Friday Night Lights Gets Renewed for Two More Seasons March 30, 2009 8:50 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in DirecTV, NBC, News, Renewals, Television.Tags: Friday Night Lights
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DirecTV and NBC have finalized a deal to produce 26 more episodes, to be aired over the course of two seasons, of the critically hailed, but poorly rated, NBC series Friday Night Lights.
The 26-episode order will likely be the last for the series, given its low ratings. The 26 episodes will be produced consecutively without a break, but DirecTV will air the episodes as two 13-episode seasons. NBC will get a second window of Friday Night Lights episodes after they air on DirecTV, just as they’re doing currently with the third season.
Through 11 episodes this season, Friday Night Lights has averaged a 2.7/4 HH rating/share, 3.98M viewers and a 1.3/4 A18-49 rating/share on NBC.
But forget the ratings, I love this series and am thrilled to see it’ll be around for at least two more seasons.
Source: TV Week
Lifetime Television Renews Rita Rocks March 3, 2009 3:40 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Cable TV, News, Renewals.Tags: Lifetime Television, Rita Rocks
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Lifetime Television has picked up a second season of its original primetime comedy Rita Rocks. The network ordered twenty new episodes from Media Rights Capital.
“‘Rita Rocks’ is the first original comedy that Lifetime has launched in 10 years, so you can imagine how delighted we are to welcome it back for a second season,” said JoAnn Alfano, executive VP for entertainment at Lifetime. “It’s smart, it’s funny, and it appeals to anyone who has ever tried to carve out a little time for herself.”
Source: TV Week
Fox Renews The Simpsons For Two More Seasons February 26, 2009 6:38 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Fox, News, Renewals, Television.Tags: The Simpsons
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Fox has ordered two additional seasons of The Simpsons, bringing the animated comedy through its 22nd season and making it the longest-running series in primetime television history. The 44-episode order will bring the episode count to 493.
The full press release follows after the jump. (more…)
Lifetime Gives Early Fourth Season Renewal to Army Wives February 25, 2009 5:30 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Lifetime, News, Renewals, Television.Tags: Army Wives
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Lifetime has ordered a fourth season of their highly successful original series, Army Wives. 18 episodes will air for season four, which will premiere on the network in 2010.
The show has been the network’s most successful series to date, with the second season finale drawing the network’s highest ratings ever in the A18-34 demo and is cable’s most-watched drama among women A18-49. The renewal comes ahead of the show’s third season premiere this June.
“This early pick-up – even prior to the Season 3 premiere – is a true testament to our commitment and support of this great show,” said JoAnn Alfano, Executive Vice President, Lifetime Networks, who announced the pickup.
Source: Broadcasting & Cable
The CW Announces Early Pickups Of Six Series February 25, 2009 3:58 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in News, Renewals, Television, The CW.Tags: 90210, America's Next Top Model, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, Smallville, Supernatural
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The CW today announced that they’ve given early pickups to six of its series, five dramas and reality hit America’s Next Top Model, all of which will return in the fall 2009.
The five other shows are Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, 90210, Smallville and Supernatural.
“As we continue to build The CW Network as a destination for young women, these six shows have clearly contributed to strengthening our schedule and our brand identity,” said Dawn Ostroff, President, Entertainment, The CW. “By securing these signature hits for next season, we’re furthering our commitment to deliver high-quality, original programming to our viewers, advertisers and affiliates.”
You can read the full press release in full after the jump. (more…)
Showtime Renews The United States of Tara February 11, 2009 7:45 pm
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Showtime has renewed its freshman series The United States of Tara for a 12-episode second season. The half-hour drama, starring Toni Collete as a woman with dissociative identity disorder (also referred to as multiple personality disorder) premiered with an impressive 2.67 million viewers, the best for the network since 2004, and has performed well in subsequent weeks.
“It has been pure pleasure working with Diablo Cody, Toni Collette, Steven Spielberg and everyone at Dreamworks on United States of Tara,” said Showtime entertainment chief Robert Greenblatt announcing the pickup. “This show is a perfect fit for our premium brand and we’re thrilled that critics and audiences have responded to this groundbreaking show so well. I look forward to many more alternate personalities emerging from this unique series.”
Diablo Cody will be returning as a writer and executive producer for season two, which begins production this summer for an early 2010 premiere. Steven Spielberg, Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank also serve as executive producers.
Source: Broadcasting & Cable
Cartoon Network Renews Star Wars: The Clone Wars For Second Season February 10, 2009 7:28 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Cable TV, Cartoon Network, Renewals, Star Wars: The Star Wars.4 comments
The Cartoon Network has given a second-season renewal to its hit animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
“‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ is like nothing else on television and has delivered for us on all levels,” said Stuart Snyder, President/COO Turner Animation, Young Adults & Kids Media. “It has helped us launch a great new night of action-adventure on Fridays and build on our dominance with boys. We look forward to continuing what has been a great relationship with George and everyone at Lucasfilm.”
The first season finale airs on Cartoon Network Friday, March 20th at 9pm ET/PT.
The full press release follows after the jump. (more…)
SCI FI Orders Third Season of Destination Truth January 12, 2009 11:54 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Destination Truth, News, Renewals, Sci Fi, Television.add a comment
Following its hit second season, the SCI FI Channel has renewed the reality series Destination Truth for a third season. Josh Gates will return to host nine all-new episodes, slated to premiere on SCI FI in fall 2009.
The show premiered in the summer of 2007, but season two was its strongest, outperforming that first season in all key demographics: household rating (+9%) , total viewers (+15%), Adults 18-49 (+17%) and Adults 25-54 (+28%).
Source: SCI FI
Californication Renewed for Third Season December 3, 2008 9:56 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Californication, News, Renewals, Showtime, Television.add a comment
Showtime has renewed the Golden Globe Award-winning comedy series Californication for a third season of 12 episodes.
“It wouldn’t be SHOWTIME without a yearly dose of CALIFORNICATION,” said Showtime President of Entertainment, Robert Greenblatt. “This unapologetic show, about a group of characters led by the inimitable David Duchovny, has quickly established itself as one of our signature comedy series. Beneath its veneer of debauchery, however, is a complex take on love and adult relationships that surprisingly turns poetic and romantic just when you least expect it. “
The full press release follows after the jump.
The Sarah Jane Adventures Renewed for Third Season November 25, 2008 12:16 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in BBC, News, Renewals, Television, The Sarah Jane Adventures.1 comment so far
The BBC has announced that they’ve given a third season renewal to Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures. The show is scheduled to return with new episodes in autumn 2009.
From the release:
On CBBC, Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) returns for a third series of The Sarah Jane Adventures in Autumn 2009, produced by Doctor Who supremo Russell T Davies.
Together with her companions Rani and Clyde and her adopted son Luke, Sarah Jane once again comes face to face with a whole host of weird and wonderful alien beings.
Source: BBC
Life Gets Full Season November 11, 2008 2:20 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Life, NBC, News, Renewals, Television.add a comment
NBC has ordered the back-nine episodes for Life, bringing the second year show to a full season of 22 episodes. The show has done fared that well this season–last week’s episode drew just a 4th place 2.0 rating among adults 18-49–but it is performing more strongly than it did during its recent Friday night airings.
“This unique crime drama continues to offer consistent and compelling stories each week,” said Teri Weinberg, executive vp, NBC Entertainment. “We love ‘Life’ and are thrilled that we get to see more of these characters and amazing new cases.”
Life airs Monday nights at 10pm on NBC.
Source: THR
“American Dad” Renewed for Fifth Season November 2, 2008 2:42 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in American Dad, Fox, News, Renewals, Television.1 comment so far
While Fox opted not to renew its long-running animated series King of the Hill (related article here), the network has decided to give a greenlight for a fifth season of American Dad. Executive producers Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman have also signed new overall deals with 20th Century Fox TV:
“It was one of our goals going into the summer to make sure their services were secured,” said 20th Century Fox TV chairman Dana Walden. “The show has evolved creatively under their leadership. And when you find a tentpole player like Seth, one of the critical elements in supporting their companies is locking up the services of the people they depend on, they trust.”
Production on the currently running fourth season of American Dad is coming to a close, just as the writing team is starting to break stories for the show’s fifth season.
Source: Variety
Chelsea Lately Renewed Through 2009 October 28, 2008 11:13 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Chelsea Lately, E!, News, Renewals, Television.add a comment
Chelsea Lately, the late-night talk show on E!, has been renewed by the network through 2009. Hosted by Chelsea Handler, the show has done very well for E!, averaging around 600,000 viewers in its nightly 11:30 p.m. time slot. That performance has boosted the network by 21 percent in the third quarter versus the comparable year-ago period.
“Chelsea Lately is a breakout hit that has significantly grown our late night audience,” said Lisa Berger, E!’s executive vp of original programming and series development. “Our viewers are enamored with Chelsea’s unique comedic approach and hilarious commentary on the world of entertainment. She is truly one of Hollywood’s fastest rising stars and we look forward to having the show on our air through 2009 and many years to come.”
Source: MediaWeek
Showtime Renews “Dexter” for Two Seasons October 27, 2008 12:08 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Dexter, News, Renewals, Showtime, Television.1 comment so far
Showtime has announced that they have renewed its hit drama series Dexter, for not just one year, but two more seasons consisting of 12 episodes each.
Dexter’s third season finale airs on Showtime this December 14th, while production on season four will begin in spring 2009.
‘Knight’ Riding Out A Full Season October 26, 2008 11:35 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in 2008/2009 Television, Knight Rider, NBC, News, Renewals, Television.4 comments
It’s the season of surprising pickups. Following up on Fox’s somewhat surprising full-season order of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, NBC has gone ahead and ordered the back-nine of Knight Rider, clearing the series to air a full season of 22 episodes.
It’s the first freshman fall NBC series to be ordered to a full season, joining CBS’s The Mentalist, Fox’s Fringe and the CW’s 90210.
Source: THR
HBO Renews “True Blood” September 17, 2008 10:15 pm
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Confident in its quality, and impressed by its cumulative audience viewings when repeats are counted, HBO has given an early second season renewal to the Alan Ball vampire drama True Blood. True Blood premiered on September 7th to just 1.4 million viewers, but HBO says that when all the repeat airings were added in, the premiere attracted a total audience of 4 million viewers. The network also noted that the second episode grew by 24%.
“We’re in a business where we have to believe in the show — and the show is fantastic,” said Michael Lombardo, president of HBO’s programming group and West Coast operations. “It gets better in every episode. The show deserves a second year whatever the ratings.”
The network also announced that season two will roll air much sooner than expected, airing next summer as part of HBO’s plan to air year-round programming on Sunday nights.
“Last couple years our volume of Sunday night series went down, and we’re hoping to have a distinctive night of series on for 52 weeks a year next year,” Lombardo said. “Our intention is not to have periods where we’re not delivering originals.”
True Blood airs Sunday nights at 9pm on HBO.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Fox Renews “So You Think You Can Dance?” August 4, 2008 6:18 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Fox, News, Renewals, So You Think You Can Dance, Television.1 comment so far
Surprising no one, Fox has renewed its hit summer reality series So You Think You Can Dance? for a fifth season. In announcing the renewal, Fox’s President of Alternative Entertainment, Mike Darnell said, “We’re delighted to have DANCE back for a fifth season next year. FOX is very lucky to have television’s preeminent performance competitions in AMERICAN IDOL and SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, and it’s no coincidence that creator and executive producer Simon Fuller and executive producer and judge Nigel Lythgoe have been a part of both these successes.” The full press release follows after the jump.
E! Sets Premiere for New Pamela Anderson Reality Series, Renews ‘Kardashians” July 18, 2008 4:08 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in E!, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, News, Pam: Girl on the Loose, Renewals, Television.1 comment so far
E! has announced that their new reality series starring Pamela Anderson, Pam: Girl on the Loose, will makes its premiere Sunday, August 3rd at 10pm. THe network promises the show will provide a “truly personal and in-depth glimpse” into Anderson’s life.
The network also announced that they’ve renewed their hit reality series Keeping Up with the Kardashians, which will premiere its third season next year.
Army Wives Given Early Third Season Renewal July 13, 2008 7:38 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Army Wives, Lifetime, News, Renewals, Television.1 comment so far
Just five episodes in to the new season, Lifetime has renewed its hit drama series Army Wives for a third season. The move is in response to continued strong ratings, especially among the networks key demographics of women 18-49 and women 25-54, ranking No. 1 in both demographics across all ad supported basic cable programming.
Since premiering last year, ‘Army Wives’ has become a game-changer for Lifetime. Announcing this early renewal is a testament to the enormous faith and confidence we have in this show and its incredibly talented cast and production team, Lifetime CEO Andrea Wong said. “‘Army Wives’ exemplifies what Lifetime is all about—friendship, compassion, humor and heart. We are very proud of both its water cooler resonance and its success.
18 episodes have been ordered for the third season, which will begin airing in 2009. Army Wives airs Sunday nights on Lifetime at 10pm. The press release follows after the jump.
“Curb Your Enthusiasm” Returning for a Seventh Season July 13, 2008 7:30 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Curb Your Enthusiasm, HBO, News, Renewals, Television.5 comments
HBO announced on Thursday that they’ve given the go-ahead on a seventh season of the comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm and Larry David is returning. The network plans to premiere the new season sometime in the beginning of 2009, a gap of more than one year since the sixth season ended in November 2007. David is quoted by HBO West Coast president Michael Lombardo as being “excited about it”.
Source: Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
TV Land Renews “She’s Got the Look” July 2, 2008 2:43 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in News, Renewals, She's Got the Look, Television, TV Land.add a comment
TV Land has renewed its reality series She’s Got the Look, expanding the show from six episodes to eight, with a premiere in 2009 for the second season, She’s Got the Look 2. Allison Grodner, executive producer of Blowout and Big Brother, will stay with the show, excited at its pickup: “I’m thrilled that TV Land viewers can’t get enough of She’s Got The Look. I love the show and I am proud to be a part of a project that celebrates both age and beauty.”
TV Land president Larry W. Jones also was excited for the show’s return: “The show’s message of reinvention and the pursuit of life-long dreams is something identifiable to our audience of 40 and 50 year olds. We can’t wait to introduce our viewers to another group of ageless beauties.”
CBS adds six episodes of “Million Dollar Password” June 24, 2008 3:30 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in CBS, Million Dollar Password, News, Renewals, Television.add a comment
CBS has ordered up an additional six episodes of its Regis Philbin-hosted game show Million Dollar Password. Through four aired episodes, the series has averaged a 6.2/11 household rating/share, 9.45 million viewers and a 2.0/6 rating/share among adults 18-49, winning its timeslot among households, viewers and adults 18-49 all but one time.
HBO Renews In Treatment June 23, 2008 3:40 am
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HBO has given an official greenlight for a second season of new drama In Treatment. The series, which stars Gabriel Byrne as a psychotherapist, revolves around his character’s (Paul Weston) sessions with his patients and his own therapy appointments with fellow therapist Gina Toll (Dianne Wiest).
The show is based on an Israeli TV series of the same name. It debuted on HBO in January with 43 half-hour episodes on a Monday-Friday basis. Because of lower than expected ratings, HBO is expected to order 35 episodes for season two.
Cast of “Simpsons” Signed through 20th season June 4, 2008 11:50 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Fox, News, Renewals, Television, The Simpsons.add a comment
The cast of The Simpsons has signed a four-year deal, ensuring that the long-running series will remain on the air through at least its 20th season.
Production was delayed for several months as the voice cast negotiated with 20th Century Fox TV for new contracts. Variety reports that the stars’ salaries has increased to about $400,000 an episode, up from around the mid-$300,000 range.
Most of the key cast returned to the cast over the weekend, so because of the late start 20 episodes of the show will be produced this year instead of the usual 22.
Source: Variety
Boston Legal Renewed, Network Still Talking with David E. Kelley about Life on Mars May 12, 2008 9:32 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in 2008/2009 TV Season, ABC, Boston Legal, Life on Mars, News, Renewals, Television.1 comment so far
ABC has renewed Boston Legal for a fifth season. Series creator/executive producer David E. Kelley cut a deal with the network that will give the series another year. At the heart of the deal was Life on Mars, which ABC wants to greenlight, but Kelley owns the right to. With the renewal of Boston Legal, a deal for Life on Mars appears imminent. Two more episodes of Boston Legal are left to air this season (Wednesday: 10pm) and the fifth season is scheduled to kick off in the fall.
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