The TCA Press Tour: Part One

January 12, 2007

Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5

Here’s the best way I can describe to you what the TCA (Television Critic's Association) Press Tour is like: mindboggling amounts of information delivered by a lot of smiling people. TCA is the press event wherein major networks and cable stations announce the television shows they will be running until the summer.

It’s an amazing thing to keep up with, but I’m here as BrilliantButCancelled.com's man on the scene. There is a lot of information to cover, so I've broken my report up into several smaller chunks. Let's start with the news out of A&E.

A&E
Fresh from their recent success syndicating of “The Sopranos” and “CSI: Miami,” A&E has decided to invest in the crime drama, focusing its original development energy on scripted shows about criminals and crime stoppers. All the shows in development are self-contained – not serialized – and are targeting a 2008 rollout. First, the new shows:

-“Dry River”-- Crime drama in a wealthy community on the Texas border that faces a conflict between the local sheriff and his son, a federal agent newly assigned to the town.
-“The Hunt”-- About a former LAPD police officer caught up in the 1999 Rampart scandal who's trying to clear his name.
-“Y3” -- A former criminal secretly impersonates an NYPD officer to solve cases before the real cops.
-“Johnny the Great”-- Story of an out-of-control defense attorney with personal problems and disreputable clients.
-“Untitled Anti-Terrorist Project”-- Frankly, I like the name as it is. A secret unit based in New York tracks down terrorist cells throughout the U.S.
-“Untitled Steven Bochco Project”-- I like the name of this one too. Actually, I like it more than I like the premise: A divorce-law practice run by a happily married couple features both drama and black comedy.
-“Sons of Hollywood”-- Reality show that follows celebrity offspring premieres on Sunday April 1 at 10pm with back-to-back episodes.
-“Patti Novak: America's Toughest Matchmaker”-- New dating show (with nothing to do with criminals) that may premiere in mid-2007.
-"Hollywood DMV"--: A&E gave a pilot order to its first animated series -- from the producers of "Dr. Katz" -- about employees at a DMV.
-“Alien Encounter”: A pilot order for an investigative series about paranormal activity being called the “real” “X-Files.”

READ MORE > >