The funniest new sitcom of the season may be too hip for broadcast TV.
Fox’s “Arrested Development,” which debuts at 9:30 p.m. Sunday, stars Jason Bateman as a widowed dad who helps his wildly eccentric family regroup after his rich father (Jeffrey Tambor) is jailed for cooking the books.
Typical non-cable sitcom? A swing and a miss, buckaroo.
There’s no laugh track or studio audience. It’s shot like a documentary. Incest is a running theme. Tambor’s George Bluth “loves prison life.”
And, lest we forget, Liza “I’m Still Here” Minnelli appears in six episodes as a socialite with crippling vertigo.
To creator-exec producer Mitchell Hurwitz, who began his career as a writer on NBC’s 1985-1992 “The Golden Girls,” hip is in the eye of the beholder.
“As soon as somebody calls themselves hip, they’re not hip anymore,” says Hurwitz, 40. “There’s nothing as stale as yesterday’s hip. It’s like fashion – a constantly shifting thing.”
“Arrested,” co-executive- produced by the Oscar-winning team of Ron Howard and Brian Grazer (“A Beautiful Mind”), is “just trying to be funny” by pushing the boundaries and “telling a lot of stories” at the same time about the Bluth family, Hurwitz says.
He compares it to that wacky family we know and no longer love on MTV. “The idea is to follow these people around with a camera, like “The Osbournes.” We’ll even bleep things and use subtitles.”
Despite “Arrested’s” unorthodox approach, Hurwitz is confident that once people tune in, they’ll return. The tough part will be getting them into the tent.
“We’re trying to draw a new audience to a show without Kelly Ripa in it. We’re concerned. I know Fox must be concerned about getting the reputation as the network that does edgy shows that are critically lauded and unsuccessful.”
To wit: “Andy Richter Controls the Universe” last season and Jay Mohr’s wickedly funny “Action” in ’99.
Still, Hurwitz says Fox “hasn’t been that cautious about the show. They’re letting us swing for the fences. We’re exploring the funniest version of a really twisted, conniving and manipulative family.”
Speaking of a twisted, conniving and manipulative family, what’s it like to work with Liza, Mitch?
“Absolutely wonderful. I forgot how funny she is. Her timing is perfect. She’s game for anything. She fits into this world in a hilarious way.”
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Is David E. Kelley losing his touch?
The once-golden producer, creator of such quirky hits as “Ally McBeal,” “The Practice” and “Chicago Hope,” is 0-for-2 in his last two network at-bats.
CBS shelved Kelley’s “The Brotherhood of Poland, N.H.,” last week, at least through the November sweeps. Fox whacked his “Girls Club” after only two episodes last season.
“Brotherhood” starring Randy Quaid as one of three middle-aged, overweight brothers running a small New England town, was clobbered at 10 p.m. Wednesdays by NBC’s No. 1 “Law & Order” and ABC’s new “Karen Sisco.”
“Brotherhood” averaged fewer than seven million viewers over five episodes, ranking 72d among all prime-time programs this season. Seven episodes were produced.
Though CBS says “Brotherhood” is “on hiatus,” you can kiss it bye-bye. Kelley shut down production Thursday, one day after the network’s announcement.
CBS will fill the 10 p.m. Wednesday slot with a series of specials, including a “48 Hours Investigates” interview with celeb murder suspect Robert Blake, the Country Music Awards, and “The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.”
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Will Smith will do a guest turn Nov. 18 on UPN’s “All of Us” – produced by Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
In the episode, the former “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” star plays a recently divorced college bud of Robert (Duane Martin) and Neesee’s (LisaRaye) who returns to L.A. and gets romantic with her.
Smith will pop up in several episodes this season, as will Pinkett Smith.
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AP-NY-10-24-03 2027EDT
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