNTITLED SCHIMMEL & STERN PROJECT (WB)
· VINYL CAFE (CBS)
· WASHINGTON STREET (CBS)
· WONDERFALLS (FOX)
· WORLD'S CRAZIEST VIDEOS, THE (FOX)





[07/02/25 - 03:04 PM]
ABC News Announces "Verdict: The Diddy Trial," Airing Wednesday, July 2, at 10 P.M. on ABC, Streaming Next Day on Hulu
A verdict has been reached in the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs, who has been found guilty on two of five counts.

[07/02/25 - 02:38 PM]
Hallmark Channel Earns #1 Most-Watched Network on Weekends Throughout June with "Passport to Love" Programming Event
"Passport to Love" helped elevate Hallmark Channel to be the #1 most-watched network on weekends throughout the month of June.

[07/02/25 - 11:52 AM]
ESPN "Sunday Night Baseball Presented by Capital One" Schedule Update: American League Leading Detroit Tigers to Visit Texas Rangers on July 20
Through 14 games, "Sunday Night Baseball" is averaging 1,750,000 million viewers, up 11 percent from last year.

[07/02/25 - 10:01 AM]
Video: "Trainwreck: Storm Area 51" - Official Teaser - Netflix
The stranger-than-fiction story of the greatest meme ever made.

[07/02/25 - 10:00 AM]
First Look - "Big Brother: A Summer of Mystery" Unlocks a Season of Secrets When Houseguests Enter "The Hotel Mystere"
In a season full of surprises, the premiere will be filled with unexpected twists and turns including a masked visitor, a secret accomplice and the shocking arrival of a "Mystery Houseguest" whose identity will remain under wraps... at least for now.

[07/02/25 - 09:00 AM]
"The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder" Season Three Drops August 6 on Disney+
Ahead of the summer debut, the series has also been renewed for a fourth season, coming to Disney+ in 2026.

[07/02/25 - 08:12 AM]
ESPN Original Series "The Fight Life" Returns for Season Two on July 7
After each episode's debut, "The Fight Life" will also air across ESPN's linear platforms.

[07/02/25 - 07:09 AM]
Apple's Sci-Fi Drama "Invasion" to Return for Season Three on August 22
The 10-episode third season will make its global return on Friday, August 22 on Apple TV+ with one episode, followed by one new episode weekly, every Friday through October 24.

[07/02/25 - 06:12 AM]
"South Park's" 27th Season Premiere Moves to Wednesday, July 23rd at 10:00pm ET/PT on Comedy Central
The show's social media accounts confirmed the news this morning.

[07/02/25 - 05:06 AM]
Video: Trailer Released for ESPN's "Fanatics Fest: All Access" Special
From June 20-22, Fanatics Fest drove more than 125,000 fans to the Javits Center in New York City, captivating all in attendance and taking over social feeds throughout the three-day event.

[07/02/25 - 04:00 AM]
Roku Will Live-Stream Viral Sensation Savannah Bananas' Banana Ball World Tour Game from Fenway Park
Roku viewers will see the Savannah Bananas take on the Firefighters at historic Fenway Park on Sunday, July 6, at 3:30 PM ET, exclusively streaming on The Roku Channel's Roku Sports Channel in the U.S.

[07/01/25 - 07:01 PM]
Video: "Low Life" - Official Trailer - Disney+
Outlaws. Opportunists. One deadly chase. Who will sink, and who will score?

[07/01/25 - 04:01 PM]
Video: "Glass Heart" Main Trailer and Title Song Revealed
This summer, Netflix presents a harmonious blend of emotion and music.

[07/01/25 - 02:48 PM]
FX's "The Bear" Renewed for Season Five
Christopher Storer's Emmy-award winning hit will return in 2026.

[07/01/25 - 02:25 PM]
Emmy Winner Michael Imperioli Set to Star Opposite Patrick Dempsey in New FOX Drama Series "Memory of a Killer," from Warner Bros. Television and FOX Entertainment
The new drama series is scheduled to premiere midseason on FOX.