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Studio Trying to Save ‘Back to You’

May 11, 2008  •  Post A Comment

Fox is getting out in front of the upfront greenlight process, ABC is preparing for “Life on Mars” and CBS is being wooed as a possible new home for the canceled comedy “Back to You.”
Meanwhile, the CW is moving forward with two scripted dramas and a new reality show from exec producer Tyra Banks.
Those are among the headlines coming out of New York Sunday as the networks begin their scaled-down upfront week for 2008. Here’s a look at some of the details:
—ABC has reached a deal with 20th Century Fox TV and David E. Kelley Productions that likely will result in a series order for “Mars,” the Kelley-produced adaptation of the BBC drama. Kelley is expected to depart the project, and in exchange, ABC has renewed Kelley’s “Boston Legal” for a fifth season. “Legal” will air in the fall, and it’s believed ABC has the right to cut back its episode order on the show to 13, a person familiar with the discussions said.
Kelley would not give his blessing to “Mars” moving forward unless he had a greenlight for “Legal,” the source said. Executives at ABC were understandably unhappy about “Mars” being held hostage for “Legal,” which has failed to catch fire with audiences (though it does do well with upscale viewers).
As for other upfront buzz at ABC, the game show “Opportunity Knocks” is looking good for a fall or late summer berth, with producer J.D. Roth on board as host. “According to Jim” will be back for another season, while “Scrubs” is moving to ABC from NBC.
—Twentieth has given CBS boss Leslie Moonves episodes of “Back to You” to screen as part of its bid to set up the comedy at the network. Fox canceled the Kelsey Grammer-Patricia Heaton show over the weekend, forcing sister studio 20th to find a new home for the project.
Ironically, CBS had been mentioned as a home for “Back to You” a year ago, before it landed at Fox. Heaton is the former star of CBS’ “Everybody Loves Raymond,” while CBS several years ago tried to get Grammer to star in a spinoff of “Frasier.” The network is hoping to open a new night of comedy beyond its Monday lineup, and a Grammer-Heaton project could be a solid anchor for such an extension.
CBS is expected to make the bulk of its 2008-09 series orders Monday. It also may decide the fate of bubble shows “How I Met Your Mother,” “Shark” and “The Unit”—all from 20th Century Fox TV.
—While Fox isn’t officially saying anything, the network has given a thumbs up to “Fringe,” an “X-Files”-like drama from executive producer J.J. Abrams; the Jason Bateman-directed comedy pilot “The Inn”; and the animated half-hour “Sit Down, Shut Up” from “Arrested Development” creator Mitch Hurwitz. And while “Back to You” was canceled, the network did greenlight a third season of Sony’s “‘Til Death.”

41 Comments

  1. I hope CBS does the smart thing and picks up Back To You from the idiot Fox Network. The show is witty, hilarious and wasn’t given much of a chance to grow an audience due to the writer’s strike.

  2. “Till Death” is a terrible show. But it was cheaper to make than “Back to You”. Fox doesn’t care about Emmy’s. It only cares about money.

  3. Yeah, whatever, I think the leads of Back to You are gonna have to take a rate cut to get this deal going.
    They are seriously overpaid.

  4. I realy hope CBS picks Back To You. It’s a realy good show, and it will be a shame to see it go.

  5. Hello! This is great news that the show is being shopped around. I just wanted to let everyone know that we’ve begun a “Save Back to You” campaign. Basically, the point is to send CBS bottled water (if you watched the last episode, you’ll know why). If you’re interested, you can send your bottled water to this address:
    CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler
    7800 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90036
    You can also sign our petition to save Back to You here: http://www.petitionspot.com/signature/back2useason2,
    or email both FOX and CBS asking for a second season renewal. At this point, all help is necessarily! We appreciate everything being done to try to save this show!

  6. I found Back To You to be consistently funny and thought its strength was the ensemble cast behind the 2 headliners. I particularly liked Ty Burrell as the beat reporter with the difficult Polish name, almost always finding his skits amusing – especially the one where he was sent to cover a convention of people who wear mascot suits. The only cast member I didn’t warm to was the news director guy. Fox gave the show short shrift and made it difficult for fans to support it. I hope another network picks it up, that way we can see a good show without promos for Fox’s other dreck.

  7. HAY FOX.SAVE BACK TO YOU.IT IS A GREAT SHOW.IN FACT IT IS THE ONLY NETWORK SHOW I WATCH.OTHER THAN THAT I ONLY WATCH CABLE.THANKS………..M

  8. This was quite frankly the ONLY new show I’ve been excited about in years. My husband and I looked forward to it each week and found ourselves recommending it to others because it is truly funny and well written. I can’t believe ‘Til Death would be picked up and Back to You would not! We’re tired of the reality shows, the dramas, etc. You just can’t find a good comedy anymore. They all like to focus on sex humor and/or put down jokes. Back to You is a class act show that you can be proud to admit you watch! I stumbled upon it the first time I saw it and I couldn’t stop laughing. My husband had to come over and see what I thought was so funny and he loved it too! I hope they give it a chance.

  9. This was quite frankly the ONLY new show I’ve been excited about in years. My husband and I looked forward to it each week and found ourselves recommending it to others because it is truly funny and well written. I can’t believe ‘Til Death would be picked up and Back to You would not! We’re tired of the reality shows, the dramas, etc. You just can’t find a good comedy anymore. They all like to focus on sex humor and/or put down jokes. Back to You is a class act show that you can be proud to admit you watch! I stumbled upon it the first time I saw it and I couldn’t stop laughing. My husband had to come over and see what I thought was so funny and he loved it too! I hope they give it a chance.

  10. This was quite frankly the ONLY new show I’ve been excited about in years. My husband and I looked forward to it each week and found ourselves recommending it to others because it is truly funny and well written. I can’t believe ‘Til Death would be picked up and Back to You would not! We’re tired of the reality shows, the dramas, etc. You just can’t find a good comedy anymore. They all like to focus on sex humor and/or put down jokes. Back to You is a class act show that you can be proud to admit you watch! I stumbled upon it the first time I saw it and I couldn’t stop laughing. My husband had to come over and see what I thought was so funny and he loved it too! I hope they give it a chance.

  11. This was quite frankly the ONLY new show I’ve been excited about in years. My husband and I looked forward to it each week and found ourselves recommending it to others because it is truly funny and well written. I can’t believe ‘Til Death would be picked up and Back to You would not! We’re tired of the reality shows, the dramas, etc. You just can’t find a good comedy anymore. They all like to focus on sex humor and/or put down jokes. Back to You is a class act show that you can be proud to admit you watch! I stumbled upon it the first time I saw it and I couldn’t stop laughing. My husband had to come over and see what I thought was so funny and he loved it too! I hope they give it a chance.

  12. This was an excellent new sitcom in a sea of cheap reality shows and never-ending serial dramas. Quite frankly, it was too good for FOX. So i’m not surprised to see it being shopped around to bigger fish like CBS. That’s where it should have been in the first place. CBS needs to pick this show up and rub it in FOX’s face.

  13. Back to You has the potential of being the next great sitcom. How can FOX be so stupid??

  14. I ditto Aaron completely.
    I hope CBS sees the great potential of Back To You. Fox never gave it a chance.
    Looks like the only thing I will be watching on Fox again will be “24”

  15. Canceling Back to You is a huge loss. It’s like a breath of fresh air and we so look forward to watching it. I am sooo tired of all these shows about murders and violence. I can’t believe they are canceling such a hilarious show (MUCH better than ‘Til Death!)

  16. I love shark I think it’s one of the best leagal drama’s since law and order and matlock. I love james woods I always thought he was a good lawyer even if some of his methods in law are bold.

  17. I’m sorry I thought this was a shark petition . I like kelsey grammer and patricia heatin i Think it is one of the funniest news shows since murphy brown

  18. The Fox network doesn’t give anything a chance that isn’t a reality show. Boston Public, Tru Calling, Dark Angel, New Amsterdam and now Back to You are a short list of shows I have liked that Fox decided weren’t good enough for America to enjoy. Hell they canceled an Eliza Dushku project (Nurses) before it ever even aired. I am sick of Fox when it comes to television shows, (They are #1 in Football.) I hope CBS picks this up. Lets think about one of the greatest all time comedies, Cheers was almost dead last after its inaugeral season. In 1983 the world was different and thankfully NBC gave it a second chance which lead Cheers to become one of the greatest ever. Back to You has that spark that Cheers had. CBS could be sitting on a gold mine.

  19. PLEASE SAVE Back To You…so much potential and FOX gave it no chance! Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton are a goldmine of talent. Does anyone remember what a joy it is to belly-laugh all the way through a 30 min. sitcom?? Sometimes after a verrry long day — that’s all you want to do.

  20. This is probaly to late to post, but i enjoyed Back to You. Fox was the wrong network. Too bad there is mostly junk on TV. That is why I don’t watch network TV anymore, and probaly never will, with their track record.

  21. Maybe if he, Adam Wheeler was in truth genuine Harvard Law material, he would have had a better hoax and wouldnt have gotten sussed.

  22. Really good that Lindsay Lohan gets determined dealing with herself, she requires rehabilitation like Mel Gibson wants a mental health expert, with some luck the young woman should not get released from rehab quickly on this occasion as getting released early from UCLA was more than likely the main reasons why the woman relapsed so quickly in the first place, so i’m praying on your behalf all the way Lindsay, honestly hope you’re able to stop your harmful habits.

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