FUTURE FOX

Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein are the new showrunners on Sit Down, Shut Up. They are the guys who wrote some of the greatest Simpsons episodes, like Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy, $pringfield, and Who Shot Mr. Burns Part One and Two.

“Mitch (Hurwitz) wants to be in more of a supervisory role, like Ron Howard on ‘Arrested,’ ” Oakley said in Variety.

Sit Down is “extremely character based, like ‘Arrested Development,’ and has different rhythms than other animated shows like ‘The Simpsons’ or ‘King of the Hill,’” Oakley said.

Mo Willems, who created Cartoon Network’s “Sheep in the Big City,” is handling animation on the show.

Fringe’s Joshua Jackson joins the throngs of previewers by namechecking a former Fox sci-fi hit on Hollywood.com:

“In The X-Files the explanation is always that it could be real or it could be some other thing when they’re dealing with like the vampire episode or the werewolf episode•¦ but ours comes at it from the perspective that there’s a scientific explanation, but there’s so much more happening in our own physical world than what we’re seeing.”

Then he explains why a hot guy can also be intelligent on the Sci Fi Wire:

“Usually, if you’re smart, you are inert,” he said. “And if you are capable, you are a moron. Well, this character is a smart, capable person. He puts the two together, which is unfortunately not often the case. You hire the lunkhead guy to go do the stuff, and the guy with the glasses to go figure the stuff out.”

In this Variety article from when the pilot script was picked up, J.J. Abrams talks Fringe:

“So much of the story is relatable people in extraordinary situations,” Abrams said. “The show is definitely a nod to ‘Altered States’ and ‘Scanners’ and that whole Michael Crichton/Robin Cook world of medicine and science.

“It’s definitely meant to scare the hell out of you, but it’s also meant to make you laugh… It pushes all the buttons of things we loved from our childhood.”

From J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. It’s the first thing Abrams has written for TV in more than three years, since Lost. It•s also the return to television of feature darlings Kurtzman and Orci (Transformers, Star Trek).

The two-hour pilot was shot in Toronto by Alex Graves. Jeff Pinkner has been brought on the series as showrunner. He was an executive producer on Lost and a writer on two seasons of Alias.

Summary
The story centers on a tough, young female FBI agent who is forced to confront the spread of powerful and unexplained phenomena. She must work with an institutionalized research scientist whose life’s work may be at the center of the coming storm as well as the man•s estranged son.

Fringe is the name for a special division of Homeland Security that handles these terrorist/paranormal events.

No surprise that, with the involvement of Abrams, there will be a predominant mythology running through the series. Episodes will also explore self-contained mysteries as well as the relationships between the three leads. From the looks of the pilot script, there will also be a lot of humor.

Actors and Characters
Joshua Jackson is “Peter Bishop,” the son of Dr. Bishop. Peter is a high-school dropout and gambling addict with an IQ of 190.

Anna Torv is “Olivia Dunham,” an FBI Special Agent. She struggles to work with Dr. Bishop and Peter, who doesn’t get along with his father.

John Noble is •œDr. Walter Bishop,• the scientist institutionalized for the last 20 years. The brilliant scientist is a mix of Albert Einstein and Dr. Frankenstein.

Mark Valley is •œJohn Scott,• an FBI Special Agent.

Lance Reddick is •œPhilip Broyles,• the SAC (Special Agent in Charge) of the Fringe division of Homeland Security.

Kirk Acevedo is •œCharlie Francis.•

Executive Producer Josh Friedman subjected himself to a conference call with bloggers. Here’s what they uncovered about the second season of Terminator:

Superhero Flix
Josh: “As everyone’s wondering, we are getting rid of Summer Glau… No, I’m kidding. If anyone was worrying that we blew her up in the end and she’s not coming back, I’ll reassure you that she is coming back, eventually, in full force.”

THE DEADBOLT: Will there be technical changes done to Cameron when she returns from the car bombing?
JOSH FRIEDMAN: [laughs] She•ll still be pretty.
THE DEADBOLT: So does that mean she•ll still be the same, physically?
JOSH FRIEDMAN: Eventually.

The Sarah Connor Society
When I asked Josh about the mystery surrounding the high school student•s suicide, he said that at least in the short-term, the story will not be re-addressed. And that while he was a fan of the story himself, most of it ended up on the cutting room floor due to episodic time constraints.

Movieweb
Josh: “I’m hoping to revisit the future-war. I love the future-war. I had plans, last year, to do a number of future-war episodes. They’re the most expensive episodes we do, and they’re the most time-consuming and the hard part is the CGI. I’m hoping for more. I love the future.”

Joss started directing Dollhouse this morning. While the cool-ass sets are housed on the Fox lot, today they are shooting in downtown Los Angeles.

We already picked up “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” for next season. They will make 13 more episodes and we hope there will be more.

Last season ended with Cameron getting blown up. We still don’t know what’s going on with this guy Derek, but since Brian Austin Green is coming on as a series regular in Season 2 we will probably learn a lot more.

A shot of the latest iteration of the 24 cast has found its way to the web. If you’re avoiding spoilers, then do not click here.

Abraham Higginbotham wrote the script for the multi-camera comedy pilot “The Inn,” which is set at a hip New York hotel.

Niecy Nash plays the outrageous and motherly head of human resources who looks out for the staff. She battles with Jerry O’Connell, the hotel’s image-conscious general manager.

The cast also includes Jesse Tyler Ferguson as the head of housekeeping, Molly Stanton as the front desk clerk, Jolene Purdy as the reservations girl and Brando Eaton as the bellman.

So what, you may ask, is the Arrested Development angle on this one? None other than Jason Bateman is directing the pilot. Higginbotham used to write for the show.

Harry Lennix is an ex-cop who is Echo’s “handler” and bodyguard.

Amy Acker is “Dr. Claire Saunders,” a doctor at the Dollhouse.

Miracle Laurie is “November,” a character who will be recurring but does not appear in the pilot.