Whedon, Abrams, and Hurwitz Fox Pilots

3rd\SE Quadrant The Approval Matrix

Fox just released its 2008-09 schedule, which has relatively few new shows (two for the fall, a few more in the winter/spring) but includes sci-fi-ish offerings from two producers with a couple of TV's most feverish fanbases: J. J. Abrams' Fringe (for fall) and Joss Whedon's Dollhouse (for midseason). All that, and a Mitch Hurwitz animated comedy [SIT DOWN, SHUT UP] for the spring.

FRINGE (Tuesdays, 9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT): From J.J. Abrams (“Lost”), ... comes a new drama that will thrill, terrify and explore the blurring line between science fiction and reality. When an international flight lands at Boston’s Logan Airport and the passengers and crew have all died grisly deaths, FBI Special Agent OLIVIA DUNHAM is called in to investigate. After her partner, Special Agent JOHN SCOTT, is nearly killed during the investigation, a desperate Olivia searches frantically for someone to help, leading her to DR. WALTER BISHOP, our generation’s Einstein. There’s only one catch: he’s been institutionalized for the last 20 years, and the only way to question him requires pulling his estranged son PETER in to help. When Olivia’s investigation leads her to manipulative corporate executive NINA SHARP, our unlikely trio along with fellow FBI Agents PHILLIP BROYLES , CHARLIE FRANCIS and ASTRID FARNSWORTH will discover that what happened on Flight 627 is only a small piece of a larger, more shocking truth.

DO NOT DISTURB (working title) (Wednesdays, 9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT): DO NOT DISTURB (working title) is a hilarious workplace comedy set at one of New York City’s hottest and hippest hotels: The Inn. Named one of the Big Apple’s “10 Best Places to Stay,” The Inn is just that – the “in” place to be, with its chic décor, stylish staff and celebrity clientele. Behind the scenes, however, the upstairs/downstairs dynamic tells quite a different story.

SIT DOWN, SHUT UP (Sundays, 8:30-9:00 PM ET/PT): From Emmy Award-winning writer Mitchell Hurwitz (“Arrested Development”) ... comes SIT DOWN, SHUT UP, an animated comedy that focuses on the lives of eight staff members at a high school in a small northeastern fishing town (Go Baiters!) who never lose sight of the fact that the children must ALWAYS come second. We watch them grapple with their own egos, needs and personal agendas, their petty insecurities and prejudices, unrequited loves, and ruthless battles for power – and that’s just at the staff meeting. -- Tuned In\Time