Fox Says Patience Is Helping Shows Catch More Viewers

Patience, particularly when it comes to network television, is a virtue. Just ask Fox Entertainment President John Matoian.

Fox’s willingness to be patient with struggling series such as “Party of Five,” “Space: Above and Beyond,” “Mad TV,” “Ned & Stacey” and “Partners” is paying off midway through the television season, Matoian said Wednesday. He told a Pasadena gathering of television writers from around the nation that viewers are finally discovering the shows and liking what they see.

“Knowing that we must be patient, we have shown growth,” Matoian said a day after Fox recorded its highest weekly prime-time ratings since expanding to a seven-night-a-week service.

In particular, “Party of Five,” the second-year drama about a family of siblings raising themselves, has “turned the corner,” Matoian said. The series, which has been a favorite with critics but has been slow in catching on with viewers, is now tops in its time period with younger viewers, he said, and is gaining momentum with adult audiences.

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Adults will be more attracted to the drama when Carroll O’Connor joins the cast as the children’s grandfather in a few weeks, he said.

Matoian also expressed confidence in Fox’s Monday night comedies, “Partners” and “Ned & Stacey,” which have had low ratings since premiering last September.

He added that he was also optimistic about the network’s midseason shows. The slate includes an untitled project from writer John Bowman about a white writer of a black comedy show; “Profit,” about a conniving businessman; “The Last Frontier,” about a group of singles in Anchorage; “Local Heroes,” a comedy about four blue-collar men; and “Kindred: The Embraced,” about a sophisticated clan of vampires.

Matoian said the network has been in extensive talks with Roseanne about developing a late-night series for Saturdays, and with filmmaker Michael Moore, who is developing a prime-time comedy. Moore’s “TV Nation” was canceled by Fox last year.

But the possibility of the network establishing a news presence remains in the distant future, Matoian said. He said there were no plans to develop a nightly newscast similar to the other networks’, but that several newsmagazines were being discussed.

He also said that reports the network would launch an hourlong morning show this fall were premature.