Fox picks up five pilots, renews 'Lie,' 'Target'

May 12, 2010

Exclu: UPDATED: Fox made the bulk of its pilot pickups Wednesday, ordering five projects to series for next season as well as renewing modestly rated bubble shows "Lie to Me" and "Human Target."

The network has greenlighted Shawn Ryan's latest police drama "RideAlong" and Texas-set drama "Midland" (now likely called "Lone Star"), as well as single-camera comedies "Traffic Light," "Keep Hope Alive" and "Wilde Kingdom."

With fewer hours to program than the other major broadcast networks, the moves fill a fair portion of Fox’s slots for next season and set the stage for the network launching a live action comedy block.

"RideAlong" is set in Chicago and follows a rogue cowboy cop and the city's first female police chief as they try to clean up the streets. "Midland" is a dramatic soap about a con man in the oil industry. 

Greg Garcia's single parent half-hour "Keep Hope Alive" and the male relationship comedy "Traffic Light" have been early frontrunner for a pickup, and are expected to represent at least a one-hour comedy block for the network's fall schedule. Mitch Hurwitz's latest comedy "Wilde Kingdom" has been a runner-up candidate, starring Will Arnett (who also co-wrote the pilot) as a Beverly Hills jerk who falls in love with a charitable tree-hugging woman who can't stand his lifestyle or values.

The network is also set to renew "Lie to Me" for a third season despite Ryan departing as showrunner. "Human Target" will get a second season only with Matt Miller ("Chuck") taking over as showrunner (with first season showrunner Jonathan Steinberg continuing as an executive producer on the series).

Both "Lie" and "Target" are expected to get 13 episodes.

Fox may pick up one or two more shows before its upfront presentation to advertisers next week, with Steven Spielberg’s dino-drama “Terra Nova” likely to fill one of the slots.

All the pickups and renewals are produced by 20th Century Fox TV except for "Wilde" (Lionsgate and Tantamount) and "Target" (Warner Bros.).