Created by Michael Weithorn (King of Queens), Weird Loners tells the story of four relationship-phobic singles who wind up sharing the same Queens, New York townhouse. It’s one of several projects ordered directly to series by FOX, including fellow comedies Cabot College and Mulaney, and thus, the possibly polarizing premise/title has enough time to sort itself out before going to air. Weird Loners could be a decidedly cable-friendly look at relationships, loneliness, and the anxiety that comes along with meeting new people, but it seems like the type of show that needs some extra TLC in order to find its best self. When left under the gun of a broadcast production schedule, it would likely find itself scrambling to figure out what tone to strike and how to be the best show it can be without alienating audiences in the process. Now, though, it doesn’t have to worry about the looming visage of Nielsen’s 18-49 demos; instead, it gets to tweak and hone on its own, a situation a lot of shows would be envious of.

In addition to her role on the ABC dramedy, Newton has appeared on the likes of The Goodwin Games, How I Met Your Mother, and Love Bites. She joins a cast that includes Nate Torrence (Hello Ladies) and Zachary Knighton (Happy Endings).

The six-episode first season of Weird Loners will premiere sometime next season on FOX. The network will reveal its 2014-2015 schedule, possibly including where you can expect something like Weird Loners to air, the second week of May.

Will you be watching Weird Loners? Are you excited to have Newton back on television? Do you think Weird Loners will be the first show of hers since Betty to hit?

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From Michael J. Weithorn (The Goldbergs), Weird Loners follows four relationship-phobic singles as they form an unlikely bond in the Queens townhouse they all reside in. The show is one of several straight-to-series orders that FOX has made recently, joining action-adventure period drama Hieroglyph, Tina Fey multi-cam comedy Cabot College, and comic origin story Gotham, among others. However, the series isn’t as broad and mainstream-appealing as some of the other new FOX entries for 2014-2015 will be, judging by its potentially polarizing title and premise, which likely led to the reduced initial episode order. Considering said order, it’s more likely that Weird Loners will pop up sometime midseason, something of an enviable position that takes some of the ratings pressure off the comedy and allow what could be a unique tone to find itself under less restrictive time constraints.

In addition to his role on the 2011 ABC comedy starring Matthew Perry, Torrence has appeared on the likes of Hello Ladies, Super Fun Night, and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. He joins a cast that already includes Happy Endings alum Zachary Knighton as Stosh, Eric’s cousin and a fellow resident of the townhouse.

Weird Loners is set to premiere its six-episode first season sometime next season on FOX. More casting information should be released in the coming weeks as production gets ready to commence.

Will you be watching Weird Loners? Do you think the show will be able to find an audience on FOX? Who would you like to see play the other two townhouse residents?

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In addition, the network has ordered pilots for comedies Dead Boss and Sober Companion. The former is a single camera adaptation of the BBC3 series of the same name that centers on a woman sent to prison for allegedly killing her boss, while the latter is a multi-cam from David Rosenthal (The Middle, Gilmore Girls) and Jennie Snyder Urman (Reign, Emily Owens, M.D.) that centers on a self-destructive attorney forced to deal with a court-appointed sober companion.

As far as their drama development, FOX has ordered a drama pilot from The Butler‘s Lee Daniels and Game Change‘s Danny Strong. Empire is set in the world of a hip hop empire and will reportedly feature both original and current music.

Meanwhile, FOX has also picked up reality experiment Utopia to series. From John de Mol (The Voice), Utopia moves a group of everyday people to an isolated, undeveloped location and challenges them to create their own civilization. Cameras will be following the participants 24/7, allowing viewers to watch their progress online, while those involved in the show will try to prove themselves indispensable to the group and use what they know about societies of past and present to help build their utopia.

FOX has been far and away the most active network in terms of picking up content for next season, as the addition of Weird Loners and Utopia brings their total 2014-2015 new series to eight: procedural Backstrom, comedy Mulaney, animated comedy Bordertown, comic origin story Gotham, action-adventure series Hieroglyph, and comedy Cabot College, from Tina Fey and Matt Hubbard. In addition to all those and limited series Gracepoint, an adaptation of British hit Broadchurch, the network has several other shows in development for the coming season, all of whom will reportedly be developed on their own timelines and without regard for traditional pilot season parameters.

What do you think about the logline for Weird Loners? Should FOX pick up Dead Boss or Sober Companion? Can something like Utopia work on American television?

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