Files's Future Clouds Fox's Comeback
Wednesday, January 12, 2000
Formerly foxy Fox, which had a fall season from hell, wants you to know that it is on the
comeback trail —
but the truth may not be out there when the cavalry arrives to rescue the under-performing
network.
We're talking, of course, about The X-Files, a hit show whose future is in doubt. "We
still don't know
whether it will be back for an eighth season," Sandy Grushow, chairman, Fox
Television Entertainment Group,
told reporters in Pasadena, CA, at the semi-annual TV critics press tour. "We would
love to have The X-Files
back and we're currently in discussions with Mr. [David] Duchovny's representatives and
[series honcho]
Chris Carter. Right now its chances [of returning] are no better than 50/50."
Can the show continue without Duchovny, who is making loud rumblings about his desire to
leave the
franchise? "Our agenda is to get the show back with him in it, but the decision to
continue the show
[without Duchovny] rests with Chris Carter," Grushow added. "A decision [on the
show's future] is about a
month away, so we are close. If there is no eighth season, we want to send this show out
in an
appropriate way."
Earlier in the session, Grushow admitted that 1999 was a "pretty challenging,
dissatisfying year" for Fox,
and that the network's "over-reliance on and over-saturation of [reality programming]
bit us on our
Fox behind. We've met the enemy, and the enemy is us... [but] I do believe that with a lot
of hard work,
patience and persistence, it is possible to turn it around."
Helping Fox turn its beat around are drama-series deals with sci-fi author Michael
Crichton, who created
the monster hit ER, and David E. Kelley, who just signed a long-term first-look deal with
the network.
"The light is still on [at Fox]," Doug Herzog, President of Entertainment, Fox
Broadcasting Company,
reminded reporters, adding that, "'Beleaguered' is not part of my official
title."— Jonathan Reiner