The renewal of Howard Gordon’s crime anthology series Accused was expected, given that it opened strong with a 2.0 rating in the 18-49 demo and 8.4M viewers on live+same day data and grew to more than 11.3M multi-platform viewers and a 2.3 rating in the demo in the three days after its premiere, making it broadcast’s highest-rated debut in nearly two years, since the premiere of NBC’s Law & Order: Organized Crime in April 2021.
Alert was less of a guarantee but Michael Thorn, President, Scripted Programming at Fox, recently told Deadline that it was a “solid performer” and was “encouraged” by its delayed viewing.
The show, however, will have a new showrunner for season two with Carla Kettner, who was an exec producer of The Blacklist, replacing John Eisendrath, who served as showrunner for season one. Kettner recently created Panhandle for Spectrum Originals and Roku.
Given that both shows come from Sony Pictures Television, an independent studio without its own network or streaming service, means that they were able to be more flexible in terms of dealmaking. They are co-produced with Fox Entertainment.
Both shows will return for the 2023-24 season.
Accused in based on the BBC’s British series, which was created by Jimmy McGovern and debuted in 2010, and is a 15-episode anthology featuring different stories of crime and punishment. Told from the defendant’s point of view through flashbacks, each episode explores a different crime, in a different city, with a new cast.
The first season is anchored by Michael Chiklis, Abigail Breslin, Whitney Cummings, Margo Martindale, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Wendell Pierce, Rachel Bilson, Jack Davenport, Molly Parker, Rhea Perlman, Betsy Brandt, Keith Carradine, Aisha Dee, Jason Ritter.
Directors include Billy Porter, Marlee Matlin, Tazbah Chavez and Michael Chiklis. It is exec produced by Gordon, Alex Gansa, David Shore, Glenn Geller, Erin Gunn, Jacob Cohen-Holmes, Jimmy McGovern, Sita Williams, Roxy Spencer, Frank Siracusa, John Weber and Louise Pedersen.
Alert is a procedural that stars Scott Caan, Dania Ramirez, Adeola Role and Ryan Broussard and is set in the Philadelphia Police Department’s Missing Persons Unit. It follows police officers Jason Grant (Caan) and Nikki Batista’s (Ramirez), whose complicated personal lives are evolving after the loss of their son.
The series is executive produced by Jamie Foxx and John Eisendrath, as well as Kettner
The renewals come after Fox renewed The Cleaning Lady for a third season with more renewals and cancellations expected over the next few weeks and months.
Thorn said, “Accused and Alert stand out as two of this season’s new broadcast and multi-platform success stories. Looking to 2023-24, we’ll continue to deliver on the powerful storytelling coming from both series, building on our incredible partnership with Sony and further solidifying Fox’s strong slate of dramas, giving our schedule tremendous season-to-season stability.”
“With Accused, Howard Gordon has taken the crime anthology to new heights and acclaim, featuring an all-star roster of directors and talent headlining gripping episodes that entertain viewers with a provocative, fresh take on many of the most relevant, timely issues of our day,” he added. “Scott, Dania, John and Jamie have done an incredible job launching Alert and bringing its story into heart-pounding focus, giving us an emotionally intense procedural drama that’s primed for even more success as Carla takes the day-to-day reins, continuing the great work we’ve seen this season.”
“We are excited to continue our long partnership with Fox to bring more Accused and Alert to audiences around the world,” added Katherine Pope, President, Sony Pictures Television. “It’s wonderful to see these timely, poignant stories resonating with viewers, and we want to congratulate the writers, producers, cast and crew on their success. We are incredibly proud of their collective work and look forward to seeing where these series go next.”
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Source: Deadline, Peter White, March 23 2023