Patricia Heaton FINALLY Breaks Her Silence About "Back to You" - Page 2 - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TV Knowledge Fan · 06-25-2010, 04:09 AM

...wasn't originally intended as a Fox network series in the first place [even though they produced it, with Steven Levitan]. I recall reading an article in the TV section of the NEW YORK POST {owned by News Corp., who also owns Fox} in January 2007, announcing production of a pilot, "ACTION NEWS", starring Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton, quoting an "authority" on media who claimed it was the beginning of a resurgence of sophisticated comedy on TV, along with the fact that it was going to be offered to the major networks for the fall of '07.

First of all, the title had to be changed, because "Action News" is an actual title of many local news broadcasts across the country. Then, when Fox offered the series to CBS, NBC, and ABC, they politely turned it down [I believe their collective attitude was, "thank you very much, but we have our own sitcoms that we're producing in-house for less money than the licensing fee you're asking for, good day"]. That's when Fox realized they'd have to schedule it on their own network, or lose their investment on the whole venture (apparently, they had an agreement with Steven Levitan that 'guaranteed' "BACK TO YOU" would become a series). The only problem was, the last series he'd produced for them, Pamela Anderson's "STACKED", lasted about a year on Fox. And the format of "BACK TO YOU" was too "sophisticated" for their taste {let's face it, almost all Fox comedies are rather crude- scheduling a series like "BACK TO YOU" had the same effect as holding a wine and cheese tasting affair in the same area with a tailgate party in progress}...it just didn't "fit in". This is why Kevin Reilly was against scheduling it in the first place. But Fox executives "forced" the series onto his projected fall 2007 schedule. And I knew it wasn't going to last beyond one season....

stevea · 06-28-2010, 03:50 PM

You knew they were in trouble when the changed Gracies.

Mr. Television · 06-28-2010, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevea

You knew they were in trouble when the changed Gracies.

Yea I agree and I was totally against that. The problem with BTY was the fact that Fox never really wanted it. They'd rather have classic sitcoms like Til Death and Brothers.

Auntie · 06-30-2010, 10:24 AM

I'm not surprised. You know how politically correct these networks are (rolls eye)

06-25-2010, 04:09 AM	#16
TV Knowledge Fan Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 29, 2006 Location: Long Branch, N.J. Posts: 2,577	"BACK TO YOU"... ...wasn't originally intended as a Fox network series in the first place [even though they produced it, with Steven Levitan]. I recall reading an article in the TV section of the NEW YORK POST {owned by News Corp., who also owns Fox} in January 2007, announcing production of a pilot, "ACTION NEWS", starring Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton, quoting an "authority" on media who claimed it was the beginning of a resurgence of sophisticated comedy on TV, along with the fact that it was going to be offered to the major networks for the fall of '07. First of all, the title had to be changed, because "Action News" is an actual title of many local news broadcasts across the country. Then, when Fox offered the series to CBS, NBC, and ABC, they politely turned it down [I believe their collective attitude was, "thank you very much, but we have our own sitcoms that we're producing in-house for less money than the licensing fee you're asking for, good day"]. That's when Fox realized they'd have to schedule it on their own network, or lose their investment on the whole venture (apparently, they had an agreement with Steven Levitan that 'guaranteed' "BACK TO YOU" would become a series). The only problem was, the last series he'd produced for them, Pamela Anderson's "STACKED", lasted about a year on Fox. And the format of "BACK TO YOU" was too "sophisticated" for their taste {let's face it, almost all Fox comedies are rather crude- scheduling a series like "BACK TO YOU" had the same effect as holding a wine and cheese tasting affair in the same area with a tailgate party in progress}...it just didn't "fit in". This is why Kevin Reilly was against scheduling it in the first place. But Fox executives "forced" the series onto his projected fall 2007 schedule. And I knew it wasn't going to last beyond one season....

06-30-2010, 10:24 AM	#19
Auntie Member Forum Regular Join Date: Mar 08, 2005 Posts: 1,001	I'm not surprised. You know how politically correct these networks are (rolls eye)
	__________________ "IN GOD WE TRUST" "ONE NATION UNDER GOD" "GOD BLESS AMERICA"atriot:

06-28-2010, 03:50 PM	#17
stevea 22 Years On Sitcoms Moderator Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 13, 2003 Location: Indy Posts: 44,357	You knew they were in trouble when the changed Gracies.