Fox Entertainment president Kevin Reilly made news around a lot of his network's shows on Sunday, when he met with TV critics to preview the second half of the 2011-2012 season and answer questions about a lot of the network's shows. While Glee fans got to puzzle over the news that there won't be a spin-off of the show, and Rachel, Finn and Kurt will be back even after graduation, fans of lower-rated FOX shows like Terra Nova, House and Fringe were handed less good news. While Reilly didn't explicitly say that any would be cancelled, his refusal to discuss them wasn't a good sign-- and when it comes to Fringe, he didn't mince words about the reasons the network might want to cancel it. Here's what he said, via USA Today:
It's an expensive show, we lose a lot of money on the show, and at that rating on that night it's impossible to make money, and we're in the business of making money.
Regarding House, he said "it's hard to imagine the network without it," but acknowledged that the network had planned on this being the last season, and they were still in meetings to decide whether or not this was the end. Either way, "it's not going to be an unceremonious finish," so you don't have to worry about House's adventures cutting off without a satisfying conclusion. And Reilly seemed even more optimistic about Terra Nova, which hasn't been officially renewed and which Reilly acknowledged had its problems early in its run: "There were a lot of chefs in the kitchen, that did make it a bit of a challenge, and I wish it was creatively more consistent." But citing the show's popularity overseas, Reilly seemed to at least think Terra Nova could potentially live to see another season.
With a lot of hit shows to juggle, it's not surprising that Fox would be a little more mercenary with their lower-rated programs-- if Terra Nova were on NBC, it would inevitably be good to go. But it's apparently not too late to save any of them-- Reilly specifically said he couldn't handle another letter-writing campaign on behalf of Fringe, but hey, if it worked once, it can work again. Get that ire up and save these shows!
