It’s January, which means a TV fan’s heaven of all new episodes and mid-season replacements to check out. It also means the most vicious television battle of the year is about to start. In a fight that makes the Olympics pale in comparison, the major TV networks are desperately tossing new shows, and old returning favorites, into the ring. Who will emerge the victor?
NBC has the advantage of the popular comedy Scrubs returning, along with ratings powerhouses such as My Name is Earl and The Office. ABC’s bringing back the beloved Dancing With the Stars, and has the guarantee of massive Super Bowl ratings. CBS has the advantage of the mega-rated CSI franchise. And Fox, of course, might have the best weapon of all in American Idol.
My predictions? Scrubs will sink in the ratings due to its unfortunate move to Tuesday nights, in direct competition with critical darling and fan favorite House, M.D. CSI will continue to be CBS’s reigning show. American Idol will rule its time slot, beating all competition except on the overdrawn ‘results shows,’ where many viewers will wait until the last 10 minutes to tune in.
Which network or show would you bet on? Share your predictions with us!
Gallery: Networks Get Ready To Rumble
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Earls Get A Free Ride At Universal Studios
Posted by Rhys Alexander Categories: Comedy, NBC, My Name Is Earl,
The breakout hit My Name Is Earl will move to 9 PM Thursday nights (previously on Tuesdays) beginning January 5th. In a sure attention-getter, Universal Studios Hollywood will publicize the event by offering free admission into the park for anyone named Earl through the month of January. Earls even get a free T-shirt! That’s great, but to be fair, shouldn’t they offer the same deal to women named Joy?
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| Universal Studios
Gallery: Earls Get A Free Ride At Universal Studios
Finally! The beloved comedy is coming back on Tuesday, January 3rd. The NBC smash hit has been sorely missed, and viewers are thrilled with its return. Never before has “mid-season premiere” sounded so good. If that weren’t exciting enough, rumors abound that this season will be even wilder and wackier, with all sorts of new developments and top-notch guest stars, including Mandy Moore and Jason Bateman.
When “Scrubs” returns for its fifth season on Tuesday, Jan. 3, viewers are going to see a slightly different show. Unlike series where people stay in high school for 12 years, the characters on “Scrubs” are getting on with their lives. For example, Turk and Carla finally are going to live alone, as a married couple should. J.D. and Elliot live together, not with any sexual tension but as friends, so the show can explore how close you can get to someone of the opposite sex. And the young doctors are now going to become teachers and leave the student role behind.
“I think this fifth season is even more amped up than it ever was because there was a little bit of the attitude, ‘Who knows if anybody will see this, so let’s have fun,’” says Zach. “We wrote and acted what we thought was funny, so we are pretty excited about the season.”
Read More | Yahoo! Entertainment
Gallery: Scrubs Is Returning: Stat!
So he’s more than just a pretty face: fan favorite Adam Brody—Seth on The O.C.—is developing his own project. The pilot, which would air on NBC, follows the misadventures of a rookie cop who must fight vampire crime in a city infested with bloodsuckers. It certainly sounds intriguing; no doubt fans will anxiously await the result. Though it’s Brody’s first time behind the scenes of a television series, he already has film experience, as co-producer of the remake of the 1980s beloved comedy, Revenge of the Nerds.
Read More | Zap2it
Gallery: Adam Brody To Develop Vampire Pilot
Salma Hayek’s Betty La Fea Gets Third Chance To Shine
Posted by Rhys Alexander Categories: Comedy, ABC, NBC,
The hit Colombian telenovela Betty La Fea (“Ugly Betty”) is getting a third chance to be made into an American television series. Previously stalled at both NBC and ABC, this third attempt will likely succeed at ABC. The series revolves around ‘unattractive’ fashion assistant Betty, who carries a torch for her handsome boss. Salma Hayek has signed on as a producer, and reports of the series’ progress are hopeful.
Read More | Zap2it
Gallery: Salma Hayek’s Betty La Fea Gets Third Chance To Shine
NBC Celebrates Success Of Deal Or No Deal
Posted by Rhys Alexander Categories: Prime Time, Reality, NBC,
Thanks to the excellent ratings its game show Deal Or No Deal is pulling in, NBC is enjoying its highest audience rating in the 8pm time slot to date. The show is hosted by 1980s favorite Howie Mandel, now without the famous plastic glove…or his hair.
NBC notes that both shows compare favorably to the early days of ABC’s “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” which averaged a little better than 10 million viewers in its first two airings in August 1999. That show, of course, developed into a runaway hit before ABC’s over-reliance on it—it aired four nights a week at its peak—helped send the network into a tailspin from which it took several years to recover.
Read More | Zap2it
Gallery: NBC Celebrates Success Of Deal Or No Deal
Christina Ricci To Appear On Grey’s Anatomy
Posted by Rhys Alexander Categories: Prime Time, ABC, NBC, Grey’s Anatomy, Talent,
Christina Ricci will appear on the hit show Grey’s Anatomy, in an episode scheduled to air February 5th, following the Super Bowl. Ricci, perhaps best known for her work in The Addams Family movies, has recently appeared on television in the role of Joey Tribbiani’s sister on NBC’s Joey. Her Grey’s Anatomy appearance details are being kept under wraps for now, but no doubt it will be an episode that Ricci fans will not want to miss.
Read More | Yahoo! News
Gallery: Christina Ricci To Appear On Grey’s Anatomy
The West Wing Writers At A Loss After Death Of Beloved Cast Member
Posted by Rhys Alexander Categories: NBC, Talent, West Wing, The,
The West Wing writers are scrambling to come up with a plot solution to deal with the sudden death of John Spencer. Spencer portrayed Leo McGarry , administration chief of staff in previous seasons, and vice presidential candidate this season. Besides being an important featured player on the show, Spencer was a fan favorite and will be deeply missed. Oddly, Spencer’s character, Leo McGarry, suffered a near-fatal heart attack last season, the same affliction Spencer died from Friday.
The full article is accessible at tv.com:
The West Wing was on a scheduled production hiatus for the holidays at the time of Spencer’s death—the actor died less than a day after he checked into a Los Angeles hospital with a bad cold, according to his publicist. Writers and producers for the series are expected to gather this week to decide how to handle the remainder of the season, a studio spokeswoman said.
Spencer appeared in seven of the 14 episodes of The West Wing has completed for its seventh season as of last week, according to The West Wing producer Warner Bros. Television. Nine of those 14 episodes have already aired; The West Wing isn’t scheduled to air a new episode until January.
Read More | TV.com
Gallery: The West Wing Writers At A Loss After Death Of Beloved Cast Member
NBC is breaking new ground in an upcoming hour-long drama series about overcoming brainwashing. According to various sources, a surprisingly large number of Americans have undergone brainwashing. ‘Deprogrammer’ Rick Ross is the consultant of the series, and offers wisdom from his many years of helping people triumph over this affliction in his series titled ‘The Boogeyman’. Writer Erik Jendresen says “We’re staring this stuff right in the face and going to deal with very real organizations and groups…We’re not shying away from any of this.”
Read More | Yahoo! News
Gallery: NBC Breaks New Ground With ‘The Boogeyman’
NBC’s The Book Of Daniel Draws Protests
Posted by Rhys Alexander Categories: Drama, Prime Time, NBC,
A priest addicted to painkillers, an alcoholic wife, a gay son, and a daughter who peddles drugs…The Book of Daniel is definitely not in the same vein of the soon to be departed 7th Heaven. The NBC drama, which follows the trials of an Episcopal priest and his (apparently) dysfunctional family, has not surprisingly garnered protests from those more conservative-minded, namely, The American Family Association. The group is calling for boycotts of the new show. It was bound to happen, though I think a more relevant topic to protest would be the convoluted plot lines.
Read More | Zap2it
Gallery: NBC’s The Book Of Daniel Draws Protests
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