CBS May Cancel Guiding Light March 30, 2009 7:46 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in CBS, News, Television.Tags: Guiding Light
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TV Week is reporting that CBS may soon decide to pull the plug on Guiding Light, the longest-running daytime drama in television history (it started on radio and together with its television run its survived more than 70 years). While no final decision has been made yet, the network’s deal ends in September and the network would likely settle on a decision within the next month.
Last February the show changed its storytelling approach to one that gave the show a more realistic, less stage feel. That was also around the time that CBS renewed the show for its current season and retaining an option for an additional season. But ratings haven’t improved since the switch. According to data from Nielsen, season-to-date, the show is averaging 2.17 million viewers and a 0.9 rating in women 18-49 rating (the target demographic for daytime soaps); that’s down 18% in viewers and 25% in the demographic season-to-season.
Bob Barket to Guest Star on The Price Is Right! March 25, 2009 2:25 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in CBS, News, Television.Tags: Bob Barker, Drew Carey, The Price Is Right
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Bob Barker, the legendary emcee and former host of The Price Is Right!, will return to the show Wednesday to tape a guest apperance. His appearance is part of the promotional tour for Priceless Memories, his new autobiography.
CBS plans to air Mr. Barker’s guest spot on April 16th.
Bob Barker stepped down as host of the hit daytime game show in 2007, after 35 years. Drew Carey currently hosts the show.
Source: TV Week
Survivor: Live Opening in Theme Parks this Summer March 24, 2009 1:06 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in CBS, News, Television.Tags: Survivor: Live
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CBS Consumer Products has sealed a deal to bring the stage show Survivor: Live to three theme parks this summer.
“Audience involvement is key to the success of ‘Survivor,’ and we’ve been looking to make that tangible and real,” said Liz Kalodner, exec VP and general manager of CBS Consumer Products. “It took us a little time to create something that replicated the essence of the show.”
According to Variety, the half-hour program will use clips from the TV series — as well as actors portraying previous contestants — and divide the audience into four “tribes.” Volunteers from the crowd will go through a series of four challenges, leading eventually to a sole winner.
The show will debut May 2 at Denver’s Elitch Gardens and Oklahoma City’s Frontier City. On May 23rd a third show, at the Darien Lake Theme Park Resort in Darien Center, N.Y., will open.
Casting Bites: Amanda Seyfried, Anne Hathaway, Tom Selleck, Peter Krause and More March 24, 2009 12:52 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in ABC, Casting, CBS, HBO, Lionsgate, Movies, NBC, Summit Entertainment, Television, Warner Brothers, Warner Independent.Tags: Big Love, Canned, Five Killers, Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland, Parenthood, State of Romance, Sucker Punch, The Eastman's, The Rum Diary, The Twilight Saga's New Moon, This Little Piggy, V
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Here’s a round up of the latest casting related news for television and film.
- Amanda Seyfried won’t be able to take on the lead role in Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch because HBO won’t release her from her contract on Big Love. Snyder’s film begins shooting this fall, which would conflict with scheduled shooting on the fourth season of Big Love. [EW]
- Actors Chaske Spencer, Bronson Pelletier, Alex Meraz, Kiowa Gordon and Tyson Houseman have all signed on to star as members of the wolf pack in Summit Entertainment’s The Twilight Saga: New Moon. [STYD]
- Anne Hathaway has signed on to star as Judy Garland in the film and stage adaptations of Gerald Clarke’s biography Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland. [Weinstein Co.]
- Giovanni Ribisi has joined the cast of Hunter S. Thompson’s adaptation of The Rum Diary from Warner Independent. Ribisi will play a carousing journalist in the film, which stars Johnny Depp. [Variety]
- Amanda Bynes has landed the starring role in the ABC pilot Canned. The actress will play Sarabeth, a naive Midwesterner who’s being exploited by her boss – and doesn’t realize it. [Variety]
- Tom Selleck, Catherine O’Hara and Martin Mull have all joined the cast of Five Killers, a Lionsgate action comedy that also stars Ashton Kutcher (as a retiring hitman) and Katherine Heigl (his computer tech girlfriend). Selleck and O’Hara are playing Heigl’s overprotective father and doring mother, while Mull is playing Holbrook, Kutcher’s handler. Robert Luketic is directing the film which is scheduled for release on June 4, 2010 release. [THR]
More casting bites after the jump. (more…)
CBS Hands Out Multi-Year Renewals for Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory March 18, 2009 7:30 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in CBS, News, Television.Tags: The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men
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CBS and Warner Bros. television have announced a multi-year broadcast agreement for Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory. The agreement renews the Two and a Half Men through the 2011-2012 season and The Big Bang Theory through the 2010-2011 season. There was news of this development about a week ago. The full press release follows after the jump. (more…)
Fallon Finishes His First Week #1 March 13, 2009 3:56 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in CBS, NBC, News, Nielsen TV Ratings, Television.Tags: Broadcast TV Ratings, Craig Ferguson, Jimmy Fallon, Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson
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Jimmy Fallon’s first week as host of NBC’s Late Night was a successful one, with the late-night program beating all cable and broadcast competition as well as Conan’s season average. For the week of March 2-6 the program averaged nearly 2.4 million viewers and more than 1.2 million adults 18-49, out-rating its nearest competitor (CBS’s Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson) by 25% among viewers and 60% among adults 18-49.
Additionally, Fallon’s debut week ranked as the most-watched ever in the last decade, besting the bows of The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson (2M viewers in January 2005), ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live (1.7M in January 2003) and The Late Show With Craig Kilborn (1.5M in March/April 1999).
Source: Variety
Skeet Ulrich ‘Back’ At CBS March 12, 2009 1:00 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in CBS, News, Television.Tags: Back, Craig Zadan, Dean Widenmann, Mark Pellington, Neil Meron, Skeet Ulrich
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Jericho star Skeet Ulrich is back at CBS, landing a role as the lead in the network’s drama pilot Back. From CBS Paramount, Back centers on a man (Ulrich) who returns home to discover he was reported missing eight years earlier, after September 11th. He must reconnect with his family and a world that has moved on without him.
The pilot’s script was written by Dean Widenmann who will be executive producing with producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (Hairspray). Mark Pellington is directing.
Cold Case and Without a Trace In Danger of Cancellation? March 11, 2009 8:03 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in CBS, News, Television.Tags: Cold Case, Without a Trace
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This may surprise some folks. Multiple sources confirm to Michael Ausiello of EW that CBS has informed the producers of both Cold Case and Without a Trace are facing possible cancellation come May.:
“They no longer have the type of ratings that justify the massive overhead,” points out an Eye source, who adds that the Trace and Case bean counters at Warner Bros. are looking for ways to trim costs and avoid getting the axe. That includes convincing the casts of both shows to take salary cuts — or at the very least forfeit their annual raises.
Even if they can negotiate some of those changes, Ausiello’s insider stresses that “it’s not a given that either show will be back.” Reps for CBS and Warner Bros. declined to comment for this story.
The issue with both shows ratings, and many of CBS’s other shows as well, is that while they often average solid total viewer averages, they rate lower among the key A18-49 demographic.
CBS Orders Four Additional Scripts for ‘Mother’; Renewal Likely March 11, 2009 6:29 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in CBS, News, Nielsen TV Ratings, Television.Tags: Broadcast TV Ratings, How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Two and a Half Men
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CBS has ordered four additional scripts for its comedy series How I Met Your Mother, a very positive first sign towards the likeilhood of the show receiving a renewal for next season.
The scripts are for the 2009-10 season and will give the show’s producers an opportunity to get a head start on the fifth season. So yeah, it’s extremely likely that the show is coming back for another season.
In recent years a renewal has been much more in doubt, but the show, coupled with lead-in The Big Bang Theory, has helped put the network in a dominant position on Monday nights
The network is rumored to be in discussions with Warner Bros. (who produces the shows) over multiseason renewals for fellow Monday night comedies The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men as well as another comedy on the network, The New Adventures of Old Christine, which is just a few episodes away from tallying up enough episodes for syndication.
If you’re interested, full season ratings data for the three key Monday night comedies (The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother and Two and a Half Men) follows after the jump. (more…)
CBS Orders Two More Editions of Survivor February 26, 2009 6:30 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in CBS, News, Television.Tags: Survivor
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CBS has ordered two more editions of its hit reality series Survivor to be broadcast during the 2009-2010 season. They will mark the 19th and 20th editions of what is broadcast television’s longest-running reality competition series. Jeff Probst will continue as a host.
“I am happy to be able produce two more editions of survivor for our loyal fans,” said Mark Burnett, Executive Producer of SURVIVOR. “Our show stands for high quality family entertainment and all of us on this team will continue to deliver on this promise.”
“We have a unique relationship with our audience,” said Jeff Probst, host of SURVIVOR. “They tell us what they like and we listen. It’s worked for 18 editions and we’re looking forward to delivering two more satisfying seasons!”
The full press release follows after the jump. (more…)
LL Cool J Cast as Lead in NCIS Spin-Off February 25, 2009 3:51 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Casting, CBS, News, Television.Tags: LL Cool J, NCIS, NCIS Spin-off
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Variety is reporting that rapper/actor LL Cool J has been set to star in CBS’s planned NCIS spin-off. He’ll play a tough but charming former Navy SEAL who works undercover for the NCIS unit in L.A. and is an expert on the Middle East. The spin-off will air as one half of a two-part episode of the CBS drama NCIS later this season. NCIS showrunner Shane Brennan created the still-untitled spin-off and will executive produce for CBS Paramount.
McG Heading Thunder Road for CBS February 18, 2009 4:34 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in CBS, News, Television, Thunder Road.add a comment
CBS has announced that they are developing a new reality series called Thunder Road, executive produced by McG. According to THR, contestants on the show will “drive cars through a perilous obstacle course”. The pilot presentation had two teams risking demolition while driving a course stocked with challenging obstacles.
CBS Picks Up Three Drama Pilots January 30, 2009 1:19 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Back, CBS, U.S. Attorney Project, Washington Field.4 comments
CBS has picked up three drama pilots, the networks first such pickup this season. The three programs are Back, U.S. Attorney Project and Washington Fields.
Back: Follows a man who returns home only to discovery that he had been reported missing eight years earlier, following 9/11. He now has to reconnect with family and friends that have moved on without him.
U.S. Attorney Project: A legal drama about a team of federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan.
Washington Fields: About an elite FBI team that handles only the most critical cases out of the bureau’s DC office.
Source: Broadcasting & Cable
CBS Announces Cast for The Amazing Race January 26, 2009 6:14 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Casting, CBS, News, Television, The Amazing Race.1 comment so far
CBS has announced the 11 teams that will take part in the 14th installment of the Emmy Award-winning series The Amazing Race, which premieres Sunday, February 15th (8:00-9:00pm ET/PT) on CBS. The new season will see the contestants traverse over 40,000 miles and nine countries over 22 days.
The full press release follows after the jump. (more…)
CNN Tops Cable Networks In Inauguration Ratings UPDATE: Inauguration Draws 37.8 Million January 21, 2009 6:18 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in ABC, Broadcast TV Ratings, Cable TV Ratings, CBS, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, NBC, News, Nielsen TV Ratings, Television.add a comment
UPDATED ON 1/22/2009
Nielsen reports that from 10am to 5pm ET, an average 37,793,008 tuned into the ceremony, swearing in, speech and coverage of the Inauguration. That’s the second-most ever, slightly below the 41,800,260 who watched Reagan’s nomination in January 1981.
Keep in mind that the number does not include any online viewers or radio listeners and this covers a very large time period (President Obama’s oath took place shortly after noon and his speech lasted about 20 or so minutes ending shortly before 12:30pm). The amount of Americans who tuned into that segment was decidely larger.
It must have been, because Gallup has releaed a poll indicating that a massive 60% of the nation tuned into all of the address. Do the math and you’ll see there’s a large discrepency between the two numbers.
Original article follows below.
CNN was the ratings winner among cable-news networks during coverage of Tuesday’s inauguration of President Barack Obama, according to data released today by Nielsen.
For the swearing-in ceremony and Inaugural Address in Washington — from noon to 12:30pm — CNN drew 8.5 million total viewers, well ahead of Fox News Channel (5.5 million total viewers) and MSNBC (3.1 million total viewers).
Breaking out the numbers more fully, CNN was also first from 11am to 2pm Tuesday, with 6.9 million viewers, followed by Fox News Channel (4.4 million viewers) and MSNBC (2.6 million viewers). CNN’s numbers are the most ever 11am to 2pm average in its history.
And finally, for the total day of the inauguration — 6am to 3am — CNN placed first with an average of 4.0 million total viewers, with Fox News following in second with 2.5 million viewers and MSNBC in third with 1.7 million viewers.
Demo data — which CNN also dominated (beating Fox News and MSNBC combined) — follows after the jump. (more…)
Jericho Creator Working on Feature Film Version January 15, 2009 11:37 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in CBS, Jericho, Movies, News, Television, The CW.3 comments
The twice-canceled CBS drama Jericho isn’t dead yet. Executive producer Jon Turteltaub tells iFMagazine that there is a theatrical movie based on the short-lived TV series in development.
…the big news is Turteltaub’s company is currently hatching a potential feature film version of the TV show.
“We’re developing a feature for JERICHO,” says Turteltaub. “It would not require you to have seen the TV show, but it get into life after an event like this on a national scale. It would be the bigger, full on American version of what’s going on beyond the town in Jericho.”
Asked about whether the cast would return, Turteltaub exclaimed “Oh yeah!”. If the project got the green light, Turteltaub expects an adequate budget: “Anything would be a huge budget compared to what we were dealing with,” he adds. “If we had $40 million dollars to make a movie with, that’s 20 times more than we did before.”
The CW is currently airing Jericho repeats on Sunday night’s. Catch the show all over again at 7:00pm.
CBS Cancels Swingtown + Other CBS Bits January 14, 2009 5:49 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Cancellations, CBS, NCIS, News, Swingtown, Television, The Mentalist.add a comment
CBS president Nina Tassler has confirmed what was assumed for some time, Swingtown has been officially canceled:
“We’re not going back to Swingtown,” Tassler said. “At the end of the day the show was well executed, it was well received, the performances were great, the writing was great. It was a risk, we took it, and we’re proud of it.”
Other bits from Tassler:
- CBS will be ordering an additional hour of the successful freshman
drama The Mentalist. - Plans are moving forward for the NCIS spin-off. The new cast will be introduced in an episode of NCIS this spring.
Source: EW
CBS Announces Midseason Schedule December 2, 2008 3:16 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in 2008/2009 Television, CBS, News, Television.add a comment
CBS has unveiled its midseason schedule. The lineup features the series premieres of Game Show in My Head (January 3) and Harper’s Island (April 9), and the returns of Flashpoint (January 9), Survivor (February 12) and The Amazing Race (February 15).
The full press release follows after the jump.
CBS Orders Five More Episodes of Eleventh Hour December 2, 2008 12:49 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in CBS, Eleventh Hour, News, Television.add a comment
CBS has ordered an addditional five episodes of the freshman drama Eleventh Hour, bringing the season order to 18. Eleventh Hour is based on the British series of the same name, and follows government scientist Dr. Jacob Hood (Rufus Sewell) and his FBI partner Rachel Young (Marley Shelton) as they try to stop scientific experiments gone bad.
Through seven aired episodes thus far this season, Eleventh Hour has drawn solid and consistent ratings, averaging a 7.4/13 HH rating/share, 11.36 million viewers and a 3.0/8 A18-49 rating/share. However, the problem is that the show performs poorly as a lead-out to CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, with retention levels of just 62% among households, 58% among viewers and 56% among adults 18-49.
Source: TV Week
The Ex List Canceled October 28, 2008 11:38 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in 2008/2009 Television, Cancellations, CBS, News, Television, The Ex-List.13 comments
After a run of just four episodes, CBS has decided to cancel its low-rated new drama The Ex List. This Friday’s episode, which will be its fifth, will be the end of the line. Nine episodes are in the pipe, and while the remaining four may be run off some time in the future, CBS has not announced when that might be. In the mean time, repeats of NCIS will fill in the Friday 9pm time slot.
The Ex List is actually the first new drama this season to be canceled and continues CBS’s unfortunate slump of failed TV dramas that don’t involve crime.
Source: Variety
CBS Cancels “EliteXC Saturday Night Fights” October 26, 2008 11:58 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Cancellations, CBS, EliteXC Saturday Night Fights, News, Television.add a comment
EliteXC Saturday Night Fights is coming to an end. The show had aired three installments on CBS, with the most recent airing on October 4th and had plans to air one more match, but Pro Elite, the company that ran the program, shut down for unspecified reasons.
Source: NY Times
“The Amazing Race 13” Teams Announced August 20, 2008 3:55 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in CBS, News, Television, The Amazing Race.add a comment
CBS has announced the 11 teams that will compete on the upcoming season of The Amazing Race. The Amazing Race 13 kicks off on Sunday, September 23rd (8-9pm ET/PT). The teams will travel over 30,000 miles over 23 days in five continents. Full details, including the complete list of team members, is included after the jump.
30th Anniversary “Dallas” Reunion August 19, 2008 5:58 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in CBS, Dallas, News, Television.add a comment
Take note J.R. fans. On Saturday, November 8th, cast members of the CBS classic Dallas will gather at the Southfork Ranch for a 30th anniversary of the series. Those attending will be Larry Hagman (J.R.), who will be the unofficial host, Linda Gray (Sue Ellen) and Patrick Duffy (Bobby) will be in attendance. Tickets for the event go on sale this Friday, August 22nd and will cost between $100 and $1,000. Price of admission earns you the opportunity to ask a question, tour Southfork and watch a fireworks display, among other things I’m sure.
CBS Developing New “Hawaii Five-O” Series August 19, 2008 5:08 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in CBS, Hawaii Five-O, News, Television.add a comment
CBS is developing a new series based on the Hawaii Five-O franchise. The series comes from Criminal Minds executive producer/showrunner Ed Bernero.
The update will follow the structure of the original series, a procedural chronicling the workings of the fictional Hawaiian state police department, with Bernero noting that they “will try to keep as much of the original show as possible,” adding “I’m not trying to reinvent it.” In the original series, the unit was headed up by Steve McGarrett (Jack Lord). The new series will have McGarrett’s son Chris, as the head cop.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Fishburne in Talks to Replace Petersen on “CSI” August 6, 2008 9:37 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Casting, CBS, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, News, Television.add a comment
Laurence Fishburne is in talks to replace William Petersen as the lead star in CBS’s veteran crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Sources say that Fishburne is being heavily courted to play a new character, described as a doctor/scientist outsider to the CSI unit who has the same genetic profile as a serial killer but hasn’t previously acted on any homicidal impulses.
THR further notes that Fishburne had been mentioned as one of the CSI producers’ top choices for the role, along with John Malkovich and Kurt Russell.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
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