TVSquad

Just when I thought it was another field trip.

Rather than load all 200 plus members of the TCA on a plane to New Orleans, Fox decided to have a N.O.-themed party at Les Deux, a trendy restaurant in Hollywood in honor of its new series K-Ville, which has cast Anthony Anderson and Cole Hauser as cops in a post-Katrina Louisiana.

There was only man who could give me the full scoop on this series and what it will mean to New Orleans -- Times Picayune TV columnist Dave Walker

Fox entertainment president Kevin Reilly answered inquiries from TCA members on Sunday about a big name exiting the network -- only the network was NBC and the departure was Reilly's own.

Reilly poked fun at the standard reasons found in press releases that are used to explain a person's leaving a top gig. "No one is ever really fired in Hollywood are they," he rhetorically asked, adding, "You can pick whatever trade euphemism you want [to explain my exit from NBC]. 'I segued.' 'I thought about it over the holidays.' I want to spend more time with my family, which I did for three days.'"

Then, Fox hired him to work with Peter Liguori, the network's entertainment chairman.

Fox Broadcasting Company gets its turn today to go in front of the TCA membership at the Beverly Hilton's International Ballroom.

You can bet Kevin Reilly, president, entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company, is going to be asked a few questions about his exit last spring from NBC.

Once those inquiries get out of the way, Reilly, and Peter Liguori, Fox's chairman, entertainment, will tout Fox's upcoming TV shows.

Not even two months after NBC booted Kevin Reilly out of his job as entertainment president, Fox has picked him up and placed him in the exact same position for that network. During Reilly's time at NBC, ratings didn't budge much, but he was also a champion for quality programs like Friday Night Lights.

Reilly is reuniting with former co-worker, Peter Liguori, who has been promoted to entertainment chairman at Fox. The two teamed up when they worked at FX and brought edgy shows such as The Shield and Nip/Tuck to that network. Fox evidently wants some of that mojo.

Reilly's first challenge is to get people to watch some of Fox's new shows, none of which he chose. I'm hoping he'll give a little love to Unhitched, the Farrelly brothers comedy that is by far the best thing Fox has going for it in the fall.

Following this spring's upfronts presentation and lackluster response from advertisers, NBC Universal president Jeff Zucker fired entertainment president Kevin Reilly. But, it appears Reilly will not be out of work for long. Various reports today say that he is in final negotiations to join Fox, under his former FX boss Peter Liguori.

This is a smart pairing for Fox. Liguori and Reilly brought mega-hits to FX including The Shield and Nip/Tuck. And, judging from this spring's upfronts presentation from Fox, the network could use some edgier programming. There's no doubt that Reilly has an eye for quality programming (Friday Night Lights), but his downfall with NBC was his inability to bring the network out of fourth place.

FOX is the only network who seems to have two seasons every year, doesn't it? You have the fall, when the baseball playoffs and World Series wreak havoc with the network's primetime lineup, then the new year happens and everything starts anew with American Idol and 24; all of a sudden, the "fourth network" becomes a ratings juggernaut.

It's something that FOX Entertainment president Peter Liguori is concerned about, and he addressed it at his TCA session this morning. He almost sounded like a victim, held hostage by the sports' division's suckage of time during the month of October and hamstrung by what it forces him to do. It strikes me as a bit disingenuous, because FOX paid a lot of money for the playoffs, and it was their decision to air so many games. Anyway, Liguori seemed almost happy that the network, who lost the division round and one LCS round, will broadcast less games this fall.

Speaking to critics at the TCA press tour, Fox Entertainment president Peter Liguori mentioned that the proliferation of serialized dramas offered by the networks this year might start to wear on viewers, especially if many of them end up getting cancelled before fans see a satisfying ending to the show's story arc. He felt the networks and show producers should put together a plan to wrap such shows up if they get axed prematurely. "I think the audience deserves some closure," Liguori told the critics.

Why is he so concerned? Apparently, the serialized show he axed last year, Reunion (see picture above), has been used by the critics as the poster child for network mistreatment of such shows. Every network president has gotten a Reunion-related question when talking about his or her company's new serialized shows. So I'm sure Liguori isn't all that happy with being the source of those questions. At least he's aware of the problem and willing to fix it. We'll see if he and other executives actually do.

FOX network chief Peter Liguori says that he's looking for great comedy shows for the network, and encourages writers to pitch him ideas:

"We have the best time slot on television to launch a show...if you're a comedy writer with a great idea, FOX is the place to come."

Two words Peter: Arrested Development.

Oh, I know, I know, the show isn't coming back. I'm not whining about it, and I'm not even saying it should come back. My point is that Liguori would make a statement like this with a straight face. FOX has had many great comedies over the past 10 years, and they've either canceled them, shuffled them around the schedule, or replaced them with lesser comedies.

You have the best time slot to launch a comedy? Hey, cancel The Loop and you'll have two.

First off, no one loves Arrested Development more than I do. I can remember the first time I saw this quirky little show about a way-dysfunctional family, and thought "that makes mine look slightly more normal." On this site alone, I've written love letter after love letter in the form of reviews. I've signed every petition, I've tuned in for every episode and I own both seasons, so far, on DVD. That still wasn't enough for FOX, and no matter how much I loved the show, I'm only one man, and it appeared the majority of America disagreed with me.

Late last year, FOX announced that they were cutting back the ordered episodes of Arrested Development, from 22 to 13, a sure sign that a show is cancelled. Like a spoiled child with a broken toy, though, FOX still refused (as of this morning, even) to let go and "officially" cancel the show, waiting instead to see if there was "potential for the show to still find it's audience on FOX" (-Peter Liguori, Development President), you know, with it's final four episodes. The ones that are airing back to back Friday February 10th. Against the Opening Ceremonies of the Winter Olympics. Yea, that's going to be a ratings juggernaut. Even though the show hasn't been canceled, and therefore there can't be any "real" discussions about the show being picked up by another network, there has certainly been a fair share of rumors. And this, my dear TV Squad readers, is where I have to apologize.