SHILO’S SUPERLATIVES
Most Promising Trailer: Hieroglyph. It doesn’t look like anything on broadcast television, it’s one of two FOX shows that will add some much needed diversity to television (the other being Empire, another KSite favorite), and I’m curious how such an ambitious series will deal with a broadcast budget and with broadcast content restrictions.
Most Anticipated New Show: The Last Man on Earth. I have no idea how this is a broadcast series or what this show will look like come episode 4, but I’m psyched to see FOX allowing such an interesting concept to make it to air. Here’s hoping viewers give it a chance.
Best Scheduling Move: Gotham/Sleepy Hollow Mondays should be FOX’s strongest night. If Gotham can make it through the opening weeks of the season and Sleepy Hollow finds a way to make its concept stretch to 18 episodes/season, there’ll be no worries here until The Following premieres in 2015.
Worst Scheduling Move: I just don’t love Gracepoint on Thursdays in the fall. The trailer that was released and Bones have very different vibes and I don’t know if a casual Bones viewer will be willing to check out a dark show like Gracepoint. Plus, it’s the second child(ren)-in-peril drama FOX is premiering in the same time frame and I don’t think both will make it out of their respective time slots alive. I don’t expect a Gracepoint cancellation, though, given the talent involved and the limited episode order.
Most Likely New Hit: Gotham. It’s got a built-in audience, its trailer has enormous views, and it has the comic space all to itself on Mondays. Big Bang should put a big damper on its opening few weeks, but when the dust settles this season, look for Gotham to become FOX’s #1 drama – and possibly its #1 program overall.
Likely First Cancellation: The second hour of Utopia looks awfully vulnerable, though I think the network sticks with the Tuesday hour for at least a little while. In terms of scripted content, Red Band Society’s concept might be too much for some viewers to overcome and prevent it from being sampled in the way it needs to be in order to compete on Wednesdays.
What I’ll Be Watching:
Fall: Bob’s Burgers, Sleepy Hollow, Red Band Society
Midseason: Empire, Hieroglyph, The Last Man on Earth, Weird Loners
CRAIG’S CHOICES
Most Promising Trailer: Gotham. Again, we know I’m a comic book geek, did you expect me to say something else?
Most Anticipated New Show: I am going to cry if I don’t get to see a Gotham screener soon.
Best Scheduling Move: I would go with you and say Gotham/Sleepy Hollow, but I will also give FOX props for this “Brooklyn Nine-Nine on Sunday” thing. It might be exactly what the show needs to finally get the right sampling.
Worst Scheduling Move: Utopia landing wherever.
Most Likely New Hit: Gotham, but – assuming people do find it on Thursdays – I think Gracepoint may jump out during the weeks that it is on, provided people don’t think they’ve seen it already when it had the same lead and was called Broadchurch.
Likely First Cancellation: Agree with you: One of the Utopia slots. I don’t think they’ll cancel it outright, though, because it seems like an expensive show to produce. But if ratings are bad, they might end up even missing X Factor.
What I’ll Be Watching:
Fall: Gotham, Sleepy Hollow, Gracepoint (maybe), Red Band Society (maybe)
Midseason: Hieroglyph (maybe), Backstrom (maybe)
SO, HOW DID WE DO?
With a half point per half hour and half of that taken off if it’s the right night but wrong timeslot (that’s a lot of “halfs”), Craig ended up with 5.75 out of a possible 12.5 points, and Shilo ended up with 5.25 out of 12.5. Very close!
Come back tomorrow for our last schedule analysis article – NBC!
