New to TV

FOX adds six new shows

by Cheril on May 16th, 2008

Updates: Fox has changed its premiere dates for Prison Break, Bones and Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader to the week of Sept. 1. Fringe also will debut on a new date, Sept. 9.

Two new dramas, three new comedies and one unscripted series will join the 2008-09 television schedule FOX announced during their Upfront presentations Wednesday.

Coming to FOX in the fall is the J.M. Abrams drama Fringe, comedy Do Not Disturb (working title), Joss Whedon’s action-packed drama Dollhouse, and a unscripted series Secret Millionaire which will premiere mid season.

In addition, two new animated comedies The Cleveland Show (working title) and Sit Down, Shut Up (working title) will debut in the spring.

FOX canceled New Amsterdam, Canterbury’s Law and K-Ville.

FOX will kick off the season early with special two-hour premieres the week of Aug. 25 for returning shows Prison Break, Bones and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader, along with Fringe, which will debut on Aug. 26 from 8 to 10 p.m. ET/PT.

Here’s a peek at each show:

Fringe is from acclaimed writer/producer J.J. Abrams (Lost), Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (Star Trek, Mission: Impossible III, Alias). Joshua Jackson (Dawson’s Creek), John Noble (Lord of the Rings) and newcomer Anna Torv star as an unlikely trio who uncover a deadly mystery involving a series of unbelievable events and realize they may be part of a larger, more disturbing pattern that blurs the line between science fiction and technology.

When an international flight lands at an airport and the passengers and crew have all died grisly deaths, FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham (newcomer Anna Torv) is called in to investigate. After her partner, Special Agent John Scott (Boston Legal), is nearly killed during the investigation, a desperate Olivia searches frantically for someone to help, leading her to Dr. Walter Bishop ( Lord of the Rings), our generation’s Einstein. There’s only one catch: he’s been institutionalized for the last 20 years, and the only way to question him requires pulling his estranged son Peter ( Dawson’s Creek) in to help. When Olivia’s investigation leads her to manipulative corporate executive Nina Sharp (Altered States), our unlikely trio along with fellow FBI Agents Phillip Broyles (The Wire), Charlie Francis (Oz) and Astrid Farnsworth (Law & Order: Criminal Intent) will discover that what happened on Flight 627 is only a small piece of a larger, more shocking truth.

The new comedy Do Not Disturb (working title) is an upstairs/downstairs workplace comedy starring Jerry O’Connell (Crossing Jordan) and Niecy Nash (Reno 911) as the management team behind one of the hottest and hippest hotels in New York City.

The hotel’s top-notch reputation and sophisticated look is due in large part to Neal (O’Connell) – at least in his opinion. Although The Inn’s charismatic owner R.J. (guest star Robert Wagner) takes all the credit, Neal is the egotistical, hyper-stylish, detail-oriented general manager who will do whatever it takes to keep the hotel and its employees up to his standards. Rhonda (Nash) is the head of Human Resources who also keeps Neal’s demands in check. She’s brash, fabulous and brutally honest and runs the HR department with a set of rules that are all her own. Rhonda does her best to keep the back of the house in line and the front of the house out of trouble.

From Joss Whedon, creator of cult favorites Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly, comes Dollhouse, a high-action drama starring Eliza Dushku (Tru Calling) as Echo, a member of an underground group of “Actives” who have their personalities wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new personas to carry out a variety of missions. The Actives don’t just pretend to be new people – they become new people, yet they are never aware they are actually pawns in someone else’s game.

Confined to a secret facility known as the Dollhouse, Echo and the other Actives including Sierra (Neighbours) and Victor ( The Unit) carry out engagements assigned by Adelle ( X-Men: The Last Stand, Rushmore), one of the Dollhouse leaders. The engagements cater to the wealthy, powerful and connected, and require the Actives to immerse themselves in all manner of scenarios – romantic, criminal, uplifting, dangerous, comical and the occasional “pro bono” good deed. After each scenario, Echo, always under the watchful eye of her handler Boyd (Commander in Chief, 24), returns to the mysterious Dollhouse where her thoughts, feelings and experiences are erased by Topher (Welcome to the Captain), the Dollhouse’s genius programmer. Echo enters the next scenario with no memory of before. Or does she? As the series progresses, FBI Agent Paul Smith (Battlestar Galactica) pieces together clues that lead him closer to the Dollhouse, while Echo stops forgetting, her memories begin to return and she slowly pieces together her mysterious past. Dollhouse revolves around Echo’s blossoming self-awareness and her desire to discover her true identity. But with each new engagement, comes a new memory and increased danger inside and outside the Dollhouse.

Secret Millionaire is a heart-warming new unscripted series that focuses on a different millionaire each week, who goes undercover to some of America’s most disadvantaged areas in search of everyday heroes to possibly change their lives forever.

Shot under the guise of a documentary, the series reveals the dramatic personal return that millionaires will get when they leave their fortunes to invest in those less fortunate. Challenged with living on minimum wage, the millionaires will immerse themselves in situations beyond their comprehension. They will work side-by-side with community members and befriend those in need to decide who should ultimately receive their gifts of a lifetime. On the final day, the Secret Millionaires meet with the chosen recipients and reveal their true identity and intention: to give them at least $100,000 — sometimes more — of their own money and to change their lives forever.

Two new animated comedies also will join the schedule in the spring. From the creators of Family Guy and American Dad, comes The Cleveland Show (working title), the story of what happens when Family Guy’s Cleveland Brown moves to Stoolbend, VA, to make good on a promise to his high school sweetheart. Sit Down, Shut Up (working title), created by Emmy Award winner Mitchell Hurwitz (Arrested Development), follows a group of 11 unconventional teachers and staff members working at a high school in a small northeastern fishing town who never lose sight of the fact that the students must always come second.

Images courtesy 2008 Fox Broadcasting Co.

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POSTED IN: Cancelled, Canterbury's Law, Cast News, Casting, Comedy, Do Not Disturb, Dollhouse, Drama, FOX, Fringe, New Amsterdam, New TV Shows, Reality, Secret Millionaire, Show Status, Sit Down, Shut Up, The Cleveland Show