Tiffani Thiessen added to cast of “What About Brian” January 5, 2007 7:45 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in News, Press Releases, Television.1 comment so far
Rob Lowe gets an extended role on “Brothers & Sisters” January 5, 2007 7:30 pm
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“The O.C.” Canceled [Updated with Nielsen numbers] January 5, 2007 12:30 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Cancellations, News, Television.4 comments
On February 22nd, The O.C. will end its run after four seasons on Fox.
From the Fox Press Release:
The sun will set for the last time on THE O.C. when the series ends its four-season run Thursday, Feb. 22 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. The countdown has begun, with all-original episodes airing from Thursday, Jan. 4 through the last episode on Feb. 22.
“THE O.C. Season Four finale will also be the series finale. This feels like the best time to bring the show to its close, said Josh Schwartz, creator and executive producer of THE O.C. Thanks to the hard work of our cast, crew and writers, we have enjoyed our best season yet, and what better time to go out than creatively on top. It has been an amazing experience and a great run. For a certain audience, at a certain time, THE O.C. has meant something. For that we are grateful.”
The blogsite What’s Alan Watching? had an update from the show’s creator addressing, and shooting down, rumors that the show would be shopped to another network:
Part of my quote from the press release that didn’t make the cut was “There has been some speculation about a Season 5 on another network but this feels like the best time to bring the story to an end”. They cut the other network stuff – but yeah, I felt better to go out now with the run we’re having then try and move the show, etc etc. and maybe not be able to deliver the same level of quality. Teen dramas have a shelf life. We’ve had a lot of parties on the show, and so I’ve learned, best not to stay too late.
The news, while dissapointing to the show’s fans, should not come as much of a surprise, given the decline in ratings the series has experienced in just one year.
Comparing the first eight episodes this year to the same string of episodes last year, The O.C. is down 2.61M (41%) among total viewers, 40% among total households and 41% among adults 18-49 (full numbers below):
- Households – 4.2/6 to 2.5/4
- Viewers – 6.40M to 3.79M
- A18-49 – 2.9 to 1.7
And preliminary fast national ratings for last nights episode (1/4/2007) still show a struggling series: 2.5/4 HH Rating, 3.94M Viewers, 1.7/ 4 A18-49 rating.
Source: — Fox Press Release and [What’s Alan Watching?] — End of The O.C.: Try the veal?
Note: All ratings numbers are Nielsen Finals, unless otherwise noted.
Bill Cowher to retire as Steelers Coach January 5, 2007 11:11 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in News, NFL, Sports.add a comment
After 15 years of coaching for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Bill Cowher has informed his assistant coaches that he is stepping down as coach of the recent Super Bowl champions.
The Steelers organization have scheduled a 1:00 PM ET. press conference to discuss the Cowher situation.
If Cowher, 161-99-1 in his 15 seasons with the Steelers, decides to return to coaching in 2007, the Steelers control his contractual rights through the season. So any team that would want him to coach for them would have to be willing to give up draft choices to get the rights to talk to him.
But it’s a moot point, as it’s expected Cowher will take the year off from coaching.
Source: — [ESPN] — Cowher expected to retire Friday at news conference
SAG nominations announced January 4, 2007 9:54 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Awards, Movies, News, Television.3 comments
As mentioned here last week, the Screen Actors Guild today announced their nominees for the 13th annual awards show. The winners will be announced live on TNT and TBS on January 28th.
Continue reading to view the entire list of nominees.
Showtime to enter gaming realm January 4, 2007 8:30 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in News, Video Games.add a comment
CBS-owned cable channel Showtime is gearing for a second quarter launch of a online gaming-service ala GameTap called On Broadband.
The service will offer on-demand and downloadable games as well as reviews and cheats for PC users equiped with a broadband connection.
“While it might not seem like a natural, when you think about it, it makes a lot of sense for Showtime,” Showtime chairman and chief executive Matthew Blank told the AP. “We are used to dealing with a premium customer. We have the marketing and promotional expertise to be in those businesses.”
No specific game titles or content for the service have been announced yet.
Top DVD Sales for the week ending December 24th January 4, 2007 7:04 pm
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Newcomers Invincible and Step Up were no match for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest as the second film in the ‘Pirates’ franchise took the top spot for the third straight week.
Other new releases for the week before Christmas were Fearless at number eight, direct-to-dvd American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile at number 12, and the disappointing box office performer Lady in the Water at number 15.
Filling out top 1o after Pirates, Invincible and Step Up were Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby at number four, The Devil Wears Prada at number five, Cars at number six, Barnyard at number seven, Air Buddies at number nine and The Fox and the Hound 2 at number 10.
Among TV Shows on DVD, Grey’s Anatomy: Season 2 was the only boxset to place in the top 20 overall DVD charts, coming in at number 17 (three spots up from the week before.)
New Grindhouse trailer released January 4, 2007 6:41 pm
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A new trailer for Grindhouse (the Rodriguez/Tarantino double-feature film) has been released. Check it out at IGN Movies here.
The movie, or should I say movies, will be released in theaters this April 6th.
HBO and J.J. Abrams team up for medical drama January 4, 2007 6:23 pm
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HBO and J.J. Abrams are in negotations for Abrams to executive produce and possibly direct a medial drama pilot that was recently given the green light by HBO.
The project, currently untitled, is a hospital drama that will focus on the patients point of view. It’s based on the book “The Anatomy of Hope: How People Prevail in the Face of Illness” and will be written by Tom Schulman and Rafael Yglesias.
Source: — [The Hollywood Reporter] — HBO OKs medical drama pilot with Abrams
The CW greenlights new Schwartz TV project January 4, 2007 6:13 pm
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Though one of Josh Schwartz’s show’s was just canceled (The O.C.) he has a few others waiting in the wings.
Variety reports that The CW has just greenlit Gossip Girl, Schwartz’s second pilot pickup (NBC greenlit Crumbs earlier).
Gossip Girl is based on the popular book series of the same name and marks the first-ever scripted pilot order for The CW.
Source: — [Variety] — CW gives Schwartz some good news
Warner Brothers to announce single Blu-ray/HD DVD optical disc January 4, 2007 9:00 am
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Understanding that consumers are wary of buying into the new high-definition players, Warner Brothers plans to announce a new disc (Total HD disc) capable of playing film and television content in both formats.
Executives at Time Warner (parent of Warner Brothers) hope the disc will generate an increase of sales of the new High-Definition players. Barry M. Meyer, the chairman and chief executive of Warner Brothers, said in an interview that the company came up with the Total HD disc after concluding that neither Blu-ray or HD DVD was going to lose the format war anytime soon.
“The next best thing is to recognize that there will be two formats and to make that not a negative for the consumer,” Mr. Meyer said. “We felt that the most significant constituency for us to satisfy was the consumer first, and the retailer second. The retailer wants to sell hardware and doesn’t want to be forced into stocking two formats for everything. This is ideal for them.”
The disc will be debuted at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next Tuesday.
Source: — [The NY Times] — New Disc May Sway DVD Wars
LG Electronics set to debut first dual-mode HD DVD/Blu-ray player January 4, 2007 8:45 am
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South Korean electronics giant LG Electronics. Inc. announced Thursday their intention to develop the worlds first Optical Disc Player capable of supporting the two competing disc formats — Blu-ray and HD DVD.
LG will debut the player next week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The company had originally planned to release models for each format, but decided against that approach, fueling speculation that they were moving in this direction towards a dual player.
The new model will hit the U.S. market during the first quarter of this year, with LG adding that they will announce a timeframe and price point for the device during CES.
Possible renewal for ‘Galactica’ close January 3, 2007 5:34 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Battlestar Galactica, News, Rumors, Sci Fi, Science Fiction, Television.add a comment
SyFy Portal is reporting, but stressing the news should be viewed as rumor, that Sci Fi is close to renewing the critical hit Battlestar Galactica for a fourth season, possibly even before the switch to Sunday nights happens this January.
“Moving a show to Sunday nights might at first glance appear to be an act of desperation, but SciFi Channel is expected to officially give the greenlight to a fourth season of “Battlestar Galactica,” possibly even before the show makes its Sunday night debut on Jan. 21.”
The site is also reporting that news isn’t so good for the proposed spinoff Caprica: “Anyone expecting to see ‘Caprica’ before 2008 is fooling themselves,” a SciFi Channel source told SyFy Portal. “There is still quite a bit to be worked out.”
The site also goes on to report that Sci Fi is not expected to grant a greenlight for the recent mini-series The Lost Room which aired at the end of December and averaged a 1.8 household rating over its three nights (1.9, 1.7, 1.7), well below previous mini-series by the network (3.0+ from Mini’s such as Battlestar Galactica and more recently The Triangle).
Battlestar Galactica averaged a 1.5 household rating during the first half of its third season. The show is down nearly 30% from the 2.0 it averaged over the first 10 episodes of season 2.
Source: — [SyFy Portal] — ‘Battlestar Galactica’ To Get Renewed, ‘Caprica’ Struggles
Stacy Kiebler to guest star on two ABC shows January 3, 2007 5:19 pm
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Stacy Keibler, former WWE star and more recently a favorite dancing contestant on season 2 of Dancing with the Stars, will be a guest character on two ABC shows; What about Brian and George Lopez.
From the ABC Press Release:
She will begin a seven-episode arc of ABC’s drama series “What About Brian,” playing fledgling actress/model Stephanie who moves in to an apartment downstairs from Brian (Barry Watson). There is an immediate flirtatious bond between Brian and the irresistibly hot Stephanie, causing even more problems between Brian and his current girlfriend. The episode, entitled “What About Finding Your Place…,” is scheduled to air MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5.
In the ABC comedy “George Lopez,” Stacy plays Vic’s young and beautiful but not too bright fiancie. The episode, entitled “George’s House Has Two Empty Wombs,” is scheduled to air WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, and the episode entitled “George Thinks Vic’s Fiancie is Lion about Being a Cheetah” is scheduled to air WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21.
What about Brian is in its second year and currently airs Monday nights from 10:00 to 11:00 PM.
George Lopez begins its sixth season this January and airs Wednesday nights from 8:00 to 8:30 PM.
All times eastern.
USA Network picks up “Mary Sunshine” January 3, 2007 5:12 pm
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The USA Network has given a full series order to the pilot Mary Sunshine, ordering an additional 11 episodes of the Mary McCormack starring drama.
“When you’ve got something so good, you don’t let it go,” USA executive vp original programming Jeff Wachtel said of the network’s pickup decision. The series won’t be ready to go for about a year.
‘Mary’ is said to be similar and compatible with USA’s Monk and Psych, but it is expected to be launched on its own.Source: — [The Hollywood Reporter] — USA sets sights on ‘Mary’
NBC puts first part of new Apprentice season opener online January 3, 2007 4:17 pm
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The first 20 minutes of the sixth season of The Apprentice have been put online, ready to stream from either NBC.com or Yahoo! Those interested in checking out the first 20 minutes of the 90-minute premiere (set to launch this Sunday, January 7 from 9:30 to 11:00 PM ET. on NBC) can do so at either site.
From the NBC Press Release:
Dramatic new twists and turns – and a cross-country move to Los Angeles – make NBC’s new season of “The Apprentice” more compelling than ever when 18 new candidates engage in the series’ fiercest competition yet. In a compelling social experiment of haves and have nots, candidates this season will have to earn the right to live like Trump. Each week, the winning team will get to live in a luxurious mansion. But the losers will have to sleep outside in the back yard of the mansion in tents with outdoor showers and port-a-potties, giving the “Apprentice” hopefuls more incentive than ever to win their tasks each week.
In another engaging new twist, the winning project manager will sit in the boardroom and help advise Mr. Trump on who he should fire each week from the opposing team, plus they will also remain project manager until their team loses. Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr. will return for several episodes, along with previous “Apprentice” winners, as boardroom advisors to their father.
The series will return to its regular timslot the following week (January 14); Sundays from 9:00 to 10:00 PM ET.
NBC orders pilots for three shows January 3, 2007 4:11 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in New Show Orders, News, Television.add a comment
NBC executives have given the go ahead for three drama pilot orders of shows by David Eick (Bionic Woman), Dennis Leary (Fort Pit) and Josh Schwartz (Chuck).
From Variety:
“Fort Pit,” from Sony Pictures TV, is based on a real NYPD precinct in which “bad cops go to finish off their careers and young rookie cops with no pull go to start their careers,” said Sony Pictures TV co-prexy Zack Van Amburg.
Meanwhile, “Chuck,” an action comedy about twentysomething spies, is written by Schwartz and Chris Fedak. Warner Bros. TV is producing.
Then there’s “Bionic Woman,” a new take on the 1970s franchise from Eick (“Battlestar Galactica”) and Laeta Kalogridis (“The Dive”), both of whom are writing and exec producing (Daily Variety, Oct. 10). Drama, from NBC Universal TV Studio, was given a cast-contingent order.
Head on over to Variety for more details on the pilots ordered.
Source: — [Variety] — NBC pilots 3 dramas
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