"Terra Nova:" To be or not to be? I'd bet on the "to be" right now, given Fox Entertainment chief Kevin Reilly's comments at TCA Sunday.
It's "hunting" creatively, he said. Interesting choice of words, and certainly superior to "hurting creatively."
But here's the key kicker: It's made money for Fox, thanks to overseas deals. And I can assure you, that then when a show "is making money" for a network, the only goal left is to figure out how it can make more money.
"Terra Nova," in other words, is on the right side of the ledger. "Fringe," alas, is not. Wonderful as "Fringe" is, Reilly said it's losing a lot of money for the network. Those words alone mean we should all prepare ourselves for a two-hour finale this May.
It's not always easy to parse the meaning of network presidential statements at TCA tours -- so bound and determined are they to not make headlines but instead create an overall atmosphere of feel-good spin that nonetheless doesn't sound like feel-good spin. But reporters want to know about fates and fortunes; network chiefs don't want them to know about fates and fortunes. (Other than "Allen Gregory's" -- gone forever, confirmed Reilly.)
But Reilly's musings on "Terra Nova" were also made for the benefit of the show-runners, and all the people they need to hire, or keep on the payroll, if this major undertaking is to continue. And everything he said Sunday -- at least what I can glean from published comments -- says there is a future next fall for this worthy show. That's good news.
i am not a Number i am a free man
The Truth is Out There,
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