Filed under: Industry, Heroes, Pushing Daisies, Reality-Free

Please, Pushing Daisies fans, please note that I state IF. I even put it in capital letters!

There was speak that Bryan Fuller would be asked by Tim Kring to return to Heroes after NBC told Kring to let two other producers on the show, Jesse Alexander and Jeph Loeb, go. Now Fuller confirms that he’ll definitely go back to the show if Pushing Daisies isn’t picked up after the 13th episode of the series, which will be completed in January.

Continue reading Bryan Fuller will return to Heroes (IF Pushing Daisies isn’t picked up)

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Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Industry, Programming, Reality-Free

Last month we told you how The CW had given a green light for a pilot for a new show called The Graysons, which would be the story of Dick Grayson and his life before he became Robin, The Boy Wonder, Batman’s sidekick. Now it looks like the network and Warner Brothers have scrapped those plans.

Variety is using the word “forced” when it describes why the project came to a stop. Seems that The CW and Warner Brothers never had clearance to go ahead with the show in the first place, and Batman Begins/Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan wasn’t too thrilled with having a Batman-based Television show on the air while he’s also doing the movies (though he had nothing to do with the show being pulled).

Continue reading Goodbye, show about the Boy Wonder that nobody wanted to see

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Filed under: Industry, Programming, OpEd, Reality-Free

Last night, we received a press release with a bunch of mid-season start dates, including Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse, which is scheduled to begin on Friday, February 13, 2009.

I’m sorry, but WTF? Is Fox trying to once again screw over Joss and his compatriots (such as has been done with his previous TV opus Firefly) by giving it the Friday night death slot?

Either this show is a piece of crap (and given its show-runner, I tend to doubt it) or Fox has no faith in it and is already writing the planned excuses for its inevitable failure.

Continue reading Dollhouse begin date - WTF?

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Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Industry, Programming, Reality-Free

Sure, ABC can cut down the order on new scripted shows and state no to others, but when it comes to new reality shows, there’s no limit, it seems.

ABC will debut a new reality show on January 5 titled True Beauty. The show will have 10 super hot people living in a mansion, each vying to become the true beauty of the group. Winner gets money and a place in the “100 Most Beautiful” issue of People.

That’s right, people are now campaigning for a spot in the issue. Supposedly it will be about inner beauty as well as outer, but no one really believes that. And guess who is producing the show?

a.) Ryan Seacrest and Paris Hilton
b.) Tyra Banks and Ashton Kutcher
c.) Tim Gunn and Paula Adbul
d.) Oprah Winfrey and Carson Kressley
e.) Tom Brokaw and Peggy Noonan

Continue reading Yay! Crappy new reality show coming to ABC!

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Filed under: Industry, Programming, Reality-Free

Question: how many shows can ABC have that are set in the world of the NYPD?

The network already has Life on Mars, and now comes news that ABC has cut the episode order for two other NYPD-based shows. One is Castle, which stars Nathan Fillion as a horror writer who helps the cops solve crimes (yes, another one of those shows). The other show is The Unusuals, which stars Amber Tamblyn and is a comedy about a police station. Maybe it’s the new Barney Miller.

Both shows have had the order cut from 13 episodes to 10. They say it’s not a quality reasons, it’s just that they already have too many shows on the shelf, including Courteney Cox’s new show with the horrible title Cougar Town and Mike Judge’s new cartoon The Goode Family. They’re also interested in picking up King of the Hill, which was just canceled by FOX.

ABC has already said no to a new Alyssa Milano sitcom, which Allison told you about earlier. I’m still kinda ticked they never gave Marlowe a chance.

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Filed under: Industry, Programming, Animation, Reality-Free

Jason told you about FOX’s decision to cancel King of the Hill after 13 years. Now the Hollywood Reporter is, well, reporting that the show could come back on another network.

A source at ABC says that the network is interested in picking up the show for another season. And this isn’t one of those wacky rumors that doesn’t have any basis in reality. A spokesperson for 20th Century Fox has confirmed that another network is interested in the show, though they won’t state which one.

This could work out well for show creator Mike Judge. He already has another animated show on ABC at mid-season titled The Goode Family. Hey, if Seth MacFarlane can have a bunch of animated shows on at the same time, why not Judge? Beavis & Butthead could come back!

Maybe NBC should pick up the show, and actually have a half hour comedy that has a track record and a fan base. Or maybe Cartoon Network would be interested in the show?

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Filed under: Industry, Heroes, Reality-Free

So the large Heroes backlash now has two victims.

NBC has fired two producers that have been with the show since day one, Jesse Alexander and Jeph Loeb. The show has been getting a lot of negative press lately (actually, ever since the strike-shortened second season), including this Entertainment Weekly cover story on what’s wrong with the show and how to repair it. Sources say the two were let go because Universal is unhappy with the direction and cost of the show.

Look, is Heroes as good as it was the first season? No, it’s not. But I think that’s because of two reasons. One, it’s not new anymore. Two, way too many characters, and when you’ve too many characters it affects the structure of the show. Now, the show has always had a lot of characters and storylines going at the same time, but now they have more “extra” characters on the show we have to follow (and often follow them in two different years, heh). So that criticism of the show is accurate.

Continue reading NBC cans two Heroes producers

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Filed under: Industry, Programming, Pickups and Renewals

I guess it IS complicated.

After having her show supposedly canceled during the first season, Denise Richards is getting a second season of her reality Television show It’s Complicated. By the way, the cancellation was according to Denise. E! did give a response to that rumor.

There are several reasons E! has decided to do this, none of which involve torture. It could be that her high-profile feud with ex-husband and TV star Charlie Sheen (which is slightly dated news particularly since the man remarried) has kept her name in the public light. It could simply be the current nature of the business in which a horrible economy is giving second chances to shows that wouldn’t have been picked up otherwise. It could have just been a tactic by Richards herself to guarantee a second season.

For those who liked the show, you are blessed with Denise Richards once again sharing her life with you. For those who didn’t, watch more Two and a Half Men in protest.

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Filed under: Industry, Programming, Law and Order, Reality-Free

USA Network has been showing a lot of ads for the new Jeff Goldblum-infused season of Law and Order: Criminal Intent. The new episodes are supposed to start on November 7, but now it looks like the show has been delayed until some time next year.

This morning the network confirmed that the new season of the show won’t start until 2009. They state it will be “early 2009,” but then again they first stated the show would come back on November 6, then November 7, and now there has been another delay. It’s odd that a network would have all of these ads for a show so close to the premiere date and then pull the show for several months. USA hasn’t said why they’ve done this.

This is too bad. Law and Order: CI isn’t a show I watch regularly, but I was looking forward to Goldblum’s debut as a detective. I liked Raines (one of the 27 people around the country, apparently), and I can’t wait to see him be all Goldblum-y in the L&O franchise.

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Filed under: Industry, OpEd, Reality-Free, Mad Men

Among the Hollywood industry insider columnists, Nikki Finke’s hit rate is pretty high, so it’s troubling to read a report from her about the acrimonious contract negotiations between Lionsgate and Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner. It’s gotten so bad that Finke is reporting that Lionsgate is calling around looking for someone to replace Weiner as show-runner.

As everyone else in the industry is saying: What the hell?

Mad Men just finished its second season with record ratings. It’s the first basic cable show to win an Emmy for Best Drama, and Weiner is the show’s heart and soul. Believe me when I tell you that it’s his vision and attention to detail that you see in every scene. Weiner gave critics a tour of the sets during the July TCAs, and he was able to speak about the look and feel of the show as easily as he was able to speak about the stories and characters. I can’t imagine anyone else running the show, even if it’s someone that’s already on staff.

Continue reading What the hell? Lionsgate calling around for a new Mad Men show-runner

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