11:07AM: Before submitting himself to the firing squad that is a roomful of tired and cranky television critics, Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly announces plans for a new late night animated comedy block (Think: Adult Swim) that will air Saturdays at 11PM – 12:30AM starting in January 2013.
11:14AM: Despite going on record during the previous summer’s TCA Press Tour that the Network would be making a decision on the future (or lack thereof) of HOUSE sometime in the Fall, Reilly fesses up to failure to communicate. “To be honest with you, it’s hard to imagine the Network with HOUSE so we kind of agreed to mutually put off any decision until the first of the year and we still have yet to sit down and see where we are,” Reilly says, being sure to add for any anxious fans who may-or-may-not be reading this. “We haven’t had the big meeting yet, but we are not going to be unceremoniously handing out pink slips. If it’s the end of the run there is no way [Creator] David Shore is going to let the fans feel that it wasn’t capped off properly.”
11:17AM: Continuing this session’s somewhat alarming theme of a complete and utter lack of answers comes Reilly’s take on the future of TERRA NOVA. First the good news: Fox made money, the show looked fantastic and all evidence points to the show really resonated with the family audience. Bad News: Despite an immensely likeable cast and some fantastic ideas, Reilly did admit to the show “creatively hunting” throughout much of the first season. In short: Due to production needs, a decision will be made on the show’s future within the next month.
11:20AM: Reilly continues to be immensely happy with the performance of THE X FACTOR. Unfortunately for embattled host Steve Jones, he was slightly less than enthusiastic about his future job stability, only going to far as say, “It’s a much harder job than meets the eye, and whether Steve’s the guy or not, there will be some tweaks to the show.”
11:21AM: And speaking of hostesses with the mostess, Reilly claims “It’s very hard to imagine the show [AMERICAN IDOL] without Ryan Seacrest.”
11:22AM: Still reeling over the ambiguity of HOUSE’s future, well this news probably won’t be of much help. The time for a HOUSE spin-off has come and gone. “We talked about a spin-off over the past few seasons but David [Creator David Shore] just never creatively found something that excited him,” says Reilly, adding, “[Editor’s Note: Unlike NBC!] We’re not in that desperate place where we need to try and keep that the show going and we definitely don’t want some watered down version of the show.”
11:23AM: Is there such a thing as too much reality TV? Short Answer: “No!” Long Answer: Although he expects ratings for AMERICAN IDOL to be slightly down this season due to the fact that it’s going on an 11 year show, audiences remain passionate. Reilly sights the recent fan reaction to SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE’s format change, “I think all of our competition shows will be here for quite some time.”
11:28AM: Bad news for all seven fans of ALLEN GREGORY, It’s over. “We had a great experience with [creator] Jonah Hill, we’re in business with him, but animation is particularly challenging,” admits Reilly, who goes on to call the future of BOB’s BURGERS very promising.
11:33AM: Duh of the Day: Fox is not in the business of losing money! Which could potentially spell doom for the future of FRINGE. For while Reilly loves the show, calling it “a point of pride” for him and applauding it for “vastly improving our Friday night,” it’s an expensive show. “The hesitation in my voice is that it’s an expensive show and we lose a lot of money,” says Reilly, who goes on to say that discussions with Producing partner Warner Bros Television have yet to really heat up. “Please don’t start the letter-writing campaign. I can’t take it.”
11:37AM: Remember last fall when the internet all but imploded on itself when word leaked out with regards to a GLEE spin-off? Well you can forget it, because according to Reilly, the GLEE kids aren’t going anywhere “There will not be a GLEE spinoff but those characters will graduate,” promises Reilly. “It has led to a very cool idea that Ryan [Murphy] and the guys [writing staff] have come up with for next season that will be set up in the Spring batch of episodes. I think it’s going to really give us something cool to dig into next season.”
11:38AM: Fan(s) of I HATE MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER (Beuller? Beuller?) will be pleased to discover that Reilly plans on airing all six or seven remaining episodes. What’s more, he’s determined to get back in the business of multi-camera comedies pointing to CBS as evidence that audiences want to see them. “I know some of them are excruciatingly bad, but audiences clearly want to watch comedy again and I want to feed that.” 