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'Fringe,' British accents and weak comedy: Notes from FOX's press tour
A few notes from FOX's day at the Television Critics Association press tour, wherein we discuss a British actor actually playing British, the state of the network's live-action comedy and, to kick things off, the return of Fringe next week.
Fringe will return to the schedule next week with a big, shiny lead-in in American Idol, which will presumably deliver more than a few new viewers to the show, which has been hovering around the 9 million-viewer mark with most of its new episodes. People who are already fans, though, won't have to sit through a re-introduction of the series.
"We're not going to do anything really conceptually," FOX Entertainment president Kevin Reilly says, noting that people can catch up with it at the network's web site and Hulu. "I think they've really found the storytelling model now, interestingly, and it's kind of a sleight of hand. I think we're going to see in the second half of the year [that] if you follow the show week to week, you will not be disappointed on the serialized through-lines, and yet the stories do reset themselves each week."
Because of the somewhat higher bar for entry, Reilly doesn't expect Fringe's ratings to explode when it's paired with Idol. "But I do expect it to have a little bit of a tick up to the next level." Ratings aside, though, he calls Fringe "a keeper" and thinks the show has found "a great groove."
Let Tim be Tim
Unlike his network counterpart Hugh Laurie -- and Kevin McKidd on Grey's Anatomy, Aussie Simon Baker on The Mentalist and Irishman Jason O'Mara on Life on Mars, among others -- the London-born Tim Roth gets to use his native accent in FOX's new series Lie to Me. The explanation is both simple and fairly nuanced.
First, the simple part: "Tim said, 'I want to be British.' And we said, 'OK,'" executive producer Steven Maeda says.
And now the more nuanced bit, with Roth explaining why he didn't want to take on the additional burden of doing an American accent: "I've done dialects a lot, and I know the work that goes into it and that you have to get pretty specific to convince some people that that's where you're from. ... So my feeling was it's the kind of character that you've got to be really flexible with and play around with and it has to be -- you have to be really light on your feet when you're doing him. And to have the added weight on you of trying to get the accent right would just be a waste of time."
Executive producer David Nevins also thinks viewers will be just fine with Roth's accent. "I think audiences are more comfortable with the British accent than we give them credit for," he says, citing FOX stars Simon Cowell and Gordon Ramsay. "[The character] doesn't have to be American, and we can work it into his backstory. So I think it makes perfect sense.
"And," he adds with a smile, "Americans think that a British accent makes you smart, and since he's a scientist ..."
Does anybody remember laughter?
FOX is beginning 2009 with no live-action comedies on its schedule, and although 'Til Death will be back at some point, there aren't any immediate plans for it to go on the air. The network's Sunday animation block is still doing fine, but Reilly is probably understating when he says the network is "rebuilding the live-action brand."
"We're down to a very low pulse level, I think, on the live-action comedy brand," he says. "It's very, very tough when you lose your blocks and you lose your protection."
Reilly says he admires the way CBS has maintained and even grown its Monday comedy block this season. He says FOX probably won't make any aggressive moves with live-action comedy "until we have a show that can either fire up a time period and we can spend a lot of money marketing it or we find a show that will be compatible behind Idol or a show that can be launched out of our animation block ... and then move."
Reilly also wants to get back to the idea of "FOX comedy," which he describes as "something that's a little bit bold, and it's got a point of view."
"We're not going to just sort of loft them down the middle," he says. "We have made some very good shows the last couple years that seemed to speak to a broader audience, and for whatever reason the FOX audience didn't embrace them. So we're going to go out and try to hit that nerve again."
Yeah I think it's much better to have Tim Roth keep it British. When I saw the first promo I was very happy. They probably could have written The Mentalist in such a way that Simon baker could have been an Aussie (His late wife was American so he moved his career to the States) but oh well. Ironically whenever he says 'Stay tuned for scenes from our next episode' he speaks normally which is how we realized he was Aussie
Ryan O'Brien | Jan 14, 2009 10:01:44 AM | #And don't forget Yvonne Strahovski from "Chuck". I didn't realize she was an Aussie until I saw her promos.
Of course, I wouldn't care if she was from Jupiter, I'd watch her any chance I got.
I'm on the fence about "Lie to Me". I'll check it out, though, because I need to fill the hole that "Pushing Daisies" departure has left.
El Brando | Jan 14, 2009 10:35:49 AM | #I am more than happy at least one actor gets to keep their accent instead of going for an American accent. I've never had a problem understanding Brits or Aussies and it would make for a more diversity within a show. I just wish more shows would do this.
Barb | Jan 14, 2009 2:45:04 PM | #I'm a Brit and I started a list of Brits and Aussies who are in US tv shows the other day. Hugh Laurie, Jonny Lee Miller, Linus Roach, Lena Headey, Anna Friel, Minnie Driver, Eddie Izzard, Parminda Nagra, Jamie Bamber, Dominic West, Ashley Jensen
Then the Aussies: Simon Baker, Anna Torv, Julian McMahon, Rachel Griffith, Yvonna Strahovski, John Noble, Lucy Lawless (Kiwi!) Toni Colette
Probably more I've forgotten..
Most of these do their shows with American accents too. Can you all tell? Are they convincing to US ears?
Cath | Jan 14, 2009 3:07:05 PM | #I think FOX needs to put HOUSE on at 9 p.m. again.
I'm FROM New Jersey, and I didn't know Hugh was British when I watched the first episode of HOUSE.
I was mesmerized by Hugh's AMAZING talent from the very first episode.
How he does what he does week after week, year after year, is beyond me, but I appreciate it more than he will ever know.
When Hugh acts, an angel gets it's wings.
WE LOVE YOU, HUGH!!
I watched the Lie To Me pilot the other day, and it was much better than I thought it would be. Wasn't as procedural as I expected, and had a bit of a Bones feel to it.
Wungleboo | Jan 15, 2009 4:41:32 AM | #Grace: Some of us knew.
Google "Jeeves & Wooster".
Ishkabibble | Jan 15, 2009 2:53:50 PM | #i hate the writers of fringe. theyve taken an amazingly well written story and placed in a horrible female lead. the other actors are intriguing but the female lead is just so bad i cant bear to watch :(
disaapoined | Jan 15, 2009 5:29:05 PM | #cath, the shows like eli stone, house,the mentalist all have british leads and i didn't know till i saw them on jay leno or in interviews and coincidentally they are all my fav shows.
c | Jan 15, 2009 5:30:46 PM | #What about T:SCC and House!!!!
13 Rocks.
13 fan | Jan 15, 2009 10:19:45 PM | #Don't forget Damian Lewis (plays Charlie Crews on "Life") - brilliant Brit actor (see tne Forsyte Saga - an outstanding mini-series on PBS Masterpiece, I think, a few years ago)
Used to be Brit actors rarely could do American accents very well well (exception: Peter Sellers, Lawrence Olivier) - now there seems to be lots who can. Probably more exposure ...
PGBinNB | Jan 16, 2009 12:45:57 PM | #Almost forgot - since we're talking about the British Commonwealth (UK, Australia, New Zealand) actors, how's about a shout-out to all those Canadians - nearly every show seems to have its "designated Canadaian" in starring (Kiefer) or supporting roles (too many to mention!) Canadians were all over Season 1 of "24" for example.
Maybe not worth mentioning because "we sound just like Americans" anyway (?)
Sure is cold today, eh?
PGBinNB | Jan 16, 2009 12:56:14 PM | #
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