Fall 2003 TV Upfront Presentations
Posted: May 13th 2003, 12:36 pm
No WB Upfront Presentation without the mention of "My So-Called Life". This time, MSCL-alumni Betsy Thomas creates her first own series:
Run of the House
Sally, Kurt, and Chris are three perfect examples of "The Boomerang Generation," which, as the name implies, refers to kids who grow up, leave home for college, and then come right back to the nest. For their younger sister, 15-year-old Brooke Franklin, the sociological phenomenon is a lifesaver since her parents are always away on vacation. Left to fend for themselves by their globetrotting parents, the four create an unusual surrogate family marked by the usual sibling rivalries and power plays. Somehow they manage to overcome the pettiness, however, in a uniquely genuine attempt to create a nuclear family in the absence of one.
Realistic, funny, and hopeful, this is a family comedy from Tannenbaum Co., with creator Betsy Thomas (My So Called Life), executive producers Rob Sternin & Prudence Fraser (The Nanny), and director David Trainer (That 70's Show) for Warner Bros. Television.
The rest of theWB schedule
Monday:
Midseason:
Gilmore Girls SpinOff , One Tree Hill (Drama), The Help (Comedy)
Cancelled:
"Birds of Prey," "Black Sash," "Dawson's Creek," "Do Over," "Family Affair," "Greetings from Tucson," "Off Centre" and "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch"
Fearless
"There are four basic human emotions. Joy, anger, grief and fear. They say, of all those, nothing clouds your reason like fear. I've never had that problem." -Gaia Moore
From the executive producer of CSI and Without a Trace, this ensemble crime drama uncovers the FBI's best kept secret: the Y Unit. Society is breeding a new class of young criminals and it will take an elite division staffed with the finest young agents to infiltrate and apprehend them. The Y Unit requires a special kind of operative to succeed - much less survive. Born with a genetic defect, Gaia, 21, lacks the basic instinct her partners Ryan and Harmony must fight to control: fear. Whether Gaia's handicap is an important asset or a deadly liability for the unit remains to be seen...
From writer/executive producer Jeremy Littman (Law & Order, Profiler), writers Vincent Ngo & Evan Charnov and Jeremy Carver with Jerry Bruckheimer Television and Warner Bros. Television.
All about the Andersons
The WB is proud to welcome comedy sensation Anthony Anderson (Barbershop, Me, Myself & Irene, Big Momma's House, Life) in an all new multi-ethnic comedy. Anthony plays a struggling actor and single dad trying to provide a stable environment for his son, Tuga ( 8 ). No sooner has Anthony moved back into his parents' home than he suddenly remembers why he left in the first place. His mother is always understanding and supportive, but his cantankerous father hasn't changed a bit. He tells Anthony to abandon his acting hopes and get a "real job" working with him in the family beauty salon/barbershop. To complicate things, Anthony's old room is being rented out to a medical student - which leaves Anthony alone in the garage. Torn between teaching his son about determination and providing for him, Anthony decides to give up his dreams until Tuga reminds him that besides each other, their dreams are all they have.
A semi-autobiographical comedy about fathers and sons from Warner Bros. Television. Executive producers Adam Glass, Anthony Anderson, and Marco Pennette, with executive producer/director Jamie Widdoes.
Like Family
Holly Robinson Peete and Amy Yasbeck return to The WB in the realistic multi-ethnic comedy Like Family.
When two families - one black, one white - share the same house, they discover that their differences are definitely more than skin deep. Tanya (Peete), Ed and their teen kids are a middle-class African-American family who open their doors for an old friend who is down on her luck. Newly single Maddie (Yasbeck) and her 16 year-old son Keith just need a place to stay until they can get back on their feet. What sounds like a perfect arrangement soon becomes non-stop tension (and laughs) as the two families argue about everything but skin color!
An autobiographical take on family from creator Dan Fogelman with executive producers Rick Wiener & Kenny Schwartz (Mad About You), Warren Littlefield (Do Over) and Warner Bros. Television.
Gilmore Girls Spin Off
Amy Sherman-Palladino brings keen insight to the father/son dynamic in her highly anticipated Gilmore Girls Spin-off. A new series starring WB breakout star Milo Ventimiglia as Jess Mariano.
When Jess' estranged father shows up in Stars Hollow, Jess is stunned. Jimmy, who hasn't made an appearance in 17 years, seeks closure with the son he abandoned. But during this awkward visit, Jess' dad half-heartedly opens the door to something more. With the prospect of graduation fading fast and girlfriend Rory Gilmore off at college, there's nothing left in Stars Hollow for Jess. So he decides to head west to Venice, California. This time, Jimmy's caught off-guard, never expecting his son to show up on his doorstep. Father and son never quite click, and so, searching for some sort of connection, Jess falls in with local skaters. Eclectic, artistic, and open minded, these are free spirits not found in rural New England. Finally, Jess may have found somewhere to call home.
A journey beginning in the seaside town of Venice. From writer/executive producer Amy Sherman-Palladino and executive producer Daniel Palladino for Warner Bros. Television.
Tarzan & Jane
From Laura Ziskin, producer of Spider-Man, comes an epic and contemporary adaptation of one of the most popular tales of all time, with a distinctive WB twist.
Tarzan and Jane reveals a part of the saga that has yet to be told. Flash forward two decades from the day young John Clayton was left for dead in the heart of the jungle. Today, robbed of both his birthright and his adopted home, Tarzan fights for his life in the glass and steel canyons of another jungle - New York City. From his rooftop perch, Tarzan protects the city with the primal morality that proclaimed him king of the jungle.
His only human bond is Jane Porter - a beautiful and dedicated police detective who must battle her conscience as well as the criminal element. Engaged to another member of the force, Jane is torn between love, duty and her powerful attraction to this wild and dangerous vigilante.
A Warner Bros. Television production, in the tradition of Smallville, from writer/co-executive producer Eric Kripke, director/executive producer David Nutter (Smallville, Without A Trace) and executive producers Laura Ziskin (Pretty Woman), David Gerber, P.K. Simonds (Party of Five).
Sources: futoncritc.com, zap2it.com, variety.com, hollywoodreporter.com, reuters, nbc press, abc press, wb press
Images Copyright: theWB
Run of the House
Sally, Kurt, and Chris are three perfect examples of "The Boomerang Generation," which, as the name implies, refers to kids who grow up, leave home for college, and then come right back to the nest. For their younger sister, 15-year-old Brooke Franklin, the sociological phenomenon is a lifesaver since her parents are always away on vacation. Left to fend for themselves by their globetrotting parents, the four create an unusual surrogate family marked by the usual sibling rivalries and power plays. Somehow they manage to overcome the pettiness, however, in a uniquely genuine attempt to create a nuclear family in the absence of one.
Realistic, funny, and hopeful, this is a family comedy from Tannenbaum Co., with creator Betsy Thomas (My So Called Life), executive producers Rob Sternin & Prudence Fraser (The Nanny), and director David Trainer (That 70's Show) for Warner Bros. Television.
The rest of theWB schedule
Monday:
- 8pm: 7th Heaven (Season 8 )
- 9pm: Everwood (Season 2)
- 8pm: Gilmore Girls (Season 4) Rory goes Yale
- 9pm: Fearless (NEW) Drama with Rachael Leigh Cook
- 8pm: Smallville (Season 3)
- 9pm: Angel (Season 5) (with option for season 6)
- 8pm: Steve Harvey's Big Time (Show)
- 8.30pm: JKX: The Jamie Kennedy Experiment (Show)
- 9pm: What I Like About You (Season 2)
- 9.30pm: Run of the House (NEW) aka "Party of Four"
- 8pm: Reba (Season 3)
- 8.30pm: Like Family (NEW)
- 9pm: Grounded for Life (Season 5)
- 9.30 pm: All About the Andersons (NEW) Comedy, with Anthony Anderson
- 8pm: Charmed (Season 6)
- 9pm: Tarzan & Jane (NEW)
Midseason:
Gilmore Girls SpinOff , One Tree Hill (Drama), The Help (Comedy)
Cancelled:
"Birds of Prey," "Black Sash," "Dawson's Creek," "Do Over," "Family Affair," "Greetings from Tucson," "Off Centre" and "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch"
Fearless
"There are four basic human emotions. Joy, anger, grief and fear. They say, of all those, nothing clouds your reason like fear. I've never had that problem." -Gaia Moore
From the executive producer of CSI and Without a Trace, this ensemble crime drama uncovers the FBI's best kept secret: the Y Unit. Society is breeding a new class of young criminals and it will take an elite division staffed with the finest young agents to infiltrate and apprehend them. The Y Unit requires a special kind of operative to succeed - much less survive. Born with a genetic defect, Gaia, 21, lacks the basic instinct her partners Ryan and Harmony must fight to control: fear. Whether Gaia's handicap is an important asset or a deadly liability for the unit remains to be seen...
From writer/executive producer Jeremy Littman (Law & Order, Profiler), writers Vincent Ngo & Evan Charnov and Jeremy Carver with Jerry Bruckheimer Television and Warner Bros. Television.
All about the Andersons
The WB is proud to welcome comedy sensation Anthony Anderson (Barbershop, Me, Myself & Irene, Big Momma's House, Life) in an all new multi-ethnic comedy. Anthony plays a struggling actor and single dad trying to provide a stable environment for his son, Tuga ( 8 ). No sooner has Anthony moved back into his parents' home than he suddenly remembers why he left in the first place. His mother is always understanding and supportive, but his cantankerous father hasn't changed a bit. He tells Anthony to abandon his acting hopes and get a "real job" working with him in the family beauty salon/barbershop. To complicate things, Anthony's old room is being rented out to a medical student - which leaves Anthony alone in the garage. Torn between teaching his son about determination and providing for him, Anthony decides to give up his dreams until Tuga reminds him that besides each other, their dreams are all they have.
A semi-autobiographical comedy about fathers and sons from Warner Bros. Television. Executive producers Adam Glass, Anthony Anderson, and Marco Pennette, with executive producer/director Jamie Widdoes.
Like Family
Holly Robinson Peete and Amy Yasbeck return to The WB in the realistic multi-ethnic comedy Like Family.
When two families - one black, one white - share the same house, they discover that their differences are definitely more than skin deep. Tanya (Peete), Ed and their teen kids are a middle-class African-American family who open their doors for an old friend who is down on her luck. Newly single Maddie (Yasbeck) and her 16 year-old son Keith just need a place to stay until they can get back on their feet. What sounds like a perfect arrangement soon becomes non-stop tension (and laughs) as the two families argue about everything but skin color!
An autobiographical take on family from creator Dan Fogelman with executive producers Rick Wiener & Kenny Schwartz (Mad About You), Warren Littlefield (Do Over) and Warner Bros. Television.
Gilmore Girls Spin Off
Amy Sherman-Palladino brings keen insight to the father/son dynamic in her highly anticipated Gilmore Girls Spin-off. A new series starring WB breakout star Milo Ventimiglia as Jess Mariano.
When Jess' estranged father shows up in Stars Hollow, Jess is stunned. Jimmy, who hasn't made an appearance in 17 years, seeks closure with the son he abandoned. But during this awkward visit, Jess' dad half-heartedly opens the door to something more. With the prospect of graduation fading fast and girlfriend Rory Gilmore off at college, there's nothing left in Stars Hollow for Jess. So he decides to head west to Venice, California. This time, Jimmy's caught off-guard, never expecting his son to show up on his doorstep. Father and son never quite click, and so, searching for some sort of connection, Jess falls in with local skaters. Eclectic, artistic, and open minded, these are free spirits not found in rural New England. Finally, Jess may have found somewhere to call home.
A journey beginning in the seaside town of Venice. From writer/executive producer Amy Sherman-Palladino and executive producer Daniel Palladino for Warner Bros. Television.
Tarzan & Jane
From Laura Ziskin, producer of Spider-Man, comes an epic and contemporary adaptation of one of the most popular tales of all time, with a distinctive WB twist.
Tarzan and Jane reveals a part of the saga that has yet to be told. Flash forward two decades from the day young John Clayton was left for dead in the heart of the jungle. Today, robbed of both his birthright and his adopted home, Tarzan fights for his life in the glass and steel canyons of another jungle - New York City. From his rooftop perch, Tarzan protects the city with the primal morality that proclaimed him king of the jungle.
His only human bond is Jane Porter - a beautiful and dedicated police detective who must battle her conscience as well as the criminal element. Engaged to another member of the force, Jane is torn between love, duty and her powerful attraction to this wild and dangerous vigilante.
A Warner Bros. Television production, in the tradition of Smallville, from writer/co-executive producer Eric Kripke, director/executive producer David Nutter (Smallville, Without A Trace) and executive producers Laura Ziskin (Pretty Woman), David Gerber, P.K. Simonds (Party of Five).
Sources: futoncritc.com, zap2it.com, variety.com, hollywoodreporter.com, reuters, nbc press, abc press, wb press
Images Copyright: theWB