While Fox Television Group Co-Chairs Gary Newman and Dana Walden are proud of how some of their new series have premiered, the duo made clear at TCA on Saturday that they are well aware of their status at the bottom of the Big Four networks. They’re also well aware of what it will take to get back on top, they told TV reporters and critics.

The two have only been in their last co-posting for six months, but seemed optimistic about aligning the studio and network brands and investing in “big, bold swings” in programming.

“We believe the new Fox Television Group is already working,” said Walden, confident about the plan to align the studio and network.

“Our studio brand stands for quality programming,” said Newman, specifying the idea of quality on Fox as “bold, compelling original TV series.”

Among those big swings so far are fall’s Gotham and the recent debut of Empire, Fox’s highest-rated drama debut in seven years when taking Live+3 numbers into account. Walden announced that Fox will pick up the show for a second season, as well as new seasons of Batman prequel Gotham and Andy Samberg’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine, calling the cop comedy “one of the true bright spots of comedy this year.”

Walden says the strategy for the coming year is simple: “Put your head down, do the hard work, get in business with the best talent,” said Walden, and lastly, programming-wise, “focus on one time period at a time.”

Up next in this bold lineup is Ryan Murphy’s Scream Queens. Newman said the partnership with Murphy came about after they “begged him to come back to network” after years of success with American Horror Story over on FX. The duo announced casting for the upcoming series, adding Lea Michele, Abigail Breslin, Keke Palmer and guest star Ariana Grande to the previously announced Jamie Lee Curtis and Emma Roberts.

Also announced was casting for Fox’s very own live musical event, Grease, adding Dancing with the Stars’ Julianne Hough as Sandy and High School Musical’s Vanessa Hudgens as Rizzo. The TV event will air on Fox Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016.

Walden said that their next big priority is summer, using Wayward Pines as this summer’s focal point, adding that they’re currently working on development for summer 2016.

Backstrom, the Rainn Wilson starrer from Bones creator Hart Hanson, set to debut Jan. 22, also took the stage. The drama is based on a Swedish TV series that was based on a book series, and Wilson said he was drawn to the show right after The Office ended because “it’s human, it’s frail and it’s interesting.”

Fox’s character promo for the new series is below:


The Last Man on Earth, starring Will Forte as Phil Miller (an amalgamation of executive producers’ names Phil Lord and Chris Miller), touted the strange premise of the show and the experience of the three men behind the show. Lord and Miller were also behind this year’s movie hits 22 Jump Street and The LEGO Movie, and Forte, who is also an executive producer as well as the show’s creator, was a staple on SNL and star of last year’s award-winning movie Nebraska.

Speaking about the subject matter, Forte says “even though it seems so far-fetched, it’s very relatable.” Lord and Miller said the focus of the show is around the question: “What would you do if you thought you were the last man on earth?” (“Not the dramatic stuff, what would you really do?”) According to these two, the answer might be to break and smash a lot of things. “We really got the smash demographic,” said Kristen Schaal, who also appears in the first episode.

Fox also announced Friday that Simon Andreae, VP of alterative entertainment, has left his post with ABC’s Corie Henson to replace him. The move is seen as a shift in the unscripted department at the broadcaster after this fall’s big reality gamble, Utopia, failed to attract viewers.

Also at the TCAs this week:

TCA: NBC

NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt really wants to get back on top with comedy in primetime.

The broadcaster gave its Tina Fey comedy, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, over to Netflix, and is about to say goodbye to its long-running Office offshoot, Parks and Recreation. The network head says NBC’s current series Undateable, About a Boy and Marry Me as well as the upcoming One Big Happy are promising comedy brands, part of a bigger move toward more multicamera comedies.

Greenblatt also said that part of NBC’s comedy strategy is to take the pressure off of Thursday nights, which have been traditionally the home of comedy on NBC. Primetime on Thursdays will soon be dedicated to drama, when The Blacklist moves from its Monday time slot in February.

NBC’s midseason drama push is pretty big as well, with Allegiance, Odyssey and A.D.: The Bible Continues all coming to air from February through April. Greenblatt says they plan on creating more 10-episode series or miniseries throughout the year, and fewer serial family dramas like the soon-to-end Parenthood.

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