Fox narrows down fall choices
Among the shows said to be getting the go-ahead, some previously reported, are the one-hour Warner Bros. actioner "The Adventures of Brisco County Jr." and the sitcoms "My Girls" (Lorimar), the Sinbad project (Disney), "Daddy Dearest" (HBO Independent Prods.), "City High" (TriStar), "My Kind of Town" (Witt-Thomas) , "Bakersfield" (formerly "Buddy Blues," from Disney), "Monty" (Disney), and Robert Townsend's variety show.
In addition to "Monty," a one-time NBC pilot starring Henry Winkler, Fox (which ordered 37 pilots, more than any of the networks) is reportedly in negotiations to pick up two more shows developed for CBS: Lorimar's Richard Grieco hour and Twentieth's "South Central" (see related story, page 26).
Fox officials were still moving the scheduling squares around late Thursday, but the weblet is expected to split up "The Simpsons" and HBO's first-year hit "Martin" on Thursday. The latter could move to 9 p.m. or 8 o'clock Sunday, in that case shifting "In Living Color" (which has repeated fairly well Thursday) to anchor the night's 9 p.m. hour.
One source even heard Fox has considered moving "The Simpsons" back to Sunday and shifting "Martin" to lead off Thursday. Others dismissed those reports, feeling the animated Twentieth series has ample opportunity to thrive in its current time period against two dramas and NBC's "Mad About You."
That leaves a number of comedies with African-American leads -- among them Sinbad, "My Girls," Hammer project "City High" and Giancarlo Esposito in "Bakersfield"-- vying to fill in the 8:30 and 9:30 half-hours Thursday as well as one Sunday slot, with "Roc" also in play for a new time period.
Sinbad's slot
Fox reportedly likes the idea of putting Sinbad on Thursday at 8:30, in part because the comic co-starred for three high-rated seasons in that time slot on NBC's "A Different World."
The Townsend show could go Sunday, while "Married ... With Children" may get a new lead-out -- perhaps the Richard Lewis-Don Rickles match-made-in-hell comedy "Daddy Dearest." Fox is expected to drop the 10 p.m. hour Sunday, creating a uniform sign-off time throughout the week (Daily Variety, May 19).
Although "Herman's Head" could lose its post-"Married" berth, Fox has reportedly given the Witt-Thomas/Disney series a full 22-episode order for next year, its third season.
Fox probably will try to jump-start its dead-on-arrival Tuesday lineup with "Brisco County," deemed its best new drama, possibly paired with Universal TV's superhero pilot "Mantis" from producers Sam Raimi and Sam Hamm. Twentieth's "The X-Files," about two FBI investigators of paranormal phenomena, is penciled in on one schedule, while Fox News' magazine show is expected to occupy another slot.
