TV-hösten 2009: Fox TV-tablå!

Det har blivit dags för de amerikanska kanalerna att presentera sitt utbud för nästa säsong, och först ut är Fox.

Murdochs kanal är för femte året i rad kanalen med mest tittare, självklart på grund av megaprogrammen American Idol och So You Think You Can Dance, men också massiva dramasuccéer som House, Bones, 24, Simpsons, Family Guy och förra säsongens två största nykomlingar Fringe och Lie To Me.

Allt är dock inte en dans på tittarrosor, till exempel så lades Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles ner förra veckan, Dollhouse blev ett fiasko och få finna sig i en begränsad beställning av andra säsong och en slot tillsammans med 'Til Death på veckans sämsta TV-kväll, fredag.

Största tablåändringen står Fringe för, som flyttas från en lugnare tillvaro på måndagen till veckans "värsta" tid: torsdagar 21.00 (där den förmodligen får möta Grey's Anatomy, CSI, The Office och Supernatural). Tufft! So You Think You Can Dance har i höst utökats till samma upplägg som American Idol har under våren.

Flera piloter blev såklart skrotade som vanligt, men någras fiasko är särskilt värda att nämnas, som den amerikanska remaken av Absolutely Fabulous, Brett Ratner-producerade Cop House, dramat Eva Adams om en notorisk kvinnojägare i en sportaffär som förvandlas till kvinna, den Brian Grazer-producerade/Stephen Hopkins-regisserade Maggie Hill om en schizofren hjärtkirurg female heart surgeon och äventyrsserien Masterwork som sades påminna om National Treasure-filmerna.

Istället satsar Fox nästa säsong på två nya drama, tre komedier, en efterlängtad spin-off till Family Guy kallad The Cleveland Show, och en sen talk show med öppet lesbiska Wanda Sykes.

Så här ser tablån ut i höst (flera av de nya serierna dyker upp först i vår eller mid-season):

Måndag
20:00 House
21:00 Lie To Me

Tisdag
20:00 So You Think You Can Dance: Performance Show

Onsdag
20:00 So You Think You Can Dance: Results Show
21:00 Glee

Torsdag
20:00 Bones
21:00 Fringe

Fredag
20:00 Brothers
20:30 'Til Death
21:00 Dollhouse

Lördag
20:00 Cops
21:00 America's Most Wanted
23:00 The Wanda Sykes Show

Söndag
20:00 The Simpsons
20:30 The Cleveland Show
21:00 Family Guy
21:30 American Dad


Själv känner jag mig måttligt intresserad av det mesta på Fox (jag älskar såklart 24 och House, och ska försöka ta upp mitt Fringe-tittande vid tillfälle) och samma gäller för de flesta av deras nya serier när jag läser beskrivningarna av dem (återges oöversatta nedan).

Undantaget skulle vara Glee, vars pilot sänds redan ikväll efter American Idol i USA (ett nytt ganska smart marknadsföringsknep inför hösten) och som sägs vara en blandning av nämnda American Idol, High School Musical och Fame (som ju snart har premiär i en ny filmatisering), där den stora musikaltrenden - nästan chockerande sent - alltså nu tas upp av en stor amerikansk TV-kanal.

Går det dåligt kan det förmodligen inte bli värre än Britannia High (som jag ju fortfarande skäms över att jag gillade) och går det bra så kan det förmodligen bli hur stort som helst.

Här är seriens trailer.



Här följer några kopierade beskrivningar av de nya serierna från sidan Dark Horizons.



Glee

McKinley High School's Glee Club used to be at the top of the show choir world, but years later, it has turned into a haven for misfits and social outcasts. But at McKinley, things for the Glee Club are about to change.
From Ryan Murphy, the creator of Nip/Tuck, comes Glee, an uplifting comedy musical series with biting humor that features a soundtrack of hit music from past to present. The show follows an optimistic high school teacher as he tries to refuel his own passion for singing while reinventing the school's glee club and challenging a group of underdogs to realize their star potential. Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) has offered to take on the Herculean task of restoring McKinley's Glee Club to its former glory with the help of fellow teacher and germaphobe Emma Pillsbury (Jayma Mays).
It's a tall order when the brightest stars of the club include Kurt (Chris Colfer), a nerdy soprano with a flair for the dramatic; Mercedes (Amber Riley), a dynamic diva-in-training who refuses to sing back-up; Artie (Kevin McHale), a geeky guitarist who spends more time avoiding bullies than chasing girls; and Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz), an awkward girl who needs to suppress her stutter before she can take center stage.
Will's only hope lies with two true talents: Rachel Berry (Lea Michele), a perfectionist firecracker who is convinced that show choir is her ticket to stardom; and Finn Hudson(Cory Monteith), the popular high school quarterback with movie star looks and a Motown voice who must protect his reputation with his holier-than-thou girlfriend and head cheerleader, Quinn (Dianna Agron), and his arrogant football teammate, Puck (Mark Salling).
Driven by his secret past, Will is determined to do whatever it takes to make Glee great again, even though everyone around him thinks he's nuts. He's out to prove them all wrong from his tough-as-nails wife Terri Schuster(Jessalyn Gilsig) to McKinley's scheming cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) to an ber-hip world that thinks jazz hands and sequined tuxedos litter the road to infamy rather than pave the way to Hollywood dreams.




The Cleveland Show

New animated series that follows everyone's favorite soft-spoken neighbor, Cleveland Brown (Mike Henry), to his hometown in Virginia as he settles down with his high school sweetheart, her unruly kids and his own 14-year-old son, Cleveland Jr. (Kevin Michael Richardson).
Many years ago, Cleveland was a high school student madly in love with a beautiful girl named Donna (Sanaa Lathan). Much to his dismay, his love went unrequited, and Donna wound up marrying another man. Cleveland once told Donna he would always love her, and if this man ever done her wrong, he'd be there when she called. Well, this man done her wrong. Donna's husband ran off, leaving Donna with a teenage daughter and a young son. Now she's open to Cleveland and has offered him another chance at love.
Unattached after the Loretta-Quagmire debacle and true to his word, Cleveland joyously reunites with Donna, and he and Cleveland Jr. move to Virginia to join their new family. Once in Virginia, there are a few surprises in store for Cleveland, including Roberta (Reagan Gomez-Preston), a rebellious new stepdaughter; Rallo (Henry), his new 5-year-old stepson who loves the ladies; and a collection of neighbors that includes a loudmouth redneck, Lester (Richardson); a hipster wanna-be, Holt (guest voice Jason Sudeikis); and a religious pair of talking bears, Tim (Seth MacFarlane) and his wife Arianna (guest voice Arianna Huffington).




The Human Target

It takes a brave, selfless man to make himself a human target in order to save the lives of those in danger. Based on the popular DC Comics graphic novel, Human Target is a full-throttle action drama centered on Christopher Chance (Mark Valley, Fringe), a unique private contractor/security guard hired to protect.
Call him what you like, because for Chance, it's about one thing only: saving his clients' lives. When there is an unusual or imminent threat that can't be solved through normal means of protection, Chance is hired to completely integrate himself into his clients' lives to become the human target. If you're a corporate manager whose disgruntled employee has gone violently off the deep end, Chance is your new auditor. If you're the president of a bank who's been tipped off to a potential heist, Chance is your unassuming bank teller.
During each job, Chance, assisted by his business partner Winston (Chi McBride, Pushing Daisies) and hired gun Guerrero (Jackie Earle Haley, Watchmen), puts himself directly in the line of fire as he races against time to save his client, while unraveling the truth behind the mission. With every new danger, Chance's dark history will also unravel. Does anyone know who Christopher Chance really is, or what secrets lay buried in his past? What would make a man willingly become a human target?



Past Life

Have you ever experienced deja vu or met someone you thought seemed familiar? Do you believe in karma, fate or love at first sight? From writer David Hudgins (Friday Night Lights), and inspired by the book The Reincarnationist by M.J. Rose, comes Past Life, a new drama series about an unlikely pair of past-life detectives who investigate whether what is happening to you today is the result of who you were before.
Dr. Kate McGinn (Kelli Giddish, All My Children) is not your typical psychologist. Confident, outspoken and highly educated, she works at The Talmadge Center for Behavioral Health in New York City, a world-renowned institute dedicated to the study of the science of the soul.
After experiencing a past-life regression in her 20s, Kate became a believer in reincarnation. Using regression therapy and her natural gift for reading people, Kate helps solve the mysteries of her troubled clients who suffer from present-day problems caused by past-life traumas. She believes there are levels of consciousness and explanations for human behavior that science can't begin to explain.
Accustomed to skeptics, but not bothered by them, Kate is an unapologetic believer and a force of nature who marches to the beat of her own drummer. Her partner, Price Whatley (Nicholas Bishop, Home and Away), is a different story. A former NYPD homicide detective, pragmatic and cynical, Price is a damaged soul who constantly battles grief and guilt over the accidental death of his wife. Price feels that Kate, though not certifiable, certainly operates on the fringes of science.
It's a volatile relationship, but with Price's solid detective skills, and Kate's penchant for out-of-the-box thinking, together they make a formidable, if somewhat dysfunctional, team. A fast-paced emotional thrill ride, each episode finds Price and Kate working with their colleagues to unravel a new mystery involving the past-lives of their clients.
Dr. Malachie Talmadge (Richard Schiff, The West Wing) is Kate's mentor and the center's namesake, an avuncular but gruff elder statesman who is a legend in the field of cognitive research. DR. RISHI KARNA (Ravi Patel, Scrubs) is the rookie of the group, a baby-faced therapist from Calcutta who loves bad American TV, Cuban jazz and driving everyone crazy.



Brothers

Michael Strahan ("FOX NFL Sunday") and Daryl "Chill" Mitchell ("Ed," "Veronica's Closet") star in this new half-hour comedy about a former NFL hot shot who learns that even though you can always go home again, the trip back might be tougher than you think.
Mike Trainor (Strahan) seemingly has it all he's a good-looking, wealthy and recently retired NFL player living the high-life in New York City, but he's about to get sidelined. When Mike gets a phone call from his mother (CCH Pounder, "The Shield") who orders him home to Houston, he quickly realizes the more his life has changed, the more his family has stayed the same.
His brother Chill (Daryl "Chill" Mitchell), whose life was altered drastically after a car accident left him in a wheelchair, is struggling to keep his restaurant afloat with the help of his loudmouth associate, Roscoe (Colton Dunn, "MADtv"). The dynamics between Mike and Chill are the same as when they were kids, and their sibling rivalry hasn't lessened with age. If they can stop their bickering, put aside their differences and learn to be teammates, the brothers might just turn out to be each other's biggest asset.
Wedged between Mike and Chill are their parents. Their father, whom everyone refers to as Coach (Carl Weathers, "Rocky"), is the local high school football coach and the conservative, opinionated alpha male of his clan. Coach thinks he runs the show, but really it's Mom who calls the shots. Saucy, stern and a schemer, she is the mastermind of the family.
And when she learns that Mike's business manager took off with all his money, she orchestrates a plan to keep Mike in Houston, save Chill's restaurant and bring the family back together under one roof again all without anyone realizing what she's up to. Mom's plan helps Mike realize that his family however dysfunctional they may be is the only family he's got. And although he may not have a penny to his name, as long as he's surrounded by people who love him, he'll always be a rich man.



Sons of Tuscon

A family comedy about three brothers who hire a charming, wayward schemer to stand in as their father when their real one goes to prison. What begins as a business relationship evolves into something more complex and compelling: a family unlike any we've ever seen.The three brothers find their dad-for-hire, Ron Snuffkin (Tyler Labine, "Reaper"), at the local sporting good store. Ron will be forced to draw on a wide array of skills and a vast bag of tricks as he steps into the patriarch role to take care of the boys of the Gunderson family.Robby Gunderson (Davis Cleveland, "How I Met Your Mother"), 8, is a loose cannon who doesn't respond well to authority; Gary Gunderson (Frank Dolce, "Doubt"), 11, is a bright and street-savvy leader who is every bit the con man his father is; and Brandon Gunderson(Troy Gentile, "Entourage"), 13, is a gentle free spirit who simply goes along for the ride. Maggie Morales (Natalie Martinez, "Saints & Sinners"), Robby's second-grade teacher and the object of Ron's affection, might just be the only stable figure in the lives of this quirky quartet.While "Sons of Tucson" is grounded in the day-to-day challenges of a single-parent home, nothing in the Gunderson household is quite what it seems. An ongoing chess match between Ron and the boys will keep both parties on their toes, as neither side can afford to give up too much power or independence.

Det var Fox.
Just nu håller ABC som bäst på att presentera sin tablå - och jag kan redan avslöja att de knuffat bort Ugly Betty från sin Prime Time-torsdag, och förvisat Amanda & gänget till iskalla fredagstablån... Men mer om det en annan gång.