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ABC’s New Fall Schedule
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Cavemen are coming! The Cavemen are coming!
We predicted it in this space on Sunday, and now ABC has just confirmed it. In a very early morning press conference (seriously, where’s the Serf’s serf to toothpick her eyeballs open?) to announce the Fall 2007 schedule, ABC entertainment president Steve McPherson said that those Neanderthals we’ve all come to — choose one — love or loathe in the Geico commercials would star in a Tuesday night sitcom.
“Cavemen” will air at 8 p.m., leading into another new fairly-self-explanatorily-titled sitcom, “Carpoolers.” The good news here is that that means “According to Jim” has finally been put out of all our miseries (it’s also bye-bye to “George Lopez”). The pitch for “Cavemen” has been that the Stone Age trio finds themselves somehow plopped down in 2007 Atlanta. The show description juust handed out by ABC refers to them living in the “suburban South” (would that be Country Club of the South? Hmm….). I’m in the process of confirming it will still be based here; judging by McPherson’s comment, it sure sounds like they’re coming to Atlanta:
“If we were just going to do a sketch about cavemen, it wouldn’t work at all” said McPherson, adding that what made the sitcom appealing was the ability to “look at through this odd lens the idea of racial relations and minorities in America. It’s an opportunity to offend everyone but offend no one but the cavemen themselves.”
Offend everyone? Odd lens? Us? G’wan, you sweet talker.
In all, ABC announced 12 new shows (one of them’s reality, so that doesn’t really count) — eight of them to debut during the fall. As befits the network that has had such success with soapy dramas (“Desperate Housewives,” “Grey’s Anatomy”), eight are drama series and I’d say at least half of them qualify as soapy dramas. One of them, “Private Practice,” practically qualifies as “Grey’s Anatomy,” given that it’s the much talked-about spinoff that finds Dr. Addison Shepherd (Kate Walsh) relocating to L.A. It will air at 9 p.m. Wednesdays, smack in the middle of an all-new drama night on ABC.
At 8 p.m., it’s “Pushing Daisies,” about a guy who can bring people back to life. Quoth McPherson: “It’s a procedural, a love story, a forensic fairy tale, it’s romantic and comedic. And it’s closed-ended week-to week. You have to really see it to understand it.” No kidding. Much easier to understand is “Dirty Sexy Money” airing at 10 p.m. Wednesdays. It’s about a family with a lot of money, where people act sexy and play dirty. It stars Peter Krause (“Six Feet Under”), Donald Sutherland, Samaire Armstrong (“The O.C.,” “Entourage”) and many more.
The other big change comes at 10 p.m. Thursdays, when “Big Shots” gets the coveted post-“Grey’s Anatomy” time slot. It’s the story of four (male) friends “at the top of their game” business- and professional-wise, until they get all mixed up with women. It stars Michael Vartan (“Alias”), Dylan McDermott (“The Practice”), Joshua Malina (“The West Wing”) and according to McPherson, it more than fulfills ABC’s goal of finally coming up with a “male ensemble” show that’s “truthful about male relationships, with some comedy and dysfunction, that’s truthful about our lives.”
Translation: “Desperate Houseboys.” Why, it sounds exactly like “Cavemen” … NOT!
Here’s the other new ABC shows: Dramas: -“Women’s Murder Club” (10 p.m. Fridays): ABC’s attempt to launch a successful procedural, four female professionals join forces to solve crimes. Stars Angie Harmon. -“Cashmere Mafia” (premieres after “Dancing with the Stars” and “The Bachelor” conclude): From “Sex and the City” creator Darren Star, the story of four female friends, trying to balance their successful business and personal lives. Stars Lucy Liu, Bonnie Sommerville, and yes, it sounds a lot like “Lipstick Jungle” announced Monday by NBC. -“Eli Stone” (also later in the year): A lawyer suffers a brain aneurysm and after experiencing hallucinations, wonders if he has a higher calling in life. Higher than a lawyer? Impossible!
Comedies: -“Sam I Am” (9:30 p.m. Mondays): Christina Applegate stars as a woman who suffers amnesia, and in the process of rediscovering who she was, finds out she wasn’t very nice. -“Miss/Guided” (later in the year): Judy Greer stars in this Ashton Kutcher-produced sitcom about a grown woman who returns as gudiance counselor to the high school where she was once a geek — and discovers that life is still pretty much like high school.
Shows returning this fall: “Dancing with the Stars,” “The Bachelor,” “Boston Legal,” “Ugly Betty,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Men in Trees,” “20/20,” “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Brothers & Sisters.” ABC also announced that “Notes from the Underbelly” and the filmed-in-Atlanta “October Road” would return, after “Dancing with the Stars” and “The Bachelor” complete their fall runs.
Comments
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By DUSTIN
May 15, 2007 12:57 PM | Link to this
WHERE IS OCTOBER ROAD FILMED AT IN ATL. DOES ANYONE KNOW
By CL
May 15, 2007 1:10 PM | Link to this
Cavemen in Atlanta? Beverly Hillbillies anyone? Oh well, I wonder who will play Ellie May Caveman (…er…cavewoman)?
By azzmunch
May 15, 2007 1:17 PM | Link to this
October Road was filmed in downtown Newnan, Ga. Everyone down here is up in arms over the fact that they portray it as mass.
By TAJ
May 15, 2007 1:19 PM | Link to this
October Road is mostly filmed around the Newnan area for the town scenes.
By RK
May 15, 2007 1:53 PM | Link to this
I was really hoping the the rumors of Knights of Prosperity returning were true…
By War Eagle
May 15, 2007 2:00 PM | Link to this
Personally-Men in Trees should be Men Up Trees without a paddle; October Road-SUCKS. It is like LOST-they are time travelling and the acting is second rate. Change the name to “THIS SHOW SUCKS”. Brothers and Sisters-that is getting old already. Old Characters and it is not attention getting. They are better off getting Reba back or a new version of Knight Rider.
By jct
May 15, 2007 2:04 PM | Link to this
@Jill,
Has ‘What about Brian?’ been cancelled? I hope not, I love that show!!!
By channel serf
May 15, 2007 2:19 PM | Link to this
jct — “What About Brian,” alas, did not make next year’ schedule. However, if you’re a Barry Watson fan, the ABC exec said that he’ll be in the cast of “Sam I Am,” a new sitcom with Christina Applegate that will air at 9:30 p.m. Mondays. So that’s a little “What About Barry” news, I guess….
By CIC
May 15, 2007 2:47 PM | Link to this
Geena Davis and Donald Sutherland was great on Commander In Chief. What was ABC thinking? Let’s write less shows than we need. Let’s preempt it with Christmas specials, or music awards.
ABC doesn’t know what they’re doing.
By everydayjaneblow
May 15, 2007 3:15 PM | Link to this
I have to admit I love the commercials and am looking forward to giving the “caveman” show a chance!
By Tobye
May 15, 2007 3:41 PM | Link to this
I will miss According to Jim & George Lopez.
By Jeff
May 15, 2007 4:09 PM | Link to this
I really hope they find some good writers for this show. It certainly has a lot of potential. The commercials are absolutely hilarious.
By B.
May 15, 2007 7:36 PM | Link to this
This could be pretty funny…but I’m a little worried about it being set in the south. I can just see it now - some New York or L.A. writer contrasting the cavemen against the writer’s stereotypical idea of “southerners.” (The first time the cavemen meet someone in overalls, I’m outta there.) The premise of this commercial (and now show) is the difference between the cultured cavemen and the crass, unintentionally racist society they live in. So why’s it set in the south and not, say New York City? Any chance that there’s not at least some sort of comment there by the writers? If it manages not to be full of cheap stereotypes, it could be good. But I’m a little worried.
By Parks
May 16, 2007 10:41 AM | Link to this
Jill, Have you found out yet if Caveman will be filmed here or just set here but filmed in LA? It would be great for local talent/and production if ABC actually uses Atlanta.
By chris
May 16, 2007 6:50 PM | Link to this
My wife and I love October Road. It and Greys are the only thing we watch on ABC.
You can’t love Grey’s in one breath and hate bad acting in the next. Nobody watches either Grey’s or October Road for the acting…
By Snoopermom
May 17, 2007 12:55 PM | Link to this
If they were going to make a TV sitcom from a commercial, they should have used those goofy people in the Sonic commercials. They are hilarious!!