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FOX 2014-15: Upfronts’ trailers

Video: Trailers include Gotham, Wayward Pines, Empire and the US version of Broadchurch.

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Screen Shot 2014-05-13 at 11.45.45 am.jpgIt’s Upfronts time in the US and Australian networks are in attendance for the LA Screenings.

FOX was the first big cab off the rank and has now released full length trailers for several of its new offerings.

They include Gracepoint, the US adaptation of Broadchurch (with David Tennant, Anna Gunn and Jacki Weaver) and Wayward Pines from M. Night Shyamalan, which is already locked onto Foxtel. Both are “event” series which means a limited run.

New dramas include Batman prequel, Gotham starring Ben McKenzie as a young Jim Gordon; Terrence Howard’s hip-hop effort Empire; Egyptian action-adventure Hieroglyph; and Rainn Wilson’s Backstrom. It is yet to release a trailer for Octavia Spencer’s Red Band Society.

There’s a new comedy Mulaney and reality series Utopia, based on another Dutch format from John de Mol.

“Our portfolio of content this year reflects the biggest investment in programming we’ve ever made,” said FOX Entertainment chairman Kevin Reilly. “FOX is redefining the network experience on our air and as a 24/7/365 platform, with distinctive series, addictive event dramas and can’t-miss live specials that will deliver broadcast’s most youthful audience at scale.”


Ten-episode mystery event series Gracepoint follows the tragic death of a young boy, and the major police investigation and nationwide media frenzy that subsequently overtake a picturesque seaside town, where anyone is a suspect.


Gotham is an origin story of the great DC Comics Super-Villains and vigilantes, revealing an entirely new chapter that has never been told. 


Based on a best-selling novel and brought to life by suspenseful storyteller M. Night Shyamalan (“The Sixth Sense”), Wayward Pines is an intense, mind-bending 10-episode thriller starring Academy Award nominee Matt Dillon (“Crash”) as a Secret Service agent on a mission to find two missing federal agents in the bucolic town of Wayward Pines, ID. Every step closer to the truth makes him question if he will ever get out of Wayward Pines alive. The all-star cast also includes Academy and Emmy Award winner Melissa Leo (“The Fighter”), Academy Award nominee Terrence Howard (“Crash,” “Hustle & Flow”), Carla Gugino (“Entourage”), Shannyn Sossamon (“How to Make It in America”), Toby Jones (the “Harry Potter” franchise) and Academy Award and Emmy Award nominee Juliette Lewis (“Cape Fear”).


Welcome to Empire, a sexy and powerful new drama about the head of a music empire (Terrence Howard) whose three sons and ex-wife all battle for his throne. Set to an original soundtrack written and produced by hip-hop hitmaker Timbaland.


From the creator of Bones, comedic crime procedural Backstrom centres on an unhealthy, offensive, irascible — albeit brilliant — detective (Rainn Wilson) who is brought back from exile to run the Portland Police Bureau’s Special Crimes Unit (S.C.U.).


The world of ancient Egypt — a time of magic, Pharaohs, gods and thieves — lives again in FOX’s new adventure series Hieroglyph.


Mulaney stars Emmy Award-winning writer and comedian John Mulaney as a rising stand-up comic trying to take his career to the next level, and the friends and mentors who lift him up, hold him back and push him around.


Based on the Dutch hit of the same name, Utopia is a bold new series that moves 15 everyday Americans to an isolated, undeveloped location — for an entire year — and challenges them to create their own civilisation. Will it be ultimate happiness or utter chaos?


In Last Man on Earth Phil Miller (Will Forte) was once just an average guy who loved his family and hated his job at the bank — now he’s humanity’s last hope. Will he ever find another person alive on the planet? Would hoping that she is a female be asking too much?

Monday
8:00-9:00 p.m. — Gotham
9:00-10:00 p.m. — Sleepy Hollow

Tuesday
8:00-9:00 p.m. — Utopia
9:00-9:30 p.m. — New Girl
9:30-10:00 p.m. — The Mindy Project

Wednesday
8:00-9:00 p.m. — Hell’s Kitchen
9:00-10:00 p.m. — Red Band Society

Thursday
8:00-9:00 p.m. — Bones
9:00-10:00 p.m. — Gracepoint

Friday
8:00-9:00 p.m. — MasterChef Junior
9:00-10:00 p.m. — Utopia

Saturday
7:00-10:30 p.m. — Fox Sports Saturday

Sunday
7:00-7:30 p.m. — NFL Game
7:30-8:00 p.m. — Bob’s Burgers
8:00-8:30 p.m. — The Simpsons
8:30-9:00 p.m. — Brooklyn Nine-Nine
9:00-9:30 p.m. — Family Guy
9:30-10:00 p.m. — Mulaney

Source: Hollywood Reporter

8 Responses

  1. Gracepoint has a different ending to Broadchurch, but i thought some of the story would also be different. I still can’t get over Tennant’s accent LOL.

    Backstrom looks interesting, i like Hart Hansen’s characters.

  2. Don’t know how many of these will make it to Aus TV altho’ that’s almost moot now. Gracepoint looks really good but I’m not sure there’s much point if the storyboarding is going to be the same all the way thru.

    I’m intrigued by Wayward Pines and ten eps should be a short enough run to hopefully see it maintain a high standard and not descend into silly tropes.

    Backstrom looks like it might be good fun.

  3. Not that Ten probably have the budget for it but Utopia could be a point of difference reality show for them that could work. Kinda like how Big Brother broke through for them in the early 2000’s.

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