Fox Orders Four New Dramas, Three Comedies

Complete Coverage: Upfronts 2016

Fox said it has placed series orders for four dramas and two comedies for the 2016-17 season.

The shows feature actors including Justin Kirk, Ernie Hudson, Geena Davis, Alan Ruck, Damon Wayans Sr., Jordana Brewster, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Ali Larter, Mark Consuelos, Dan Lauria, Bob Balaban, and Leighton Meester.

Related: Upfronts 2016—truTV Greenlights Three Series

One drama is based on the movie franchise Lethal Weapon. Another looks at the Exorcist story 40 years after the iconic horror classic. The other dramas are Pitch, about the first woman to play Major League Baseball, and APB, a police drama set in Chicago about billionaire who buys a precinct to rethink how to fight crime.

Making History is a single-camera comedy about three time-travelling buddies and The Mick features Kaitlin Olson as Mackenzie “Mickey” Murphy, a brash, blue-collar hustler who can achieve an opulent lifestyle if she takes custody of her sister's three high-maintenance kids.

Related: Broadcast Re-Takes the Big Stage

Here are more details on the shows from Fox:

DRAMAS

APB (20th Century Fox Television)

Format: Police Drama

WRITER: Matt Nix

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Matt Nix, Len Wiseman, Dennis Kim, Todd Hoffman, Robert Friedman

DIRECTOR: Len Wiseman

Logline: 

Inspired by true events, APB is about the Chicago Police Department spiraling out of control amid sky-high crime, officer-involved shootings, cover-ups and corruption.  After witnessing a violent crime first-hand, genius tech billionaire GIDEON REEVES (Justin Kirk), decides to do something about it, putting up millions of dollars of his own money to take over the troubled 13th Precinct and reboot it as a private police force: better, faster and smarter than anything seen before. With cutting-edge technology and revolutionary new ideas, Gideon plans to rethink everything about the way cops fight crime.

CAST:

•      Justin Kirk as Gideon Reeves

•      Natalie Martinez as Officer Theresa Murphy

•      Eric Winter as Scott Murphy

•      Ernie Hudson as Sgt. Ned Conrad

•      Taylor Handley as Officer Nicholas Brandt

•      Tamberla Perry as Officer Tasha Goss

•      Caitlin Stasey as Ada Hamilton

THE EXORCIST (20th Century Fox Television, Morgan Creek Productions)

Format: Drama/Psychological Thriller

WRITER: Jeremy Slater

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Jeremy Slater, Rolin Jones, James Robinson, Barbara Wall, David Robinson, Rupert Wyatt

DIRECTOR: Rupert Wyatt

Logline: 

More than four decades after the Academy Award-nominated film solidified itself as the greatest horror movie ever made, THE EXORCIST returns in series format as a propulsive psychological thriller following two very different priests tackling one family’s case of horrifying demonic possession.

CAST:

•      Geena Davis as Angela Rance

•      Alfonso Herrera as Father Tomas Ortega

•      Ben Daniels as Father Marcus Lang

•      Brianne Howey as Katherine Rance

•      Hannah Kasulka as Casey Rance

•      Alan Ruck as Henry Rance

•      Kurt Egyiawan as Brother Bennett

LETHAL WEAPON (Warner Bros. Television, Good Session Productions, Lin Pictures)

Format: Police Drama

WRITER: Matt Miller

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Matt Miller, McG, Dan Lin, Jennifer Gwartz

DIRECTOR: McG

Logline: 

Based on the hit movie franchise, LETHAL WEAPON rides along with classic cop duo MARTIN RIGGS (Clayne Crawford) and ROGER MURTAUGH (Damon Wayans, Sr.) as they work a crime-ridden beat in modern-day Los Angeles. 

CAST:

•      Damon Wayans, Sr. as Roger Murtaugh

•      Clayne Crawford as Martin Riggs

•      Jordana Brewster as Dr. Maureen “Mo” Cahill

•      Kevin Rahm as Captain Brooks Avery

•      Keesha Sharp as Trish Murtaugh

PITCH (20th Century Fox Television)

Format: Drama

WRITERS: Dan Fogelman, Rick Singer

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Dan Fogelman, Rick Singer, Tony Bill, Helen Bartlett

Jess Rosenthal, Kevin Falls, Paris Barclay

DIRECTOR: Paris Barclay

Logline: 

PITCH is the emotional story of young pitcher GINNY BAKER (Kylie Bunbury), a beautiful, tough and incredibly gifted athlete who instantly becomes the most famous person in the country when she’s called up by the San Diego Padres, making her the first woman to play Major League Baseball.

CAST:

•      Kylie Bunbury as Ginny Baker

•      Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Mike Lawson

•      Ali Larter as Amelia Slater

•      Mark Consuelos as Oscar Arguella

•      Dan Lauria as Al Luongo

•      Michael Beach as Bill Baker

•      Bob Balaban as Frank Reid

•      Mo McRae as Blip Sanders

•      Meagan Holder as Evelyn Sanders

•      Tim Jo as Eliot

COMEDIES

MAKING HISTORY (20th Century Fox Television)

Format: Single-Camera Comedy

WRITER: Julius “Goldie” Sharpe

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Phil Lord, Chris Miller, Julius “Goldie” Sharpe, Seth Cohen

DIRECTOR: Jared Hess

Logline: 

MAKING HISTORY chronicles three friends from two different centuries as they try to balance the thrill of time travel with the mundane concerns of their present-day lives. Two shows in one, it’s both a rollicking historical adventure, and a contemporary comedy about love, friendship and trying to fit in to an increasingly complex and impersonal world.

CAST:

·         Adam Pally as Dan

·         Leighton Meester as Deborah

·         Yassir Lester as Chris

THE MICK (20th Century Fox Television)

Format: Single-camera Comedy

WRITERS: John Chernin, Dave Chernin

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: John Chernin, Dave Chernin, Nick Frenkel, Oly Obst, Randall Einhorn

DIRECTOR: Randall Einhorn

Logline: 

Mackenzie “THE MICK” Murphy (Kaitlin Olson) is a brash, blue collar, two-bit hustler who has spent her entire life gaming the system and shirking any semblance of responsibility.  But when her estranged sister and billionaire brother-in-law flee the country to escape federal charges, the opulent, care-free life Mickey has always envied is finally within reach… But there is one minor catch: she must assume custody of her sister’s three rich, entitled, high-maintenance children.

CAST:

·                 Kaitlin Olson as Mackenzie “Mickey” Murphy

·                 Sofia Black-D’Elia as Sabrina

·                 Thomas Barbusca as Chip

·                 Jack Stanton as Ben

·                 Carla Jimenez as Alba

·                 Susan Park as Liz

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.