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Everybody
Hates Chris (Comedy)
Premise:
No, it's not a sitcom about negative reviews for Rock's Oscar hosting
performance. Instead, it's a darkly nostalgic look at Rock's teenage experiences
growing up in Brooklyn in the early '80s and being bused to a predominantly
white middle school.
From What We've Seen:
Think how "The Wonder Years" might have sounded if Chris Rock were the
show's narrator, and you have a sense of this very funny single-camera
comedy. Rock, who co-wrote the pilot and will narrate the series, re-creates
his early-1980s teenage years with obvious affection without being overly
sentimental. Tyler Williams is entirely believable as the young Chris,
and the rest of the cast is solid as well. UPN is placing a heavy burden
on this show by placing it in the brutally competitive 8 p.m. Thursday
spot, but if people give it a look, they could discover something really
good.
Stars:
Tyler Williams, Tichina Arnold ("Big Momma's House"), Terry Crews ("White
Chicks"), Tequan Richmond ("Ray"), Imani Hakim, Vincent Martella ("Deuce
Bigalow: European Gigolo")
Studio: Chris
Rock Enterprises, Inc. in association with Paramount Network Television
Producers: Chris
Rock, Ali LeRoi ("Head of State"), Howard Gewirtz ("Oliver Beene"), Michael
Rotenberg ("The Chris Rock Show"), Dave Becky ("The Hughleys")
Love,
Inc. (Comedy)
Premise:
Denise Johnson (Shannen Doherty) is a wingwoman, a matchmaker and dating
consultant who helps everybody around her find love. However, in a shocking
bit of irony, she has problems with her own inability to find a soulmate.
From What We've Seen:
They help people find love, but the matchmakers at Love, Inc. don't do
so hot for themselves on the relationship front. It's not exactly an original
idea, and it will face the same problem as most TV romantic comedies --
namely, that audiences grow frustrated with continued obstacles for the
show's protagonists. The cast is decent -- Holly Robinson Peete knows
from sitcoms, and Shannen Doherty, in her first sitcom, acquits herself
well -- but the overly familiar premise doesn't do them many favors.
Stars:
Shannen Doherty ("Charmed," "Beverly Hills, 90210"), Holly Robinson Peete
("For Your Love," "21 Jump Street"), Reagan Gomez-Preston ("Beauty Shop"),
Vince Vieluf ("Grind"), Ion Overman ("General Hospital")
Studio: Chase
TV, The Littlefield Company and Burg/Koules in association with Paramount
Network Television
Producers: Adam
Chase ("Friends"), Warren Littlefield ("Keen Eddie"), Mark Burg and Oren
Koules ("Two and a Half Men"), Andrew Secunda ("Late Night with Conan
O'Brien")
Sex,
Lies & Secrets (Drama)
Premise:
No, it's not a drama about Denise Richards' marriage to Charlie Sheen.
Instead it's an ensemble about a group of twentysomethings who become
a tightly knit family in the hip Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles.
From What We've Seen:
The title doesn't lie -- the clips we saw showcased a little of each of
the three things it mentions -- but it does create an unfortunate association
with Steven Soderbergh's breakout movie "sex, lies and videotape." At
first glance, the show probably won't be causing anyone to forget the
movie. The trailer emphasized style over substance, so there wasn't much
to make us interested in the characters, and a mystery element teased
in the final seconds felt both confusing and tacked-on.
Stars:
Denise Richards ("Wild Things"), Eric Balfour ("Hawaii," "The O.C.," "Six
Feet Under"), Lauren German ("The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"), Omar Miller
("Shall We Dance"), Tamara Taylor ("Diary of a Mad Black Woman"), James
Stevenson ("Hope and Faith")
Studio: Axelrod/Edwards
Company in association with Paramount Network Television
Producers: Jonathan
Axelrod, Michael Gans & Richard Register ("Celebrity Deathmatch")
South
Beach (Midseason Drama)
Premise:
Beautiful people frolic and canoodle on the beaches and in the clubs of
Miami Beach. Matt (Marcus Coloma) follows a lovely ex-girlfriend into
the world of high fashion, while Vince (Chris Johnson) uncovers the city's
dangerous underbelly.
From What We've Seen:
UPN is pitching this show as "'The O.C.' meets 'The Sopranos,'" which
sounds nice but doesn't really bear out in the clips we saw. That doesn't
mean, however, that it looks bad. There could be some potential in the
story about two friends who want to be part of the high life in Miami
and, thanks to one's obsession with an old girlfriend, get entangled with
some less-than-legitimate business dealings. On the other hand, it could
also drown in cliche.
Stars:
Marcus Coloma ("Point Pleasant"), Chris Johnson ("XXX: State of the Union"),
Lee Thompson Young ("Friday Night Lights"), Vanessa L. Williams
Studio: Nuyorican
Productions and Flame Television in association with Paramount Network
Television
Producers: Tony
Krantz ("The Bad Girl's Guide"), Jennifer Lopez ("Monster-in-Law"), Simon
Fields ("Shall We Dance?"), Philip Levens ("Smallville")
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Continuing
its relentless push for young female viewers, UPN's most audacious scheduling
move is taking "WWE Smackdown!" from its comfortable Thursday niche and
sending it off to Fridays. In its place, the network has scheduled a slate
of comedies, which it hopes will be effective counter-programming to the
big dramas and reality hits on the other networks. While Taye Diggs and
"Kevin Hill" won't be back in the fall, UPN will still have plenty of
star power, ordering shows with Denise Richards and Shannen Doherty and
"Everybody Hates Chris," a comedy produced and narrated by Chris Rock.
"America's Next Top Model" still dominates UPN's schedule and the transplanted
"Veronica Mars" will be the beneficiary of its strength.
