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Fox divides development cycle
07/14/08 By Nellie Andreeva, thr.com

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For years, Fox has had a split television season -- slow fourth quarter marked by post-season baseball and a red-hot January-through-May buoyed by "American Idol" and "24."

Now, in what Fox Entertainment president Kevin Reilly billed as "the next step toward year-round development," the network also is dividing up its development cycle.

"We're formally splitting the development season," Reilly said during the executive session of the network's TCA presentation. "In addition to the pilot screenings in May (before the upfronts), we recently set a December pilot screening."

The December showcase will feature about eight projects that are in different stages of production or in advanced stages of development, including dramas "Lie to Me," "Courtroom K" and "Virtuality," comedy "Boldly Going Nowhere" and a dramedy from Kevin Falls.

The batch is expected to produce several series orders.

In another twist to the development model, Fox is scrapping the decades-old ritual of writers going to the network executives' offices to pitch their ideas.

In an effort to keep creators in their element, "we will go meet the writers on their own turf -- at a restaurant and even at their home," Reilly said.

The network also will be offering writers a little money to go and film their ideas YouTube-style, making the footage a part of the pitch.

"There is an opportunity for young voices to come out," Reilly said.

Comedy is a big priority for Fox.

"Our comedy voice has been anemic lately," Reilly said. "We're looking for the next 'Malcolm in the Middle."

The network also is on the hunt for the next "Simpsons" with a concerted effort in the animated comedy arena. While veteran "The Simpsons" is guaranteed to go for at least 21 years as the network has already picked it up for this and next seasons, Fox also is working hard on adding new animated series to its lineup every year in anticipation of the "Simpsons'" eventual departure and as a way of keeping the median age of the network's viewership lower.

As for Fox's midseason animated entry "Sit Down, Shut Up," which has been held up by a labor dispute between producing studio Sony and the writing team, Reilly said he was "hopeful" that there would be a resolution by end of day Monday and the majority of the scribes, including creator Mitch Hurwitz, will return to work.