Fox made its first wave of pilot pickups Wednesday, ordering five projects to series for next season and renewing modestly rated bubble shows “Lie to Me” and “Human Target.”
The network has greenlighted Shawn Ryan’s latest police drama “RideAlong” and Texas-set drama “Midland” (now likely called “Lone Star”) as well as single-camera comedies “Traffic Light,” “Keep Hope Alive” and “Wilde Kingdom.”
With fewer hours to program than the other major broadcast networks, the moves fill a fair portion of Fox’s slots for next season and set the stage for the network launching a live-action comedy block.
“RideAlong” is set in Chicago and follows a rogue cowboy cop and the city’s first female police chief as they try to clean up the streets. “Midland” is a dramatic soap about a con man in the oil industry.
Greg Garcia’s single-parent half-hour “Keep Hope Alive” and the male-relationship comedy “Traffic Light” had been front-runners for pickups and are expected to represent at least a one-hour comedy block on the network’s fall schedule. Mitch Hurwitz’s “Wilde Kingdom” had been a runner-up candidate; it stars Will Arnett (who also co-wrote the pilot) as a Beverly Hills jerk who falls in love with a charitable, tree-hugging woman who can’t stand his lifestyle or values.
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The network also is set to renew “Lie” for a third season even though Ryan is departing as showrunner. “Target” will get a second season as Matt Miller (“Chuck”) takes over as showrunner (first-season showrunner Jonathan Steinberg continues as an executive producer).
“Lie” and “Target” are expected to get 13 episodes. All the shows are produced by 20th Century Fox TV except “Wilde” (Lionsgate and Tantamount) and “Target” (Warner Bros.).
