Tons of new TV shows set to premiere this fall

Emily Berthiaume, Teen Interest Editor

In mid-May, television broadcast net- works announce their new shows and cancellations of old ones at events called “the upfronts”. This year, CBS, Fox, ABC and NBC have presented an onslaught of new programing as well as what shows will not return for the fall 2015 season.

At Fox, the long-running and ground- breaking American Idol will come to an end after a final 15th season in 2015-16.

“It’s not an easy decision,” Gary New- man, chairman and CEO of the Fox Tele- vision Group, said. “Idol has been such a vital part of Fox for its run. We spent a lot of time talking to producers about its future and we all rived to the conclusion it was time to bring the show to an end.”

The ratings for Idol have been in de- cline for many years now. The season 13 finale drew in 10.1 million viewers, which is not bad, but when compared to the sea- son 2 finale in 2003 which drew 38 million viewers, it seems dismal. A slew of other, similar shows such as NBC’s The Voice, the rise of the ease of gaining Internet fame, and the ever-rotating panel of judges led to the shows decline and now demise.

Although Fox was the number one network for 18-49 year olds for 8 seasons, mainly because of Idol, it now has only one main success, the drama Empire. And a major success it is: it is the #1 series

on broadcast television, with adults, with teens, with women, with men, with African- Americans, in social media, and had a #1 album debut. Despite its massive success, nothing else Fox tried this season worked: Gotham, Last Man on Earth, Utopia, Red Band Society, Mulaney, Gracepoint, Back- strom, and Weird Loners all flopped. With The Mindy Project’s cancellation, Fox sank to 4th behind NBC, CBS, and ABC.

The majority of Fox’s new programs are in the sci-fi/horror theme, such as The Minority Report, Scream Queens, The Frankenstein Code, Lucifer, and a reboot of The X-Files. The Minority Report is a sequel to the 2002 Steven Spielberg movie of the same name, and The X-Files, star- ring David Duchovney and Gillian Ander- son, is a reboot of the show that originally ran from 1993-2002. Scream Queens is a horror-comedy from two of the creators of Glee, Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, which takes place on a college campus under the threat of a masked murderer. One charac- ter dies every episode, which explains the massive cast composed of Lea Michele, Jaime Lee Curtis, Emma Roberts, Abigail Breslin, Keke Palmer, Ariana Grande, and Nick Jonas. The Grinder stars Rob Lowe, fresh off just-ended Parks and Recreation as an adored actor who moves back to his hometown after his TV show, in which he portrayed a famous lawyer names The Grinder, comes to an end. Finally, Grand- fathered stars John Stamos as a man who owns a successful restaurant but has never settled down who finds out he has not only a son, played by Josh Peck, but a grandchild.

NBC will finish in the number one posi- tion for the 18-49 age group for the 2014-15 season, yet only because it aired the Super Bowl this year. The Voice is its only legiti- mate hit, with its two Chicago shows earing acceptable ratings. All of its new 2014-15 season shows were cancelled, except The Mysteries of Laura. Undateable is NBC’s only returning comedy, and it is changing format from a sit-com to all-live episodes. Its slew of new shows include Blindspot, a suspenseful drama about a young woman who turns up in Times Square covered in tattoos with no idea who she is trying to uncover her identity with the help of an FBI agent and her tattoos. Heartbreaker is yet another medical drama revolving around Dr. Kathy Magliato, a real-life heart trans- plant surgeon and her “racy” personal life. Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris sees Harris getting his own show after be- coming a long-time award show host sta- ple. The variety show will feature “stunts, skits, pranks, audience interaction, musical numbers, giveaways, unlimited surprises,” according to a press release. In yet an- other reboot, Heroes Reborn will see the 2006-2010 show Heroes, about ordinary people discovering they have superpow- ers, living to see another day. The Player is a thriller set around security expert and former military operative, played by Wes

Snipes, and the wealthy who bet on wheth- er or not he will be able to prevent massive crimes from happening. And in standard sit-com fashion, People Are Talking in- volves two couple that live next door and constantly over-analyze each other’s lives.

CBS is seeing far less changes to its lineup, with its fall schedule mostly re- volving around football. Its few new shows include another reboot; this time to the Bradley Cooper acted and produced 2011 film Limitless. It will feature a new char- acter that discovers the “limitless” powers that NZT offers, and woks for the FBI. Life in Pieces tells a family drama through the perspective of different family members, and Code Black is a medical drama set in LA. One of the most anticipated new shows, Supergirl, stars Melissa Benoist as the title character, a female superhero who is finally beginning to embrace her powers.

 ABC experienced more true success this season, such as How To Get Away With Murder, Fresh Off the Boat, and Black-ish. The Muppets is a new show featuring (what else) the Muppets, while Dr. Ken stars Ken Jeong as a physician who bedside man- ner and time he spends with his family is not the best. Drama Oil revolves around a small-town couple moving North Dakota who is threatened by oil businessmen, and Of Kings and Prophets is a Bible saga told through the view of a king, prophet, and shepherd, in the vein of A.D. and The Bible.