‘Showbiz Show’ Renewed for Third Season September 28, 2006 11:51 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Renewals, Television.add a comment

The Showbiz Show with David Spade has been renewed by Comedy Central for an additional 13 episodes.
The new season will debut in February of next year.
Fall 2006 TV Review, Part Five (“Heroes” and “Runaway”) September 25, 2006 2:46 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Fall 2006 TV, Television.add a comment
Before we get going on the next part of my Fall 2006 Review feature (here is part one, part two, part three and part four), let’s recap the series premiere ratings from Sunday evening, of which there was only one.
Brothers & Sisters
Averaged a 10.7/17 HH Rating with a 6.2 A18-49 rating (16.10M viewers). So far, this is the best new series premiere of the season. It is of course down from the same time period last season which was held by Grey’s Anatomy (18.98M viewers). However, it is on par, in terms of viewers, with the series launch of Grey’s Anatomy two years ago (16.25M viewers. This is a very good sampling of viewers, and the high A18-49 rating (3rd for the evening) should make ABC happy.
Alright, now let’s move on to my mini-review feature. Two new shows premiere this evening; Heroes and Runaway, and both at the same time; 9PM.
Internet TV Downloads Help, Not Hurt, TV DVD Sales September 24, 2006 3:18 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Television, TV DVD.add a comment
When studios began selling TV shows online on sites such as iTunes, most retailers figured the practice would have a detrimental effect on DVD sales. Well, according to studio reports for a few newly released TV sets, retailers need not worry.
Sales of DVD sets like Lost: Season Two, Desperate Housewives: Season Two and The Office: Season Two sold just as strong, if not stronger than their respective season one sets. The Office in particular did very well, selling nine times more units in the first week, than its first season.
Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger told investors at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference this week that Lost was the top-selling download, but its season-two DVD sales have topped the first season.
“The results have been stunning, much stronger than last year,” he said. “That’s very interesting. It suggests that you didn’t have a cannibalization effect. If anything, maybe it kept Lost more top of mind.”
ABC’s ratings also weren’t hurt by the downloads, and Iger predicted that consumers will watch 10% more hours of TV over the next five to 10 years.
Source: Video Business
G4 TV orders ‘Spaceballs’ Animated TV Series September 24, 2006 3:18 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in New Show Orders, Television.add a comment
Set to debut in the fall of 2007, G4 has teamed up with Mel Brooks to create an animated series based on the 1987 cult-favorite Spaceballs. Simply titled Spaceballs: The Animated Series, 14 episodes were ordered. The one-hour pilot has been written by Brooks and Thomas Meehan (who co-wrote the original movie). Meehan will also supervise the 13 half-hour episodes, while Brooks will provide two voices; President Skroob and Yogurt.
The series will be produced by Brooks Films Limited and Berliner Film Company and will be distributed internationally by MGM Studios.
Starz Orders Three New Series September 24, 2006 3:17 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in New Show Orders, Television.add a comment

The Starz Movie Network has ordered three new tv series, though only one is a stand-alone (the other two will be used to fill in the time before and after their movie presentations).
The stand-alone series is a half-hour stand-up comedy program executive produced by Martin Lawrence. “Martin Lawrence’s 1st Amendment Stand-Up” will premiere in early 2007 and will showcase young comedians. Starz ordered 12 episodes.
The other two series are; “The Bronx Bunny” a UK import show about celebrities being interviewed by rude puppets (Ten 15-minute episodes have been ordered) and “Head Case”, a scripted original about a celebrity therapist (20 five-minute episodes have been ordered.
Source: TV Week
Fall 2006 TV Review, Part Four (“Shark”) [Update] September 21, 2006 2:17 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Fall 2006 TV, Television, TV Reviews.add a comment
Update: Ratings results for Shark and Six Degrees are at the bottom of this post.
Before I continue on with this feature, let’s recap the series premiere ratings from last evening.
Jericho
Averaged a 7.5/12 HH Rating with a 3.2 A18-49 rating (11.40M viewers). This is better than I had expected and a better launch in terms of total viewers than Smith. However, it did have a slightly lower A18-49 rating, but that is offset by the fact that the show increased in viewers in the second half by roughly 8%. Always a great sign. So a solid, if not a great premiere. The key will be to see if the show holds on to its viewers for an extended amount a time, something Invasion over on ABC was not capable of doing.
For those interested in comparing this show with Invasion’s premiere, here are those numbers: 10.5/17 (7.1)–16.43M viewers.
Kidnapped
Averaged a 5.1/8 HH Rating with a 2.8 A18-49 rating (7.53M viewers). The show dipped in A18-49 from it’s first half hour to second (2.9 to 2.7). Considering what the time-slots former occupant received last year (Law & Order–13.03 million viewers and a 4.0 A18-49 rating) this should not come as good news to NBC. Of course it didn’t necessarily have the best of lead-in’s with The Biggest Loser (7.17M viewers, 3.1 A18-49 rating), so I guess they can look at that and find some positives.
Alright, lets move on to tonight’s new premiere (note: I have yet to see Six Degrees, so I won’t have a review for it); Shark (here is part one, part two and part three).
“Entourage” Renewed for a Fourth Season September 20, 2006 4:31 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Renewals, Television.1 comment so far

In a decision which should surprise no one, HBO has renewed Entourage for a fourth season. 12 new episodes were ordered.
So far this season, the series has averaged a healthy 2.5M viewers, ahead of other HBO shows like Deadwood (which has been canceled but will supposedly return in the form of TV movie) and Lucky Louie which was also canceled (story here).
New episodes of Season 3 will start up again in March of 2007, with Season 4 expected to begin soon thereafter.
Source: TV Week
Fall 2006 TV Review, Part Three (“Jericho” and “Kidnapped”) September 20, 2006 4:00 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Fall 2006 TV, Television, TV Reviews.add a comment
Before I continue on with this feature, let’s recap the series premiere ratings from last evening.
Smith
Averaged a 7.2/12 HH Rating with a 3.5 A18-49 rating (10.71M viewers). Welcome news to CBS as the show held onto a good majority of its lead-in The Unit, especially in adults 18-49, where retention was at a very excellent 100%. It finished third in the time-slot behind SVU–9.6/16 (5.1)–and Boston Legal–7.8/13 (3.5). As you can see, it tied for second place in A18-49. The Unit’s dip from last season’s premiere–11.6 (5.0)–may have minimized some of Smith’s audience potential.
Alright, now lets continue on to the third part of my Fall 2006 Review feature (here is part one and part two).
“Brotherhood” Renewed for a Second Season September 19, 2006 11:18 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Renewals, Television.add a comment

Showtime has renewed its critically acclaimed freshman series Brotherhood for another year, ordering 10 episodes.
The series premiered with 454,000 viewers back in July of this year. A total of 1.2M viewers watched the premiere and its repeats in the first week.
Second season episodes are scheduled to premiere in January of 2007.
On the Web:
Fall 2006 TV Review, Part Two (“Smith”) September 19, 2006 2:15 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Fall 2006 TV, Television, TV Reviews.17 comments
Before we begin with part two (here is part one for those who missed it) of my look at this Fall’s new series’, lets have a quick rundown on the ratings of last night’s premieres:
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Averaged a 8.7/14 HH Rating with a 5.0 A18-49 rating (13.39M viewers) Overall, thats a strong start and enough for a solid second place in the timeslot (behind the power-house CSI: Miami). It’s not all peachy for the critically acclaimed series though, as audience dipped roughly 2.4M viewers in the second half hour in total viewers (from 14.57M to 12.20M) and in A18-49 (going from a 5.4 to a 4.6). It could be cause for concern, or it could be nothing. Something to watch for no doubt.
(NOTE: I made a mistake and posted the viewers for “Deal or No Deal” instead of those for “Studio 60”. Apologies for the mistake, it’s been edited out. I’ve also added additional data on the 2nd half decline.)
The Class
Averaged a 6.9/11 HH Rating with a 3.7 A18-49 Rating (10.74M viewers). That’s a good start to the show (second place in the time-slot behind “Deal or No Deal”), improving on last year’s time-slot occupant (“The King of Queens”) by almost 9% in A18-49. It’ll be interesting to see where the show goes from here.
Alright, now that we got that out of the way, lets continue on towards tonight’s new premieres, correction, new premiere. That’s right, while there are a few season premieres this evening, there is only one series premiere; “Smith”, the thief focused series led by the very powerful on-screen presence of Ray Liota.
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