TV News Roundup – January 2010 – Week 1
Everything you need to know about Lost’s final season
“We’re employing a different narrative device, which we feel is creating some emotional and heartfelt stories, and we want the audience to have a chance in the final season to remember the entire history of the show,” Cuse said. “So we have actors coming back like, Dominic [Monaghan] and Ian [Somerhalder]. We’re hoping to achieve a circularity of the entire journey so the ending is reminiscent of the beginning.”
BBC creates $12.3 bn, claims report
Broadcaster steps up fight to justify expansion
The BBC generates £7.6 billion ($12.3 billion) a year for the U.K. economy, according to a report to be published later this month. The report, leaked to the Guardian newspaper, has been commissioned by the pubcaster to illustrate the extent of economic activity for which the BBC is responsible. According to figures supplied by financial firm Deloitte, the U.K. would lose $6.5 billion if the BBC were privatized.
Q&A: ‘Lost’ producers discuss emotional final season
“…the one area we’re in agreement is there will be a short-term reaction to the ending and then a legacy reaction that comes six months, a year down the road, looking at the show as a whole. Carlton and I were trying yesterday to remember what the final season of “The Sopranos” even was about — we couldn’t remember much about the finale itself except Anthony Jr. was going to go into the Army and crashed his car and changed his mind. But we remember every frame of the diner scene. What people take away from our finale is going to be based purely on that two-hour episode, but our hope is they’ll be able to connect that experience to the six years that preceded it.”
Sharon Stone to guest star on ‘L&O: SVU’
Actress will play a prosecutor in a four-episode story arc
Sharon Stone will soon be fighting crime in a guest role on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” The Oscar-nominated actress will appear on the NBC cop drama in a four-episode story arc later this season, says Pam Golum, a spokeswoman for producer Dick Wolf.
Fox, CBS pick up pilots
Shawn Ryan drama, Matt Tarses comedy get green lights
Fox greenlighted Shawn Ryan’s cop drama “Ridealong,” while CBS has officially picked up Matt Tarses’ multicamera comedy “True Love.” Both projects carried hefty commitments from the network. “Ridealong” is set in Chicago and moves the inner law-enforcement workings away from police stations. “Love” is an ensemble comedy about four people in their 20s in New York looking for love.
Chuck star wants take the show on the road
“I have always kind of felt that this show would be amazing to take on the road,” Zachary Levi said. “It’d be a difficult thing to juggle the budget, but with crews around the world and technology where it is, … but to go and take a television show and travel with it and go to Rome and go to Paris. I mean, I know it’s such a pipe dream, but how incredible would that be, to take all our characters and go shoot in all these places they go shoot movies in, but you’re a television show?”
FlashForward will reveal these big secrets when it returns
“What we’re going to answer by the end of the season is ‘How is it that some of these things can be coming true and some of them can’t be coming true?’” David Goyer said. “That is sort of the bulk of what we’ll be dealing with in terms of philosophically over the second half of the season. It’s not determinism, and it’s not free will. We never intended it was either/or. There is a philosophical model of the universe that combines them, and we do deal with that head-on in the second half of the season.”
NBC greenlights six drama pilots
Include projects from David E. Kelley, Jerry Bruckheimer
NBC is bringing in big drama guns for next fall, greenlighting pilots from David E. Kelley, Jerry Bruckheimer, “House” creator David Shore and “Without a Trace” creator Hank Steinberg. The network announced it had picked up six drama pilots, in addition to the previously ordered J.J. Abrams drama “Undercovers” and legal dramedy “Rex Is Not Your Lawyer.” The new pickups include Steinberg’s remake of the icon British drama “Prime Suspect,” Shore’s updated version of the classic “The Rockford Files,” Kelley’s legal drama “Kindreds,” the Bruckheimer-produced action procedural “Chase,” as well as romantic comedy “Love Bites,” from “Sex and the City” alumna Cindy Chupack, and thriller “The Event” from Nick Wauters.
NBC confirms Jay Leno out of primetime, network going ‘back to basics’
The network is going “back to basics” — scripted programming at 10 p.m., talk shows in late-night and a traditional network upfront in May. NBC has asked Leno to move to 11:35 p.m. and host a half-hour show, followed by O’Brien’s hourlong “Tonight Show” and Fallon’s one-hour “Late Night.” Leno is expected to agree to the change, though it’s unclear if O’Brien is willing to stay with the network. The comedian has had multiple overtures from networks and on Friday a Fox source called O’Brien “a good fit” for the network.
NBC’s sci-fi Day One shrinks again: Now it’s just a movie
“Day One is going to air as a two-hour movie. We looked at after V launched and after FlashForward launched with a strong initial thing. We didn’t want to come on after that. As we sat down with [executive producer] Jesse [Alexander] and talked about more of the mythology, there’s just concern about sustaining that.”
Oliver Stone’s ‘Secret History’ to put Hitler ‘in context’
“You cannot approach history unless you have empathy for the person you may hate,” Stone said. “I don’t want to put out conventional History Channel product where it’s easy to like it.” “He’s not saying we’re going to come out with a more positive view of Hitler,” emphasized professor Peter Kuznick, the lead writer on the project. “But we’re going to describe him as a historical phenomenon and not just somebody who appeared out of nowhere.”
Showtime orders Jeremy Irons crime series ‘Borgias’
Showtime has given a 13-episode order to “The Borgias,” which will replace “The Tudors” after the latter drama’s final season this spring. The “Borgias” story is set in Italy in 1492. It follows a powerful crime family that’s headed by patriarch Rodrigo Borgia, played by Jeremy Irons in his first regular TV series role. Michael Hirst, who wrote every episode of “Tudors,” will run the project. Neil Jordan will executive produce and direct first two epiosdes.
CW previewing ‘Life Unexpected’ online
First 10 minutes of new drama will be on official fan sites
The CW will put the first 10 minutes of its new drama “Life Unexpected” online a week before its linear debut. The approach marks the first time that Facebook has hosted a screening across multiple pages, with “Unexpected” available to the network’s 5.4 million Facebook fans. The move allows CW to directly target its most dedicated viewers online.
USA greenlights ‘Covert Affairs’
Spy drama starring Piper Perabo gets 11-episode order
Cable’s top network has picked up the 90-minute pilot starring Piper Perabo to series with an 11-episode order. The spy drama, from Universal Cable Prods., centers on Annie Walker (Perabo), a multilingual CIA trainee unexpectedly promoted to field operative while reeling over a mysterious ex-boyfriend who appears to be of particular interest to her agency bosses.
Fox sets ‘Code 58′ for summer
Comedy will have previews before ‘American Idol’
The network is slotting the action comedy from “Burn Notice” creator Matt Nix for Mondays at 9 p.m., beginning June 7. “Code 58,” starring Colin Hanks and Bradley Whitford, centers on Jack (Hanks), an ambitious, by-the-book detective whose habit of undermining himself has resulted in a dead-end position at the Los Angeles Police Department. Worse, he has been partnered with Dan (Whitford), a drunken, lecherous, wild-card cop who hangs on to his job only because of a heroic act years before.
‘Glee’ renewed for second season
Series launching nationwide casting call for new characters
Fox has given an early second-season renewal to breakout freshman dramedy “Glee.” The show also is launching a nationwide casting search to fill new roles for season two. The auditions will start in February and will be open to amateurs and professionals between the ages of 16-26. “Anybody and everybody now has a chance to be on a show about talented underdogs,” co-creator/exec producer Ryan Murphy said. “No matter who you are — a Broadway talent or a struggling singing waiter with a dream in the Midwest — you now have an opportunity to make that dream come true by posting your talent video and showing us what you can do.”
But Wait, There’s More…
- ‘The Simpsons’ celebrate the big 4-5-0
- ‘Heroes’ is most-pirated TV show of ‘09
- ABC picks up ‘187 Detroit’ pilot, docu-style crime drama
- James Van Der Beek joins ‘Mercy’
- ‘Southland’ actor joining ‘True Blood’
- Catherine McCormack, Stacy Keach join cast of FX’s ‘Lights Out’
- Kim Raver joins ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ full time
- Luke Wilson, Diane Ladd join HBO comedy pilot ‘Enlightened’
- Martin Lawrence producing TV One comedy ‘Love That Girl!’ aimed at largely neglected black aud
- HBO nabs rights to ‘Sins of My Father’, docu centering on Pablo Escobar
- NBC picks up Adam Carolla pilot
- ‘The Wire’ actor joins FX’s ‘Lights Out’
- David Milch, Michael Mann team for ‘Luck’ with HBO
- Chuck’s ‘Big Mike’ gives us a big peek at what’s coming
- Angel’s Alexis Denisof talks his supernatural pilot for ABC
- Vampire Diaries producers deny that Elena’s a vampire
- Will Lost’s ‘Boone’ return from the dead?
- Medium, Ghost Whisperer may be renewed for ‘10-’11
- ABC delays FlashForward 2 more weeks
- All the answers about FlashForward’s changes
- ABC greenlights ‘Scoundrels’, based on New Zealand series ‘Outrageous Fortune’
- ‘Rita Rocks’ canceled on Lifetime
- Hannah Montana ending the show after the fourth season
- Showtime picks up Laura Linney’s ‘The Big C’
- ABC buys comedies from Cedric the Entertainer and Carlos Mencia
- AMC Announces “Breaking Bad” Season 3 Premiere Sunday, March 21 at 10pm
- ‘24′ actor to star in ABC’s ‘Funny in Farsi’
The Fine Print
This is by no means meant to be a comprehensive roundup of the entire weeks’ news. All stories are chosen by me for no other reason than that they got my attention and might capture yours. If something you think is more important chime in on the feedback; we’d love to hear comments and have a conversation about it.
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