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Mid-Season
2006/2007
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We
are once again including a review of currently
announced Mid-Season programs. As in the past,
predicting the success (or failure) of these shows
is even more difficult than with the regular new
shows considering the time-slots are not yet known.
Of course, it is also possible that many of these
Mid-Season shows will never even air.
In addition to the new Mid-Season programs listed
here, the following returning series may also
be back: According to Jim, George Lopez, Supernanny,
American Inventor and Scrubs
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ABC
--- Half-Hour Sitcom --- Mid-Season
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Premise
Months and months of planning, dedication
and detail go into planning a wedding that
lasts only one day. This comedy takes us through
the craziness that Danny and Alice endure
while trying to organize the biggest day of
their lives. The first season of the series
will reportedly follow the couple throughout
the day in a sitcom version of a “serial”
drama
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Familiar
Faces
Marla Sokoloff (The Practice),
Wendie Malick (Just Shoot Me),
Josh Cooke (Committed),
Miriam Shor (Inside Schwartz)
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Our
Take
It is hard to imagine how this plot can be
stretched over a season’s worth of episodes.
However, the fact that it has been pushed
off to Mid-Season may mean that ABC is now
intending for it to have a shorter episode
run
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Did
You Know?
The recent, short-lived ABC comedy Jake
in Progress was originally developed (and
the pilot filmed) as a serial sitcom. However,
it was converted to a more traditional sitcom
before the program aired
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ABC
--- Half-Hour Sitcom --- Mid-Season
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Premise
Harry Kennison, Jason Ventress, Sherman
Yablonksy and Kelly Lee all went to the
same high school. Seven years after graduation,
they are reunited only to discover that
their lives did not proceed as planned.
With no one else to turn to, they soon realize
that these former classmates only have each
other should they ever need to name someone
as their contact person in case of emergency
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Familiar
Faces
Jonathan Silverman (Weekend at Bernies)
Lori Loughlin (Full House),
Greg Germann (Ally McBeal),
Kelly Hu (Nash Bridges), David Arquette
(Scream)
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Our
Take
The pilot was probably no worse than any
other new 2006/2007 sitcom and probably
even better than a few. Let’s wait and see
where ABC places it on their schedule
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Did
You Know?
CBS’s new Monday sitcom The Class
is also about former classmates (albeit
elementary school classmates) reuniting
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Notes
from the Underbelly
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ABC
--- Half-Hour Sitcom --- Mid-Season
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Premise
The series will follow Andrew and Lauren
from the moment they discover they are having
a baby through the difficulties of pregnancy
and eventually to the birth of their new
child. Notes will not only show the
impact the pregnancy has on their lives,
but also on how they interact with friends
and relatives
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Familiar
Faces
Jennifer Westfeldt (Kissing Jessica Stein)
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Our
Take
The fact that ABC decided to hold this sitcom
for Mid-Season rather than let it move into
Ugly Betty’s vacated time-slot may not
be a good sign. Of course, a lot depends
on when it actually ends up premiering and
the time-slot it receives
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Did
You Know?
The 1988 movie She’s Having a Baby
(starring Elizabeth McGovern and, of course,
Kevin Bacon) also followed a young couple
having their first child
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ABC
--- Hour Drama --- Mid-Season
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Premise
Jay Burchell, Taylor Fog and Will Traveler
have been close – almost inseparable – friends
for two years. However, everything changes
when a trip to a famous museum is followed
by a terrorist bombing. Will soon disappears
and Jay and Taylor find themselves wanted
for the crime. Now they need to find Will
in hopes of clearing their names and uncovering
the truth behind a growing conspiracy
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Familiar
Faces
Steven Culp (Desperate Housewives)
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Our
Take
Traveler is yet another ABC serial
drama (most likely due to the success of
serial dramas Desperate Housewives, Grey’s
Anatomy and Lost). As noted before,
there may be a limit to how many serial
dramas the viewing public has time for in
their weekly viewing schedule
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Did
You Know?
Costar Steven Culp (who portrays FBI agent
Fred Chambers in Traveler) may be
one of the busiest actors in Television.
In recent years he has had almost concurrent
recurring roles on The West Wing, Desperate
Housewives, JAG and Star Trek Enterprise
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ABC
--- Hour Relaity --- Mid-Season
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Premise
ABC has reportedly licensed six half-hour
episodes of this hidden-camera comedy
series
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Familiar
Faces
TBD
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Our
Take
As of now, there is not even a pilot
or show summary to evaluate
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Did
You Know?
Candid Camera, the grandfather
of hidden-camera shows, ran in various
forms over five decades starting with
Allen Funt’s first show in 1948
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Set
for the Rest of Your Life
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ABC
--- Hour Reality --- Mid-Season
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Premise
Set for the Rest of Your Life
is a game show where contestants
will be competing not only for how
much of a prize they will be receiving
on a monthly basis, but also for
how many months they will receive
the payment.
Note: ABC recently announced
that Jimmy Kimmel will host the
program
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Familiar
Faces
Jimmy Kimmel
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Our
Take
Currently there is very little information
on how this program will actually
be executed
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Did
You Know?
The series comes from Endemol USA,
the production company behind major
game shows and reality programs
including Deal or No Deal, Fear
Factor and Extreme Makeover:
Home Edition
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CBS
--- Half-Hour Sitcom --- Mid-Season
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Premise
Patrick Warburton and Megyn Price
portray Jeff and Audrey, a couple
who has been married for some time.
Paulo Costanzo and Kathleen Rose
Perkins play a younger couple who
have just become engaged. The series
will follow the interaction between
the two couples and how they each
view marriage, life and relationships
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Familiar
Faces
Patrick Warburton (Seinfeld),
Megyn Price (Grounded for Life),
Paulo Costanzo (Joey)
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Our
Take
The pilot, which has not officially
been released by CBS, is quite amusing
and probably among one of the better
sitcoms this year. CBS just needs
to find the right time-slot
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Did
You Know?
The new fall program ’Til Death
also features two married couples
at different stages of their relationships
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CBS
--- Hour Drama --- Mid-Season
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Premise
3 lbs. is a medical drama
about a brilliant neurosurgeon and
the up-and-coming doctor he takes
under his wing. The title of the
program is based on the fact that
the average human brain weighs around
3 pounds
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Familiar
Faces
Stanley Tucci (The Terminal),
Mark Feurstein (Good Morning
Miami)
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Our
Take
Without a revised pilot (assuming
there is one) to review, it is hard
to know how appealing (or unappealing)
this program might be
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Did
You Know?
CBS initially passed on a pilot
for 3 lbs. back in 2005.
The original pilot included Reiko
Aylesworth (24); however,
it is not clear if she is in the
new show or if it is even based
on the same script/pilot
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CBS
--- Hour Drama --- Mid-Season
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Premise
Little is known about this program
which is expected to be about
the colorful, rule-breaking
mayor of Providence, R.I.
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Familiar
Faces
Joe Pantoliano (Handler/Dr.
Vegas),
Mary Stuart Masterson (Some
Kind of Wonderful),
William Baldwin (Backdraft),
Larenz Tate (Love Monkey)
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Our
Take
There is currently no pilot
or script to evaluate
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Did
You Know?
This will be Joe Pantoliano’s
third try at a CBS drama series
just in the last few years
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FOX
--- Half-Hour Sitcom --- Mid-Season
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Premise
Narrated from the future (as
in Wonder Years), The
Winner tells the story of
Glen Abbott, a 34-year-old jobless
loser who is afraid to leave
his parents’ house. Over the
course of the series, he will
supposedly move beyond his weaknesses
in becoming a successful businessman
and father in the future
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Familiar
Faces
Rob Corddry (The Daily Show),
Julie Hagerty (Airplane),
Lenny Clarke (Rescue Me)
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Our
Take
Rob Corddry is amusing in the
role. However, they key question
is where this sitcom (from traditional
animated producer Seth McFarlane)
will end up
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Did
You Know?
The Winner was previously
made (using an almost identical
script) as a 2003 pilot entitled
Becoming Glen starring Johnny
Galecki (Roseanne). The
current execution is far superior
to the 2003 version
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FOX
--- Hour Reality --- Mid-Season
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Premise
16 contestants will be brought
to Hollywood, divided into several
teams and given the opportunity
to produce a short film
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Familiar
Faces
TBD
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Our
Take
On the Lot is the latest
in the line of reality shows,
just replacing the production
of a film for singing or dancing
or skating. It’s all in the
execution and the timing
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Did
You Know?
On the Lot is from the
peculiar pairing of Steven Spielberg
and Mark Burnett (Survivor)
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NBC
--- Half-Hour Sitcom ---
Mid-Season
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Premise
Andy Richter stars as Andy
Barker, a CPA who is mistaken
for a private investigator.
After a reluctant start,
Andy decides to embrace
his new profession
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Familiar
Faces
Andy Richter (Andy Richter
Controls the Universe)
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Our
Take
Corny is probably the first
word that comes to mind
in describing this potential
Mid-Season sitcom
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Did
You Know?
Although NBC traditionally
releases pilots for their
Mid-Season programs, they
have not officially released
the Andy Barker, P.I.
pilot
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NBC
--- Half-Hour Sitcom
--- Mid-Season
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Premise
Five strangers meet
for the first time at
the singles table at
a wedding. These five
kindred spirits will
soon become friends
embarking on all new
relationships
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Familiar
Faces
John Cho (Harold
& Kumar Go to White
Castle),
Rhea Seehorn (I’m
with Her)
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Our
Take
Since the pilot takes
place exclusively at
the wedding, it is not
completely clear in
what venue the characters
will be meeting in the
future
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Did
You Know?
This is John Cho’s second
Mid-Season pilot for
NBC. His prior pilot,
The Men’s Room,
never made it on the
air
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NBC
--- Hour Drama --- Mid-Season
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Premise
After Detective Michael
Raines’s partner is
killed, he begins to
have hallucinations.
Instead of allowing
this problem to be a
liability, he uses these
hallucinations (which
appear in the form of
murder victims) to help
him solve the crime
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Familiar
Faces
Jeff Goldblum (Independence
Day),
Luis Guzman (Boogie
Nights),
Matt Craven (Crimson
Tide),
Linda Park (Star
Trek: Enterprise)
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Our
Take
Jeff Goldblum is the
latest in an ongoing
series of traditional
silver screen stars
to move to the small
screen. Whether or not
he stays on the small
screen will depend on
where this show actually
ends up airing
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Did
You Know?
Raines was originally
scheduled for a Fall
premiere. After ABC
decided to move Grey’s
Anatomy to Thursday,
NBC needed to relocate
Studio 60 to Monday.
As a result, Raines
lost its Monday slot
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CW
--- Hour Drama --- Mid-Season
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Premise
After his father commits
suicide, Johnny Miller’s
mother remarries and
moves the family to
Palm Springs. While
his new neighborhood
appears normal from
the outside, Johnny
soon learns that his
neighbors are not necessarily
who they seem to be
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Familiar
Faces
Sharon Lawrence (NYPD
Blue),
Gail O’Grady (American
Dreams)
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Our
Take
The pilot is intriguing
introducing a myriad
of different types of
characters. Additionally,
the show has been compared
to a Palm Springs version
of The OC; however,
the true potential of
the program will not
be revealed until a
time-slot and launch
date are determined
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Did
You Know?
Hidden Palms
is from producer Kevin
Williamson (Dawson’s
Creek)
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MYNT
--- Hour Drama ---
Mid-Season
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Premise
A fierce rivalry
has been taking
place for years
between the Olivera
and Mazzoni families.
The rivalry only
intensifies after
Edward Olivera is
found murdered and
Roman Mazzoni is
charged with the
crime. Released
from prison, Roman
falls madly in love
with a woman named
Amelia – not initially
realizing that she
is a member of the
Olivera family
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Familiar
Faces
Maria Conchita Alonzo
(Running Man)
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Our
Take
MYNT’s success in
2Q 2007 will depend
a great deal on
how the new network
performs in the
prior two quarters
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Did
You Know?
A Dangerous Love,
which falls under
the MYNT Secret
Obsessions franchise,
is slated for a
2Q 2007 launch
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MYNT
--- Hour Drama
--- Mid-Season
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Premise
Best friends
Mia and Emily
come from two
different and
distinct backgrounds.
Mia is smart
and ambitious,
yet poor. On
the other hand,
Emily is quite
outspoken and
wealthy. They
remained friends
despite these
differences.
However, all
of that may
now change as
they find themselves
competing for
the affections
of a handsome
engineer named
Richard
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Familiar
Faces
None
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Our
Take
As with all
later MYNT programs,
the program’s
success depends
on the network’s
ability to establish
a viewing base
in 4Q and 1Q
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Did
You Know?
Rules of
Deception
is MYNT’s 2Q
2007 Desire
program
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MYNT
--- Hour
Drama ---
Mid-Season
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