Fox, CBS: Seven New Series Each

By BRIAN LOWRY

May 16, 2002 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Both Fox and CBS have finalized fall prime-time lineups featuring seven new series, with Fox seeking to fill gaps left by the departure of “Ally McBeal” and “The X-Files” while CBS rolls the dice with an hour of comedy Sundays after “60 Minutes” and a spinoff of “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” to follow its popular Monday sitcom block.

Fox, which presents its schedule today to advertisers in New York, is coming off a disappointing season ratings-wise. The network will seek to replace the long-running “X-Files” by transforming Sunday into an all-comedy night, with two new live-action shows joining “Malcolm in the Middle” and the animated trio of “Futurama,” “The Simpsons” and “King of the Hill.”

As for “Ally,” “Girls Club,” from “Ally” creator David E. Kelley, about three young female attorneys in San Francisco, is charged with supplanting the producer’s previous creation, paired with Kelley’s returning “Boston Public.”

The new Fox comedies are “Oliver Beene,” about a dysfunctional family during the Cold War; “The Grubbs,” starring Randy Quaid as a blue-collar dad; and “The Cedric Show,” a sketch comedy featuring Cedric the Entertainer, best-known for “The Steve Harvey Show” and a series of beer commercials. The last will follow “The Bernie Mac Show,” which slides down to 8 p.m. Wednesdays, sparing the Peabody Award-winning sitcom from competing with NBC’s “The West Wing” at 9 p.m.

That chore falls instead to “Fast Lane,” an updated buddy cop drama (it’s been called an interracial “Starsky and Hutch”) with a fast-paced visual style provided by video and “Charlie’s Angels” film director McG.

The other new hourlong shows are “John Doe,” about a man with amnesia who knows virtually everything except his own origins; and “Firefly,” a science-fiction series set aboard a spaceship, from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” creator Joss Whedon, though the prototype will reportedly undergo some serious creative revision.

“Dark Angel,” a 2-year-old sci-fi property from “Titanic” director James Cameron, failed to make the fall schedule. Fox has also canceled the first-year comedies “Greg the Bunny,” “That ‘80s Show” and “Undeclared,” as well as the longer-running “Titus.” “Andy Richter Controls the Universe,” which made its debut this spring, is expected to return as a midseason backup.

CBS, meanwhile, announced plans to add five new dramas and bridge the gap between “60 Minutes” and its Sunday movie with the new sitcom “Bram and Alice,” starring Alfred Molina, leading into the relocated “Becker,” with Ted Danson.

Moving “Becker” opens a slot for “Still Standing,” featuring Mark Addy of “The Full Monty,” on Monday nights, which CBS will close out with the spinoff “CSI: Miami.” During a press conference Wednesday, CBS Television President Leslie Moonves stated that the network would be “invincible on Monday” with “CSI” added in.

CBS will offer a new medical show from “ER” producer John Wells, “Presidio Med,” at 10 p.m. Wednesdays, opposite another new medical program, “Meds,” on ABC. The network has also moved “The Agency” from Thursdays to Saturdays in order to launch “Without a Trace,” starring Anthony LaPaglia as head of the FBI’s missing-persons unit, after “CSI,” albeit versus NBC’s still formidable “ER.”

CBS will also introduce two dramas Friday: “Hack,” starring David Morse as an ex-cop-turned-taxi-driver, which is being compared to “The Equalizer”; and “RHD/LA,” about the LAPD’s robbery-homicide unit, with Tom Sizemore. The latter comes from director Michael Mann, who dominated the 10 p.m. Friday slot in the 1980s as the producer of “Miami Vice.” The news program “48 Hours” will lead off the night, though Dan Rather will no longer host it.

Assessing the competition, Moonves said NBC had “played it conservatively,” with relatively few scheduling changes because of its success this season. Of ABC’s overhauled roster, he said, “I don’t quite know what to make of that schedule.”

Here is CBS’ fall schedule (new shows in italic):

Sunday: “60 Minutes,” “Bram and Alice,” “Becker,” Movie.

Monday: “King of Queens,” “Yes, Dear,” “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Still Standing,” “CSI: Miami.”

Tuesday: “JAG,” “The Guardian,” “Judging Amy.”

Wednesday: “60 Minutes II,” “The Amazing Race,” “Presidio Med.”

Thursday: “Survivor,” “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “Without a Trace.”

Friday: “48 Hours Investigates,” “Hack,” “RHD/LA.”

Saturday: “Touched by an Angel,” “The District,” “The Agency.”

Here is Fox’s fall schedule:

Sunday: “Futurama,” “Oliver Beene,” “The Simpsons,” “King of the Hill,” “Malcolm in the Middle,” “The Grubbs.”

Monday: “Boston Public,” “Girls Club.”

Tuesday: “That ‘70s Show,” “Grounded for Life,” “24.”