Watch Out Ugly Betty, Prada is in the Works
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Prime Time, ABC, FOX, Ratings,
If it works for Betty, why not give Prada a try? Fox is planning to develop The Devil Wears Prada into a half hour sitcom. The Devil Wears Prada was recently a hit movie starring Meryl Streep, based on the bestselling book of the same name. Given Ugly Betty‘s success, Prada has a good chance of making it. While the stories are not exactly the same, there are parallels between the two. Namely, the non-fashion-sensible woman thrown into a world of self-absorbed fashionistas at a magazine. Beyond that, the stories have few other similarities. Fox TV Studios acquired the TV rights, with Robin Schiff (Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion) on board as writer and executive producer of the single-camera comedy. Fox TV Studios president, Angela Shapiro-Mathes will include elements of the hit movie, but is “not looking to directly translate the movie into a TV show.” Hey, if there’s room for two shows about a behind-the-scenes-look at a fictional sketch comedy show, then there should be room for two shows about the world of a fashion magazine.
Read More 
| Comingsoon.net
Gallery: Watch Out Ugly Betty, Prada is in the Works
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Will Ferrell Developing a Comedy for Fox
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Prime Time, FOX,
Wow, this is kinda like deja vu. We reported earlier that Will Ferrell was developing a show for HBO. Well, now he’s developing a show for Fox. Church of Steve is about a man from New Jersey who discovers he is a descendant of Jesus. The half-hour show is coming from Will Ferrell and Adam McKay’s production company. So far, the pilot for the project has been approved—no official date on when the show is expected to air. The pilot episode sets the scene with a biblical Italian scholar who discovers that Steve is a descendant of Jesus. Also, no casting announcements have yet to be made.
Read More | Comingsoon.net
Gallery: Will Ferrell Developing a Comedy for Fox
Sorry Ladies—Bradley Cooper is Engaged!
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Action, Comedy, Drama, Prime Time, FOX, WB, Alias, News,
People magazine is reporting that Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Esposito are engaged. The two sweethearts have been an item for some time, but have managed to keep out of the spotlight. Caught smooching briefly in January at an InStyle Golden Globes party, Esposito said of the kiss—“I’m not answering that.” Esposito most recently enjoyed the success that the film Crash garnered, winning the Screen Actors Guild Award for best cast. She was also on the WB series Related and I’m sure many of you remember her from her time on Spin City.
Cooper hit Hollywood hottie status when he was on Alias, then starred in the Fox sitcom Kitchen Confidential in 2005. I was bummed when that got canceled because it had some potential… and Cooper’s fantastic eyes (sigh). His other high-profile gigs include Wedding Crashers and a stint on Broadway opposite Julia Roberts in Three Days of Rain.
Read More | People Magazine
Gallery: Sorry Ladies—Bradley Cooper is Engaged!
The Week Ahead in TV
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Drama, Prime Time, Reality, ABC, FOX, NBC, The CW, Lost, The Bachelor,
MONDAY
The Bachelor (9pm on ABC): Are you seriously telling me that an Italian prince needs to find love on a reality show? Flavor Flav must make it look appealing.
TUESDAY
Friday Night Lights (8pm on NBC): Men everywhere will welcome programming that counters Dancing with the Stars and Gilmore Girls.
Veronica Mars (9pm on CW): Strangely enough, I haven’t yet watched the show that takes my name. But it shouldn’t surprise me that people think it’s so good.
WEDNESDAY
Lost (9pm on ABC): I’m gonna make a prediction and say Walt’s never coming back. Otherwise, the producers will eventually have to explain why he’s gained more weight than Hurley.
The Nine (10pm on ABC): First a plane crash mystery, now a secret amongst hostages. I’m not sure I can take all this uncertainty on the hump day.
FRIDAY
Trading Spouses (9pm on Fox): If the Bachelor saw this show, he might rethink the whole American wife thing.
Gallery: The Week Ahead in TV
Fox Gives Robert Smigel Animated Pilot a Try
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Animation, Late Night, Prime Time, FOX, Family Guy, Saturday Night Live,
Give that man a series—any series! Robert Smigel, the talented man behind Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, the Saturday Night Live TV Fun House segments, as well as writer for Late Night with Conan O’Brien has had an animated pilot green-lit by the Fox Network. Animals will provide another animated half-hour to Fox’s Sunday-night cartoon offerings (King of the Hill, The Simpsons, American Dad and Family Guy). According to trade papers, Animals will “mine the animal kingdom for a parody of life in suburban America.” The series is produced by Adam Sandler’s company, Happy Madison. Smigel and Sandler have a past with Saturday Night Live, plus Smigel has popped up in small appearances in Happy Gilmore and Punch-Drunk Love.
Read More | Zap2it
Gallery: Fox Gives Robert Smigel Animated Pilot a Try
First Casualities of the Fall Season?
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Drama, Prime Time, Reality, CBS, FOX, NBC, Cancellations, Ratings,
While not officially canceled, two shows have received the kiss of death—being put on hiatus. It seems pretty early in the season to pull the plug already, but Fox’s Happy Hour and Justice have already been put on “hiatus” status. Fox is saying that the comedy Happy Hour will return in November, citing the upcoming baseball playoffs and World Series as their reason for shelving the show, if only briefly. Until baseball takes over, Fox will be running a rerun of ‘Til Death during Happy Hour‘s Thursday time slot.
Justice will also take a break, with a repeat of House airing in its place on October 4th. The network will, however, be airing a repeat of Justice‘s pilot on Friday, September 29th at 8:00 p.m. This time will cut the finale of Celebrity Duets short by one hour.
Neither of these new shows really stood a chance against the competition (even though neither is officially canceled yet)—up against Survivor: Cook Island and The Office.
Read More | The Futon Critic
Gallery: First Casualities of the Fall Season?
Too Many TVs? Nielsen Research Tells the Tale
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: ABC, Cable, CBS, FOX, NBC, UPN, WB, Cable/Satellite, News, Ratings,
A recent Nielsen Media Research study found that the average American home has more TV sets than people. The average number of people per home is 2.55, while the number of TVs averages 2.73. The availability of flat-screen TVs impacts the results, since it’s easier than ever to put sets most anywhere.
The research shows that half of American homes have three or more TVs, with 19 percent having just one. Compared to 1975, the number of single sets per home was 57 percent and having three or more was a minority—just 11 percent.
Nielsen also reports that the average person watches four hours and 35 minutes of TV per day. What are people watching? The ratings over the years have shown a lot of change with the multitude of channels available, so the the big networks’ ratings have shown a steady decline.
Read More | AOL News
Gallery: Too Many TVs? Nielsen Research Tells the Tale
The Week Ahead in TV
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Comedy, Daytime, Music, Prime Time, Reality, Sports, ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Amazing Race, The, Dancing With The Stars, Desperate Housewives, Family Guy, Rock Star, Survivor, News,
Things are starting to kick into high-gear now with the introduction of three high-profile reality shows and the finales of several others:
SUNDAY
Sunday Night Football (7pm EST on NBC): TV sales will increase once women realize that football season will contend with Desperate Housewives.
FOX Comedies (starting @ 8pm): Those men not already watching football—and/or live on the West Coast—will have a line-up of father-oriented comedies to watch: The Simpsons, American Dad, Family Guy and The War at Home.
MONDAY
9/11 Anniversary (various): Most of the networks will choose to pay tribute on the 5-year anniversary. Other programming will most likely be interrupted by a scheduled Pres. Bush speech at 9pm EST.
TUESDAY
Big Brother (8pm on CBS): The finale between Mike Boogie and Erika. Sadly, someone has to be chosen the winner. Maybe they can just have each other.
Dancing with the Stars (8pm on ABC): The 2-hour debut of the ABC powerhouse. Am I the only one who believes that Mario Lopez still deserves some karmic embarrassment for cheating on Ali Landry before their wedding?
WEDNESDAY
Today Show (NBC): The debut of Meredith Vieira. I’m betting she’s happy to have a little more testosterone in her life.
Rock Star: Supernova (8pm on CBS): The winner will be announced. If Dilana doesn’t win, I’ll be boycotting CBS.
THURSDAY
Survivor: Cook Islands (8pm on CBS): My 24-hour boycott of CBS will have ended when I return to watch this controversial racial experiment. Being 1/2 Asian, 1/2 Hispanic…I’m not sure which team I will root for. I just know that if those two tribes merge, the other groups could be in a world of hurt.
SUNDAY (9/17)
The Amazing Race 10 (8:30pm on CBS): Twelve teams of two will depart from Seattle and travel around the world. Twelve teams of two will also be that much closer to Phil Keoghan than I will ever be.
Gallery: The Week Ahead in TV
Which New Series Will be Canceled?
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Drama, Prime Time, ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, UPN, WB, Cancellations, HDTV,
Website Brilliant But Cancelled is offering visitors the chance to vote on which new series they think will get the axe. Their contest, Death Watch Fall ‘06 offers weekly iPOD prizes and a grand prize of a 37 inch Aquos flatscreen HDTV. Hey, not too shabby, considering you probably have your own ideas about which shows will succeed or fail. Just log in each week and make your selection—each correct bet puts you into a drawing for the prizes. Place your bets now, since the contest starts today, September 8th and runs for nine weeks. Visit http://www.brilliantbutcancelled.com/deathwatch/ for more details. The odds change often, with 2:1 most likely to get the axe.
Read More | Brilliant But Cancelled
Gallery: Which New Series Will be Canceled?
Would you believe that The Simpsons is entering its 18th season? Would you also believe that series’ creator Matt Groening expects it to continue even longer? With no shortage of funny stories for this animated family, the series continues to be a ratings and award winner (it recently earned its 23rd Emmy). What’s more, a film version of everyone’s favorite family is expected to hit the big screen next summer. This is one show that keeps chugging.
Said Groening, “My attitude at this point is, as long as the people who work on the show are having a good time, let’s keep doing it. We’ve always tried to entertain ourselves and figured that the outside world would be entertained if we were making ourselves laugh.” Working on The Simpsons sounds like a dream job. Groening also noted that the fresh stories continue because “there’s a really good-natured spirit of competitiveness among the youngest writers on the staff who basically grew up watching the show and have a great memory for everything that’s gone before.”
Fox has renewed the series through its 19th year, so the legendary cartoon will keep going yet another year. The Simpsons season premiere will air Sunday, with Homer having a “brush with mob life.” The 400th episode of the show will air in May, spoofing Fox’s 24 and featuring vocal contributions from Kiefer Sutherland and Mary Lynn Rajskub.
Read More | CNN
Gallery: Simpsons Keeps on Going
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