• Los Angeles Times, Tuesday, July 24, 2007 10:30 AM

A new Fox comedy, "Back to You," marks both the return of two top TV stars -- Patricia Heaton and Kelsey Grammer -- and a possible rebirth of the sitcom. New comedies have become scarce as a result of the surge of reality shows, while TV audiences shrink overall. "We really do feel like underdogs," says Steve Levitan, who is producing the show with Christopher Lloyd. "The world is very different now."

The reception of "Back to You" could well influence development for next season and possibly beyond. If it flops, the future of television comedy may be grimmer than even pessimists believe. "There are going to be a lot of eyes on this show, particularly with its two big comedy stars," says Steve Sternberg, executive vice president of audience analysis for Magna Global, a New York-based media buying firm. "If it doesn't work, it's going to be a lot harder to get a multi-camera show on the air any time soon."

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