Fox's Reilly talks fall pilots, '24,' 'Target,' Cowell

THR: What are your biggest needs this year, development-wise?

Kevin Reilly, president of entertainment, Fox: Comedy. We lost our toehold on live-action comedy. I give ABC a lot of credit for getting that block going, but they threw a lot at it to get there. It's hard to create these out of whole cloth on their own when you don't have protection. And secondly, we were fighting a down cycle for a number of years where there just wasn't a lot of comedy working. There's signs of life there; everyone has talked about the cyclical nature of the business for a long time. I actually believe we're about to go into a bull market in comedy, and there's no reason why Fox can't win in that area. And I think we have some excellent stuff cooking, certainly the best stuff I've seen since I've been here at Fox. We're going to be back in business with it, and we're going to schedule accordingly to protect it.

THR: Based on what's working and what didn't for broadcast this season, what are some take-away lessons for developing for next season?

Reilly: The most exciting thing about network television this year is we've had unlikely successes. I think shows that had some ambition and some integrity did well, and that's from "Glee" to "Modern Family" to "Big Bang Theory" -- these are offbeat shows that are either coming in or going to the next level and found footing in competitive places. Network television in general has proven to be very, very resilient -- from "American Idol" holding its ratings this year for the most part and creatively being very strong to the Super Bowl numbers to sports in general having been incredible this year with the playoffs, the World Series, people coming back to live events. It seems this put some stability into the media landscape this year. I feel that after many years of digital encroachment, ever-shrinking universe and more and more cable proliferation that the audience showed up for new shows and network TV had some good stories to tell.

THR: You've got a few action titles in development. TV skews female. What's the secret to making action work in primetime?

Reilly: It is a tricky thing, but Fox is one of the only networks that's made it work. If you can bring the men and not turn off the women, it's a little tougher road to hoe, but when it works, its hugely effective. The first secret is you're not going to succeed with men alone; they're too fickle, so you better have a very appealing guy like Mark Valley or Kiefer Sutherland, and you better find some emotion there beyond just the action.

THR: How many new comedy and drama series are you planning to pick up?

Reilly: I'm liking four one-hour pilots. We've also continued to do this year-round, and we're in series production for the summer. We've ordered an animated show for next year in "Bob's Burgers," and at the same token, we're looking to potentially go more off a series cap on the development side. So the bottom line is, there are no rules. There were a lot of declarations made, particularly during the strike, about the way things were going to change. Some of the biggest mouths during that declaration have slowly gotten back into the traditional business. I think we just come out of it saying the traditional business, the traditional pilots, are one way, but we've maintained and continued to want to be aggressive about year-round development; we think it works for us. And that means not only developing year-round but really programming year-round.

THR: There's been a lot of rumors about "24" this season. You've got a sense of the ratings so far, what's the call?

Reilly: It's a very tough call. It's a huge part of our legacy, and there's not a lot of shows that could do a 9 share against the Olympics. Tremendous sales asset for us still; a show we're so very proud of creatively. So it's not an easy call.

THR: What's the latest on replacing Simon Cowell? Have any of the rumored contenders been close?

Reilly: No. There's just all sorts of conjecture out there, but I can tell you there's been some interesting dialogue and interesting names. There's going to be some very interesting developments on that front.

THR: Cowell's whole emphasis was that this needs to be someone with huge experience in the music industry rather than just a big name. Do you agree with that?

Reilly: I just want to say credibility is going to be very important to us. That's going to be important to maintain.

THR: I'm digging Human Target," but its ratings seem very on the fence.

Reilly: Unfortunately, our launch got all dumbed up on that. We started by getting screwed on the big football lead-in we were supposed to have on the launch night, then we had to double play it, and then the president bumped us from the time period. It was really all over the place the first four weeks. I keep hearing people say they like it, and I have my hunches that it's settling at 8 and is going to get hit by daylight-savings time, so I don't think the story is going to be in the numbers. But by the end of that run, we may end up with the perception that this is kind of an overperformer. I've believed from the get-go that there's something there, so that's a show I'd like to bring back next year.

THR: What about "Lie to Me"?

Reilly: It's already ordered a back nine; we'll have 11 or so episodes left to air. We'll pair it with another show for an original block of something and probably extend it into next summer. I already see that being a player next fall.

THR: Any thoughts in terms of the future of "The Wanda Sykes Show"? Is it likely to continue?

Reilly: It's too early right now. I think on the good-news side, we continue to love Wanda on our air, and there has been an audience showing up for it. These things are always a work-in-progress. There have been laughs every week, and Wanda's been great; I'd love to see her stay around.

THR: Scripted block on Thursdays, here to stay?

Reilly: Yes, absolutely. I'm really looking at the back half of the year when we'll bring the combo back on again. "Bones" hit highs in January. People haven't abandoned "Fringe"; it's just the only scripted four-way race, and frankly we've heard from fans it's not they don't want to watch it anymore, it just may have moved to their second choice; they're picking it up on their DVRs or Hulu. When there's wiggle room in time period, they come back.

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