The last time Fox was at the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour, then-chief Kevin Reilly declared that pilot season was dead (which topped my list of the most ridiculous statements network presidents said last year).
A year later, the new regime—Fox Television Group chairmen and CEOs Dana Walden and Gary Newman—offered no bold proclamations about changing the industry. After all, they’re too busy trying to rescue their network from the ratings basement and one of the worst broadcast falls in recent memory. As I wrote at Adweek,
“We are well aware we’re the fourth-place network and our ratings are challenged,” said Newman. “We know it’s going to be an uphill battle to turn this network around, and there’s only one way to do it: put your head down, do the hard work, get in business with the best talent, support their visions, focus on one time period at a time, and slowly but with a little bit of luck, our team will be able to turn this network around.”
The duo also discussed its new direction in unscripted (less Utopias, more MasterChef Juniors) and their plans to resurrect several beloved Fox brands: 24, The X-Files and even Simon Cowell.