Pop Culture Curmudgeon

Upfronts Preview: What Will the 2010-2011 TV Season Bring?

I love upfronts. I am always excited to see which shows will return in the coming year and what new shows the fall season will bring. I read upfront previews as soon as I get notification of their posting.

The major networks have their upfronts next week. So, check here and Twitter for info about the pickups and drops.

ABC: May 18. I’ll be looking for something to fill the midweek doldrums. I can’t keep watching 90210 forever, right? I’m also interested in how they replace Lost.
CBS: May 19. I’m only marginally interested in this, mainly because I don’t watch a lot of shows on CBS. Hubby is all about Hawaii Five-Oh remake, but I really only care if How I Met Your Mother will return.
CW: May 20. Will the CW replace it’s ailing scripted series with more reality crap? I hope not. I’d love to see them honor the W in their name and bring back the types of shows that made the WB awesome. Life Unexpected had that potential, but it hasn’t lived up to it so far. I’m not sure Nikita will be the show that will make me love the CW like I loved the WB.
Fox: May 17. Again, not really that interested. I watch Glee, but nothing else Fox offers appeals to me. Besides, if I like it, they’ll cancel it unceremoniously because it doesn’t live up to the ratings of American Idol. (I know this won’t happen for a long time, but I’d love to see them dump the long-past-its-prime karaoke competition.)
NBC: May 17. NBC is the network I care about. Will they bring back Chuck? It looks good (according to Ausiello), but I don’t want to assume the best and be shattered by the worst. Will they have anything else interesting to watch? Love Bites and Outsourced have potential, but I’m waiting to see more on them and the other pickups before I make my decisions about which shows to watch.

Of course, I’d also love to see the networks realize that sometimes shorter seasons mean better shows that people care about watching. I don’t think a six-episode season is quite enough, but 13 has proven to be good for the creative development of a show. Look at Glee. The first 13 episodes of the season were focused and interesting, even though the show had that stupid fake pregnancy storyline. I still enjoy the show, but the episodes after the first 13 have meandered a little and haven’t been as good.

And, here’s a good discussion of the actual purpose of the upfronts (to sell advertising) and the outlook for this year.

What are your hopes and dreams for the 2010-2011 TV season?