Entertainment, TV, Television - Navy Times

Dramas thrive while comedies stumble this fall

It’s time for a new TV season, with a bit less dazzle and a bit more desperation.

“The strike changed everything,” says Stephen McPherson, ABC’s programming chief.

During the 14-week writers’ strike, scripts stopped and show-development stalled. “Everybody tried to ... put the smiley face on it,” says Kevin Reilly, Fox’s programming chief. “But it was obviously damaging.”

Fox has only two new scripted series this fall; ABC has one. Both say the surge will be later.

“It’s an odd year,” McPherson says. “The rhythms have changed.”

Then what about the “smiley face” news, as Reilly put it? There is some, actually:

• CBS is in surprisingly good shape. It has five new scripted shows, including three — “The Mentalist” and two comedies — that could score well with mainstream audiences.

• Fox always starts slowly in the fall, but this year it has a show (“Fringe”) that could make a quick impact. It starts Sept. 9, two weeks before the season officially begins.

Amid its stumbles, the CW may have found its niche with “Privileged” and the “90210” sequel. “We are very focused on women 18-34,” says programming chief Dawn Ostroff. “We know that’s our sweet spot.”

Then there’s the broader possibility: The long strike break may have improved several returning shows.

“The greatest thing was having 100 days when we weren’t thinking about ‘Lost,”’ says Carlton Cuse, one of that show’s producers.

That was temporary, and “Lost” rushed out six spring episodes when the writers’ strike was settled. Still, Cuse says, “We were rested and we were energized. ... We feel like that really helped our show.”

Other shows got much longer breaks. They were told to forget spring and use the extra time to plan for this fall.

The first to get that news was “24.” For the upcoming season, it has a two-hour movie in November, setting up the 24-hour ride. “We’re going to have a revitalized — or I should say very vital — ‘24,’” Reilly says.

Also given extra time was “Heroes.” Its new season will have more hours — 25 instead of 22 — and fresh spark, says Masi Oka, one of its stars.

Mostly, though, the extra preparation time was given to first-year shows. That includes NBC’s “Chuck” and “Life”; Fox’s “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”; and all of ABC’s Wednesday shows — “Pushing Daisies,” “Private Practice” and “Dirty Sexy Money.”

Midway in strong first seasons, each was able to focus on the second. “It’s a nice big kind of head start and a chance to really get those episodes shiny and polished,” says Josh Schwartz, the “Chuck” creator.

Now the shows might feel new and improved. “I hope that this fall’s a re-set,” Reilly says.

Other key trends are:

• Dramas continue to thrive, while comedies stumble. In the past, networks might have introduced a dozen new comedies; this fall, they have four.

• That trend is modified by the fact that many of the drama hours add humor. “People have a gallows humor a lot of the time,” says Shonda Rhimes, the “Grey’s Anatomy” creator. “Creating that funny underbelly ... is what made the show feel more like real life.”

• Jumping into the drama trend are the cable networks. In the past, only HBO dared to face the networks head-to-head in September. Now TNT, FX and others will debut drama series this fall.

• Networks have grabbed the producers of distinctive cable shows. CBS’ Nina Tassler points to two examples: “Bruno Heller, who created ‘The Mentalist,’ created ‘Rome’ for HBO. (Cyrus) Voris and (Ethan) Reiff, who are showrunning ‘Eleventh Hour,’ did ‘Sleeper Cell’ (for Showtime). These are new voices for us.”

• After years of going global for reality shows, networks are doing that for scripted ones. “Kath & Kim” is an Australian show; “Life on Mars” is British; “The Ex List” is Israeli.

“We’re having a very different dialogue now,” says CBS’ Tassler. “It’s a global playground.”

A prime example is “Crusoe,” a multinational production being shot in South Africa. “It’s a big sleeper and like nothing on television,” says NBC’s Ben Silverman.

TV could use some of that in a year that’s short on dazzle.