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CNN Live Today

Fall TV Lineup

Aired September 08, 2003 - 10:49   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "COUPLING")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's over between us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You want us to split up?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't accept.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: The fall television season is just about to heat up, and the networks are beginning to roll out their fall lineup. This week's "TV Guide" gives us a preview of what to expect and what you can see, and what you might like more importantly.

Joining us from New York, Lisa Bernhard, senior editor with "TV Guide."

Lisa, always good to have you with us.

LISA BERNHARD, SENIOR EDITOR, "TV GUIDE": Thanks. Good to see you, Daryn.

KAGAN: We're going to blow through as many of these we can...

BERNHARD: OK.

KAGAN: ... starting with that clip we just saw, "Coupling." There have been a lot of promos for this throughout the summer. I'm trying to like this. I haven't seen a single promo that captures my imagination.

BERNHARD: Yes. You know, NBC is desperate to replace "Friends. You know, this is the last season of "Friends," and this is the next thing to come along. It's based on a British hit. It has six singles. It's kind of like a raunchier "Friends." You know what? It looks like it has promise, but I think what it's missing at this point is the heart.

KAGAN: Yes.

BERNHARD: Because "Friends" really has heart to it. And I think if it puts people off at this point or for the first few episodes, it's got to really find a heart to it. It has, you know, a beautiful cast, as we can see. It's got a lot of one-liners. It's raunchy. I was shocked at some of the things they got away with on the pilot on network television.

KAGAN: Really?

BERNHARD: So, we'll see how it does. NBC Thursdays at 9:30.

KAGAN: Let's see if CBS is going to do better in a sitcom category. "Two and a Half Men."

BERNHARD: I like "Two and a Half Men." You know, Charlie Sheen has really got his comedy chops going.

KAGAN: Really?

BERNHARD: Coming off of -- you know, coming off of "Spin City," he was a little stiff on that show at first. This is about two brothers, and Charlie Sheen is Charlie Sheen, basically. He's a womanizing guy, as we know him to be. And this is John Pryor, who is a veteran of sitcoms. His marriage has just ended, and he's got a little son, and he moves in with his womanizing brother. It is on the CBS Monday comedy lineup with "Raymond." I think it's got hit all over it.

KAGAN: All right, we will look for that. How about "A Minute With Stan Hooper?" That one is going to be on Fox.

BERNHARD: That's going to be on Fox. That story, Norm MacDonald, audiences will remember Norm from "Saturday Night Live." He's basically a Charles Curalt (ph) kind of a guy, who does a segment on a new show called "A Minute With Stan Hooper," where he's very kind of middle American, and he talks about things that are on his mind.

He leaves the big city. He moves out to a small town. This is when he arrives in that small town. And he thinks he's going to be this big star, and he's really just another small-town guy, and he does his show from out there. And he realizes that small-town life is more sophisticated than he thought it was.

It's kind of middle-of-the-road comedy. It has a nice kicker twist at the end of the pilot. I think it's a very family-friendly kind of a show.

KAGAN: And just quickly, we're not going to have a chance to get through the entire list, but I didn't see any reality television shows on this list. Does that mean we're finally getting away from that, or expect more of that to come our way?

BERNHARD: Well, we do have a lot of comedies and dramas, and the reality stuff that you'll see coming back are the tried and true brand names -- "Survivor," "The Bachelor," "Extreme Makeover" is a hit. That's the stuff that's really on the fall lineup. We're not seeing a lot of new stuff.

I think that the networks finally need to get some dramas and get -- you know, that have some heat and some buzz and some comedies. "Frasier" is going off the air. "Friends," as I mentioned before. They need to get some franchise shows. And, you know, we saw a lot of reality over the summer, so that really burned off over the summer.

KAGAN: I don't know if you saw our foot surgery segment, but perhaps we could get that on "Extreme Makeover," because that's a pretty extreme (UNINTELLIGIBLE) new shoes.

BERNHARD: I know. I did. That's a great idea.

KAGAN: Lisa, thank you for that. We'll look for "TV Guide" and look for the new season. Always great to have you with us.

BERNHARD: Thanks, Daryn.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.







Aired September 8, 2003 - 10:49   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "COUPLING")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's over between us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You want us to split up?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't accept.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: The fall television season is just about to heat up, and the networks are beginning to roll out their fall lineup. This week's "TV Guide" gives us a preview of what to expect and what you can see, and what you might like more importantly.

Joining us from New York, Lisa Bernhard, senior editor with "TV Guide."

Lisa, always good to have you with us.

LISA BERNHARD, SENIOR EDITOR, "TV GUIDE": Thanks. Good to see you, Daryn.

KAGAN: We're going to blow through as many of these we can...

BERNHARD: OK.

KAGAN: ... starting with that clip we just saw, "Coupling." There have been a lot of promos for this throughout the summer. I'm trying to like this. I haven't seen a single promo that captures my imagination.

BERNHARD: Yes. You know, NBC is desperate to replace "Friends. You know, this is the last season of "Friends," and this is the next thing to come along. It's based on a British hit. It has six singles. It's kind of like a raunchier "Friends." You know what? It looks like it has promise, but I think what it's missing at this point is the heart.

KAGAN: Yes.

BERNHARD: Because "Friends" really has heart to it. And I think if it puts people off at this point or for the first few episodes, it's got to really find a heart to it. It has, you know, a beautiful cast, as we can see. It's got a lot of one-liners. It's raunchy. I was shocked at some of the things they got away with on the pilot on network television.

KAGAN: Really?

BERNHARD: So, we'll see how it does. NBC Thursdays at 9:30.

KAGAN: Let's see if CBS is going to do better in a sitcom category. "Two and a Half Men."

BERNHARD: I like "Two and a Half Men." You know, Charlie Sheen has really got his comedy chops going.

KAGAN: Really?

BERNHARD: Coming off of -- you know, coming off of "Spin City," he was a little stiff on that show at first. This is about two brothers, and Charlie Sheen is Charlie Sheen, basically. He's a womanizing guy, as we know him to be. And this is John Pryor, who is a veteran of sitcoms. His marriage has just ended, and he's got a little son, and he moves in with his womanizing brother. It is on the CBS Monday comedy lineup with "Raymond." I think it's got hit all over it.

KAGAN: All right, we will look for that. How about "A Minute With Stan Hooper?" That one is going to be on Fox.

BERNHARD: That's going to be on Fox. That story, Norm MacDonald, audiences will remember Norm from "Saturday Night Live." He's basically a Charles Curalt (ph) kind of a guy, who does a segment on a new show called "A Minute With Stan Hooper," where he's very kind of middle American, and he talks about things that are on his mind.

He leaves the big city. He moves out to a small town. This is when he arrives in that small town. And he thinks he's going to be this big star, and he's really just another small-town guy, and he does his show from out there. And he realizes that small-town life is more sophisticated than he thought it was.

It's kind of middle-of-the-road comedy. It has a nice kicker twist at the end of the pilot. I think it's a very family-friendly kind of a show.

KAGAN: And just quickly, we're not going to have a chance to get through the entire list, but I didn't see any reality television shows on this list. Does that mean we're finally getting away from that, or expect more of that to come our way?

BERNHARD: Well, we do have a lot of comedies and dramas, and the reality stuff that you'll see coming back are the tried and true brand names -- "Survivor," "The Bachelor," "Extreme Makeover" is a hit. That's the stuff that's really on the fall lineup. We're not seeing a lot of new stuff.

I think that the networks finally need to get some dramas and get -- you know, that have some heat and some buzz and some comedies. "Frasier" is going off the air. "Friends," as I mentioned before. They need to get some franchise shows. And, you know, we saw a lot of reality over the summer, so that really burned off over the summer.

KAGAN: I don't know if you saw our foot surgery segment, but perhaps we could get that on "Extreme Makeover," because that's a pretty extreme (UNINTELLIGIBLE) new shoes.

BERNHARD: I know. I did. That's a great idea.

KAGAN: Lisa, thank you for that. We'll look for "TV Guide" and look for the new season. Always great to have you with us.

BERNHARD: Thanks, Daryn.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.