Fox puts 'Joe' on the line

By Greg Braxton

May 16, 2003 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

Fox is facing its rival’s “Fear,” resurrecting unscripted powerhouse “Joe Millionaire” this fall to do battle with NBC’s gross-out “Fear Factor” in what will should be the “reality” showdown of the fall season.

Although network executives had earlier acknowledged that the premise of “Joe Millionaire” -- a construction worker posing as a wealthy bachelor to several single women looking for a suitor -- was a stunt that would be difficult to repeat, Fox will use a new edition of the series as a double-edged sword: to hurt the popular “Fear Factor” and provide a potent lead-in to a new Fox drama dealing with the adult film industry.

Earlier Thursday, UPN unveiled a fall lineup heavy with comedies, including one produced by actor Will Smith and his actress wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

Fox’s Monday-night pairing of “Joe Millionaire” and “Skin,” from blockbuster film producer Jerry Bruckheimer, was a highlight of the new Fox schedule unveiled Thursday in New York on the final day of “upfront” presentations to advertisers. The network also announced it would add two other new dramas and four new comedies to its prime-time lineup.

Fox Entertainment President Gail Berman declined to discuss specifics of the new “Joe Millionaire,” which will air at 8 p.m. Mondays, an hour earlier than its first version. “We are keeping it under wraps,” she said.

“Joe Millionaire” was a pop cultural and ratings bonanza for Fox, and has helped make the network a contender for the coveted 18-49 demographic crown now owned by NBC.

The only detail provided by Fox Television Entertainment Group Chairman Sandy Grushow was that “the butler will definitely be back.”

Meanwhile, Berman defended “Skin,” described as a “Romeo and Juliet” concept revolving around the children of a porn-industry kingpin and the district attorney investigating him. She called the drama a “rich, character-driven” series.

“We’re not going to have the show live in that world,” Berman said, referring to the adult film industry. “It will live in the world I’m comfortable with, which is character, character, character. It will be provocative in nature, but we are a broadcaster.” “Skin” stars D.J. Cotrona, Olivia Wilde, Rachel Ticotin, Ron Silver and Kevin Anderson.

With the scheduling of “Joe Millionaire” and “Skin,” “Boston Public” will move from Mondays to Fridays, where it will be preceded by “Wanda at Large” and a new comedy, “Luis,” starring Luis Guzman, as owner of a Spanish Harlem doughnut shop.

The phenomenally successful “American Idol” will return in January, following summer and fall installments of a youth-oriented version, “American Juniors.” “American Idol” gave significant ratings assists to second-year series “24” and “Bernie Mac,” both of which are returning to the schedule.

Other new Fox comedies include “A Minute With Stan Hooper,” starring Norm MacDonald as a successful news commentator in Manhattan who moves to a small town; “The Ortegas,” about a young man who hosts a talk show in his parents’ backyard; and “Arrested Development,” starring Jason Bateman as a widower pestered by his eccentric family. Returning to the schedule on Sundays at 7 p.m. is “Oliver Beene.”

In addition to “Skin,” the new Fox dramas are “The O.C.,” about a troubled young man who moves to a harbor-front community in Orange County, and “Tru Calling,” starring Eliza Dushku as a morgue employee with the uncanny ability to relive days.

Canceled Fox shows include “John Doe,” “Fastlane,” “Andy Richter Controls the Universe” and “Firefly.” Berman said that the futuristic “Firefly” combined too many genres for it to connect with audiences, but that creator Joss Whedon was developing a feature based on the series.

In UPN’s presentation to advertisers, the network announced that it would attempt to fill the void left from next week’s departure of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” by adding a second night of comedy on Tuesday to its successful Monday African American comedy block.

The slate of new UPN comedies will include the Smiths’ “All of Us,” inspired by their domestic adventures.

The network will move “One on One,” the most highly watched comedy among African American viewers, from Mondays to Tuesdays at 8 p.m. as a lead-in for “All of Us.” The other new Tuesday comedies are “Rock Me Baby,” starring Dan Cortese as an outrageous “shock jock” confronted with parenthood, and “The Mullets,” about two blue-collar brothers with identical mullet haircuts.

Joining the Monday-night lineup is “The Opposite Sex,” starring rapper Eve as a single woman engaged in the battle of the sexes. UPN’s sole new drama is “Jake 2.0,” about a computer technician who develops superhuman powers and becomes a secret agent for the National Security Agency.

Gone from the UPN schedule are “The Twilight Zone,” “Haunted” and “Platinum.”

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Prime-time schedules

New shows are in bold; existing shows with new time periods are in italic.

Fox’s fall lineup

Sunday: “Oliver Beene,” “King of the Hill,” “The Simpsons,” “The Ortegas,” “Malcolm in the Middle,” “Arrested Development”

Monday: “Joe Millionaire,” “Skin”

Tuesday: “American Juniors,” “24”

Wednesday: “That ‘70s Show,” “A Minute With Stan Hooper,” “Bernie Mac,” “Cedric the Entertainer Presents”

Thursday: “Tru Calling,” “The O.C.”

Friday: “Wanda at Large,” “Luis,” “Boston Public”

Saturday: “Cops,” “America’s Most Wanted: America Fights Back”