Comedy Wave Networks Planning To Air 27 New Sitcoms, Return With 30 Existing Ones, In The Fall

We are now leaving the spin cycle.

The TV critics’ summer tour, which ended Thursday after 21 straight days, allows the broadcast and cable networks to offer for preview their fall offerings. They also put their “spin” on the coming season (heavy on sitcoms), program trends (packed with “Friends” wannabes) and political issues (TV violence and the V-Chip).

In essence, the tour foreshadows the hard sell that viewers will receive before the season starts in mid-September.

Yet the talk among 150 TV writers kept returning to: “Which new series do you like?”

Favorites emerged.

The buzz built.

The effects will be evident in reviews this fall.

As the tour started, critics mentioned “Murder One” as the finest among 42 new series. The ABC drama, from “NYPD Blue” producer Steven Bochco, will follow one murder trial over an entire season.

Comparisons to the O.J. Simpson trial are inevitable. A time slot opposite NBC’s “ER” guarantees continued attention to “Murder One’s” fate.

The big winner of the tour, however, could be CBS’ “American Gothic,” a supernatural thriller created by Shaun Cassidy. Critics watch most new series pilots before the tour, but CBS screened “Gothic” for the assembled pack. That’s a risky proposition; if a show stinks, wisecracking writers will try to top one another in lobbing barbs.

Two summers ago, NBC screened the “seaQuest DSV” pilot for critics, and brickbats about the submarine show started flying once the lights went up. “Das Bomb,” carped one. “Voyage to the Bottom of the Ratings,” complained another.

Even so, the action/adventure series has weathered two tumultuous years and escaped cancellation.

The first “American Gothic” was creepy, intense and well-made. The critics’ positive buzz, the show’s controversial nature and CBS’ persistent promotion mean “American Gothic” will be sampled come September.

And beyond that? That’s the tricky part of TV reviewing, because an excellent first episode won’t ensure a series’ survival or continued quality.

The big trend this fall is the sitcom, with 27 new ones joining 30 returning series on the six networks. There are too many comedies and not enough writing talent to support them, said Leslie Moonves, new president of CBS Entertainment.

He should know. Before joining CBS this month, he guided TV production at Warner Bros. and supplied “Murphy Brown,” “ER” and “Friends” to the networks. The industry average suggests that only about 20 percent of the sitcoms will be around in six months, Moonves said.

Why so many sitcoms the year after drama made a strong comeback? The business of syndicated reruns, Moonves said.

“At the end of the day, ‘Friends’ will make five to seven times as much money as ‘ER,”’ he said. “You can get a very good double in drama. You can’t hit a home run.” (Two grand-slam sitcoms, “Seinfeld” and “Home Improvement,” go into syndication this fall.)

Most of the new fall sitcoms hit forgettable fouls or strike out, critics here grumbled. Far too many rip off NBC’s “Friends,” they griped.

“Last year, at this time, everyone was going ‘Friends,’ ‘a “Seinfeld” rip-off,”’ Moonves countered. “It has nothing to do with ‘Seinfeld’ … If any of the new shows can establish their own identity and get to the quality ‘Friends’ did, then it’s OK. ‘St. Elsewhere’ was a rip-off of ‘Hill Street Blues.’ It was pitched as ‘Hill Street Doctors.’ And that was OK. They were both pretty good shows.”

The distinctive comedies will survive, NBC Entertainment President Warren Littlefield agreed.

“A lot of the ‘Friends’ rip-offs are going to be rejected because they will be perceived as ‘Friends’ rip-offs.”

Littlefield picked as “two easy hits” his own “Single Guy,” with Jonathan Silverman as a novelist looking for love, and “Caroline in the City,” with Lea Thompson as a cartoonist looking for love. Littlefield is probably right: Both sitcoms will air on Thursdays, almost a guarantee of success.

But many failures are likely. Critics mentioned ABC’s “Charlie Grace,” a detective drama with Mark Harmon, and CBS’ “Courthouse,” a drama with Patricia Wettig as a judge, as probable early casualties. Still, the shows could overcome weak pilots and establish themselves.

Fox’s most striking new show won’t even air in prime time. It’s the sketch comedy “Mad TV,” which will take on “Saturday Night Live.”

The new lineups for the United Paramount Network and the WB (Warner Bros.) suggest more hard going for the fledgling enterprises.

UPN has gone for glitzy and annoying drama. And The WB will try more sitcoms after a dismal start in comedy in January.

What to expect in the new season? September and October will be rough months as viewers separate the few hits from the many misses. The midseason offers hope, though, with new series starring Dana Carvey, John Lithgow and the Muppets.