http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/TV/01/18/television.fox.comedies.reut/index.html I can't believe this is happening after Over There, and the Pretender (old show) ended. PASADENA, California (Hollywood Reporter) -- Fox's veteran comedy "Malcolm in the Middle" will end its seven-season run May 14, while "That '70s Show," now in its eighth season, will bow out four days later, the network said Tuesday. For the homestretch, "Malcolm" will return to Sundays beginning January 29, opening the night at 7 p.m., a slot generally occupied by cartoon reruns. Meanwhile, Fox is in conversations with former "That '70s Show" stars Ashton Kutcher and Topher Grace to return for the show's finale, Fox entertainment president Peter Liguori said during the network's portion of the Television Critics Assn. winter press tour. While the end for "Malcolm" and "That '70s Show" comes after long, successful runs, the untimely exit of the network's Emmy-winning but low-rated comedy "Arrested Development" after three seasons -- two of them abbreviated -- brought up a lot of questions. Although the network touts airing the two-hour block of the final four episodes of "Arrested's" current order on February 10 as "season finale," Liguori stressed that a future return of the show to Fox is "highly unlikely." "Arrested's" producers, Imagine TV and 20th Century Fox TV, are fielding offers from two networks, Showtime and ABC, which are interested in picking up the acclaimed series. With no strong new comedy additions in the past couple of seasons ready to fill the void left by the departing comedies, the network's brass are putting a lot of muscle behind the rollout of its midseason comedies "Free Ride" and "The Loop," using the network's best launching pad, the blockbuster "American idol," to help their chances. The partially improv "Free Ride" is slated for a March 1 preview, following a special 90-minute episode of "Idol," and "Loop" is getting a preview March 15, leading out of an "Idol" results show. On March 12, "Free Ride" moves into its regular Sunday 9:30 p.m. slot, temporarily replacing "American Dad," while "Loop" will relocate to its regular Thursday 8:30 p.m. period March 16. Fox also is taking another look at two comedies that have been off the schedule for a while. "King of the Hill," which is not in production but has never been officially canceled, might come back as early as January 2007 if discussions with the series' producers are successful, Liguori said. Meanwhile, there haven't been any active negotiations to revive "Futurama," which, much like "Family Guy" before it, is enjoying a second life on Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" late-night block. But Fox executives are keeping a close eye on the series' newfound success. if ER, law and order, or the shield also ends, i will be really pissed.
i think both those shows have had their best days behind them. i really liked both of them their first 3-4 seasons but since then they've tailed off and when the main characters of a show are teenagers or children they only have such a long shelf life anyway. regardless, both shows were once very good and enjoyable, especially malcom. for awhile there i really liked what fox was doing, they were introducing really smart and innovative comedies but now that they are tanking them for shows like "skating with the stars", makes me really wonder what in the hell is going on at fox.
I personally couldn't stand either of those. I think Frankie Muniez and Wilder Valderdumbass need ass whippings.
In other news, Heather Graham's show (Emily's Reason Why Not) was cancelled FOUR days after the premiere. Sheesh. And I thought FOX was bad.
That does suck about Malcolm and 70's Show. But I have to agree, those two show's concepts really don't allow for a long shelf life (like Friends and Seinfeld). And Ashton and Topher leaving certainly didn't help that show. And shoot, it shows how much I watch network tv these days when I didn't even realize one of my other favorite shows, King of the Hill, hasn't even been in production this season. Does Fox even have anything left, outside Family Guy?
Malcolm in the Middle - Was hilarious sometimes. That 70's Show - Decent. When Topher Grace left though, I stopped watching. Arrested Development - The funniest show on television. I hope ABC picks it up and it becomes a huge success. I worry that showtime would ruin some of the comedy of it by not bleeping the profanity. I just think the bleeping is funny. King of the Hill - It was all right, but it got annoying after awhile. Okay... hank Hill is always uptight. Peggy Hill always has unwarranted self confidence. Bobby Hill is fat and weird. When Joseph Gribble grew a moustache it ended for me.
Malcom in the Middle was one of the most refreshing shows in a long while during its first 3-4 years. After the kids each grew 7-8 inches the charm wore off though. I stopped watching that 70's show about the time that Donna's mom, "Midge", left. I had NO idea that Ashton and Topher had left the show. I have no idea how it survived that, even for one season.
Man, The Pretender used to be my favorite show. Looking back, the storylines in the later years (and TNT movies) were beyond ridiculous. But I absolutely loved the concept, characters, tone, and acting. Miss Parker's ice b**** act was so sexy. And it was always cool to see Jarod doing different jobs every week. Not to mention strong supporting characters like Syndey, Broots (played by Uncle Rico, Jon Gries!), Mr. Parker, Mr. Rains, Angelo, and even Bridgitte and Mr. Lyle (pre-Desparate Housewives, Jamie Denton). And the way they structured the show was perfect. It's was x-files-ish, with a Mythology storyline along with Monster of the week episodes. But the Pretender combined the two, so the Centre gang would advance the Mythology, and Jarod would provide the easily accessible, self-contained stories, in every single episode. That show was very well done, and I loved it even if the writers went completely bonkers with out of left field insanity in the TV movies (WTF, Miss Parker has some crazy powers now? What the hell is this scroll crap?).
How did they write off Topher Grace and Ashton Kutcher? Was wondering about that, when I read that they were trying to get them back for the season finale. btw, I loved that 70's show back when it first started, but just catch the reruns once in awhile on UPN.
i've really come to appreciate futurama. in fact, i'd say it's easily one of my favorite shows. excellent writing, very clever, great animation, and freakin' hilarious. what's up with fox cancelling these gems??? those guys are r****ded. i'm just afraid that if it comes back to fox, they're gonna try and "dumb it down" for the average brain-dead sitcom viewer....
Malcolm was good. I never liked That '70s Show. yuk. But I've never liked 70's stuff at all. I'm an 80's guy.
Well, this is the first season without them. I never really got into Malcolm, but we've been on a huge That 70s Show kick lately.
I still don’t like 70's stuff, but that show was great.. too bad I didn’t get into the show until this year.. I watched the whole series on FX over a few months of TIVOing them Fox did put out an That 80's Show, but it only lasted a few weeks IIRC.. I'm just the opposite of you droxford, I never could get into Malcolm in the middle.. I think FOX doesn’t know when they have a good thing on their hands unless it was called The Simpsons or Married with Children... I guess now you can add American Idol to that list.. I have now come to the decision that I want FOX to axe Arrested Development so it can get a good home on ABC or Showtime and the respect it deservers.. FOX puts out some great stuff, but they almost always seem to mess it up..
Fox is well known for not giving a new show much of a chance if it's not an immediate success. If it IS an immediate success, then prepare for it to be crammed down your throat 24/7. I just got through watching Firefly on DVD. How the hell did that show get cancelled? It was awesome... I don't expect ER to be around much longer. Too much emphasis is placed on the relationships of the main characters, rather than the action going on in the ER. Of course, there's only so many ways that you can run a trauma scene without them becoming stagnant.
Topher Grace (Eric) went to Africa to be a teacher. I don't really know how they wrote off Kutcher. I think they had him moving to Chicago or something like that. I really enjoyed both shows. Malcolm did lose it's charm, especially when the youngest kid was born. Why couldn't he have been the good kid? 70's Show really bottomed out this year with the cast changes. That guy they brought in is a real tool. It'll be a shame to see them go, but their best years are way behind them. That's the great thing about syndication. Right now, I'm just praying that NBC renews The West Wing.
Eh. Arrested Development will find a home somewhere. Malcolm and That '70s Show had run their respective courses. That said, I sure will miss Donna. I'd plow her back to the '50s.
They just need to clean house, let the Republican win (Alan Alda's character), and then they can drop all of the high-salaried actors (i.e. Sheen, Whitford, Janney, Schiff, Smits etc.). All the main actors getting raises a couple of years ago was probably the biggest reason why costs spiraled out of control. This is a good show, and they can surely rinse and repeat with fresh actors like Law and Order.
I don't think Vinnick and his staff would be too cheap. Steven Root, the chick from Home Improvement and Alan Alda would probably cost some good money. I'm rooting for Smits. The West Wing would take some getting used to if Josh wasn't around.
I'd like to see if they could make the show with a Republican president. They have spent so much time and effort making the Democrats the good guys, I don't know how they would turn it around.
