Fox at TCA: Violence in "The Following" Causes Concern; "Idol" Divas Dispel Rumors - Ed Martin

Will the horror of a serial killer and his murderous minions and the tantalizing possibility of an occasional diva dustup help Fox rebound from an utterly unremarkable fall season These were among the questions hanging in the air yesterday as Fox began its day at the Winter 2013 Television Critics Association tourFox started off the morning with a panel for quotThe Followingquot the deeply dark and disturbing drama about a former FBI agent39s efforts to stop a particularly sadistic serial killer who has amassed a cult of murderous followers In light of the recent atrocities in Aurora CO and Newtown CT there were a couple of questions directed at series creator and executive producer Kevin Williamson about the violence in the show and its overall unrelenting intensityThe questioning was thoughtful and provocative but hardly combustive For example when one critic asked Williamson whether or not Hollywood creators should consider the cumulative impact of violence in certain programming he quietly replied quotI think we all worry about it I mean who wasn39t affected by Sandy Hook I39m still disturbed when I think of Aurora We sat in the writers39 room after that happened and we were just sort of traumatized by it I39m writing fiction I39m just a storyteller You think there39s this cumulative effect I don39t know I know it affected me I know what happens in the real world affects me So when I take pen to paper there is a reaction to it and it sort of finds its way into what I do So I don39t knowquotThe tone of the morning changed dramatically when the new judges on quotAmerican Idolquot took the stage In this session the topic of primary interest was all the gossip and rumors about perpetual feuding between new judges Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj Naturally there were denials all around about bad feelings between any and all of the judges though there was much talk about passionquotTo counter all the nonsense that39s been written could you each say something you like and admire about the otherquot one diplomatic critic asked Carey and MinajquotThat actually is easyquot Minaj said quotI say nice things about Mariah all the time and I even tell her all the time how much of a fan I am of her She39s one of my favorite artists of all time and I think she39s really shaped a generation of singers and to be on a panel with her it39s kind of crazy because all these singers that come in they aspire to be a Mariah Carey in terms of their talent and in terms of their career length and so I feel excited to see them see someone they look up to so much and to be given a chance to sing in front of her and hear her critiquequotCarey39s response while similarly sweet sounding didn39t exactly give the critic what he asked for In other words she answered without actually saying what she liked or admired about Minaj quotNicki and I worked together very early on in her career and did a song that was from an album that I had done called 39Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel39 and it actually was one of my favorite videos and songs and I did feel that she was going to go very far and I still have that feelingquot Carey cooed quotI39m grateful for anything nice that she or anyone were to say about me I39m grateful just to be here today still doing what I love Thank youquotThe quotIdolquot panel may have been the main event but the session that followed with Fox Entertainment Chairman Kevin Reilly proved to be the most interesting Asked about how recent events in Aurora and Newtown will impact his decisionmaking process as his network heads into pilot season Reilly replied quotWe39re in the culture business We are constantly monitoring cultural shifts current events shifts in mores things that reflect society We both reflect society and at times we try to drive it I don39t like to trivialize an issue by drawing a direct linkage between anything but we take everything we do with the utmost responsibility You can39t be reactionary and you can39t draw a direct linkage but all of the above is on your mind when you39re making these decisionsquotAs for the intensity of quotThe Followingquot Reilly noted quotThis show adheres to our broadcast standards We haven39t pushed broadcast standards The truth is I think there have been more violent shows on television Some of them have come and gone and nobody noticed or cared because they were insignificant bad shows This is a significant show and a good show and I think as such you39re invested in it and it feels even more intense than it is If you actually put it through the filter of broadcast standards of what we say is allowable or not there is nothing in that show that we39ve even had to fight overquotLook it39s a goal of mine to get a little bit of the Fox back in Foxquot he added quotBefore there was cable Fox was cable We were the edge of what was bold and I still want to be there This show fits into that realm I39m competing with every show on cable If you noticed the top drama on television last year was 39Walking Dead39 For many years I could sit here and say oh those cable shows are interesting and they39re great but you know what if you took the highest rated show it would rank number 95 on our airquotThat doesn39t mean every show we put on should start chasing the standards of cablequot Reilly continued quotIn fact our standards on this are much more conservative than on 39Walking Dead39 or any of our basic cable comparisons But we must match the intensity otherwise we39re going to be a pale comparison and we39re not going to entertain the audiencequot

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

Fox at TCA: Violence in "The Following" Causes Concern; "Idol" Divas Dispel Rumors - Ed Martin

Author

Publish date

Channel

Ed Martin

Empowering Women in Media: Insights from Industry Leaders (Video) - By E.B. Moss

More Videos:

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

Fox at TCA: Violence in "The Following" Causes Concern; "Idol" Divas Dispel Rumors - Ed Martin

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Ed Martin

Empowering Women in Media: Insights from Industry Leaders (Video) - By E.B. Moss

The payment was successful

Cookies