Wahhhh! That’s the sound I made when I read this breaking news. The time-travelling, prehistoric journey to save mankind is being pushed back an entire year. Terra Nova, from the minds of Steven Speilberg, Brannon Braga (24, FlashForward) and David Fury (Lost), simply isn’t ready for its big debut so FOX made a swift decision to remove it from its fall 2010 premiere slot. Essentially the highly anticipated show is going to pull a Glee. Remember how FOX delicately handled the rollout of arguably network TV’s most successful new hit? Instead of premiering Glee in fall 2008, FOX aired a “preview” episode (the pilot) in May after American Idol. This allowed the show to generate tons of buzz during the summer and resulted in a huge audience wanting to see more by the time fall 2009 rolled around. FOX thinks they can do it again with Terra Nova; they plan to preview the pilot this May, generate buzz with an intense marketing campaign over the summer, and officially premiere the show in fall 2011. Read what FOX President of Entertainment Kevin Reilly has to say about the situation:
“Terra Nova will be one of the most visually stimulating and dramatically grand series to air on network television. It deserves to have an equally unique launch to distinguish that the show is unlike any other, and the spring promotional platform will give us the perfect opportunity to introduce this bold show to audiences. .. We went into it knowing it was going to be ambitious. It really became apparent that we had to do this show right. We’ll have an enormous jump on the pilot, and on the marketing side, we’ll let people understand the show.”
It will take time than anticipated for the showrunners, writers, and special FX leads to come up with “ground breaking effects” and an “entire world and mythology.” And you know what? I’m not so disappointed about all this. If the creative teams needs an additional few months to make this show the best it can be, I am certainly willing to wait the extra while until things are properly locked and loaded. This show promises to be explosive both in storytelling and visuals–I’m already hooked! I have no doubt that the May preview pilot will wow audiences and everyone will be counting the days until its proper fall 2011 launch.
[Via IGN; EW-HollywoodInsider]