Archive for category The Pick-Up Game
Fox Sets Its Summer Schedule
Posted by Melanie McFarland in TV News, The Pick-Up Game, Tune In Info on March 9th, 2010
Bradley Whitford and Colin Hanks in "The Good Guys"
On Tuesday morning Fox released its summer line-up, and it includes a few mixed blessings.
First things first: among the announcements was news that “Glee’s” season finale will air on June 8 at 9PM ET/PT — a great way to kick off the summer, don’t you think? “Glee” will air in repeats at 8 PM Wednesdays starting on June 16.
Summer stalwart “So You Think You Can Dance” returns to the schedule with a two-hour premiere on May 27, and “Hell Kitchen” begins its off-season cycle with a two-hour premiere on June 10.
Here’s where things get interesting. Remember when Fox confused viewers with its wan commitment to “Lie to Me” by ordering more episodes right before disappearing it from the midseason schedule? The network was saving it for a summertime run, it seems. “Lie to Me” will be paired with the new hour-long comedy from “Burn Notice” creator Matt Nix, “The Good Guys,” on Mondays starting June 7.
Audiences will have an opportunity to see a preview of “The Good Guys” (formerly known as “Code 58“) on Wednesday, May 19, which is smack dab in the middle of sweeps and the final rounds of “American Idol.” You may recall that Fox reaped huge rewards by using the same strategy to introduce us to “Glee.”
But this is why we mentioned “mixed blessings” in that first paragraph — that preview is in the 8 o’clock slot, which means it won’t be getting any benefit of an “Idol” lead-in. (Not that having “Idol” as a lead-in guarantees success anyway; it worked for “Glee,” a musical comedy, for obvious reasons. It has not worked for a number of canceled Fox experiments, including this one. )
That means “The Good Guys” and “Lie to Me” must succeed or fail pretty much on their own, which is a difficult enough task during the regular season. During the summer, when viewership is lower?…Well, we’re just glad Shawn Ryan, “Lie to Me’s” incredibly talented showrunner (who previously executive produced “The Shield” and “The Unit“) has another cop series in the pipeline called “Ridealong.”
On paper, summertime has the benefit of lower competition. Reality series thrive during the warmest months, largely due to their relatively lower production costs. But it’s still a tough place for scripted programs to find a foothold. Even if networks and audiences are changing their attitudes about summer scheduling, it is still the season for burning off episodes of series that didn’t work during the regular season. That’s why a handful of “Past Life” episodes are being dumped on to Fridays starting May 28.
Keep reading for the full schedule, as listed on the official press release.
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Fox’s Fall Premiere Schedule
Posted by Melanie McFarland in Commentary, The Pick-Up Game, Tune In Info on June 18th, 2009
"Glee" joins Fox's fall schedule Sept. 16.
So, you think you can “Dance” again this fall?
Or would you rather watch B-List celebrities do it?
That, my friends, is the question you must ask yourselves as you peruse Fox’s fall schedule, released earlier this week.
“So You Think You Can Dance” kicks off on Wednesday, Sept. 16 — leading into the official premiere of “Glee.” By adding a fall cycle of “Dance,” heretofore a summertime series, Fox is pitting its performance episodes against the results edition of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” on Tuesday nights.
Wisely, the upcoming season of “Dance” is premiering a week before “Dancing with the Stars,” which starts Monday Sept. 21.
Meanwhile, “House” starts its sixth season with a two-hour premiere on Sept. 21.
The network also will throw “Bones” and “Fringe” into the lucrative and highly competitive Thursday night fray on Sept. 17. “Dollhouse” returns at 9 p.m. the following night, Sept. 18. Unfortunately it has two comedies, the zombie known as “‘Til Death” and the untested “Brothers” as a lead-in…on Friday night. Good luck, Joss!
Be that as it may: Seth MacFarlane further solidifies his dominance over Fox’s Sunday night line-up with the premiere of “The Cleveland Show” at 8:30 p.m. on Sept. 27, following “The Simpsons” at 8 and leading into the “Family Guy” season premiere at 9.
The full Fox premiere schedule can be found after the jump.
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“Dexter” Gets a New Playmate
Posted by Melanie McFarland in Casting alert, TV News, The Pick-Up Game on June 10th, 2009
John Lithgow. Courtesy of Wire Image/Dimitrios Kambouris.
When the TV news cameras come calling, people tend to describe any serial killers discovered to be living in their area as polite, private but personable, a guy seemingly incapable of hatcheting humans into ground chuck. No, not in a million years, they say, and to think all that was happening two doors down? Shocking.
That’s why it makes perfect sense for “Dexter’s” producers to have tapped the ever-so-pleasant John Lithgow to portray a man with the same grisly hobby as our favorite Miami Police Department blood-spatter analyst. Lithgow is set to appear in all 12 of season four’s episodes.
According to Showtime’s press release, Lithgow will play Walter Simmons, “an unassuming, mild-mannered suburbanite who has been living a dual life as one of America’s most prolific and deadliest serial killers. Dubbed the “Trinity Killer” because of his proclivity to kill in threes, he relocates to Miami after being tracked by F.B.I. Special Agent Frank Lundy (Keith Carradine).”
Naturally dear Dexter, a murderer who takes pride in his work, is bound to feel a special connection and fascination with Mr. Simmons.
One also wonders if the “trinity” business is part of a larger theme for season four, what with Dexter on the verge of fatherhood, and his dad’s spirit looming large in his thoughts. Father, son, unholy ghost…and the Trinity Killer? Can’t wait to see what happens.
“Dexter’s” fourth season kicks off on Sept. 27 on Showtime.
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The CW Loves the Beautiful People!
Posted by Melanie McFarland in Cancellations, TV News, The Pick-Up Game, Tune In Info on May 21st, 2009
"The Beautiful Life" joins The CW's fall schedule.
Pop quiz — what’s the difference between the old WB and the new CW?
From the looks of this fall’s lineup, one letter.
The littlest network that keeps on keeping on announced its 2009-2010 schedule today, and it looks a heckuva lot more like The WB (and vintage Fox) than dear old UPN. Gone are its African-American-skewing comedies and, as previously announced, any network presence on Sundays. Instead, this season is all about rich kids and models and vampires. (Oh, my.)
The much-talked about “Melrose Place” update includes original stars Laura Leighton and Thomas Calabro, and has been paired with the second season of “90210″ on Tuesdays. Just like in the old days.
New drama “The Beautiful Life,” starring Mischa Barton and Elle Macpherson, with Ashton Kutcher producing, has “America’s Next Top Model” as its lead-in on Wednesdays.
The cast of "The Vampire Diaries": "Lost's" Ian Somerhalder, Nina Dobrev, and Paul Wesley
Vampire slayers are so last century; today’s teenage girls prefer to have crushes on them rather than, well, crushing them. As such, “The Vampire Diaries,” based on a series of books by L.J. Smith (think of it as “Twilight”-lite) leads in to “Supernatural” on Thursdays. “Smallville” moves to Fridays this season.
The CW also announced it has picked up one drama for midseason, “Parental Discretion Advised.”
That means “Privileged,” “Reaper,” “Everybody Hates Chris” and “The Game” are out. The announcement also puts to rest any “will-they-or-won’t they” speculation about the ’80s “Gossip Girl” spinoff. From what we can tell, it’s not happening.
Keep reading after the jump for the schedule as well as descriptions of the new shows.
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CBS Picks Up Four for Fall, Reserves Four for Midseason
Posted by Melanie McFarland in Cancellations, TV News, The Pick-Up Game, Tune In Info on May 20th, 2009
The Mentalist, starring Robin Tunney and Simon Baker, moves to Thursdays.
(This post has been updated.)
Rare is the season that leaves CBS with many holes to fill on its schedule. The Eye boasts a solid lineup built on a foundation of procedurals as well as a strong Monday night comedy stable. As such, the network’s selection of four series for fall — including an “NCIS” spinoff — seems relatively conservative in comparison to announcements from other networks.
The good news: “How I Met Your Mother” received official renewal, and “The Big Bang Theory” moves to the plum post- “Two and a Half Men” timeslot on Mondays. This season’s greatest success story, “The Mentalist,” shifts to Thursdays at 10, which proved to be a trouble spot for CBS.
There’s even better news for fans of NBC’s “Medium,” which the Peacock unceremoniously canceled earlier this week. According to executives, the drama simply did not have enough “buzz.” Its ratings tend to be higher than other shows NBC saved, but whatever. Lacking buzz has never been an issue for CBS, the network television equivalent of that steady, reliable guy whom the ladies permanently relegate to the dreaded Friend Zone. CBS Paramount Network Television produces “Medium,” so when NBC dumped Patricia Arquette’s show, good old CBS was right there to pick it up and pair it up with “Ghost Whisperer” on Fridays.
The bad news: “The Unit” and “Without a Trace” vanished from the fall schedule, joining a list of cancellations that includes “The Ex List,” “Harper’s Island,” “Swingtown” and “Worst Week“.
Keep reading after the jump for descriptions of the new series and the fall schedule:
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ABC Reveals Fall Line-up; “Castle”, “Better Off Ted”, “Scrubs” to Return
Posted by Heather Campbell in Cancellations, Casting alert, TV News, The Pick-Up Game, Tune In Info on May 19th, 2009
Nathan Fillion stars in "Castle" (photo credit: ABC)
ABC held its upfront presentation this afternoon, introducing 11 new programs that will fill out the schedule alongside the network’s 17 returning series.
Four series that were considered to be on the bubble can now be counted among the returning shows: “Castle“, “Better Off Ted“, “Scrubs” and “True Beauty“.
Items that stood out: Neither “Cupid” or “The Unusuals” were not mentioned at all, making it pretty safe to assume they will not be returning next year. Christina Applegate’s “Samantha Who?” was previously announced as not returning. “Ugly Betty” will be relocated from its prime Thursday real estate to make room for “Flash Forward”.
ABC led off their presentation by sharing the first act of new show “Flash Forward”, the Ralph Fiennes thriller/mystery centered on an mysterious event during which every person in the world blacks out, each seeing 2:17 of their future during that time. The show creators came in with complete show bible, meaning that like “Lost“, the entire story has been created in advance, ensuring a defined roadmap for the future of the show’s story.
The pilot episode of the new Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd produced sit-com “Modern Family” was shown in its entirety, giving a first glance into the sort-of-scripted, sort-of-not feeling show that follows the dynamics of 3 families via faux-documentary footage and interviews.
Check out ABC’s fall schedule after the jump:
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NBC Renews “Chuck”, Announces Next Year’s Schedule
Posted by Heather Campbell in Casting alert, TV News, The Pick-Up Game, Uncategorized on May 19th, 2009
Chuck Bartowski has plenty of reasons to smile today.
A collective sigh of relief was heard ’round the (TV) world this morning, as NBC announced Tuesday morning that “Chuck” would be returning to their network next season. Crediting the strong support of fans and their participation in the Subway “Save Chuck” campaign, NBC revealed that Chuck Bartowski and friends will continue their special brand of fighting evil for at least 13 more episodes — which likely won’t reappear on screens until next spring, after the network’s Winter Olympics coverage has ended. “Chuck”’s return was also bolstered by a special sponsorship deal with Subway, which will involve a franchise being integrated into the show itself.
NBC followed the “Chuck” announcement with the release of their full schedule for next season, which will be split into two as a result of their aforementioned Olympics coverage. Of the other shows on the bubble, only “Law and Order” will be returning, with “My Name Is Earl” and “Medium“, and the much-beloved “Life” canceled. Since “The Jay Leno Show” will be occupying an hour of the primetime line-up each night, the number of new shows premiering will be limited to “Trauma“, “Parenthood“,”Community”, “Mercy”,”Day One” and “The Marriage Ref”.
See a full breakdown of the split-in-two NBC season after the jump:
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Fox’s Fall: The Quick and the Terminated
Posted by Melanie McFarland in Cancellations, Commentary, The Pick-Up Game, Tune In Info on May 18th, 2009
Fox to ABC: Let’s dance. And we don’t mean the tango.
On Tuesday morning the network announced it will add four comedies and two dramas to its schedule and will replace Spike Feresten’s talk show with a new late-night comedy blabber hosted by Wanda Sykes. But the bigger news may be the addition of another edition of “So You Think You Can Dance” to the fall primetime schedule. “Dance” will air its performance show on Tuesday nights, where it ostensibly will compete against ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” result show and “The Biggest Loser” on NBC. Wednesday’s “Dance” is followed by “Glee,” the only new Fox drama (well, technically it’s a dramedy) airing in the fall.
Fox’s upfront announcements also ended the anxiety of millions “Dollhouse” fans and the “Terminator: The Sarah Chronicles” faithful. Only one fanbase got the news it was hoping for, though. In fact, “Dollhouse’s” renewal was reported on Friday, so its boosters had an entire weekend to celebrate. Then came the hangover: Leading in to “Dollhouse” are the new comedy “Brothers” and “‘Til Death,” neither of which will do much to pump up the show’s anemic ratings.
Sadly, the further adventures of John and Sarah Connor will only be explored in movie theaters. “Terminator” failed to make the cut in spite of winning a number of online “Save Our Show” campaigns. Look on the bright side, people: this frees up Summer Glau to cross the Fox lot and, perhaps, join fellow Whedon alums for “Dollhouse’s” second season.
Among the more notable schedule shifts, “Fringe” will be paired with “Bones” on Thursdays. “House” will remains on Monday nights, leading in to “Lie to Me“ at 9 p.m. until midseason, when “24” joins the schedule. (Jack Bauer returns to save another day on Jan. 17.)
Joining “The Sarah Connor Chronicles” on the dead pile: “Do Not Disturb,” “Prison Break,” “Hole in the Wall,” “King of the Hill,” “Sit Down, Shut Up,” “MADtv,” and “Talk Show with Spike Feresten.”
Keep reading to see the network’s press release, which includes Fox’s fall schedule and synopses of the new shows.
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Your Wait is Nearly Over: The Upfronts Are This Week
Posted by Melanie McFarland in Cancellations, TV News, The Pick-Up Game, Tune In Info on May 18th, 2009
May is a month of exhilaration and frustration for TV viewers. Seasons end, fall schedules are formulated and in many cases we have to prepare for the possibility that our favorite TV characters could disappear from air and be relegated to some version of television’s afterlife.
Mercifully we’ll be able to stop holding our breath by the end of this week, because the networks will have announced their fall schedules in a process known as the upfronts.
The upfronts are presentations during which broadcast networks unveil their fall schedules to advertisers in an effort to secure chunks of advertising dollars ahead of the new season’s launch. But for the average viewer’s purposes, it’s the week during which we find out whether our favorite series are returning or if they’ve been cancelled.
Fox is up first. ABC’s turn comes on Tuesday. Wednesday brings news about CBS’s fall picks, and The CW reveals its fall schedule on Thursday. NBC unveiled most of its fall choices earlier this month but left the fates of a few shows — mainly “Chuck” — to be revealed on Tuesday as well.
Stay tuned — we’ll post the latest developments here as soon as we have them.
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HBO Renews “Entourage,” “True Blood” and “Hung”
Posted by Melanie McFarland in Commentary, TCA Summer Press Tour 2009, TV News, The Pick-Up Game, Tune In Info on July 30th, 2009
In the channel’s executive session, HBO co-president Richard Plepler and Michael Lombardo, president of its programming group and West Coast operations, officially gave the green light to another season of “Entourage,” a third season of “True Blood” and a sophomore season for “Hung.”
The sheer heat that this summer’s “True Blood” episodes are putting out makes its renewal a no-brainer. Ditto for “Entourage,” even if it’s getting a touch long in the tooth by cable TV standards. But “Hung’s” quick renewal comes as something of a surprise, as it’s barely halfway through its first season.
Could this be a sign that the premium channel is actually thriving in spite of the recession? Well, Lombardo says, yes. Sort of.
“No business is recession proof,” he admitted, but described HBO’s business as resilient. According to Lombardo, they don’t have lots of money to spend, but what he calls an “enviable” amount. The “cocooning” trend has been good to the channel, according to the execs; DVD sales are doing well, and viewership is up across the board.
“Unfortunately, that has not resulted in the coffers opening wider for original programming,” added Plepler.
But it hasn’t resulted in heartbreaking slices to its content either. “Big Love,” for example, will be back in January. The seventh season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” is coming September 20, coupled with the arrival of “Bored to Death,” a new comedy starring Jason Schwartzman, Ted Danson and Zach Galifianakis.
HBO was not ready to commit to another season of “The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency,” but execs advised reporters not to write any eulogies just yet. Their hesitance to renew has more to do with the sudden passing of series creator Anthony Minghella last spring. Minghella sculpted the direction for the first season and directed the pilot before he died, and execs stressed the need to find the right showrunner to take his place before committing to season two.
As for a third season for “Flight of the Conchords,” Lombardo said that’s entirely up to Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie. “We’re waiting, and as soon as they tell us they’re ready, we’d be thrilled,” Lombardo says.
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