‘The Class’ Gets Additional Episodes
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Prime Time, CBS, Ratings, Renewals,
While I haven’t been too fond of the freshman comedy, The Class, it has somehow proven itself worthy of an additional order of episodes from CBS. I really wanted to like this show, but I (along with other bloggers and critics) find that there are just too many characters squeezed into a half hour and not enough good writing to keep the comic momentum moving. I think I hung in there for about four episodes before bailing. There’s so much really good TV out there, and I just didn’t have the time for it. I wanted it to get better, but it sort of just trudged along. That’s not to say that there aren’t funny moments, and I’m hoping that the additional episode order will allow the sitcom to make some improvements. Ratings have yet to improve, despite the time switcheroo that made How I Met Your Mother its lead-in. Viewership only averaged about 8.53 million viewers over the first eight episodes. It will be interesting to see if they respond to the criticism and trim some of the characters/storylines.
Read More 
| Zap2it
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Emmitt Smith Wins Dancing with the Stars
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Prime Time, Reality, ABC, Dancing With The Stars, Ratings,
It’s official—after weeks of celebrities dancing, the winner has finally been crowned on Dancing with the Stars. That’s right, NFL’s all-time leading rusher took home the ugly disco ball trophy, beating favorite Mario Lopez. It’s been disputed that Lopez did a consistently better job on the show each week, with many speculating that Smith won due to his popularity. Together with his partner Cheryl Burke, the two danced their way to the top. Incidentally, Burke also won last year when paired with Drew Lachey. Said Smith of the win, “It is awesome! It is awesome! We came a long way, we really have.”
The nine discarded competitors also joined the finale to show their stuff—Joey Lawrence, Monique Coleman, Vivica A. Fox, Harry Hamlin, Sara Evans, Willa Ford, Jerry Springer, Tucker Carlson and Shanna Moakler. And so it goes, another season of the super successful celeb dance competition (who woulda thunk it?). Rumors are that the next installment of Dancing with the Stars could air as soon as March.
Read More | Yahoo! News
Blue Man Group to Appear on Scrubs
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Prime Time, NBC, Grey’s Anatomy, My Name Is Earl, Scrubs, The Office,
First, let me just say that I can barely contain myself about the return of Scrubs. It’s been way too long of a wait for diehard fans, but we have been filling the void with the excellent re-runs on Comedy Central. This show is just too good, and with rumors that this may be its final season, we need to hang on to every excellent little morsel that this show delivers. Case in point, TV Squad is reporting that Blue Man Group will make a special appearance on the season premiere—which airs November 30th at 9:00 p.m. In the episode, J.D. (Zach Braff) will join the blue percussion dudes on stage at The Venetian Resort Hotel and Casino. This does bring to mind the great gag that Arrested Development had with Tobias (David Cross) trying to become a member of the group. Tune in—November 30th is going to be a great night—The Office, My Name is Earl, Scrubs and 30 Rock! Of course, there’s that little show, Grey’s Anatomy, that’s likely to pull a viewer or two away from Scrubs...
Read More | TV Squad
‘The Thick of It’ to be Helmed by Arrested Development Folks
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Prime Time, ABC, Arrested Development,
Well, it would be a lot more exciting if I could announce that Arrested Development was coming back to TV, but instead we’ll have to settle for the next (potentially) great thing from Arrested‘s creator Mitch Hurwitz. The Thick of It is yet another British adaptation for American TV. You would think that Americans have run out of creative ideas of their own! Anyway, Hurwitz and Richard Day, who wrote and produced Arrested Development, will be working together on the new comedy series for ABC. The American version will take place in the oh-so-funny world of Congress, looking at the inept players and bureaucrats who muck up the works. Day has a great writing pedigree—earning five Emmy nominations for The Larry Sanders Show and Arrested. He’s also written and/or produced for Mad About You, Ellen, Spin City, and Good Morning, Miami.
Read More | Zap2it
Look for ‘Lost Moments’ to Keep Fans Happy
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Drama, Prime Time, ABC, Lost, Internet,
OK folks, now that Lost is on hiatus for 13 weeks, it’s time to curl up in the fetal position and wait for the series to return in February. Never fear… ABC will be spoon-feeding small morsels of the hit show to fans during these long cold weeks of darkness. Day Break, starring Taye Diggs, will be taking the place of Lost, but viewers of Day Break should be on the lookout for what ABC is calling “Lost Moments.” These 30-second clips will show scenes from upcoming episodes and just may reveal, in small bites, what’s ahead for 2007. Of course, ABC won’t reveal what time the clips will be aired during Day Break, thus encouraging viewers to tune in for this new Groundhog’s Day-esque drama. If you don’t happen to watch Day Break, ABC will include the promos on ABC.com the next day.
Read More | Zap2it
Surprise! Friday Night Lights Gets Full Order
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Drama, Music, Prime Time, FOX, NBC, American Idol, Ratings, Renewals,
The media has been buzzing for weeks about the fate of NBC’s Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and Friday Night Lights, with most saying that one or both would get the axe. We recently reported that Studio 60 got a full season order, so it seemed that the low rated Friday Night Lights would be taking the fall. Good news, Lights fans—NBC is taking a chance on the football drama by also giving it a full season order. The struggling show has not done particularly well in its Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. slot, so NBC tried it in the Studio 60 time (Monday at 10:00 p.m.) to see if it would do any better. The series has only averaged about 6.7 million viewers. Kevin Reilly, NBC Entertainment president, said of the news, “We’re proud to reward an authentic, poignant series like Friday Night Lights with a full-season order, demonstrating our confidence in its appeal and quality.”
Now NBC will be revamping its schedule to better showcase Friday Night Lights. No official word yet on what the new schedule will look like, but the network will be moving Friday Night Lights out of its current Tuesday night spot (to spare it from the return of American Idol). The new schedule will begin in January.
Read More | Yahoo! News
Ricky Gervais Episode of The Office Coming Soon
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Prime Time, BBC, NBC, Extras, The Office,
The November 30th episode of The Office will be a very special episode. Not ‘very special’ in the typical sense of sitcoms (you know, where someone has an eating disorder or discovers their best friend has a drug problem). No, this is special for fans of the original British version of The Office. The November 30th show will be written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the originators of the series. This is the first episode of the American version that the pair has written. In the episode, Steve Carell’s character (Michael) discovers that one of the new employees has a prison record. For those who were curious if the character of Andy from the Stamford office would continue on the series (played by Ed Helms), fear not—in this episode Andy will seek advice from Jim (John Krasinski) on how to pursue Pam (Jenna Fischer). Knowing Gervais and Merchant’s work on both The Office and Extras, the November 30th episode should be nothing short of genius.
Read More | Zap2it
Justice Gets Yanked From Fox Lineup
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Drama, Prime Time, FOX, Cancellations, Ratings,
It’s been speculated for quite some time that Fox’s drama Justice would be cancelled. With ratings never quite making the grade and a shift in date/time, the series just never quite took off. In case you’re not familiar with the show, Justice starred Victor Garber and was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. So, it seemed like greatness in the making. But then, so did Smith and you know what happened there. It seemed Fox at least tried to give Justice a fighting chance by moving it from Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. to Mondays at 9:00 p.m. (following Prison Break). Only 5.9 million viewers tuned in last week, with only about half of the Prison Break lead-in audience hanging on to watch Justice.
Read More | CNN
What About Brian Picked Up
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Drama, Prime Time, ABC, Ratings, Renewals,
We already reported not even two weeks ago that ABC was ordering four additional scripts of the sophomore drama, What About Brian—and now, the series has been picked up for the full season! Wow, that was fast. Must have been some quality scripts, huh? With Barry Watson (as Brian) leading a cast of interesting characters and storylines, it seemed a safe bet that this show would stick around for the rest of the season. While ratings are not stellar, they did get a bump from 6.3 million last season to 6.7 million this fall. With The Bachelor in the timeslot before it, What About Brian is able to hold on to 85 percent of the lead-in show’s audience. Adults 18-49, and in particular, women 18-34, are a strong part of the viewing audience.
Read More | Zap2it
David Duchovny Comes to the Small Screen (Again!)
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Drama, Prime Time, Cable, Showtime, Cable/Satellite,
Ever since David Duchovny left The X-Files, there has been a little empty place in my heart. Fear not, Duchovny fans, for he returns again to the small screen! This time, however, he’ll be working with Showtime on two projects, according to a report from Variety. One series in the works would have Duchovny starring as a writer addicted to sex and drugs—who is trying to raise a child on his own. The pilot does not have a title attached yet. He will also executive produce the series.
But wait—there’s more! He’s also writing a comedy pilot with Bart Freundlich, called Yoga Man, which is said to be similar to the movie Shampoo (with Warren Beatty), only set in a yoga studio. Hmm. Ahh, just when I’d gotten the last of Duchovny out of my system, he’s back again. Welcome back to the small screen, David.
Read More | TV Squad
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