New U.S. TV pilot season gives scripted shows hope.

Here's the weather report for the new U.S. TV season: clouds on the upfront in New York, sunny on the L.A. Screenings.

The association of U.S. national advertisers (ANA) and the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) have formed a joint task force in order to reshape the upfront process: the network Upfront Negotiation Discussion Group (NUDG), because they're unhappy with the 50-year old auction-style process for bidding on networks' air time.

Apparently, the NUDG is the closest they can come without encouraging antitrust or cartel barriers, but, for now, media buyers and advertisers have decided not to reform them.

The L.A. Screenings, on the other hand, promises to be an outstanding event. However, if international program buyers aren't thrilled about this upcoming U.S. TV season, don't blame Canada, and don't blame the networks or the studios. The drivers are the advertisers and their ad agencies. They are the ones who control the TV schedule and content.

Broadcasters are very respectful of advertisers: They're involved with the networks programming from the very beginning.

By early this month, the six majors (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, UPN and the WB) had summoned 120 pilots for the 2004-2005 U.S. season, the total number of pilots consisting of 55 sitcoms, 51 dramas, six animated shows, three dramedies, two realities and three sketch shows.

In an effort to attract the male 18-34 demo, whose viewership has plummeted by 15 percent this season, the networks are featuring a bevy of testosterone-laden pilots. On the drama side, NBC has Transylvania, a horror-themed western, and Revelations, an apocalyptic thriller. On the comedy side, the Peacock has The Men's Room, about men in their 20s, 30s and 40s, and the predominately male The Office. Fox a Chris Rock yuk-fest, and a drama starring Franky G as an ex-con. Over at CBS--the network least affected by the drop in young male viewers because of its general focus on a wider age range--there's an untitled drama about a bounty hunter and his two sons, and Clubhouse, about a Yankees batboy. Even ABC, which has insisted it's not going to abandon its recent focus on female-oriented content, is offering laffers Savage, about a blue-collar guy and his sons, and the male-centric Thank God It's Monday. And these are just some of the pilots hoping to eradicate estrogen.

Perhaps in another effort to attract boys, boxing is getting some airtime. There are currently two unscripted series in the works that revolve around the sport: The Real Rocky and The Contender. It should be noted, however, that while the nets are sure to inundate viewers with a range of reality shows in the coming months, few are planned for fall launches.

Another trend running rampant amongst both comedies and dramas is an inexplicable fascination with Hawaii. The present-day paradise sets the scene for Fox's animated comedy Blue Aloha, the WB's drama Rocky Point and ABC's drama Naked Hotel.

Even though viewers often watch primetime television to escape the doldrums their day jobs bring on, the nets are presenting plenty of workplace shows that bring them back into the boardroom at night. ABC's Thank God It's Monday, CBS's Untitled Aisha Tyler Project, NBC's The Office and Beverly Hills SUV, which takes place in a car dealership, are all comedies that focus on a group of co-workers. And UPN drama Beck & Call unravels in the posh New York City world of fashion.

This year's pilot list once again shows a surplus of British spin-offs. Adding a Yankee touch to British flair are: Fox's The Sketch Show, based on the English show of the same name, NBC's take on the aforementioned Brit hit The Office, and ABC comedy The Furst Family, based on the U.K.'s The Royle Family.

But it's not just British shows that are being remade; almost every network will be sending viewers down memory lane. UPN, for example, is taking the success of sitcom One on One and running with it. In an effort to keep the Friends momentum going, NBC is presenting Joey, which revolves around character Joey Tribbiani's life and is part of a long list of comedy pilots aimed at replacing two of the Peacock's top long-running laffers, Frasier and Friends. The Eye net is tacking another city onto its CSI franchise with CSI: New York, Law & Order is getting a new niche with Law & Order: Trial by Jury, and Fox joins the party with a spin-off of courtroom drama The Practice.

Finally, real live actors are becoming less ubiquitous as the networks prepare to promote a plethora of animated series. Fox leads the cartoon brigade, boasting four out of six of them--two untitled, the aforementioned Blue Aloha and family comedy American Dad. NBC shows off CGI-animated Father of the Pride, which was originally announced during last year's pilot season, and CBS gets in on the action mid-season with Vinyl Cafe.

With 33 pilots, Warner Bros. still beats the other production houses (but it's down from 35 last year), Touchstone runs a distant second with 20 pilots, and Twentieth Century Fox comes in third with 16 pilots, most of which are to be broadcast on the Fox network. NBC Studios and Paramount are tied with 13 each, CBS comes in sixth with eight pilots. Of the other major studios, Universal has eight and Sony six. Among the independents, Regency and Mark Burnett Productions reign with three pilots each.

Marion Edwards, executive vp of International distribution for Twentieth, said the most "compelling" trend she's noticed is that all the networks are going after "so much comedy and drama at a time when most break-out hits seem to be non-scripted shows. That gives a lot of hope to those of us who believe in scripted programming." Edwards also mentioned that Twentieths slate is particularly varied this year, perhaps a sign that the nets are waking up to their over-reliance on standard genre breakdowns and recycled storylines.

News is also that WB will no longer be testing pilots among focus groups. The net, which failed to deliver a single runaway hit this season, has become convinced that positive test results don't guarantee success. For now, the WB is simply going to put its trust in its programming team.

As for advertising dollars, the nets can expect to reap at their upfront presentations in New York--which take place from May 15-20--it promises to be a tough season. In general, the nets have not performed well this year, seeing both an inordinate number of shows cancelled very shortly after their debuts and cable and other distractions luring away viewers. Not only did the male 18-34 demo fall precipitously, but women 18-34 have declined by six percent, bringing total viewership down by three percent.

Still, CBS president Les Moonves released a statement saying he expects the Eye to see a double-digit increase in the money it gets for commercial airtime, thanks to its consistent dominance in the total viewers category.

As far as the L.A. Screenings are concerned, Edwards said she expects it to be "great. It gets bigger and better every year. We're even seeing markets that are still in development showing up. I mean, we're going to be screening for Vietnam this year!" she gushed. "[The L.A. Screenings] is a thriving market, it's an extremely important market. Everyone's going to be there."

RELATED ARTICLE: Fox's year-long new season.

Fox will begin a brand new television season in June, instead of traditional September, marking the initial phase of its year-round programming, goals. Five new series and one second edition will premier on Fox in the middle of the month, each with encore presentations shown every week to "maximize viewing potential."

Among the groundbreaking line-up are two comedies, two dramas and two unscripted series. The sitcoms are Method and Red starring hip-hop artists Method Man and Redman as unlikely residents of a ritzy community and Quintuplets, starring former Conan O'Brien sidekick Andy Richter, and featuring an ensemble cast of 15-year-old quints. On Wednesday nights, the two will sandwich returning rich-girl reality series The Simple Life 2. This time around the celebutantes tour the U.S. in order to experience "normal family vacations."

Monday nights will be all about the bling-bling when North Shore, a 20-something ensemble drama set in a Hawaiian luxury hotel, airs before The Casino, which is produced by the reigning king of reality Mark Burnett. This reality series provides a behind-the-scenes look at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino in Los Vegas.

Following old Fox favorite The Bernie Mac Show on Tuesday nights is The Jury, a courtroom drama focusing on the 12 angry men and women picked to choose a defendant's fate.

The network plans to continue its year-round schedule with new series launches set for July, September and January.