‘Sean Saves the World,’ not exactly

One in a series of Media Life previews of the new shows debuting this fall.

Show
NBC’s “Sean Saves the World”

Timeslot
Thursdays at 9 p.m.; premieres Oct. 3

Plot summary
Sean (Sean Hayes, “Will & Grace”) is a middle-aged workaholic who was married briefly and fathered a child before coming out of the closet. Now, 14 years later, his daughter is moving in with him, and it throws his world into confusion.

Trying to balance work with fatherhood is tough on Sean, especially with a new boss who seems determined to make him stay long hours at the office.

Sean’s own overbearing, critical mom is certainly no help, but she keeps stopping by with advice nonetheless.

The show is executive produced by Victor Fresco (“Better Off Ted”).

Outlook
Hayes is an energetic, gifted performer. It’s a shame that he gets such lame material to work with, and the show suffers from unimaginative writing and dull plotlines.

That’s a problem because “Sean” is the lynchpin of NBC’s Thursday night lineup. It could be gone by November sweeps, or perhaps moved to a less-important position in the network’s schedule, if it does not improve creatively.

Media buyers were surprised NBC put “Sean” in the 9 p.m. anchor spot rather than “The Michael J. Fox Show,” which will air after “Sean” at 9:30.

Fox has better name recognition and, buyers believe, is the better program.

But NBC seems to think that “Grace” veteran Hayes, who left NBC seven years ago, is better capable of carrying the Thursday lineup than Fox, who has been gone more than two decades.

If “Sean” were in a less-important timeslot, perhaps it could be given time to grow. Hayes is very capable of carrying a program.

And it’s nice to see him play a character so unlike “Grace’s” flamboyant Jack, as a single dad who just happens to be gay.

It says a lot about how far TV has come in just a few years. When “Grace” debuted in 1998, it was borderline scandalous to have two gay leading characters.

Now it’s just a facet of “Sean’s” personality. It’s problematic that this is one of the biggest selling points of the show.

What media people are saying
Buyers are concerned that “Sean” is not strong enough to anchor NBC’s lineup.

Many polled by Media Life think the network would have been better off putting “Fox” at 9 p.m. and “Sean” at 9:30.

“I don’t know why they put ‘Sean’ first,” one buyer says. “Fox is the bigger star, and his show looks better.”

Our readers’ take
In a Media Life poll inviting readers to weigh in on the coming fall season, media buyers and planners voted “Sean” the second-least-promising new show on NBC’s fall schedule, behind “Welcome to the Family.”

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