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Author Topic:   2008/2009 Television Season
NEWSFLASH
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Posts: 7455
From:Hollywood, CA
Registered: Apr 2002

posted March 13, 2008 10:59 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for NEWSFLASH   Click Here to Email NEWSFLASH     Edit/Delete Message
ABC Won't Debut Any New Shows In Fall
For the first time in memory, a television network will launch a new season in the fall without a single new series, a consequence of the writers' strike, published reports indicated Wednesday. The Hollywood Reporter said that ABC is planning to order as many as seven hourlong pilots but has no plans to rush any of them onto the air, primarily because only a handful of episodes for the new series that began airing this season made it onto the air. Some reports indicated that rival networks are also unlikely to be rolling out as many new shows in the fall as they did previously.

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NEWSFLASH
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posted April 03, 2008 04:30 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for NEWSFLASH   Click Here to Email NEWSFLASH     Edit/Delete Message
'Friday Night Lights' Remain Lit
Saying that he had "structured an innovative deal" with DirecTV to keep Friday Night Lights alive, NBC Entertainment Co-Chairman Ben Silverman announced Wednesday that the critically praised but low-rated series would return to the air next fall with all-new episodes that would first air on the home-satellite company's entertainment channel, The 101, beginning in October and then rerun on NBC early next year. In a conference call with reporters, Silverman said that he wanted to save the show because "if I had one more person on a plane tell me it's their favorite show, I was going to lose my mind." Terms of the deal were not disclosed, and on its face it would appear to guarantee that ratings for the series would remain low, since many of those watching it on DirecTV would unlikely tune in again for the reruns on NBC. That prospect did not appear to faze Silverman, who said that the deal allowed NBC "to have this jewel of a show and not even need to expand its audience to succeed on a financial basis." In a statement, Friday Night Lights executive producer Peter Berg said that he is "excited to be a part of something that feels legitimately groundbreaking, and new."

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NEWSFLASH
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Posts: 7455
From:Hollywood, CA
Registered: Apr 2002

posted April 21, 2008 05:45 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for NEWSFLASH   Click Here to Email NEWSFLASH     Edit/Delete Message
Fox gives 'Terminator' second season
She'll be back. Fox has picked up "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" for a second season. The network on Monday handed a 13-episode order to the sci-fi drama, an extension of the "Terminator" feature franchise that centers on Sarah Connor (Lena Headey) and her son, John (Thomas Dekker), as they battle enemies from the future with the help of a goodhearted terminator, Cameron (Summer Glau). "Terminator," from Warner Bros. TV, which launched in January, is the highest-rated new scripted series this season among adults 18-49 with an average of 4.4 rating/10 share. It drew an average of 10.5 million total viewers. (THR)

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NEWSFLASH
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From:Hollywood, CA
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posted May 01, 2008 09:16 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for NEWSFLASH   Click Here to Email NEWSFLASH     Edit/Delete Message
Hewitt & Dempsey Are TV's Sexiest Stars


Jennifer Love Hewitt and Patrick Dempsey have been named America's sexiest TV stars. The two actors have claimed alternative covers of TV Guide's Sexiest Stars issue and Love Hewitt's onscreen husband in hit thriller Ghost Whisperer, David Conrad, is far from surprised she is the tops. He says, "In the three years that we've been filming, there's always a moment when I just go, 'Wow, that's a really beautiful woman.'" Also making the new magazine hot list is Dempsey's Grey's Anatomy co-star star Justin Chambers, along with Vanessa Williams, Taye Diggs, Eva Longoria Parker and Lost bad boy Josh Holloway.

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HollywoodProducer
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From:La Canada
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posted May 14, 2008 08:55 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for HollywoodProducer   Click Here to Email HollywoodProducer     Edit/Delete Message
Turner lines up heavy hitters; Redford, Bochco among talent on tap
Turner's powerhouse TNT and TBS cablers are so determined to compete in the same arena as the broadcast networks that they've boldly skedded their programming presentation in the middle of broadcasters' marathon week of upfront announcements. Turner Entertainment prexy Steve Koonin will tubthump TNT's ambitious plan to field an all-original primetime sked Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays by 2010 during the 90-minute presentation at the Hammerstein Ballroom. To achieve their lofty goals, Koonin and Michael Wright, senior veep and head of programming for TNT, TBS and TCM, have engineered a high-octane development slate featuring such marquee producers and creatives as Ridley Scott, Steven Bochco, Dean Devlin, Mark Burnett, Robert Redford, Ray Romano and Betty Thomas as well as Greer Shephard and Michael M. Robin, producers of TNT's top-rated skein "The Closer." There'll be additional big names revealed during the upfront, but Turner is keeping a tight lid on that news. Koonin is convinced that the symbolism of charging into the teeth of the broadcasters' upfronts will not be lost on media buyers. The message Koonin wants Madison Avenue to take away is that TNT and TBS are closer than most people think to directly challenging the Big Four in primetime for market share in viewers and ad dollars. "Already what I call the top-tier cable networks beat a number of broadcast networks regularly in time periods covering between 30% and 40% of the primetime schedules," Koonin told Daily Variety. Turner's goal is to raise that percentage in 2010, when TNT plans to schedule nine scripted original primetime series -- three each on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Turner is taking on broadcast TV not just in the linear primetime schedule but "in all of the multiplatform areas," said Koonin. That will allow people to get episodes of new series through video-on-demand, streaming video on the Internet and digital downloads via everything from iTunes to cell phones. All of these uses of expensive new series, he said, will be explored as a way to offset their high production costs. The common thread of scripted-series development for Turner, Koonin said, is "personal drama." He's wary of trying to emulate HBO or FX with edgy, boundary-pushing shows because they have to play later in primetime, which reduces their flexibility, and they may have trouble harvesting big bucks in the syndication marketplace. The ancillary-market issue is becoming more important to Koonin because both TBS and TNT plan to produce lots of inhouse shows, giving Turner total control of their distribution on all platforms. Two examples of this ownership are sitcom "The Bill Engvall Show" on TBS and the pilot of Romano's hourlong TNT drama series "Men of a Certain Age." At the same time, TNT's original programming push is making it a more attractive outlet for the major TV studios to target. Cabler has an ensemble legal drama, "Raising the Bar," from Steven Bochco and ABC Studios, ready to preem in fall. Also set for debut later this year with a 13-episode order is "Leverage," a caper-actioner starring Timothy Hutton from Devlin's Electric Entertainment. Ramping up the volume of new shows will also permit TNT and TBS to reduce a bit their dependence on rerun programming, particularly high-cost series including "Without a Trace" and "Cold Case" that have proved disappointing in the ratings. (Variety)

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indiedan
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From:Santa Monica
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posted May 14, 2008 02:55 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for indiedan   Click Here to Email indiedan     Edit/Delete Message
Grammer Says Fox Misled Him, Canceled Show


Kelsey Grammer has accused Fox executives of misleading him and the other producers and cast of Back to You. "We were told all this time we were in good shape and we were coming back" next season, Grammer told the Associated Press. Instead, he says, he returned home Friday after taping an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show to promote the series, to receive a phone call notifying him that the show would not be renewed. "I'm not really sure what the real reasoning is," Grammer said. "I think they ended up with a show that was going to be a great show. It was a great show." He said he has already contacted CBS chief Les Moonves about picking up the show "and he was not completely discouraging."

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indiedan
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posted May 15, 2008 01:01 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for indiedan   Click Here to Email indiedan     Edit/Delete Message
CBS Laughs It Up


CBS, the only network that continues to show notable success with sitcoms -- its Monday night comedy lineup routinely beats the competition -- plans to add a second night of sitcoms on Wednesdays next season. Worst Week will augment Monday's comedy schedule. (Ironically the show is being produced by NBC Universal Television; NBC turned it down.) The Wednesday-night shows include Project Gary, starring Jay Mohr, and the returning The New Adventures of Old Christine. TV columnist Lisa De Moraes noted in today's Washington Post that the recent writers' strike may have been a factor in CBS's decision to ramp up its comedies. "They tend to do things like come back from strikes stronger than dramas, probably because with virtually no continuing story line, no plot momentum is lost during three-month shutdowns," she wrote. The network is also adding three new dramas, including another show based on a British hit, Eleventh Hour. The other shows are The Mentalist, about a cop who uses intuition to solve cases, and The Ex List, about a woman who is told by a psychic she must find her future husband among the men she has dated in the past or be doomed to remain single for the rest of her life.

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indiedan
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posted May 15, 2008 01:02 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for indiedan   Click Here to Email indiedan     Edit/Delete Message
Fox Adding A New Drama And A New Comedy


Fringe, a new sci-fi drama from J.J. Abrams of Lost fame, and The Inn, a comedy starring onetime child star Jerry O'Connell (Stand by Me), are set to make their debut on Fox in the fall season, the network said Wednesday. Its hit 24 will also be returning in 2009, along with its other hit lineup that made Fox the top-rated rated network this season, including the unscripted shows American Idol, The Moment of Truth and Hell's Kitchen and dramas House and Bones.

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HollywoodProducer
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posted May 15, 2008 05:35 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for HollywoodProducer   Click Here to Email HollywoodProducer     Edit/Delete Message
Fox schedules sci-fi and reality; J.J. Abrams, Joss Whedon shows top new series
Sci-fi action dramas and hourlong reality shows populate Fox's schedule for next season, which includes new shows from top creative producers J.J. Abrams ("Lost") and Joss Whedon ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer").Fox's lineup includes three new dramas, two comedies and an unscripted series. The network plans to once again launch its fall season earlier than most competitors. During the week of Aug. 25, Fox will air special two-hour premiere episodes of several series."Broadcast television needs a jolt," Fox entertainment chairman Peter Liguori said. "We feel it's our responsibility, as the No. 1 network for the last four seasons, to provide that electricity ... while some of the other networks are focusing on their ancillary platforms to save their programming, we really believe the better a series performs on the network, the better it will (serve advertisers)."The network's upfront announcement contains more new shows for next season than any other broadcaster, though CBS still ranks as having the most freshman shows set to launch in the fall. Fox will start its fall season with a two-hour "Prison Break" on Aug. 25. "Break" will then shift to 9 p.m. with the return of "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" as its lead-in.The Abrams thriller "Fringe," about a trio who explore paranormal mysteries, will have a two-hour premiere on Tuesday, Aug. 26. The show will then settle into its regular time period at 9 p.m. after "House." "We have high expectations for this," Reilly said. "We'll have huge campaign for it."Although the season contains three dramas with sci-fi tones, Reilly said he's confident they can find broad audiences. "I don't think any of these are hard genre shows," he said. A new workplace comedy starring Jerry O'Connell, tentatively titled "Do Not Disturb," will be paired with " 'Til Death" on Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. "Bones" will air at 8 p.m. On Thursdays, "Moment of Truth" will air at 8 p.m., going up against CBS' top-rated reality show "Survivor." The game show will be followed by the return of "Kitchen Nightmares."Reality utility players "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" and "Don't Forget the Lyrics" will shift to Fridays (THR)

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N F S I 2
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posted May 16, 2008 01:18 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for N F S I 2   Click Here to Email N F S I 2     Edit/Delete Message
Fox To Halve Commercials For New Shows
Fox Broadcasting plans to draw viewers to its new dramas Fringe and Dollhouse by drastically cutting the number of commercials and promos in them to half the usual number. Today's (Friday) Hollywood Reporter quoted Fox Entertainment Chairman Peter Liguori as saying that by doing so, "we're going to have ... less reason for viewers to use the remote. ... It's a simple concept and potentially revolutionary. ... We're going to redefine the viewing experience."

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indiedan
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posted June 27, 2008 01:29 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for indiedan   Click Here to Email indiedan     Edit/Delete Message
CBS Sets Traditional Seasonal Rollout

Although other networks may have decided on staggered roll-outs of their shows for the fall season, CBS is planning a traditional late-September launch, beginning Sept. 22 (Survivor: Gabon will debut four days earlier, in keeping with the network's previous pattern of launching the Survivor series before the official start of the season.) Since a vice-presidential debate is scheduled for Oct. 2 and a presidential faceoff on Sept. 26, a few season debuts set for those dates are being postponed until the following week. Most industry observers believe that despite the early commencement of production on shows for next season, the season would likely be delayed in the event of an actors' strike.

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N F S I 2
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posted July 14, 2008 09:19 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for N F S I 2   Click Here to Email N F S I 2     Edit/Delete Message
Gorham Quits Ugly Betty

14 July 2008 9:14 AM, PDT

Ugly Betty star Christopher Gorham has quit the hit U.S. show after only one season.

The actor, who plays lead character Betty's love interest Henry Grubstick in the ABC series, has left to star in rival network CBS' horror drama Harper's Island.

The move will shock fans of the show after season two ended on a cliffhanger with Betty having to choose between Gorham's character and rival potential lover Gio, played by Freddy Rodriguez.

Actor Val Emmich has been cast as the new love interest for Betty - played by America Ferrara - as Rodriguez is not expected to make a comeback for more than one show, according to Hollywood Reporter.

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indiedan
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posted July 15, 2008 01:32 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for indiedan   Click Here to Email indiedan     Edit/Delete Message
More Idol Speculation

15 July 2008 10:38 AM, PDT

Fox continued to hint that it is planning to make changes to American Idol when it returns in January in order to recapture some of the audience it lost in early episodes last season. But Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly told reporters at the summer TV Critics Assn. press tour that judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul will all be back. Conspicuous by his absence in the list of announced returnees was Idol host Ryan Seacrest, who clashed frequently with Cowell last season. In May, Cowell, who is also a producer of Idol, told reporters to expect "a big shake-up" in the show next season, arousing immediate speculation that the $12.5-million host of the talent contest may be getting the hook himself. Also on Monday, Reilly expressed concern about the current state of TV comedy. "I can't even go to the platitude of 'it's cyclical, it's going to come back,'" he said. "A lot of confidence has left the creative space on a day-to-day basis. I see really talented people coming in, very skittish, not knowing what to pitch and what will sell. I see executives trying to figure out where is that nerve to hit."

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N F S I 2
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posted July 16, 2008 02:28 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for N F S I 2   Click Here to Email N F S I 2     Edit/Delete Message
Ratings Are All About Talent

16 July 2008 10:29 AM, PDT

NBC's America's Got Talent remained the top show of the summer season last week, drawing 12.7 million viewers, the most to tune in to any network program since the season began in late May, according to Nielsen Media Research. ABC's new Wipeout finished in second place with 10.6 million. Among other new shows, CBS's Greatest American Dog barked up the right tree for 9.5 million viewers to take fifth place. Among adults 18-49, the group courted most avidly by advertisers, Fox's Hell's Kitchen came in first. For the week, CBS once again took overall honors, averaging a 4.6 rating and a 6 share. Fox and ABC tied for second with a 3.7/7, edging out NBC with a 3.6/6.

The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research:1. America's Got Talent, NBC, 7.9/13; 2. The Bachelorette (Monday, 8:00 p.m.), ABC, 7.0/12; 3. The Bachelorette (Monday, 10:00 p.m.), ABC, 6.7/11; 4. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS, 6.6/11; 5. Greatest American Dog, CBS, 6.2/12; 6. Wipeout, ABC, 6.0/11; 7. CSI: NY, CBS, 5.9/10; 7. NCIS, CBS, 5.9/10; 7. Two and a Half Men, CBS, 5.9/10; 10. 60 Minutes, CBS, 5.7/12; 10. CSI: Miami, CBS, 5.7/10.

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indiedan
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posted July 30, 2008 05:55 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for indiedan   Click Here to Email indiedan     Edit/Delete Message
Talent's Got Ratings

30 July 2008 10:26 AM, PDT

After being bumped off the top of the Nielsen weekly ratings list a week earlier by baseball's All-Star Game, NBC's America's Got Talent regained its leadership as America's most-watched summer show, with 13.2 million viewers. On the other hand, two new summer shows that were expected to perform strongly proved to be disappointments. Both aired on ABC. The game show Wanna Bet? and the High School Musical spinoff Get in the Picture attracted just 3.1 million viewers each. Sticking mostly with reruns, CBS nevertheless won the week with an average 4.1 rating and 7 share. Fox and NBC tied for second with a 3.5/6. ABC trailed with a 2.8/5.

The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research:1. America's Got Talent, NBC, 7.9/13; 2. Two and a Half Men, CBS, 6.4/11; 3. 60 Minutes, CBS, 6.3/13; 4. NCIS, CBS, 5.9/10; 5. CSI: Miami, CBS, 5.7/10; 6. Criminal Minds, CBS, 5.6/9; 7. Wipeout, ABC, 5.4/9; 8. So You Think Can Dance (Wednesday), Fox, 5.3/9; 9. Dateline (Sunday), NBC, 5.2/9; 9. House (Monday), Fox, 5.2/9; 9. So You Think Can Dance (Thursday), Fox, 5.2/9.

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