It’s official! FOX just announced the 5 new series on board for the upcoming television season along with the new primetime schedule! From the gut-busting THE MINDY PROJECT (we’ve seen it! It’s HILARIOUS!) to the nail-biting thrill of THE FOLLOWING (yep, we have the chewed up nails to prove it), we’ve got the lowdown! Keep reading to find out what the shows are about, what each of the stars has to say about their new series, and check out the new 2012-2013 Primetime Schedule.
THE COMEDIES
BEN AND KATE
Show description:
What happens when an exuberant, irresponsible dreamer who always says “yes” moves in with his overly responsible little sister to help raise her five-year-old daughter? BEN AND KATE, a new single-camera young ensemble comedy, follows these odd-couple siblings as they push each other out of their comfort zones and into real life. KATE FOX (Dakota Johnson, “The Social Network”) followed the rules all her life…until she got pregnant in college and dropped out just shy of graduation. After the birth of her daughter, MADDIE (Maggie Jones, “We Bought a Zoo,” “Footloose”), Kate put her twenties on hold. Now working as a bar manager to make ends meet and maximize her time with five-year-old Maddie, she’s uber-prepared for every possible catastrophe – except for the arrival of her older brother, BEN FOX (Nat Faxon, “Bad Teacher”). Ben likes trouble a lot more than his sister does. His infectious energy makes you want to follow him into any number of bad ideas. He’ll totally screw up your life, but somehow, you’ll feel good about it. Where Kate is all about planning and preparing, Ben is big on spontaneity and out-of-the-box ideas. But don’t let the Velcro wallet fool you – he’ll probably be a millionaire someday. When Ben comes to crash on Kate’s couch for a few days, he finds a sad state of affairs. Kate’s surviving, but not living. Ben realizes that for the first time in their lives, Kate needs his help and he’s determined to bring some much-needed chaos into her overly stable world. He starts by offering to help look after Maddie so Kate can get back to experiencing her mid-twenties and making mistakes, since the one real “mistake” she’s made turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to her. From writer/executive producer Dana Fox (NEW GIRL, “What Happens in Vegas”) and executive producer/director Jake Kasdan (NEW GIRL, “Bad Teacher”), BEN AND KATE is a heartwarming story of deeply mismatched siblings: a sister who needs to go for her dreams and a brother who needs to get his head out of the clouds.
Why Nat Faxon loves this show:
“What I love about this show in particular is that it feels real and identifiable and it has a lot of heart, and I feel like a lot of shows kind of neglect that aspect of, in terms of developing and creating. I am personally drawn to things that are funny, but also have depth to them, and this show has a lot of that. I think Dana [Fox, the creator of BEN AND KATE] did an amazing job at sort of balancing both the humor, but also the stakes that are real and the things that the characters are kind of going through and what they are needing. I think the brother and sister relationship is really beautiful in this project and I think that’s hopefully why people would watch it is because it doesn’t feel just like a bunch of silly bits all strung together. It’s very grounded and the humor is coming from a real place. And you care for these people and I think that’s what makes you watch shows is that you have an investment in who they are and what type of people they are and that you identify something with them, and I think this show is very appealing to me in that way. It’s a great balance of humor and heart.”
THE GOODWIN GAMES
Show description:
Where there’s a will, there’s a way. And when that will’s worth more than 20 million dollars, you can bet someone’s going to find a way to get the cash. From the executive producers of “How I Met Your Mother,” THE GOODWIN GAMES is a single-camera comedy that tells the story of three grown siblings who return home after their father’s death, and unexpectedly find themselves poised to inherit a vast fortune – if they adhere to their late father’s wishes. If any of the Goodwin kids feel like they deserve the money, then it’s HENRY (Scott Foley, “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Felicity”), the eldest child and an overachieving surgeon. He sees himself as a role model for his less successful siblings – and reminds them every chance he gets. Middle sibling CHLOE (Becki Newton, “Ugly Betty”) was a child prodigy in math, and her unofficial role as “the smart one” of the family still sends Henry into fits of jealousy. But long ago, Chloe gave up academics in favor of being the popular girl. Now, through a series of hidden messages, her late father will lead Chloe back to her old love of numbers – and back to the person she’s meant to be. Of the three siblings, the youngest, JIMMY (Jake Lacy, “Better With You”), could use the inheritance the most. A small-time ex-con and dull-witted guitarist who’s deep in debt to a loan shark, Jimmy may be the family screw-up, but he has more heart than anyone. Pulling the strings from beyond the grave is the children’s late father, BENJAMIN (guest star Beau Bridges, “The Descendants”), a college math professor. Guilty over not parenting his kids better, Benjamin has left behind a series of unique challenges. Through these tasks, Benjamin hopes he can get his children to rediscover their true selves and learn the lessons he failed to instill in them while he was alive. Their potential reward? More than 20 million dollars – a fortune that they never knew their father had – and the chance to become the people their father wanted them to be. So let THE GOODWIN GAMES begin!
What Scott Foley loves about The Goodwin Games
“I love THE GOODWIN GAMES. When I sat down to meet with the creators of it, we short of had a conversation and they said, ‘The show is about a family. Nobody can make you laugh harder, or make you cry harder,’ and that’s sort of the underlying premise of THE GOODWIN GAMES. THE GOODWIN GAMES is a show about a group of siblings: two brothers and a sister who come together after their father’s death at his funeral. They learn of his inheritance – a fairly large fortune, large estate – which they are to inherit, and there is a set of challenges that he’s set up in order for them to get it. But it’s really about bringing these siblings, who’ve grown apart from each other in their adult lives, back together. I think that’s the father’s last dying wish, so I hope they get to stay together for a while.”
THE MINDY PROJECT
Show description:
THE MINDY PROJECT is a new single-camera comedy from Emmy Award-nominated writer/producer and New York Times best-selling author Mindy Kaling (“The Office”) that follows a woman who, despite having a successful career, desperately needs to break bad habits in her personal life. After all, how many doctors make inappropriate toasts at their ex-boyfriend’s wedding, nearly drown at the bottom of a stranger’s pool and get arrested for disorderly conduct just moments before having to deliver a baby? Funny, impatient and politically incorrect, MINDY LAHIRI (Kaling) can quote every romantic comedy starring Meg Ryan that exists. She loves the good ones and the bad ones, because the girl always gets the guy. Mindy is determined to be more punctual, spend less money, lose weight and read more books – all in pursuit of becoming a well-rounded perfect woman…who can meet and date the perfect guy. Mindy is a skilled OB/GYN and shares a practice with a few other doctors, none of whom make life any easier for her. JEREMY REED (British writer/comedian Ed Weeks) is the walking definition of total bad news. He not only shares a practice with Mindy, but sometimes her bed as well – despite her best efforts to resist. He is funny, self-absorbed and super sexy. In contrast, DANNY CASTELLANO (Chris Messina, “Damages”) is a hothead and guys’ guy who has a habit of stealing Mindy’s patients. Danny criticizes her for everything, including her struggling love life and her lack of professionalism – even though it’s obvious to everyone except Mindy that he secretly admires her work. His blue-collar childhood gives him a big chip on his shoulder, but he is a dedicated physician, which Mindy can’t stand to admit because he’s always getting on her case. As Mindy attempts to get her career off the ground and meet a guy who passes her red flag test (no drug habits, no skinny jeans and no secret families, among others), only time will tell if she gets her romantic comedy ending.
Mindy Kaling shares the inspiration for The Mindy Project and it’s really touching:
“The world that my character lives in is a hospital. She’s an OB/GYN doctor and she has three other doctors that she works with too one being her love interest. And, it was inspired by my mother, who passed away recently, who was an OB/GYN and my best friend. And she was so vivacious and so fun, but she had, like, such a – she loved her job, but it was also like, loved romance and, you know, loved clothes and fashion. And I thought that would be really, just really fun to play. And, yeah, the show is a way keeping the show I’m able to sort of keep the relationship with my mom alive, because this is the show that she would have loved because she was really playful, loved comedy; she loved laughing. She was an OB/GYN but she was kind of like a standup comedian too. She just wanted to surround herself with funny people all the time, but she was also this serious surgeon. And I thought that, that would be a fun character to play, as kind of a completely disorganized, kind of like fashion victim 32-year-old woman who has a great job, but, you know, wears, like weird fedoras to work and like, thinks that she could dress like Britney Spears or Rihanna, but is supposed to be a doctor. So, that just seemed funny to me.”
THE DRAMAS
THE FOLLOWING
Show description:
THE FBI estimates there are currently over 300 active serial killers in the United States. What would happen if these killers had a way of communicating and connecting with each other? What if they were able to work together and form alliances across the country? What if one brilliant psychotic serial killer was able to bring them all together and activate a following? Welcome to THE FOLLOWING, the terrifying new thriller from creator/executive producer Kevin Williamson (“The Vampire Diaries,” “Dawson’s Creek,” the “Scream” franchise). When notorious serial killer JOE CARROLL (James Purefoy, “Rome”) escapes from death row and embarks on a new killing spree, the FBI calls former agent RYAN HARDY (Emmy-nominated actor Kevin Bacon, “X-Men: First Class,” “Frost/Nixon”) to consult on the case. Having since withdrawn from the public eye, Hardy was responsible for Carroll’s capture nine years ago, after Carroll murdered 14 female students on the Virginia college campus where he taught literature. Hardy is a walking textbook of all-things Carroll. He knows him better than anyone; he is perhaps Carroll’s only psychological and intellectual match. But the Ryan Hardy who broke the Carroll case years ago isn’t the same man today. Wounded both physically and mentally by his previous pursuit of this serial killer, it’s been a long time since Hardy has been in the field. This investigation is his redemption, his call to action. Hardy proves his worth when he uncovers that Carroll was covertly communicating with a network of killers in the outside world. It quickly becomes obvious that he has more planned than just a prison escape, and there’s no telling how many additional killers are out there. The thriller will follow Hardy and the FBI as they are challenged with the ever-growing web of murder around them, masterminded by the devious Carroll, who dreams of writing a novel with Hardy as his protagonist. The reinvigorated Hardy will get a second chance to capture Carroll, as he’s faced with not one, but a cult of serial killers.
What attracted Kevin Bacon to THE FOLLOWING?
“You know, I’m always interested in if it’s going to be a heroic character, I’m always interested in, in seeing what the flaws are. And, I talked a lot to Kevin Williamson who created the show about the back story and the past and, and some of the things that this character is struggling with. At the point in his life where he was tracking this serial killer and put him away; in a strange way I think it was kind of the highlight of his life, you know, as dangerous and as ultimately damaging it was to him physically there was an excitement there, that he’s lost in his life. And, he’s forced into retirement. He’s working as a quote/unquote expert on television and college campuses and stuff like that. He’s written a book. But, I think he kind of feels like, you know, half a man; he feels like his glory days are sort of over. And so, to take that sort of head space and then get a chance to get right back into the fray, you know, to kind of step back into the chaos, I think was an interesting thing to play.”
Kevin explains that this series will take place over 15 episodes vs. 24
“It’s going to be great to do 15 episodes, because while the show, you know, has the possibility that there’s going to be constantly a case, a killer out there that we need to find in any one episode. It’s also got a great sort of serialized arc over the course of the 15 episodes, and I think that’s a lot easier and tighter and just makes sense from a story standpoint to do that in 15 than to do it in 24.I think that the idea of looking at that 15-episode-a-year arc and we’re trying to create something where you just have to watch it next week and you have to get on this ride and take it to the end, and I think we have a pretty good shot at doing that.”
Kevin reveals what’s going to make this show unique (FYI, there are a lot of Holy (bleep) moments!)
“You know, to me it always comes down to character. You know, you can take any kind of story, and this is not going to be the first time you’ve ever seen a FBI agent or a serial killer. These are characters that come up a lot in films and television and stuff. But I really think that these, my character for sure, and all of the other characters in this show are complex, surprising, damaged, and I think it’s going to be great to get an opportunity to go deeper and deeper into who this guy is. You know, in a two-hour movie, you only have so much time to really delve into that. Fifteen episodes and, you know, who knows how many years, I think we can really get deep into it. The other thing is that when I look at this pilot, I had a whole bunch of what I like to call ‘holy (bleep)’ moments, which is, ‘Holy (bleep), I never saw that coming!’ And a lot of people that I’ve talked to that have read the pilot feel exactly the same way. And I feel like from an audience standpoint, that’s going to be what’s going to be really exciting. I think people are going to go, ‘Oh, man! Did you see what happened last night? Did you suspect that?’ ‘No, not at all.’”
THE MOB DOCTOR
Show description:
For most physicians, the Hippocratic Oath is sacred. But for one Chicago doctor, who is indebted to the mafia, saving lives isn’t her only concern. THE MOB DOCTOR is a fast-paced medical drama featuring a brilliant young female cardiothoracic surgeon who is split between two distinct worlds as she juggles her promising medical career with her lifelong debt as a doctor to Chicago’s Southside mob. DR. GRACE DEVLIN (Jordana Spiro, “My Boys”) is a top resident at Chicago’s Roosevelt Medical Center. Smart and self-assured, she’s heralded as one of the country’s most promising young surgeons. But family ties keep her glued to her Southside roots. To pay off her brother’s life-threatening gambling debt, she makes a deal with the devil and agrees to work “off book” for the mafia men she once despised. During the day, Grace must deal with the emotionally compelling cases at Roosevelt Medical. But in her other vastly different world, she must juggle an onslaught of mob-related demands, including operating in mob-sanctioned locations, removing bullets from dead bodies to hide incriminating evidence, saving a juiced-up race horse and covertly helping an aging mobster with his erectile dysfunction. As Grace tries to heed the demands of these two conflicting worlds – not to mention the needs of her own slightly dysfunctional family – her moral center comes into direct conflict with the very immoral things she’s asked to do. But with nerves of steel and a tough-as-nails exterior, she somehow manages to make it all work – at least for now.
Jordana Spiro explains that her character, Grace Devlin, is unlike any other character she has ever seen on television:
“Grace certainly has the most unique problem, or dilemma, I’ve ever seen on television. It’s very exciting, this idea that she gets pulled into this double life. You know – she gets pulled into this underworld and then the second they say, ‘You’re set free,’ she says, ‘Oh, actually, you know, I want to stay.’ Maybe she wants to stay because of her family, or because she wants to find something out about her family, or she feels some sense of honor, or she’s just sort of seduced by this kind of grittiness. All that, I think is going to be unveiled to us.”
Start liking and following the new shows!
| SERIES |
FACEBOOK |
TWITTER |
| BEN AND KATE |
Facebook.com/BenandKate |
@BenandKateFOX (#benandkate) |
| THE FOLLOWING |
Facebook.com/TheFollowing |
@TheFollowingFOX (#thefollowing) |
| THE GOODWIN GAMES |
Facebook.com/TheGoodwinGames |
@GoodwinGamesFOX (#thegoodwingames) |
| THE MINDY PROJECT |
Facebook.com/TheMindyProject |
@MindyProjectFOX (#themindyproject) |
| HE MOB DOCTOR |
Facebook.com/TheMobDoctor |
@TheMobDoctorFOX (#themobdoctor)
|
FOX 2012-2013 PRIMETIME SCHEDULE
(All Times ET/PT)
MONDAY
8:00-9:00 PM BONES
9:00-10:00 PM THE MOB DOCTOR (new)
THE FOLLOWING (new) joins in midseason.
TUESDAY
8:00-8:30 PM RAISING HOPE
8:30-9:00 PM BEN AND KATE (new)
9:00-9:30 PM NEW GIRL
9:30-10:00 PM THE MINDY PROJECT (new)
THE GOODWIN GAMES (new) joins in midseason.
WEDNESDAY
8:00-10:00 PM THE X FACTOR (fall) / AMERICAN IDOL (midseason)
THURSDAY
8:00-9:00 PM THE X FACTOR Results (fall) / AMERICAN IDOL Results (midseason)
9:00-10:00 PM GLEE
FRIDAY
8:00-9:00 PM TOUCH
9:00-10:00 PM FRINGE (fall)
HELL’S KITCHEN returns in midseason.
SATURDAY
7:00-10:30 PM FOX SPORTS SATURDAY (fall)
COPS returns in midseason.
ANIMATION DOMINATION HIGH-DEF (new) will join late-prime in 2013.
SUNDAY
7:00-7:30 PM NFL Game (fall) / ANIMATION DOMINATION (encores)
7:30-8:00 PM THE OT (fall) / THE CLEVELAND SHOW
8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS
8:30-9:00 PM BOB’S BURGERS
9:00-9:30 PM FAMILY GUY
9:30-10:00 PM AMERICAN DAD
So what do you think? Which shows are you most intrigued by? What night are you penciling in? We want to know!
We are down to the Final 3 contestants on American Idol: Phillip Phillips, Jessica Sanchez and Joshua Ledet. We are days away from finding out who wins it all, the winner will be announced next week when the American Idol finale airs Tuesday and Wednesday night on Fox. We caught up with Phillip, Jessica and Joshua right before they found out they had made the Final 3. We asked them what they are most looking forward to about visiting their hometowns. It’s going to be a big celebration for each of them. Their answers were pretty obvious as soon as they flashed huge smiles on their faces!
