During the Television Critics Association Press Tour, I caught up with Kevin Reilly, Fox’s Chairman of Entertainment. After Reilly updated us on the “24: Live Another Day” miniseries, I started asking about “The Following” season 2.
With Joe Carroll’s fate tenuous at the end of the first season, I wanted to know how much James Purefoy will be involved in season two. There will presumably be flashbacks, but would his present day role be more limited?
“Kevin [Williamson] has also introduced a couple of really dynamic new characters that I think is going to give the returning fans a new flavor and twist, but Purefoy is unbelievable and he’s going to be a very big part of the show. That’s the most I can say.”
Reilly is also looking for a bump in viewership going into the second season. “I’m looking for that show to get a bounce this year. I think there’s a lot of people that heard about it. It goes on Netflix in September. I think we’ll get some catch up and I’m hoping we’re going to get even bigger.”
Some good news for “Simpsons” fans like me who have not missed an episode in 25 years. Asked about renewals and negotiations, Reilly indicated there’s “no end in sight.”
“I would anticipate ‘The Simpsons’ to be on our air for a very long time. I can’t say because we actually are in discussion with them on some things but honestly I don’t know where we are in those discussions.”
Fox also picked up an American remake of the British series “Broadchurch.” “This is not something where we need to change or improve,” said Reilly. “It’s very analogous to my experience on ‘The Office.’ That show was pitch perfect. How were you going to possibly redo it in America. Well, you change out some of the cast, you change some of the cultural touch points and it becomes its own great show with a different vibe. When you see this, it’s just extraordinary television. I love that it’s tucking in our portfolio because it does have closure at the end of the 10 hours.”
The UK “Broadchurch” is continuing, but Fox is not necessarily locked into their second season. “They are doing a subsequent season in the UK. We will finish ours. We’ll then have the luxury of seeing where they head with it in the UK and how it’s received and we can decide whether we want to go from there.”
BBC America was already very protective of spoilers for “Broadchurch.” With Fox producing a remake, they want to keep the killer’s identity guarded even longer.
“I certainly hope as you report on the original that you use some discretion,” noted Reilly. “Spoiler alerts. In the UK it became really a phenomenon of who the killer was. It’s so tightly constructed, people could not figure it out and the ending is kind of mind blowing. That’s a big part of it and hopefully we’ll keep that contained.”
