Entertainment Weekly and Deadline are reporting that the debut season of Lookinglass, which was originally supposed to have 13 episodes, has been trimmed to eleven. This is fairly common for midseason replacements, and has nothing to do with what they expect of the show, but is instead related to the network’s scheduling needs.
The obvious good news is that we now know how many episodes we’ll get! The EW article mentions that Fox will be announcing their midseason schedule in the coming weeks, so hopefully we’ll get a premiere date soon.
In the meantime, here’s a great shot of Tim with actor Paolo Maiolo, filming episode 6 last week in Vancouver.
And this shot from Amanda Detmer, filming a scene with Tim and Rob Kazinsky.
Looking forward to seeing more!
First, two title changes (one of which came after the upfronts) and now a shortened episode order before the pilot has even aired. Most shows undergo changes prior to finally getting on air, and this might really just be a scheduling issue, but a part of me wonders if the folks at Fox might not be in agreement about what to do with Lookinglass.
I had read several weeks ago that Lookinglass would premier in March, but I don’t remember where I read it or it that was just speculation. I hope we don’t have to wait that long.
It wouldn’t surprise me if they didn’t know quite what to do with it. (And fwiw, I’m not crazy about any of the titles they’ve had so far…)
As far as premieres, I haven’t seen anything definitive yet, but I remember reading somewhere that many of Fox’s mid-season replacements premiere in January, so I’m hoping it’ll be then.
Meh.
(Yeah that’s all I have to say about that.)
Though, after reading Rob’s interview mentioning it as a 22 episode show, I’m wondering if – on condition it does well and gets renewed obviously – they’re going to make it a regular 22 episodes for season 2.
Castle’s first season was only 10 episodes before it got full length seasons starting with S2.
(One can hope, right?)
And since Minority Report tanked, there’s hope that if Lookinglass makes decent ratings it should get renewed.
If it’s set to premiere in January, Fox should begin airing promotional spots soon. Fox/FX cross-promote, and I’ve already seen several trailers for American Crime Story, which premieres on FX in February.
Except for Minority Report, I think Fox’s new shows are performing decently well. Scream Queens, Rosewood, Grandfathered, and The Grinder have all earned full-season orders. The ratings success of Empire (in its 2nd season) has set the bar very high for Fox dramas. I’m just hoping for a successful enough half-season to get a full order for the 2nd season. And, because Fox’s new shows are having success, it’s possible that scheduling is the real reason Lookinglass was cut back to 11 episodes.
Oh, wow–you watch Castle too? Yes, it began as a mid-season replacement, with 10 episodes, to less than stellar ratings (at the time, it was considered a toss-up for renewal by TV by the Numbers). Different network, different year, apples and oranges, etc., but sometimes sleepers evolve into ratings juggernauts (which Castle isn’t anymore, but it was a standard-bearer for ABC for several seasons). Numb3rs, on CBS, was also a 13-episode mid-season replacement that lasted for six seasons.
I have mixed feelings about the lengthy seasons in broadcast. Generally, I think the storytelling is tighter and the pace quicker with 13-16 episodes, but I have to admit–I would’ve loved for White Collar to have been given 22 episodes, and if :Lookinglass can get that for season 2, I will be so very happy to see Tim on-screen that often.
I’ll take whatever I can get. But I need my yearly dose of Tim. So the more episodes the better. 😉
I’m such in a huge withdrawal right now. At least I got lucky that I got to see Best Man Wins. So I got 20 minutes of Tim in 2015, but that’s sure not enough!
I was desperately hoping to drive to Savannah this weekend to see Best Man Wins–Savannah is, by far, the closest venue to me–but it’s about a four hour drive and between work and family activities, I couldn’t make it happen. My only hope is to see it on iTunes or one of the streaming services once it’s finished the festival circuit.
No matter what projects happen (or don’t happen) in the future, there will always be White Collar on Netflix. And Carnivale, which is streaming on HBO GO . And countless other projects which have been carefully preserved for posterity.
But I’m hopeful Fox will not only make Lookinglass happen, but will fully support it.
Best Man Wins should be released online eventually. Likely next spring/summer. We’ll have to be a little patient, but it should happen. 🙂
And, on yeah–Tim looks really good in the above photo, and in all the BTS photos I’ve seen from Lookinglass. I know that goes without saying, but I wanted to say it anyway. Hope that means he’s happy.