Mutant X Mostly Mute

The Oct. 6 premiere of Tribune Entertainment's new weekly action hour, Mutant X, has been disrupted by an intellectual property suit filed by Twentieth Century Fox.

Like Tribune's action/sci-fi series Andromeda, which premiered last year with a strong 4.3 household rating, Mutant X is produced by Canada's Fireworks Entertainment and has been given choice time periods on Tribune stations. New York's WPIX-TV, for example, has slotted it at 7 p.m. Saturday, the same position used to launch Andromeda.

But Fox claims the Mutant X, inspired by Marvel Comics, too closely resembles its feature film X-Men, also based on Marvel. In August, a U.S. District Court in New York refused to halt Mutant X's premiere, but Fox has appealed and wants at bare minimum to change Mutant X's title. A ruling is pending.

The litigation has already caused Tribune and Fireworks to limit promotions for the show, the most anticipated new action hour this fall. Citing the suit, executives at both companies declined to be interviewed.

While there is great interest in Mutant X, Tribune "hasn't given us anything yet that would give us an indication of what the show will look like," said Laura Caraccioli, a vice president at Starcom Entertainment.