Hits & Misses of New TV Season

Hits & Misses of New TV Season

Media agency's picks for new season

NEW YORK, Sept. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The buyers at leading independent media agency TargetCast tcm have picked five new network shows they think will be hits, along with the five they think will fall to the bottom of the heap as the primetime season begins in a week.

NBC has two new shows that should do well, says Steve Farella, CEO of TargetCast tcm, a media planning and buying agency. "Chuck" (Mondays at 8 Eastern), a comedy about a computer geek who becomes the government's most valuable secret agent, looks promising, the agency says. Also on NBC, "Bionic Woman" (Weds, 9 p.m.) should prove popular, borrowing from the 70s hit "Six Million Dollar Man."

ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money" (Thurs, 10 p.m.), about a super-rich New York family, makes the winners' list bolstered by a stellar cast including Peter Krause, Donald Sutherland, Jill Clayburgh and William Baldwin.

FOX has a hit with "Back to You" (Weds, 8 p.m.), starring Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton. The strong cast and the concept of a TV anchor team struggling to get along should work well, says Farella.

Fledgling network The CW may have a hit with "Gossip Girl" (Weds, 9 p.m.), the story of a prep school girl who secretly blogs, spilling gossip about the young New York party set. The agency expects it to do well with the young demographics the CW targets.

NBC and CBS each have two shows that TargetCast tcm doesn't expect to do well this season. NBC's "Journeyman" (Mon., 10 p.m.), about a time-traveling reporter who changes people's lives, and "Life" (Weds, 10 p.m.), about a detective who gets a second chance after being in prison for a crime he didn't commit, just don't have what it takes, the agency says.

On CBS, much-touted reality show "Kid Nation" (Weds, 8 p.m.) and "Viva Laughlin" (Sun., 8 p.m.), despite star power of executive producer Hugh Jackman and Melanie Griffith, are not expected to make the cut.

ABCs much-touted "Cavemen" (Tuesday, 8 p.m.) looks like it will return to the Stone Age. The agency does not expect it to survive. "It's a one-joke show," Farella notes.

"Cane" (Tuesday, 10 p.m.) has the ingredients to make it on CBS -- star power with Jimmy Smits, and soap opera storylines. But it is up against two established hits, "Law & Order SVU" and "Boston Legal." "Stay tuned. Time will tell," says Farella.

More than 26 new shows will appear on the networks this fall season, says TargetCast tcm. Last year, the networks introduced 27 new shows, and only ten are returning.

TargetCast tcm, recently named to Inc. Magazine's Inc. 500 list of America's fastest-growing private companies, serves a diverse range of strong independent brands including TIAA-CREF, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Wyeth Animal Health, Ruby Tuesday Restaurants, 1-800- Flowers.com, The Wharton School, Dominican Republic Tourism, MSG Network, and Muscular Dystrophy Association.

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Source: TargetCast tcm

CONTACT: David Reich of TargetCast tcm, +1-212-573-6000

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