Fox’s entertainment chief wants to blow up the way television has done business for generations because it often doesn’t work.
Kevin Reilly has taken a step in that direction by doing away with pilot season – the frantic period in the spring when broadcast networks make test episodes of dozens of potential new shows to put some on the fall schedule.
“Honestly, it’s nothing short of a miracle that the talent is able to produce anything of quality in that environment,” Reilly said.
Reilly said Fox has about 10 shows in various stages of development already, with episodes being written, and casting and shooting of episodes ready to go. One series well in the works is Gotham, which will follow Batman as a boy until he first puts on a cape.
Fox’s viewership is up 4 percent this year but it is down among youthful viewers that represent its target audience, according to the Nielsen company.
Some long-running shows such as Glee and The X-Factor are sharply down in ratings. But the success of the new shows Sleepy Hollow and Master Chef Junior has been a big help. Both already have been renewed for new seasons,
Traditional ratings are becoming increasingly meaningless, Reilly noted. The audience for Sleepy Hollow nearly doubles when time-shifted viewing is taken into account, he said. Fox is also finding that people who stream episodes on sites such as Hulu are often more attentive viewers.
Because of television’s traditional calendar, creators often find themselves rushing to get series ready during the summer and sometimes aren’t capable of making full 22-episode seasons, Reilly said.
“We want to have some maneuverability,” he said. “We don’t want to be bound by a premiere date and wind up having to change a wheel at 60 mph.”
Producers of Sleepy Hollow aren’t waiting for the summer to get ready for a new season. They start shooting again in March, Reilly said.
The Fox executive is envious of flexibility at cable networks. FX found itself recasting the lead actor for Sons of Anarchy and reshooting much of its first episode. If it were broadcast television, the show never would have made it on the air, he said.
Fox has already said it is stretching television’s calendar and will be premiering a miniseries revival of 24 in May.
Taking another page from cable, Reilly said the idea of shorter seasons make sense for many series, particularly dramas.
Speaking of some individual shows, Reilly said he expects Bones to be back next year.
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