Fox at TCA: Executive Session Live-Blog

There’s a lot to talk about with Fox boss Kevin Reilly, between a lot of shows being on the move, GLEE having to handle a real tragedy and more. Be sure to follow along with our live-blog of the session (scheduled to start at 11 AM PT, but likely to be a few minutes later)…

11:07 AM: Reilly says that average television viewing is actually up per person, which he notes is good for all of us who work in the industry.

11:09 AM: “I don’t think any Fox TCA session would be complete without showing a clip from Portlandia,” Reilly says before rolling the “spoiler alert” clip.

11:11 AM: Reilly admits they were down last year, but notes they will be up this year (because of the Super Bowl). We’re getting a shiny powerpoint presentation of live, live +3D and live +7D ratings. THE FOLLOWING, NEW GIRL, and FAMILY GUY get big boosts when you add in VOD, online viewers, etc.

11:15 AM: “I do think we’re at a place right now where context is very important,” Reilly says of ratings.

11:17 AM: Out of 1050 cable shows, only four would really rank in the top batch. THE WALKING DEAD is the top show on TV, but that’s the exception to the rule, not the rule.

11:20 AM: Reilly takes exception to MINDY PROJECT getting dubbed a middling success when it beats so many other cable shows.

11:21 AM: Reilly says they’re going to be breaking out of the traditional September-May schedule. He says they’ll be in the fall launch game, but he notes it’s crazy to launch 80 shows at the same time.

11:22 AM: “I’d really like to ban the word mid-season, because it’s another arbitrary notion,” Reilly says. Shows will be debuting all season long and given room to breathe.

11:23 AM: Q&A time! NEW GIRL will be paired with a new show post-Super Bowl, but it makes sense to use a familiar show immediately post-game. He says they’re still viewing NEW GIRL in a building mode, and the show still has room to grow.

11:24 AM: “Everyone wanted to catch their breathe,” Reilly says of the new 24. He says the 12-episode format will be good, it’ll be set in an international setting, etc.

11:25 AM: “I can’t talk too much about it, because we have to continue our yearly tradition of me not being able to say anything,” Reilly says of IDOL’s judges. But he will confirm that Keith Urban will return. He says one of the important things for next season is to refocus on the contestants, admitting that last year they focused too much on the judges and that dynamic.

11:28 AM: Reilly says that while he wants a ratings format change, they won’t stop releasing the same-day ratings.

11: 30 AM: “I don’t know that it’s been a problem, per se,” Reilly says of the rotating X FACTOR judges. “This show, you’re trying to find four judges, you’re trying to find the right chemistry.”

11:31 AM: “The cast, starting with Lea [Michele] who has the most personal wrapped up in it,” Reilly says of Cory Monteith’s death. “She was the first one to say I want to get back to work. The third episode will feature the Finn Hudson character being written out of the show.” Reilly wouldn’t confirm whether Finn would die from drugs (he says the episode will deal with what happened in life), but Ryan Murphy and the cast will speak to the audience by filming PSAs and sharing their own feelings on the subject. Also, the proceeds from the music of that episode will be donated to charity.

11:37 AM: “First of all, Friday is one of the problems we’ve created for ourselves,” Reilly says. “We can’t look anymore at certain nights of the week or certain times of the year as lesser.”

11:40 AM: “It’s a miracle these guys can get through 22 episodes a year,” Reilly says of needing to do shorter seasons for some shows.

11:42 AM: “We have scheduled BONES everywhere, which I know Hart loves,” Reilly jokes. However, “the loyal fans follow the show wherever it goes. Hart is a wonderful guy, he is a good team player, and I’m sure he would have liked the show to stay put for more than a few seasons.” But he’s confident that the move is just shifting a show people want to see to Friday, versus putting it out to pasture.

11:43 AM: GLEE’s hiatus post-Finn’s death will only be the normal three weeks baseball hiatus.

11:45 AM: Reilly says DADS pilot isn’t perfect, but at the same time, it’s a comedy pilot and they often take a bit to gel. He hopes people will give it room, given the high-caliber talent attached to it. He reads old (bad) reviews of THE BIG BANG THEORY to show how comedies can grow.

11:50 AM: Reilly won’t rule out using the old mini-series model (of running a shorter series on consecutive nights) and says the network will need to have more flexibility.

11:52 AM: “I’m not saying give us six months,” Reilly says of DADS and the potential in that. He says they have to earn everyone being skewered. He says he thinks the audience will let them know if it’s a problem.

11:54 AM: Will we be seeing any outtakes/cut scenes of Cory Monteith in episode 3 of GLEE? “It’s a possibility because we do have some of that footage,” but nothing for sure, Reilly says.