Fox pre-made its annual pitch Monday afternoon to advertisers at the Manhattan Center, pushing messages from Fox Entertainment, Tubi, Fox News and Fox Sports while promising the audience not to worry, we’ll get you hammered soon.
After presentations hampered by the pandemic in recent years, Fox was almost back to full strength, with the writers’ strike limiting the number of network stars in attendance. The event also featured some football antics courtesy of Rob Gronkowski and some well-placed swearing by Gordon Ramsay.
Read on below for Variety’s five biggest takeaways from the Fox upfront.
A galaxy of (sports, news and unwritten) stars
Most major actors have opted to sit out this first season in solidarity with the ongoing writers’ strike, so Fox took the opportunity to highlight stars from the company’s other divisions. Gordon Ramsay made several appearances on stage during the event and managed to drop as many f-bombs as possible. Others who presented to the assembled audience included Fox Sports analyst Michael Strahan, Derek Jeter, Rob Gronkowski, Alex Rodriguez, Erin Andrews, and Fox News hosts Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino.
Speaking of Fox News…
“The Five” must take five
During the Fox News division presentation, Hemmer and Perino flipped things over to the hosts of the Fox News show “The Five,” who appeared live from the Fox News studio. There was a bit of applause when the group first appeared on screen, but things started to get awkward as the group tried to banter beforehand. Greg Gutfeld bragged about how his show, “Gutfeld!”, is the only nighttime show still on the air thanks to the strike, and followed that up with a joke about how he “believes in no choices.” The crowd in the room grew restless with the bit at this point, and the noise level quietly rose until they finally moved on to the next segment. (Meanwhile, the use of a Taylor Swift song during a Fox News sizzle reel also raised some eyebrows.)
My kingdom for a chair
Unlike traditional theater seats, Fox instead opted for what they called a “reception style” event at the Manhattan Center. Although there was balcony seating, most of the attendees were on the ground floor around the large central bar. This was the butt of several jokes, including at least two by Ramsay, who at one point said “There are hardly any chairs here, I’m sorry!”
Which strike?
While there were about 75 WGA members who pre-protested the Fox, it reviewed only one formal entry. Fox Entertainment boss Rob Wade, in his first pre-presentation since being promoted to CEO in October, said he hopes the strike “ends soon,” but that Fox was well-positioned anyway thanks to their array of unscripted content and more. Still, the broadcast network hyped their two new dramas – “Doc” and “Rescue: HI Surf” – with teasers without actors or clips (which have not yet been filmed and Fox has not produced any pilots this year) but instead show each show’s premise. .
Free balls for everyone!
Gronkowski might be taking some heat backstage for this move, but the people in the audience sure loved it. To close out the show, Gronk and Fox Sports’ Erin Andrews returned to the stage. Andrews teased that Gronkowski was going to throw out some autographed footballs, but first she had to say a few things about advertising. Gronk decided to jump the gun and started throwing footballs at the crowd. Fortunately, he avoided a repeat of the tragic accident that caused so much trouble for Marcia Brady.