TV Mad Man

This morning, new ABC president Paul Lee unveiled his schedule to a furry of speculation of what will happen to Sundays after the exit of Brothers and Sisters, will they open up a new comedy block, and more. All those questions were answered today, in a schedule that I believe is strong and gives the opportunity for the network to grow. My thoughts night by night and check back later for full trailers of 13 new programs.

Monday – Stays the status quo, with Dancing with the Stars at 8/7c and Castle at 10/9c (Side note: that finale was AMAZING).

Tuesday – Tim Allen returns to TV in a wonderful little gem called Last Man Standing. I had the opportunity to see the filming and it was just as magical as you would expect. Allen’s return is followed by new comedy Man Up, Dancing with the Stars, and midseason hit Body of Proof.

Wednesday – The Middle leads off the night while leading in to a quirky comedy called Suburgatory. Then Modern Family launches a new show Happy Endings, which is a brightspot in my May days. Revenge, ends the night, a soapy mystery starring Emily Van Camp set in the Hamptons.

Thursdays – Charlie’s Angels are back and in the form of some good-looking young women, who lead into the usual Rhimes-punch of Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice.

Friday- EMHE moves to start the night followed by the very entertaining Shark Tank.

Sunday – It’s family night again on broadcast! Fairytales rule the world of Once Upon A Time starring Jennifer Morrison, and that just kicks of the night of Desperate Housewives and the delicious 1960′s set Pan Am which will fill some people’s void of the long-overdue new season of Mad Men.

Below check out the full release along with synopsis of midseason entries (six of them), then as a reminder check back later for trailers! (more…)

FOX also revealed it schedule today and in FOX fashion they seem to be set, with The X Factor in the Fall expect the net to take a big position every season now. Check out the trailers here and schedules below.

FOX ANNOUNCES PRIMETIME SLATE FOR 2011-2012 SEASON

FOUR NEW COMEDIES, THREE NEW DRAMAS AND ONE NEW UNSCRIPTED SERIES JOIN SCHEDULE

HIGHLY ANTICIPATED “THE X FACTOR” LAUNCHES THIS FALL

EPIC FAMILY ADVENTURE DRAMA “TERRA NOVA” TO MAKE FALL DEBUT

ENSEMBLE COMEDY “NEW GIRL” STARRING ZOOEY DESCHANEL, FAMILY COMEDY “I HATE MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER” AND ANIMATED COMEDY “ALLEN GREGORY” TO PREMIERE THIS FALL

J.J. ABRAMS’ CHILLING THRILLER “ALCATRAZ,” ANIMATED COMEDY “NAPOLEON DYNAMITE” AND “BONES” SPIN-OFF “THE FINDER” TO DEBUT MIDSEASON

AMERICAN IDOL Season 11 Kicks Off Sunday, January 22 With Special Premiere Event Following NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

FOX 25TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL to Air Sunday, April 1

New York (Monday, May 16, 2011) – Peter Rice, Chairman, Entertainment, Fox Networks Group; and Kevin Reilly, President, Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company, today unveiled the FOX primetime schedule for the 2011-2012 television season to the national advertising community during its annual Programming Presentation at The New Beacon Theatre.

“Nothing impacts culture the way a television show does,” said Rice. “And here at FOX, we have the most talked about, most followed, most creative shows that build connections between viewers and brands.”

“Going into next year, we’ve rejuvenated AMERICAN IDOL, built a core strength across the week and developed a really fresh, creative new lineup for next season,” said Reilly. “From razor-sharp comedies to epic dramas to a massive talent competition series, I think we have the goods to continue to be pop culture’s most vibrant platform, as well as the top network.”

Launching this fall is the highly anticipated singing competition series THE X FACTOR, which marks the return of Simon Cowell to FOX. Cowell, along with Antonio “L.A.” Reid, Cheryl Cole and Paula Abdul, will judge the U.S. version of the international television phenomenon that will award an unprecedented $5 million recording contract with Syco/Sony Music to the next global superstar or breakout music group.

Epic family adventure series TERRA NOVA, executive-produced by Steven Spielberg (“Saving Private Ryan,” “Jurassic Park”), Peter Chernin, René Echevarria (“Castle,” “The 4400″) and Brannon Braga (“24″) and starring Jason O’Mara (“Life On Mars”) and Stephen Lang (“Avatar”), premieres in the fall. The ambitious series follows an ordinary family on an extraordinary journey back in time to prehistoric Earth as a small part of a daring experiment to save the human race.

Also debuting this fall are the half-hour comedies NEW GIRL (working title) and I HATE MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER (working title). Created by Liz Meriwether (“No Strings Attached”), NEW GIRL (wt) is a new single-camera ensemble comedy starring Zooey Deschanel (“(500) Days of Summer”) as Jess, an offbeat girl who – after a bad breakup – moves in with three single guys and essentially sets a bomb off in their lives. New multi-camera family comedy I HATE MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER (wt) stars Emmy Award winner Jaime Pressly (“My Name Is Earl”) and Tony Award winner Katie Finneran (“Wonderfalls”) as single moms, life-long friends – and former nerds – who fear their privileged and overly indulged daughters are turning out to be just like the girls who picked on them in high school.

ALLEN GREGORY is the new animated comedy joining the Sunday ANIMATION DOMINATION lineup this fall. Created by and featuring the voice of Jonah Hill (“Get Him to the Greek,” “Superbad”), ALLEN GREGORY is the story of an extremely pretentious 7-year-old about to embark on his greatest challenge yet: leaving the safety of homeschooling and attending elementary school with children his own age.

Television’s No. 1 hit series, AMERICAN IDOL, will kick off midseason with a special premiere event Sunday, Jan. 22 (10:00-11:00 PM ET/7:00-8:00 PM PT), immediately following the NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. Entering its remarkable 11th season, the series will continue to empower contestants and viewers to share their voices in deciding who will be the next AMERICAN IDOL.

The two new dramas set to launch in midseason are ALCATRAZ and THE FINDER. From executive producer J.J. Abrams (“Lost,” “Star Trek”) and writer Elizabeth Sarnoff (“Lost”) and starring Sarah Jones (“Sons of Anarchy”), Jorge Garcia (“Lost”) and Sam Neill (“Jurassic Park”), ALCATRAZ is the chilling new thriller centered on America’s most infamous prison and the mysterious return of its most notorious criminals. Created by Hart Hanson, the executive producer and creator of BONES, THE FINDER is a new procedural drama starring Geoff Stults (“She’s Out of My League”) as an Iraq war vet with an extraordinary ability to help people find the unfindable.

Based on the hit cult classic and featuring the voices of the film’s original cast, NAPOLEON DYNAMITE is the new animated comedy premiering in midseason. The series follows the continuing adventures of Napoleon Dynamite, America’s most awesomely awkward teenager, and his quirky family and friends as they navigate life in rural Idaho.

In March, while GLEE takes a break before its spring semester return, FOX will continue the laughs on Tuesdays with a block of four half-hour comedies. The night will feature the critically acclaimed RAISING HOPE, new comedies I HATE MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER (wt) and NEW GIRL (wt), as well as one of the additional comedies in development, including FAMILY ALBUM (working title) and LITTLE IN COMMON (working title). Starring Mike O’Malley (GLEE) and Rachael Harris (“The Hangover”), FAMILY ALBUM (wt) is the single-camera comedy that takes a snapshot of the Bronsky clan as they reveal the hilarious stories behind the photo-worthy moments of life. The new family comedy LITTLE IN COMMON (wt), starring Rob Corddry (“Hot Tub Time Machine”) and Kevin Hart (“Death at a Funeral”), follows three diverse middle-class families who become intertwined when their children play on youth sports teams together.

In addition, Kiefer Sutherland, star of the landmark Emmy Award-winning series “24,” returns to FOX in TOUCH, scheduled to go into pilot production this June. Written and created by Tim Kring (“Heroes”), TOUCH centers on the relationship between a single father and his 11-year-old son with special needs. Their relationship and their lives take an extraordinary turn when the gifted son begins to make connections in his life and around the world.

This spring, FOX will celebrate its 25th birthday with a star-studded look back at the last quarter-century on the FOX 25th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL (working title) airing Sunday, April 1. FOX’s biggest stars from both past and present will make appearances to honor the network that began 25 years ago.

Other FOX series returning in 2011-2012 include: AMERICAN DAD (Season 7), AMERICAN IDOL (Season 11), AMERICA’S MOST WANTED (quarterly specials), BOB’S BURGERS (Season 2), BONES (Season 7), THE CLEVELAND SHOW (Season 3), COPS (Season 24), FAMILY GUY (Season 9), FRINGE (Season 4), GLEE (Season 3), HELL’S KITCHEN (Season 9), HOUSE (Season 8), KITCHEN NIGHTMARES (Season 4), MASTERCHEF (Season 2), MOBBED (specials), RAISING HOPE (Season 2), THE SIMPSONS (Season 23) and SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE (Season 8). AMERICAN COUNTRY AWARDS, NEW YEAR’S EVE LIVE and TEEN CHOICE 2011 will also return to the FOX schedule.

Keep up with all the new series on the FOX 2011-2012 Primetime Schedule at FOX.com or by becoming fans of the series on Facebook and following the series on Twitter at the following URLs:

SERIES FACEBOOK TWITTER
THE X FACTOR facebook.com/THEXFACTORUSA @THEXFACTORUSA
TERRA NOVA facebook.com/TERRANOVAonFOX @TERRANOVAonFOX
NEW GIRL (wt) facebook.com/NEWGIRLonFOX @NEWGIRLonFOX
I HATE MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER (wt) facebook.com/IHMTDFOX @IHMTDFOX
ALLEN GREGORY facebook.com/ALLENGREGORYonFOX @ALLENGREGORYFOX
ALCATRAZ facebook.com/ALCATRAZonFOX @ALCATRAZonFOX
THE FINDER facebook.com/THEFINDERonFOX @THEFINDERonFOX
NAPOLEON DYNAMITE facebook.com/NAPOLEONDYNAMITE @NAPOLEONonFOX
TOUCH facebook.com/TOUCHonFOX @TOUCHFOX

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NBC announced their fall schedule on Sunday and released full trailers tonight. Check out the schedule below, and full trailers here.

WITH A COMMITMENT TO INNOVATION, STRATEGIC POSITIONING AND SEASON-LONG STRENGTH, NBC REVEALS ITS 2011-12 PRIMETIME SCHEDULE

Fall and Mid-Season Lineups Feature New Dramas “Smash,” “Prime Suspect,” “The Playboy Club,” “Awake,” “Grimm” and “The Firm”

New Comedies Are “Up All Night,” “Whitney,” “Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea,” “Free Agents,” “Best Friends Forever” and “Bent”

NEW YORK CITY — May 15, 2011 — NBC has introduced its 2011-12 primetime schedule, showcasing six new dramas and six new comedies from a roster of renowned hit-makers that includes Steven Spielberg, Lorne Michaels, Brian Grazer, Tom Werner, John Grisham and Peter Berg, among many others.

The season’s new dramas are “Smash,” “Prime Suspect,” “The Playboy Club,” “Awake,” “Grimm” and “The Firm”; and the new comedies are “Up All Night,” “Whitney,” “Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea,” “Free Agents,” “Best Friends Forever” and “Bent.”

Returning shows include “Parenthood,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Harry’s Law,” “Chuck” (for its fifth and final season of 13 episodes), “Community,” “Parks and Recreation,” “The Office,” “30 Rock” and “Dateline NBC.” Among next season’s returning alternative series are “The Voice,” “The Sing-Off,” “The Celebrity Apprentice” and “The Biggest Loser,” each in two-hour formats.

The new lineup combines schedule stability with strategic changes that position the network for future growth. Key facets of the schedule include a new hour of comedy with the Wednesday debuts of “Up All Night” (8-8:30 p.m. ET) and “Free Agents” (8:30-9 p.m. ET) and an update to NBC’s critically acclaimed Thursday lineup with the premieres this fall of the new comedy “Whitney” (9:30-10 p.m. ET) and the first-year drama “Prime Suspect” (10-11 p.m. ET). In addition, NBC has made a strong commitment to original scripted programming on Friday nights with the pairing of “Chuck” (8-9 p.m. ET) in its climactic season with the new drama “Grimm” (9-10 p.m. ET).

The #1 new series of the current season, “The Voice,” returns at mid-season on Monday nights (8-10 p.m. ET) and will serve as the lead-in to the new musical drama “Smash” (10-11 p.m. ET). In the fall on Mondays from 8-10 p.m. ET will be another growing NBC reality success, “The Sing-Off,” now in a weekly format following its strong December showings of the past two years.

Additional details unveiled in today’s announcement include a run of uninterrupted originals for “30 Rock” starting at mid-season and a post-football Sunday lineup of “Dateline NBC” (7-8 p.m. ET), “The Celebrity Apprentice” (8-10 p.m. ET) and the new drama “The Firm” (10-11 p.m. ET). Additional new series ready for mid-season include the drama “Awake” and the comedies “Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea,” “Best Friends Forever” and “Bent.”

The announcements were made by Bob Greenblatt, Chairman, NBC Entertainment.

“Next season begins the rebuilding of the NBC primetime schedule, and our goal is to reinvigorate our audience with a line-up of appointment television that includes our best returning shows and a variety of innovative and attention-getting new series. We’ll be placing a great deal of emphasis on how we launch each one of our programs and on maximizing the network’s strengths throughout the fall and well into mid-season,” said Greenblatt. “Considering it’s only been three months since new management took over, I’m very pleased with what has resulted from a very strong pilot season. And with a powerful new asset like ‘The Voice’ already in hand, we go into the 2011-12 season with cautious but incredible optimism.”

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Sometime you just need to have a smile in the middle of the busy week. I think Matt Bomer and Tim Dekay of USA’s White Collar (back June 7th at 9/8c with a new season) can do just that. This from Comic-Con 2010….

You were astonished by Planet Earth, in awe over Life, and now you can do it all over again with Human Planet. Who knew we could be so fascinating? The team from BBC and co-production with Discovery in the states has done it again, and even though though the six episode series that takes a look at what we do on this planet just wrapped in the US, its out on DVD this Tuesday.

Human Planet is presented in the same structure as the previous two ground-breaking series, but this time instead of focusing on the Earth we live on, or the animals we eat or love, this one takes a look at what we do, most importantly, to survive. This was a pretty captivating series for me for a couple reasons, one because I grew up in an Arctic climate which is featured very heavily, and second, because we don’t know much of anything about some of the tribes featured.

The Blu-Ray pack is wonderful, including all the making-of features that are just as fascinating of the series itself but its look is what sets this over the top. Coupled with great HD, the blu-ray disc set is a must-have in my book, and a series you must own starting this week. Check out some clips below, and their Facebook + website!