Agony of the True Believer

Topping Fox Entertainment President Peter Roth’s holiday wish list is more hope for “413 Hope St.”

And NBC Entertainment President Warren Littlefield is keeping his fingers crossed that droves of TV viewers seeking holiday cheer will finally check out “The Tony Danza Show.”

Even as the television industry breathes a sigh of relief with the conclusion of the November ratings sweeps, both programmers are feeling an edge of anxiety as they deal with this week’s return of the two struggling freshman series.

And this time, it’s personal.

Both Roth and Littlefield feel a unique attachment and commitment to the two series, which were performing so poorly in the weeks following their premieres that they were yanked off the schedule during the competitive sweeps period.

Both executives--particularly Roth--have put themselves on the front line in terms of promoting “413 Hope St.” and “Tony Danza,” but their enthusiastic endorsements have so far landed on deaf ears when it comes to the TV viewing audience. Although they are revving up the support again this week, the future of both series remains in serious doubt.

Unlike “Seinfeld,” “Homicide: Life on the Street,” “Cheers,” “Touched by an Angel” and other shows that became hits after stumbling out of the blocks, “Hope St.” and “Tony Danza” are returning without a foundation of solid approval from television critics or a groundswell of grass-roots fanfare. The two shows are also making a comeback during the busy holiday shopping season, when viewing levels traditionally drop.

“I hope it’s not too late,” Roth said in an interview last week. “I’ve spent my career supporting and screaming about shows that I truly believe in, shows that have quality and worthwhile nature. It is so frustrating when the audience doesn’t respond.”

Roth, who became head of Fox Entertainment in September 1996, after a series of executive positions at networks and production companies, added, “In the 14 months since I’ve been in this job, the single most difficult, frustrating and painful decision I’ve had to make was taking ‘Hope St.’ off the air. I’ve never loved a series that has been in so much trouble as much as I love this one.”

Littlefield expressed similar support for the “Tony Danza Show.” He had been so anxious to have the former star of “Taxi” and “Who’s the Boss?” on his network that he made a full-season commitment to the show.

“We still believe that Tony is a TV star,” he said. “What we see at this stage is a promising family comedy. We’re really going to try and draw the audience into it.”

But Littlefield cautiously added, “It’s not an unusual place for a programmer to have a feeling for a show, and the audience doesn’t immediately take to it. That is the life of a broadcaster. It goes with the territory. And if you can’t tolerate that situation, you’re in the wrong job.”

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Two former network entertainment heads, Ted Harbert and Peter Tortorici, feel their pain.

Harbert, a former ABC Entertainment president who is now an executive at DreamWorks, said he is still stung by the failure of 1994’s “My So-Called Life,” starring Claire Danes as an insecure teenager. The drama was named by several critics as the best new series of the year, but it failed to attract a large audience despite a campaign by devoted viewers and continued pleadings from Harbert.

“I still have passion for ‘My So-Called Life,’ and it is one of my biggest disappointments that I wasn’t able to make it a hit,” Harbert said. “There are those shows that you put on that you don’t have a personal investment in. When something comes along where you do have that investment, but it doesn’t hit, it’s like hitting your head against the wall. When you have to give up, the reality is painful.”

Added Tortorici, a former CBS Entertainment president who is now a producer at the Carsey-Werner Co.: “Some of the best shows never would have survived without the passion of a programmer who believed in them when the numbers said that was a crazy thing to do. ‘Seinfeld,’ ‘Northern Exposure’ and other shows have succeeded because of the time, patience and commitment that can only come from passion.”

Tortorici recalls his own passion about a 1992 CBS comedy, “Frannie’s Turn,” about a spunky seamstress. “I thought it was real funny and nobody else around me did,” he said. “I felt it was funny and special at its heart.”

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When “413 Hope St.” was launched last September, Roth compared the show to “ER,” calling it the best drama he had seen in years. One of the few dramas in recent years to feature a predominantly African American cast, “Hope St.” revolves around an urban youth center in New York City.

Not only did Roth continue to praise the gritty series in interviews, he also visited Tom Joyner’s nationally syndicated urban radio show to talk about it, a highly unusual measure for a network entertainment chief. He said he felt the series needed added awareness, since it was going up against NBC’s blockbuster Thursday lineup and was replacing Fox’s “New York Undercover,” which had been TV’s most popular series among African Americans.

Despite his efforts, viewers stayed away.

Roth cited several reasons for the lack of response to “Hope St.,” putting most of the blame on NBC’s dynamic duo of “Seinfeld” and “Veronica’s Closet.” He had hoped that “Hope St.” would at least equal the ratings for “New York Undercover,” but they fell far below.

“Clearly, the broad-based audience was not willing to embrace it,” Roth said. “Maybe it was too dark or too gritty. There was a lot going against it coming in.”

“Hope St.” returns to the air Thursday in its former 9 p.m. time slot. Roth said there was no place else to put it right now.

Littlefield isn’t taking that chance with “The Tony Danza Show.” He has moved it from its original slot at 8 p.m. Wednesday to 8:30 p.m., sandwiching it for a while between episodes of “3rd Rock From the Sun” in hopes that it will finally catch on.

Said Littlefield: “You have to make bets on the things you believe in--and hopefully have some patience.”

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* “The Tony Danza Show” airs Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. on NBC (Channel 4). “413 Hope St.” airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on Fox (Channel 11).

* NBC SWEPT AWAY: CBS’ big November bumps NBC down a Nielsen notch. F2