Comic-Con 2008: Wednesday Preview Night July 23, 2008 6:56 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2008, Movies, News, Television.add a comment
Comic-Con 2008 kicks off this evening with a special first-ever Wednesday preview night. Tonight’s event features two pilot screenings for Fox’s sci-fi drama Fringe.
I’ll be reporting on all the big news that goes down during this year’s event. So far we’ve got a few snapshots from the show floor. Check them out at the following sites: ComingSoon.net/SuperHeroHype, ShockTillYouDrop and Cinematical.
Warner Bros. has also set up a feature where if you text COMIC to 58671 you can receive alerts for all WB-related Comic-Con events, free downloads and enter for a chance to win prizes.
Programming for each day of the event follows at the links below:
Thursday, July 24th (Plus Wednesday, July 23rd Preview Night)
Adult Swim Announces “Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II” July 23, 2008 6:50 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Adult Swim, News, Robot Chicken, Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II, Television.add a comment
After a successful first outing, Adult Swim has announced that Robot Chicken will have a second, all-new Star Wars-themed episode. Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II will premiere November 16th at 11:30pm. The full press release follows after the jump.
Top 10 Broadcast and Cable TV Ratings (July 14-20, 2008) July 23, 2008 4:17 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Broadcast TV Ratings, Cable TV Ratings, Nielsen TV Ratings, Television.add a comment
Here are the top 10 programs for the past week (July 14-20) for both broadcast television and cable.
Top 10 Broadcast TV Ratings (Viewers)
- Fox MLB All-Star Game – FOX – 14.54M
- America’s Got Talent – NBC – 12.79M
- Fox MLB All-Star Game Pregame – FOX – 10.37M
- Criminal Minds (R) – CBS – 9.26M
- So You Think You Can Dance-WED – FOX – 9.01M
- CSI (R) – CBS – 8.92M
- Wipeout – ABC – 8.65M
- CSI: NY (R) – CBS – 8.60M
- So You Think You Can Dance-THUR – FOX – 8.40M
- Two and a Half Men (R) – CBS – 8.40M
Top 10 Cable TV Ratings (Viewers)
- Home Run Derby – ESPN – 9.12M
- The Closer – TNT – 7.81M
- Home Run Derby Pregame – ESPN – 6.03M
- Monk – USA – 5.64M
- Avatar – Nick – 5.59M
- Saving Grace – TNT – 5.16M
- Pysch – USA – 4.89M
- Burn Notice – USA – 4.87M
- Law & Order: Criminal Intent – USA – 4.83M
- WWE Raw – USA – 4.79M
Source: Nielsen Media
“Swingtown” Moving to Friday Night July 23, 2008 2:34 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in 2008/2009 Television, CBS, Flashpoint, News, Swingtown, Television.14 comments
This can’t be good news. CBS has announced that Swingtown is moving to Friday nights at 10pm. The timeslot that TV shows go to die. The reason is simple: ratings. The show hasn’t done all that well in recent weeks, usually dropping a little with each new episode. In the meantime, the networks other summer series, Flashpoint, debuted with a very solid 8.13 million viewers, and didn’t shed too many of those viewers in its second week. That show will be moving to Swingtown’s original timeslot, Thursday’s at 10pm.
Source: Orlando Sentinel
Edited to add ratings information and analysis [7/24/2008]
Through seven episodes (June 5-July 17), Swingtown has averaged a 4.3/8 HH rating/share, 6.05M viewers and a 2.0/6 A18-49 rating/share.
Flashpoint has aired just two episodes thus far and averaged a 5.0/10 HH rating/share, 7.63M viewers and a 1.7/6 A18-49 rating/share.
Looking at those two data sets, some may find it hard to understand why CBS is moving the show, but that average doesn’t tell the entire picture. The show started off much stronger (5.9/10 HH rating/share, 8.57M viewers and a 2.8/8 A18-49 rating/share) and its most recent airing was one of its lowest (3.9/7 HH rating/share, 5.32M viewers and a 1.6/5 A18-49 rating/share).
It’s also a favorite of mine, but it’s important to note that CBS isn’t entirely in the wrong here. They see an opportunity with Flashpoint, which yes, hasn’t done amazing, but still has the possibility to grow in a timeslot with much more exposure.
Tonight (Thursday, July 24th) was the first night that Flashpoint aired in its new timeslot, and tomorrow Swingtown airs in its new timeslot. Who knows, maybe both shows will do well. Check back tomorrow for a look at how Flashpoint does and on Saturday to see if Swingtown survives the move.
Ebert and Roeper Replacements July 23, 2008 2:17 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in At the Movies, News, Television.add a comment
With Ebert and Roeper both declining to re-up their contracts (read about that story here) with At The Movies, Buena Vista has announced two replacement hosts for the show. They are Ben Mankiewicz, a host on TCM, and Ben Lyons, from E! and son of film critic Jeffrey Lyons.
“Dollhouse” Pilot to get Re-Worked July 23, 2008 2:13 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in 2008/2009 Television, Dollhouse, Fox, News, Television.add a comment
Dollhouse, the upcoming Fox drama from Joss Whedon is getting a new pilot. Whedon explains the situation in a post over at Whedonesque.com, saying that the original pilot “…didn’t bring the visceral pop the network had expected from the script. The network was cool about it, but not sure how to come out of the gate with the ep.”
I really hope things don’t turn out bad for Dollhouse. After all, Firefly had a different premiere episode than what was originally intended to be shown, and that didn’t turn out so well. However, Joss explains that in this case, the decision to do a new pilot was all his:
Joss: Well, the idea to do a new first episode wasn’t the network’s. It was mine. I understood their consternation, and saw the gap between my style and their expectations, and I suggested I shoot a new ep and make the one I’d shot the second. It isn’t going to be buried, like the pilot of Firefly. It’s simply coming after another, slightly cleaner ep. And because unlike Firefly, it isn’t a two hour epic which introduces everyone to each other, the onus isn’t on the new ep to explain a million things.
The original pilot will now air in week two.
Dollhouse has been given a mid-season launch and will premiere in January 2009 and air Mondays on Fox.
HBO Releases “True Blood” Poster July 23, 2008 1:51 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in HBO, News, Posters, Television, True Blood.add a comment
HBO has released a poster for Alan Ball’s (Six Feet Under) upcoming original vampire drama True Blood. Check it out after the jump. The series is set to premiere on the premium cable network on September 7th at 9pm.
“Caprica” Trailer July 23, 2008 1:29 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Battlestar Galactica, Caprica, News, Sci Fi, Television, Trailers.1 comment so far
SCI FI has released a trailer for the upcoming two-hour backdoor pilot, Caprica. Caprica is a prequel to the networks critically acclaimed series Battlestar Galactica. Check out the trailer below.
Roeper Joining Ebert in Leaving “At The Movies” July 23, 2008 1:26 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in News, Television.add a comment
Richard Roeper, co-host of At the Movies, has decided not to re-up his contract and is leaving the show. Roeper, a Sun-Times columnist, signed on in 2000 after the death of original co-host Gene Siskel. Roeper says that he plans to “proceed elsewhere with my ninth year as the co-host of a movie review show that honors the standards established by Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert more than 30 years ago, ” indicating that perhaps he and Ebert, who is a copyright holder on the signature “thumbs up-thumbs down” judgment says that he had “exercised his right to withhold use of the “thumbs” until he had a new contract, adding “Disney cannot use the `thumbs'”.
Jay Leno’s Exit from NBC Finalized July 23, 2008 1:19 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Late-Night, NBC, News, Television, The Tonight Show.add a comment
Jay Leno’s exit from The Tonight Show has been finalized. Leno’s last Tonight show will be Friday, May 29, 2009. Conan O’Brien, the announced new host of the talk show, will start the following Monday, June 1st, NBC executives told gathered press at the Television Critics Association.
Jimmy Fallon, Conan’s replacement on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, will take over in March or April of 2009. O’Brien’s end date hasn’t been announced yet, but he’ll likely wrap his run sometime in the first quarter of the year.
“The Closer” and “Saving Grace”: New Episodes Tonight + “The Closer: Season Three” DVD Giveaway Reminder July 21, 2008 5:20 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in News, Saving Grace, Television, The Closer, TNT.add a comment
TNT has put up a few sneak peek videos for tonight’s new episodes of The Closer and Saving Grace. Check them out at the links below.
The Closer (9pm)
http://www.tnt.tv/dramavision.jsp?oid=40499&eref=sharethisUrl
Saving Grace (10pm)
http://www.tnt.tv/dramavision/?oid=40322&eref=sharethisUrl
And don’t forget that there’s still time to enter the DVD giveaway for the third season DVD set of The Closer. Click here for the rules to enter.
Broadcast TV Ratings for Sunday, July 20, 2008 July 21, 2008 3:47 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Broadcast TV Ratings, News, Nielsen Ratings, Television.add a comment
A complete breakdown of the night’s ratings follows after the jump.
The CW Fall 2008 Schedule Announced July 20, 2008 6:27 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in 2008/2009 Television, News, Programming Guide, Television, The CW.add a comment
The CW has unveiled their schedule for the upcoming fall 2008 season. MRC, which will be programming The CW’s Sunday nights, has also made some changes to their premiere dates. Check out both press releases after the jump. Also, my Fall 2008 Programming Guide has been updated to reflect the additions. With the reveal of The CW schedule, premiere dates have been set for all five major networks. Click here to download it the guide (which as always, can be found on my 2008/2009 Television Page).
Broadcast TV Ratings for Saturday, July 19, 2008 July 20, 2008 5:15 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Broadcast TV Ratings, News, Nielsen TV Ratings, Television.add a comment
Broadcast TV Ratings for Friday, July 18, 2008 July 19, 2008 2:15 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Broadcast TV Ratings, News, Nielsen TV Ratings, Television.add a comment
“Birds of Prey”: DVD Review July 18, 2008 5:05 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in DVD, DVD Review, News, Television, TV on DVD.1 comment so far
Who will stand up to villains now that a heartbroken Dark Knight has mysteriously vanished? Never fear, New Gothamites, a trio of champions is ready to take wing – and Helena, the daughter of Batman and Catwoman, is among them. She calls herself Huntress and crime is her prey. Teenaged Dinah is the youngest of the group, learning as she goes and gifted in clairvoyance. And overseeing the awesome threesome’s high-tech nerve center is Batgirl. Left wheelchair-bound by The Joker, she has reinvented herself as Oracle, the team’s cyber expert. Huntress, Dinah, Oracle: They are the Birds of Prey. Fighting together. Living together. And soaring into adventure together in 13 breathtaking live-action episodes.
Read my review of the complete series DVD after the jump.
New “Heroes” Season Three Trailer July 18, 2008 5:04 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Heroes, NBC, News, Television, Trailers.add a comment
NBC has released a new trailer for the upcoming third season of Heroes. Check it out below.
Heroes: Season Three premieres Monday, September 18 with a special two-hour premiere, preceded by a one-hour recap special. Also, don’t forget that the web series Heroes: Going Postal has already begun. Watch it here.
Zack Braff: Eighth Season of “Scrubs” Will Be His Last July 18, 2008 4:56 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in ABC, Casting, News, Scrubs, Television.3 comments
Regardless of how well the upcoming eighth season of Scrubs does–which is moving over from NBC to ABC–show lead Zack Braff says it’ll be his final season.
Show creator, Bill Lawrence said the following at the TCA press tour:
“I think it’s Zach’s last year on the show,” Lawrence says. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that would be it for the series.
“When I created this show, Steve McPherson [was] president of the studio,” Lawrence explains. “… He was really supportive when I pitched it as this show possibly being like ‘ER’ as a comedy, with some revolving cast members and, you know, putting new blood in.”
On that end, Braff said he thinks this is his last season, but is open to returning on a guest-basis:
“The sense is that we thought we were ending, and then thanks to [McPherson], this has been a bonus, amazing year. We’re having a blast doing this,” Braff says. “My sense is this is my last year. If the show does continue like he’s saying, like an ‘ER’ kind of thing, I would love to come back and visit and definitely direct some — and do craft service if they need some help.”
Scrubs season eight is scheduled to premiere on ABC in early 2009.
“Wizard’s First Rule” Set for November Two-hour Premiere July 18, 2008 4:43 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in News, Syndication, Television, Wizard's First Rule.2 comments
Wizard’s First Rule, the Sam Raimi-produced series adapted from the Terry Goodkind Sword of Truth books, will premiere on November 1st in syndication.
“Adapting Terry Goodkind’s brilliant work for television is a thrilling opportunity,” says Raimi, who’s an executive producer of the show. “The amazing characters and heartfelt story combined with the captivating backdrop of New Zealand will have viewers on the edge of their seats.”
Wizard’s First Rule will be one of the very few scripted series airing in first-run syndication. It’s been cleared to run in all of the top 50 markets, and 95% of the country overall.
ABC Family Sets Returns for “Greek” and “Lincoln Heights”, Renews ‘American Teenager’ July 18, 2008 4:37 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in ABC Family, Greek, Lincoln Heights, News, Television, The Secret Life of the American Teenager.3 comments
ABC Family has announced the return of two of their shows: Greek and Lincoln Heights. First up is sophomore series Greek, which returns on Tuesday, August 26th at 9pm ET/PT. Lincoln Heights then premieres its third season on Tuesday, September 16th at 8pm.
Both shows have received 10-episode orders with Greek scheduled to run through October and Lincoln Heights through mid-November.
Also, the network has announced that they’ve given an additional 13 episode order to its teen pregnancy drama The Secret Life of the American Teenager. The show’s premiere on July 1st was watched by 2.8 million viewers, making it the networks most-watched original series premiere ever.
“We just launched ‘The Secret Life of the American Teenager’ a couple of weeks ago to our highest original series numbers ever. We’re thrilled obviously,” says network president Paul Lee. “This show has definitely hit the sweet spot of our Millennial audience. So I couldn’t be more pleased to announce that we’re picking up 13 additional episodes of the series.”
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.
Dinner Impossible New Chef Premieres in August July 18, 2008 3:51 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Casting, Dinner: Impossible, Food Network, News, Television.add a comment
Food Network has announced that Chef Michael Symon, who won the network’s The Next Iron Chef in 2007, will premiere as the new host of Dinner: Impossible this August. The show returns with new episodes on Wednesday, August 20th at 10 pm ET/PT. Symon was named the new host of the show in April after a scandal forced Chef Robert Irvine out as host. Dinner: Impossible has been a success for the network, ranking as its third-highest rated series.
Broadcast TV Ratings for Thursday, July 17, 2008 July 18, 2008 2:00 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Broadcast TV Ratings, News, Nielsen TV Ratings, Television.add a comment
Broadcast TV Ratings for Wednesday, July 16, 2008 July 17, 2008 7:16 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Broadcast TV Ratings, Movies, News, Nielsen TV Ratings, Television.add a comment
“24” TV Movie Trailer July 17, 2008 6:06 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in 24, Fox, Movies, News, Television, Trailers.add a comment
The trailer for 24: Exile, Fox’s upcoming two-hour TV movie, has been released. Check it out after the jump.
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