Fox pushes Spielberg's 'Terra Nova' to Fall 2011

 
Given all the special effects and production efforts to make Steven Spielberg's new Fox adventure series "Terra Nova" happen, I was always a bit suspect that they'd be able to pull the show off by midseason.

Turns out, that skepticism was warranted. Fox announced Monday that "Terra Nova," originally announced for this winter, now won't premiere until fall 2011.

But in a scheduling strategy identical to the network's "Glee" rollout, Fox will preview the first episode of "Terra Nova" in May 2011 -- I think it's safe to say, behind the penultimate episode of "American Idol," although the network didn't get that specific.

"'Terra Nova' will be on the of the most visually stimulating and dramatically grand series to air on network television," said Fox Entertainment prexy Kevin Reilly. "It deserves to have an equally unique launch to distinguish that the show is unlike any other, and its spring promotional platform will give us the perfect opportunity to introduce this bold show to audiences."

"Terra Nova" centers on a family that makes the journey back in time -- from the overcrowded and overpolluted year 2149, back 85 million years to a colony that humans have managed to erect in prehistoric times.

Spielberg, Peter Chernin, Brannon Braga and David Fury exec produce; Alex Graces is directing the pilot, while Jon Cassar is also exec producer and series director. Other EPs include Aaron Kaplan, Katherine Pope, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, Craig Silverstein and Kelly Marcel. (See -- just typing up the sheer number of EPs on this project takes time.) Jason O'Mara stars.