Preview: Fall Upfronts Starting Next Week

The American broadcast nextworks are preparing for this Monday's start of the fall upfront meetings, during which they will announce their new TV schedules. For UPN, this will include the announcement of a new show to accompany Enterprise.

NBC will kick off the upfront season on Monday, followed a day later by the WB and ABC, and on Wednesday by PAX and CBS. UPN will presents its new programming on Thursday, the same day as FOX. Unlike at some other networks, UPN's schedule is expected to remain relatively stable, with programming changes likely only needed in one half-hour of the Monday sitcom block and on Tuesdays and Wednesdays after Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Enterprise.

There are several series in development at UPN that might air after Enterprise next year, according to the Futon Critic. Three of the more likely contenders seem to be The Haunted, a show about a man who comes back from the death and solves crimes with the help of a number of ghosts, The Legacy, dealing with a man who inherits a wristwatch that makes him a superhero, and finally a remake of the old Twilight Zone series. The main challenge for any new show will be to hold on to a substantial portion of the large Enterprise audience, something at which Special Unit 2 failed miserably earlier this year.

Important for Enterprise will also be the shows the other networks decide to air in the Wednesday 8pm timeslot, where Enterprise will presumably also still air next year. Networks on which a change seems possible include NBC, where the LAPD drama Boomtown has been rumoured to air in the Ed timeslot next year, and FOX, whose That '80s Show has been performing very badly and may not be back next year.

Full details of UPN's schedule will become available on Thursday.

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