What makes a TV hit? 'A guessing game'

San Francisco lawyer Eli Stone believes he may be a prophet. But not even he can predict if he'll be around come September.

"Eli Stone," a "Field of Dreams"-type drama about a man compelled to a higher calling after having visions, is one of 31 new shows up for consideration at ABC, the once-struggling network

Executive producer Greg Berlanti hopes to find out this week if "Eli Stone" and "Dirty Sexy Money," a legal soap opera he also produced for ABC, will be on the network's fall schedule. But the word could be dragged out until next week, even up to just hours before ABC and the other four broadcast networks unveil their new lineups to advertisers in showy presentations called "upfronts."

Berlanti readily presumes failure. After all, it's the likelihood in television...

Read the rest of this compelling article here!