‘Identity’ Game Show Returns in March
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Games, Prime Time, NBC, Ratings, Renewals,
Remember that new game show, Identity, with Penn Jillette? It only aired for a week, then seemed to vanish into oblivion. If you’ve been missing it, fear not—it returns to the schedule in March. The week it aired earned decent ratings, debuting with 12.3 million viewers on December 18th. Overall, the show averaged 9.3 million viewers during the week. Good enough to bring it back, it seems. Identity will return to the roster on Friday, March 16th at 9:00 p.m. Subsequent weeks, it will air on Fridays at 8:00 p.m., replacing 1 vs. 100. If you didn’t catch the show, it’s basically a game of first-impressions and stereotypes. Contestants must identify which of 12 strangers fits a certain trait—the episode I saw had contestants determining the occupation of each person. The prize for correctly matching the trait with each person is $500,000. Eh, not a thrilling show, but Penn makes it entertaining and it could easily become a guilty pleasure.
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| Zap2it
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Premiere Date Set for ‘Donnellys’ and ‘Andy Barker’
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Drama, Prime Time, NBC,
These are two of the shows you may have heard some buzz about in the fall, then they swiftly fell off of the radar. The Black Donnellys, a crime drama, will premiere on NBC on March 5 at 10:00 p.m. This mid-season entry will knock Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip off of the schedule, with no clear indication about when it will return. Donnellys will have the lead-in of Heroes, so it’s not too shabby a place to be.
Andy Barker, P.I., the new comedy starring Andy Richter, will begin on March 15th at 9:30 p.m. (also on NBC). So, that will replace 30 Rock mid-season. As much as I’m looking forward to seeing Andy Richter, I will certainly be mourning the absence of 30 Rock. That show just continues to get better each week. Fear not, however, 30 Rock will return to its Thursday time beginning on April 19th.
Read More | Comingsoon.net
Last Comic Standing Continues for Another Season
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Prime Time, Reality, NBC, Renewals,
NBC announced that a fifth season of the stand-up talent show, Last Comic Standing, will air this summer. Thankfully, last season’s host, Anthony Clark, has been replaced. I don’t have anything against Clark, but he didn’t seem to add much to the show and had a frightful amount of makeup on. This go-around will have comedian Bill Bellamy taking on the hosting duties, plus the show goes international. So, no longer will auditions be held solely in American cities—we’ll also see what kind of comedy chops there are during auditions in London, Sydney, and Montreal. Former Last Comic Standing contestants, Alonzo Bodden, Kathleen Madigan, and Ant will be on hand to scout out talent in the audition cities. No word yet on when exactly the series will air or if the contestants will be living together.
Read More | Yahoo! News
Ed Helms Becomes a Regular on ‘The Office’
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Prime Time, NBC, Daily Show, The, The Office,
For those of you, like myself, who may have thought that Ed Helms’ character on The Office was on his way out, think again. It would seem that, after he annoyed even Michael Scott (Steve Carell), that the end was near. Helms has done a particularly fine job as the suck-up Andy Bernard, that it makes you feel downright embarrassed for the guy. His status on the show has just been bumped to a regular cast member. Both Helms and Rashida Jones (Karen) joined The Office this season. Karen, who moved to the Scranton branch mainly to follow Jim, will likely have some tougher times ahead now that Jim has admitted he has feelings for Pam. Rashida Jones is still just a recurring character, so we’ll have to see if she decides to move back to Stamford.
Helms worked with Steve Carell on The Daily Show and will soon appear on screen with Carell in Evan Almighty.
Read More | Yahoo! News
Hargitay and Meloni Extend SVU Contracts
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Drama, Prime Time, NBC, Renewals,
Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni, stars of the hit NBC series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, have just extended their contracts for two more years. This comes after weeks of negotiations and some speculation that the series would go on without the star power of Hargitay and Meloni. The two will continue on the drama through 2009. The show’s creator, Dick Wolf, has made no announcements about the dollar amount of the deal, but it has been reported that each could be earning more than $6.5 million annually. Hargitay is joining the big leagues, with an estimated $300,000 to $340,000 per episode, putting her in the range of Kyra Sedgwick, who was recently named as one of the top paid female television stars. Creator Dick Wolf said of the agreement, “I’m thrilled that Chris and Mariska have decided to stay with a show that they’ve made an indelible stamp upon, as we move into our ninth season.” Both have been with the series since it started in 1999.
Read More | Yahoo! News
Improv Series Coming to NBC
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Prime Time, Reality, NBC,
Now here’s a show that sounds like it could be a good time. NBC has ordered six episodes of the improv series Thank God You’re Here. The show is nothing too groundbreaking—you’ve seen it before with Who’s Line is it Anyway? and this exact series is already enjoying popularity in other countries. Hosting duties will be performed by David Alan Grier (In Living Color), while Dave Foley (Kids in the Hall, Newsradio) serves as judge. I’m excited because I love these two, and I love improv. Check out the pilot, featuring Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle), Joel McHale (E!‘s The Soup), Jennifer Coolidge (American Pie), and Wayne Knight (Seinfeld). No details yet on when exactly you can catch the premiere of this show, but be on the lookout for what should prove an entertaining diversion from ordinary television offerings.
Read More | Zap2it
Grease Reality Show Down to Twelve
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Music, Prime Time, Reality, FOX, NBC, American Idol,
While I haven’t been a faithful watcher of Grease: You’re the One that I Want, I have tuned in briefly and found myself pleasantly surprised. The show, which is seeking the next Danny and Sandy for the broadway production of the musical, has announced their twelve finalists. Here’s where the viewer’s votes come into play, with each finalist performing live, a la American Idol. The first live show is Sunday, January 28th, on a two hour episode, with seven more live episodes to follow. Plus Olivia Newton-John will be on hand for judging duties. You can’t get any better than Sandy herself.
The twelve finalists are: Allie “Baby Sandy” Schultz, Laura “Small-town Sandy” Osnes, Ashley “Ballerina Sandy” Spencer, Kate “Serious Sandy” Rockwell, Juliana “Rock Chic Sandy” Hansen, Kathleen “Spiritual Sandy” Monteleone, Max “Slacker Danny” Crumm, Kevin “Bellhop Danny” Greene, Derek “Wholesome Danny” Keeling, Chad “Ambitious Danny” Doreck, Austin “Hot Danny” Miller, and Jason “Boy-band Danny” Celaya.
Read More | Reality TV World
‘Today’ Show Adding A Fourth Hour
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Daytime, Talk Shows, NBC, News, Ratings,
I literally had to do a double take when I read that the Today show was going to extend to a fourth hour. Huh? Really? I know America loves a morning news program, and no one does it better than Today, but that seems a wee bit excessive. What will hour four look like and why are they doing it? Well, the expansion, which is set to begin in September, takes the top-rated show the extra mile. More time on the air, more money, blah, blah, blah. NBC News president Steve Capus said of the extension, “The success of the Today show has been remarkable throughout its history, and the program has never been in a better position than it is right now. This is a tribute to all the dedicated hard work of Matt [Lauer], Meredith [Vieira], Al [Roker], Ann [Curry] and the entire behind the scenes team. You can’t do this with a program that isn’t a powerhouse—and that is exactly what we have at Today.” No word yet on who will take over anchor duties for the fourth hour. Vieira is under contract as host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, so she bails after 9 a.m. More details about anchor duties will come as the extended show gets closer.
Read More | Zap2it
New Pilots Share Similarities With Sex and the City
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Drama, Prime Time, ABC, NBC,
Taking a page from the successful Sex and the City is a good place to start. Three new drama pilots all have the potential makings of another chick hit.
ABC will air Cashmere Mafia, described as “the next generation of Sex and the City”—and with good reason, it comes from Sex creator, Darren Star. Cashmere Mafia looks at four friends from college who also happen to be successful female executives. It’s set in New York City, and the gals will work through the stress of juggling careers, family and the choices they must make.
ABC also picked up Women’s Murder Club, based on James Patterson’s mystery books, which has the capacity to be “CSI meets Sex and the City.” In it, four friends (women, naturally) just happen to be a medical examiner, a district attorney, a newspaper reporter, and a homicide detective. The women all work together to solve murder cases.
NBC has ordered a dramedy called Lipstick Jungle. Wouldya believe it? This one is from Sex author Candace Bushnell, based on her follow-up novel. Lipstick Jungle is a peek into the cutthroat world of New York businesswomen.
Read More | AOL News
Grease: You’re the One That I Want is a Ratings Winner
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Prime Time, Reality, NBC, American Idol, Desperate Housewives, Ratings,
So, I could say the great ratings for NBC’s American Idol rip-off, Grease: You’re the One That I Want, surprises me. I mean, the show seems to really copy the formula of Idol—but hey, that’s what worked for Idol, so why shouldn’t it work here? And work, it did. The ratings were fantastic, as the show averaged 11.6 million viewers. Mainly viewed by young women and teenage girls, the debut proved that people are interested in just about any type of talent competition that the networks can throw at us. Americans love to root for their favorite, and this show has viewers voting the finalists all the way to the lead roles in a new Broadway production of Grease. The ratings were so stupendous, in fact, that the show earned NBC’s highest non-sports ratings for 18-49 year-olds during that timeslot since January 2004. It was also the highest rated show of the evening for women 18-34 and teenage girls, ages 12-17. Desperate Housewives came in and took a bite of the viewers, but Grease held on to its teenage demographic.
Read More | Reality TV World
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