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Post-'Seinfeld' TV
Networks preview fall lineups
Web posted on: Thursday, May 21, 1998 6:07:07 PM EDT
NEW YORK (CNN) -- NBC's "Frasier" is filling "Seinfeld"'s spot, ABC is heading back to "Fantasy Island," CBS is playing doctor in Los Angeles, Fox is turning nostalgic for retro, WB is heading to college, and UPN is revamping and adding to its growing line-up.
The TV landscape will have plenty of changes in the post-"Seinfeld" era starting this fall. The new lineups were announced this week.
"Frasier"
NBC
The big news at NBC was the gap left behind on Thursday nights at 9 p.m. ET, where "Seinfeld" resided. The most coveted spot at the network was quickly filled when the network announced "Frasier" would fill the void.
"Frasier" star Kelsey Grammer said that privately he was "dying to move" from Tuesday's to Thursdays. "Just Shoot Me" will take over "Frasier"'s Tuesday spot.
NBC also plans to introduce six new shows, including "All My Life" starring Christina Applegate as a single mother working in her father's bar in Buffalo, New York.
The network will also debut "Will and Grace," a comedy about a gay lawyer and the woman who is his best friend.
ABC
The cast of "Brother's Keeper" ABC will add eight new series to its lineup, and harken back to a former hit as "Fantasy Island" returns to Saturday nights. Malcolm McDowell replaces Ricardo Montalban as the magical Mr. Roarke, who makes fantasies come true.
"Cupid" is a new sitcom from the producer of "My So-called Life." It tells the tale of Cupid, who is sentenced to do time on Earth by uniting 100 couples.
"Brother's Keeper" puts together an English professor, his 8-year-old son, and the professor's football-playing brother who moves in with them.
CBS
CBS is premiering seven new series to go along with old stand-bys like "60 Minutes," which is entering its 31st season.
Following the success of other doctor-related dramas, the network has created "L.A. Docs," which will air on Mondays. In it, three doctors "do what's right, instead of what's easy." The drama was written by John Lee Hancock ("A Perfect World," "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil").
Another CBS newbie to the lineup is "To Have And To Hold," airing Wednesday, nights at 9:00 p.m. It's a comedy about a young couple -- he's a neighborhood cop and she's a defense attorney -- who frequently clash over their cases.
Fox
Fox has 13 returning series to its growing lineup, and it will add six more this fall.
"Feelin' All Right" aims to do for the 1970s what "Happy Days" did for the 1950s. It's retro fever -- complete with bell bottoms, bad hair, and lava lamps.
And just when you thought Fox was straying away from the wild reputation it built with shows like "The X-files," the network says it will debut the drama "Brimstone." It stars Peter Horton as a bounty hunter from Hell.
"Dawson's Creek"
The WB
WB hopes to continue its emergence as a network that appeals to teens and young adults by adding a fifth night of programming on Thursdays.
And while continuing to show the hormonally charged teen drama "Dawson's Creek," WB will also graduate with "Felicity," which depicts the life of a New York University freshmen. The drama is described as "Ally McBeal" goes to college.
UPN
Another "emerging network," UPN, heads into fall with a revamped lineup under new president Dean Valentine.
Six new shows are on the docket there, including "Guys Like Us," a buddy comedy about a young man whose bachelor pad is invaded by his 6-year-old brother.
"The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer," set during the Civil War, follows the adventures of an English gentleman who serves as President Lincoln's key adviser, who happens to be his butler.
The fall lineup of networks did not, however, include a sitcom about nothing. "Seinfeld" fans will have to tune in to the re-runs for that.
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