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http://www.fancast.com/blogs/2010/tv-news/greys-anatomy-sets-return-date-but-theres-a-twist/
‘Grey’s Anatomy‘ will launch its seventh season on Thursday, September 23, a source tells Fancast, effectively confirming that which was disseminated over the weekend via Twitter.
Ah, but there’s a twist. Whereas in recent years the show has kicked off with a two-part, two-hour opener, I am hearing that that as of right now, the plan is for Season 7 to opt for traditional, hour-long premiere.
Last season’s opener, after all, had much territory to cover, what with George tragically dying and Izzie almost checkout out as well.
When Season 7 starts up, however, the aftermath isn’t quite so immediate. Last we tuned in, a gunman had terrorized the halls of Seattle Grace, shedding much blood and leaving several dead (RIP, Reed). The shooter ultimately met his own grisly fate, but not before shaking up the docs we know so well.
As such, some of the questions going into September 23 are:
* How have Meredith and Derek bounced back from her miscarrying the little life that was inside of her for so sadly short a time?
* Where do things stand between Cristina and Owen? Yang entered the Season 6 finale not knowing where her man stood, only to see him pronounce her “the woman I love” during a harrowing moment. Has Hunt been backing up his words with actions? Is Teddy once and for all surgically excised from the mix?
* Lexie, poor Lexie: Has she given Alex the hook, seeing as his thoughts were all about Izzie as his life hung in the balance in the finale? Do she and Mark – who impetuously popped the question the week before the gunman crisis – have any chance at a second chance?
* Will Izzie return to Seattle, only to reveal that she is now married to Dr. Preston Burke?
* Is Arizona truly at peace with the notion of her and Callie mothering “10 babies on a beach in Spain”?
* Where stands Bailey’s nascent romance with gasman Ben – if only since Jason George is now shooting the Shonda Rhimes-produced midseason series, ‘Off The Map’?
* Was Webber empowered by his bit of bravado, where he stared down the shooter? Did that defining moment solidify his seat “on the wagon”?
* Now that Jesse Williams and Sarah Drew have been promoted to series regulars, how will Jackson and April fit into the SGH tapestry? Are their respective crushes (Cristina, Derek) behind them… or might there be unfinished business?
http://www.deadline.com/2010/07/fxs-outlaw-country-finds-stars-director/
Luke Grimes and Haley Bennett have landed the younger leads on the FX drama pilot Outlaw Country, joining previously cast Mary Steenburgen. Additionally, Michael Dinner has come on board to direct the pilot, a crime thriller/family drama set against the backdrop of southern organized crime and Nashville royalty. Grimes (Brothers & Sistsers) will play twentysomething Eli Larkin, a half-cowboy, half-modern guy who tries to get out of the crime ridden life he has grown accustom to in order to help his siblings, however he finds out that it is much harder than he expected. Bennett (Marley & Me) will play twentysomething Annabel Lee, a gorgeous country singer who is living in the shadow of her overprotective mother (Steenburgen).
Josh Goldin and Rachel Abramowitz wrote the Fox TV Studios/FX Prods.-produced Outlaw Country and are executive producing/co-showrunning with David Manson. Art Linson and John Linson also executive produce. Shooter Jennings serves as executive consultant and music supervisor. CAA-repped Dinner, who recently inked a new overall deal with Sony TV, also directed the pilot for the FX’s Justified and serves as an executive producer on the Sony-produced series. Additionally, he co-directed with Allen Coulter the pilot for another FX series, Sons of Anarchy.
http://livefeed.hollywoodreporter.com/2010/07/monday-shows-slip-after-holiday-weekend.html
Broadcasters had a Fourth of July Weekend hangover on Monday night, with shows slipping in the ratings from last week.
ABC easily won the evening despite "The Bachelorette" (9.1 million, 2.7) having a rare decline -- falling 16% -- followed by a soft "True Beauty" (5.1 million, 1.7) that tied its season low.
CBS ambled into second place airing repeats.
NBC was third with "Persons Unknown" (3 million, 0.8) down 11%, though "Last Comic Standing" (4.4 million, 1.8) bucked the trend and perked up 13%.
Fox aired repeats.
http://livefeed.hollywoodreporter.com/2010/07/futurama-return-scores-for-comedy-central.html
"Good news," indeed: The resurrection of "Futurama" gave Comedy Central some stellar numbers.
The adventures of Fry & Friends drew 2.9 million viewers and ranked as Thursday's most-watched show among young men; also rating as the network's highest-rated night so far this year among the same demo.
In fact, this was most-watched season premiere ever for an animated show on cable -- if you don't include "South Park."
Now, that exclusion is a big deal, since you can't really ignore comparisons to Comedy Central's other hit show. "South Park" drew more than three million viewers on more than one occasion this season. Still, "Futurama" started strong here and the network is likely pleased with this number.
http://www.deadline.com/2010/07/my-boys-co-star-joins-showtimes-big-c/
While his My Boys co-stars Jordana Spiro and Kyle Howard had to pull out of their regular roles on new NBC series Love Bites and Perfect Couples because of their commitment to the TBS comedy, Reid Scott quietly booked a heavily recurring role on Showtime's upcoming dark comedy series The Big C. The Sony/Original Film-produced show stars Linney as Cathy, a repressed suburban wife and mother who reclaims her life after a terminal cancer diagnosis. Scott, repped by Gersh and Impression, plays Cathy's oncologist Dr. Todd who has lots of training and intellect but lacks life or professional experience. Scott is doing The Big C with TBS' blessing. What also helped him do the series while still under contract on My Boys is that his role on The Big C is technically recurring. Additionally, the smaller size of The Big C's order - 13 episodes - and its production schedule - it is now filming for an Aug. 16 premiere - would make Scott available in the unlikely event that My Boys is renewed for another season.
http://www.deadline.com/2010/07/e1-to-produce-david-von-ancken-to-direct-amc-pilot-hell-on-wheels/
E1 Entertainment has come on board to produce the AMC Western pilot Hell on Wheels. Endemol USA, which developed the project over the past two years, will executive produce. David Von Ancken (Californication) has signed on to direct the pilot, written by Joe and Tony Gayton. Additionally, E1 and Endemol USA have entered into an international distribution partnership for Hell on Wheels, with Endemol holding all TV distribution rights across Europe and E1 selling the potential series in all remaining territories. E1 also holds worldwide rights for DVD/Blu-ray, VOD and digital distribution. Production on the pilot is scheduled to begin in Alberta, Canada in August.
Hell on Wheels is set in the 1860s and and centers on former confederate soldier Cullen Bohannan, whose quest for vengeance has led him to the Union Pacific Railroad’s westward construction of the first Transcontinental Railroad. “Hell on Wheels brilliantly captures the world surrounding the construction of the first Transcontinental Railroad in post civil war America,” said Joel Stillerman, AMC’s SVP of original programming. ”The epic setting provides the perfect backdrop for the early industrialism and corruption surrounding the project; the incredible immigrant experience; and the good, the bad, and the ugly of what it took to get this railroad built.”
Hell on Wheels is executive produced by Endemol USA’s SVP scripted programming Jeremy Gold and the Gaytons. E1 Television CEO John Morayniss and SVP creative affairs Michael Rosenberg will oversee production. ICM-repped Von Ancken knows the genre and the period well. He co-wrote and directed the 2006 feature Seraphim Falls, a Western starring Liam Neeson and Pierce Brosnan which was set in the 1860s and featured, among other supporting characters, a rail crew.
http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2010/07/05/glee-javier-bardem/
Forget Emmy. Glee is generating some serious Oscar buzz.
Academy Award winner Javier Bardem is expected to appear this coming season as a rock star who befriends Artie (Kevin McHale).
Bardem pitched the idea to Glee boss Ryan Murphy, with whom he worked with on this summer’s Julia Roberts starrer Eat Pray Love.
“We’re going to rock the house,” enthuses Bardem, who became an unabashed Gleek after watching the entire first season in one week. “We’re going to do some heavy metal — Spanish heavy metal, which is the worst.”
http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2010/07/02/fringe-amy-madigan-olivias-mom/
It’s not Rene Russo (a.k.a. my first choice) but this will do very nicely: Fringe has cast Amy Madigan in the pivotal role of Olivia’s mother, sources confirm to me exclusively.
The Oscar nominated actress — who most recently has been playing shrink to those head cases over on Grey’s Anatomy — will appear in roughly four episodes beginning with the season premiere when (and I’m just speculating here) mother and daughter reunite in the alterna-verse.
The original casting breakdown for Mama D described her as “lovely and together” and deeply devoted to her daughter.
Thoughts on the casting? Thumbs up? Thumbs down? Thumbs sideways? Sound off below!
http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/07/02/dead-show-news-eastwicks-final-2-episodes-pulled-for-scoundrels-the-gates-repeats/56039
Eastwick fans can’t catch a break. The final 2 unaired episodes were scheduled to be broadcast on Saturday, July 10, but ABC has pulled them from the schedule in favor of repeats of struggling dramas Scoundrels and The Gates.
No word on rescheduling dates for the Eastwick episodes.
Fans of ABC’s dead shows are getting bumped all over the place this summer. First Kobe Bryant takes out the last two episodes of Better Off Ted, and now this!
Fans of The Forgotten presumably are OK, the show’s final two episodes are still on the schedule for tomorrow.
http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2010/07/02/hugh-laurie-huddy-house-spoilers/
Hard as it is to imagine, next season on House, Doc Crankypants may be — gasp! — happy. At least happy-ish. In fact, in the premiere, we’ll see him smiling, laughing and canoodling on the beach with at-long-last lady love Cuddy. Clearly, this can only mean one thing: The relationship is doomed, right? “I don’t think [so], necessarily,” Hugh Laurie tells me. “But let’s face it, neither of these characters has a clean license.
“‘Buckle up,’” he adds, “would be my advice.”
Lisa Edelstein, who plays House’s significant other, shares her co-star’s trepidation. “I was terrified of saying ‘I love you,’” she admits. “But I think that in that final scene of season six, Cuddy makes that clear that she’s ready to go for it.”
Laurie is ready, too, weird as it may feel to him. “Even the appearance of happiness [in House] has taken some getting used to,” he says. “I had a week of happiness training before the season started up, and I’m whistling more than usual.”
Is his small-screen counterpart whistling more than he did, say, when he was with Sela Ward’s Stacy? “I’ve always thought of House as a romantic, and I don’t think romantics are much given to comparing,” Laurie demurs. “But speaking as a friend of House, he seems to be attracted to strong women. He likes to get as good as he gives — and I mean that in as many senses as are suitable for a family readership.”
Your thoughts? Can Huddy make it work? Or is the beginning of their romance the end of House as we know (and love) it? Sound off below!
http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2010/07/02/eureka-season-4-poster/
No one can accuse Syfy of downplaying the addition of James Callis to the Eureka cast. The Battlestar Galactica thesp is literally the focal point of the show’s official season 4 poster. Story-wise, the image suggests that the group shares a secret that, to a large degree, ties in with the arrival of Callis’ character, physicist Dr. Grant. Or maybe it’s just a cool piece of artwork. We’ll know for sure when the fourth season gets under way next Friday. Will you be watching?
http://www.deadline.com/2010/07/kyle-bornheimer-to-star-in-nbcs-couples/
I hear Worst Week star Kyle Bornheimer is set to star in NBC’s new comedy series Perfect Couples. He is replacing Kyle Howard, who was cast in the pilot in second position to the TBS comedy series My Boys. Potential scheduling conflict with the TBS show, whose new season premieres later this month, prompted NBC to recast the role. The in-demand Bornheimer himself was cast in a pilot in second position earlier this year. He starred in the untitled Bays/Thomas comedy at CBS while on ABC’s midseason comedy series Romantically Challenged. Perfect Couples revolves around 3 couples as they struggle to find out what makes the ideal relationship - and how to maintain it through humorous trial-and-error. Dave (Bornheimer) and Julia (Christine Woods) are the relatable, normal couple, but Julia's hope of remaining the cool, low-maintenance chick is tested by Dave's attempts to keep both his wife and his needy best friend Vance (David Walton) equally happy. Co-starring in the series, from Jon Pollack, Scott Silveri and UMS, are Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Hayes MacArthur and Olivia Munn. Perfect Couples reunites Bornheimer with UMS, the studio behind the CBS comedy Worst Week that gave him his big break. He is with CAA and Flutie.
http://www.deadline.com/2010/07/several-pilots-remain-in-contention-with-cast-options-extensions-pickup-decision-on-cws-hms-expected-next-week/
Yesterday was June 30, a key date in the broadcast development calendar when the options on all actors in this year's crop of pilots expired unless they were extended. Cast options on several pilots were indeed picked up, keeping the projects in contention for midseason. The list includes the ABC comedies Wright Vs. Wrong and Awkward Situations For Men, which are expected to shoot new pilots, the CBS comedy Team Spitz, as well as the CW drama HMS. A third ABC comedy project, How to be a Better American, also will shoot a new pilot but with an all-new cast as none of the actors from the original pilot have been extended. Most of the other pilots that picked up actors also are not keeping their entire casts. On Team Spitz, only star Rob Riggle was extended. Similarly, on Wright Vs. Wrong only star Debra Messing was picked up but co-star Cheryl Hines could potentially return under her new talent deal with ABC. On Awkward Situations, star/co-creator/executive producer Danny Wallace is staying put, with two of his co-stars, Laura Prepon and Tony Hale, in negotiations to join him.
The cast of HMS granted the CW and studio Warner Bros. TV seven-day extensions as the network is expected to make a pickup decision on the pilot next week. HMS is the only CW pilot from this year's crop remaining in contention for midseason.
All those decisions went down to the wire, hours before the options were set to expire but nowhere was the situation more dramatic than on the CBS drama pilot Chaos where the options were allowed to lapse, essentially marking the end of the pilot's chances for a midseason order. The only project that dealt with the issue early this year was the ABC/WBTV dramedy Edgar Floats, which received an order for 6 additional scripts during upfront week. Two weeks ago, the studio extended the option on co-star Robert Patrick, releasing everyone else, including star Tom Cavanagh.
The looming deadline on the pilot actors’ options also helped push through the finish line the series order deals to two pilots, Mad Love at CBS and Breakout Kings at A&E, all closing in the past few days, as well as Fox's Monday order of two additional scripts to comedy Breaking In, leading to Sony TV's decision to extend all actors in the pilot, including star Christian Slater and co-star Bret Harrison. Among studios, Sony has the most pilots that have gotten a new lease on life post-upfronts: Mad Love, Wright Vs. Wrong, Team Spitz and Breaking In. Awkward Situations, Edgar Floats and HMS hail from WBTV (HMS is a co-production with CBS Studios), Breakout Kings is from 20th Century Fox TV, now produced by its cable division Fox21, while How To Be a Better American is from ABC Studios.
http://www.deadline.com/2010/07/nbc-fall-update-love-bites-out-apprentice-in-as-bites-production-is-pushed/
NBC is making a scheduling change for fall, with a non-celebrity edition of The Apprentice replacing new anthology dramedy series Love Bites.
Production on Love Bites is being pushed by a few weeks to accommodate two new developments: the pregnancy of star Becki Newton and creator/executive producer Cindy Chupack's decision to step down from day-to-day showtunner duties as she is dealing with personal matters. Chupack will continue on the series as a writer and is actively working on upcoming scripts. The show's producers are still figuring out whether Newton's pregnancy will be incorporated on the show. In the pilot, Newton's character is described as a virgin.
The anthology dramedy suffered a casting setback recently when its other star, Jordana Spiro, had to be released because of her commitment to TBS’ My Boys. Spiro will exit after 3 episodes. There are no immediate plans for her to be replaced, though Love Bites is adding another regular, Constance Zimmer, who will play Greg Grunberg's wife. Grunberg was upped to a regular after his memorable guest-starring turn in the pilot where his wife was played by Pamela Adlon. The show's regular cast now includes Newton, Grunberg and Zimmer.
The tentative scheduling plan for Love Bites is to launch the show in January in its old Thursdays 10PM slot, following the conclusion of The Apprentice, but the network might put it on it sooner in another time period.
"Love Bites is incredibly important to me, and it’s been gratifying that NBC feels the same. Launching an anthology series, which breaks the form in so many ways, is a huge undertaking, and I strongly feel that I can be most helpful not showrunning, but writing," Chupack said. "I have full faith in my fellow Executive Producers (Marc Buckland, and Working Title TV's Shelley McCrory, Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan), and we have a top-notch, dream writing staff. It's just become clear that for several reasons, some of them personal, this change (and a little more time) is what we need to launch this show properly."
http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2010/07/01/icarly-jane-lynch-sams-mom/
Grownups love her. Teenagers love her. And now Jane Lynch is about to win over an even younger demographic by guesting on kiddie fave iCarly!
The Glee villainess has been cast as the much-mentioned-but-never-before-seen mom of Jennette McCurdy’s Sam, sources confirm to me exclusively. Her episode, which goes before the cameras next week, will air during the Nickelodeon hit’s upcoming third season.
It won’t just be Gleeks stoked about this casting coup, either. The actress’ own 8-year-old stepdaughter is a huge iCarly fan — so huge that Mom even included a reference to it in her wedding vows!
What do you think? Are you already an iCarly devotee? If not, will Lynch’s pop-in be enough to entice you to try it out? Sound off below!
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/07/summer_tv_bad_ratings.html
This summer ABC and Fox execs made a decision: no more using the summer as a time to coast on reruns, reality, or dumped regular-season rejects like The Goode Family and Mental, two shows you don't remember for very good reasons. No, this year they would spend the money to pack June, July, and August with original scripted series. After all, cable proved that you can build buzz in the summer, what with past hot-weather debuts as Mad Men and True Blood.
Unfortunately, it looks like all of the networks' viewers aren't cooperating: Only one of these new scripted shows, ABC's Rookie Blue, has gotten any notable sampling. It would seem like the great Original Programming Gamble of 2010 has been a crushing failure … except for one thing, say network execs: In the new, diminished world of network television, even these dismally rated shows may be their best option.
Summer used to be the season of reruns; extra airings cost little and usually generated fair Nielsen numbers. And viewers had no choice but to watch them because, well, what the hell else were they gonna do? But now we're in the world of TiVo, Hulu, and "Hey, I'll just watch the whole season of 24 on Netflix!" While some shows — half-hour comedies, just about everything on CBS — still draw acceptable numbers the second (and third) time around, the rest drop precipitously. "At one point, a repeat [earned ratings] of about 50 percent of the original run," says Fox strategist-in-chief Preston Beckman. "Now it's often 20 or 25 percent. You're always going to repeat some of your schedule ... but it's changed."
The networks first tried to fill the summer with cheap reality shows, which have been showing diminishing returns: They don't get the buzz they used to, and producers have been upping their rates. Plus, advertisers pay more for scripted shows than for reality. So this year ABC and Fox aggressively ordered original dramas, and made every effort to turn them into hits. Take Fox's The Good Guys, a breezy caper starring Bradley Whitford and Colin Hanks created by Matt Nix (who also made USA's summer hit, Burn Notice). The network promoted it relentlessly during the late spring, touting the show during such hits as American Idol and House, and previewing the first episode after one of the last Idols of the season. Yet barely 4.6 million folks tuned in for the June 7 premiere, fewer than who watched the premiere of TV Land's Hot in Cleveland. By this week, Good Guys's number was down to 4.2 million. "The Good Guys is not doing as well as we had hoped," concedes Beckman.
The Alphabet network green-lit a trio of first-run shows: the quirky con-man dramedy Scoundrels, supernatural The Gates, and young-cops hour Rookie Blue (or Grey's Academy, as some have tagged it). Rookie had a notable debut; it was sampled by more than 7 million viewers, giving ABC its best numbers for scripted summer fare in six years and drawing solid numbers with young adults. But the other two originals, paired on Sunday, only had so-so kickoffs in early June and have only cooled off since: Last week's episodes were seen by barely 3 million viewers, down about 25 percent from their premieres.
However, as awful as these numbers might seem, they're in line with the ratings of most mid-level scripted cable summer shows, like Lifetime's Drop Dead Diva and TNT's Leverage. More important, most are actually doing better than the ratings Fox and ABC generated last summer with repeats. "Even at a 1.1 [in the key demo of 18-49], The Gates is doing better than the 0.6 we did last year in the time slot with a repeat," notes ABC scheduling chief Jeff Bader.
But is it financially viable? After all, scripted shows are more expensive to make, right? Not necessarily, as the networks have found ways to cut costs without (completely) sacrificing quality. For example, they're now picking up shows originally produced for other countries (like the Canadian-born-and-aired Rookie Blue, whose sub-$500,000 per episode license fee is less than a third the cost of a typical U.S.-produced drama). And, they're green-lighting series — such as The Good Guys — with built-in international partners who will air the show in their countries; it's a model that lets U.S. networks have a say in how a show is put together without having to pay full freight for its production.
Meanwhile, summertime cable hits like Burn Notice and TNT's The Closer, with audiences over 6 million, are now regularly matching or exceeding the tune-in numbers for many network reality shows and repeats. That means networks face losing even more summertime ad dollars to cable if they don't find a way to better compete in the off-season.
So while the networks would obviously like ratings for scripted summer fare to be higher, original dramas (and maybe one day first-run comedies) can still turn a profit for networks, even when the numbers seem tiny. "The license fees [on most summer originals] are reasonable," says another network executive, "which allows us to not freak out about the numbers in the same way we might if they cost as much as regular season shows."
But why isn't anyone showing up to see these new shows? The Gates and Scoundrels are certainly no Mad Men, but had they premiered in September, they probably would have gotten a better sampling. A big part of the problem is that, after decades of networks clearing out after May sweeps, viewers have been conditioned not to look for new scripted series on broadcast TV during summer. And this habit can't be broken in just one season. (It doesn't help that some networks are still using summer for burn-off theater; see NBC's 100 Questions and Persons Unknown.) "We've trained the audience to think summer is not a time to watch scripted shows on the networks," Bader theorizes. "There's a part of me that thinks people say: 'It's summer; these shows can't be good.'"
One way to change that perception, execs say, is to start blurring the lines between the regular season and summer by having shows premiere in, say, April and air through September (or by having June bows remain in prime time until December). The latter strategy is one Fox has said it plans to use with The Good Guys: After a summer run on Mondays, Guys will shift to Fridays (along with Lie to Me Human Target) during the fall. The low ratings for Guys has already prompted clucking from rival networks that Fox won't possibly keep such a low-rated series on the air though the fall. But Beckman says: Why not? "There's been no discussion about doing anything but keeping our heads down and staying the course," he says. "If Guys were going to be our Monday show in the fall, maybe we'd have to reconsider. But given the low bar we and the other networks have set for ourselves on Fridays, if the show stays where it is, that's okay for us."
Beckman and ABC's Bader are also both strong advocates of practicing patience with summer shows. After all, HBO's True Blood premiered in late summer 2008 to barely 1.5 million viewers, grew to 3.7 million with its second season bow last June, and this year started off its third year with over 5 million viewers. "The longer you leave a show on, the more sampling it gets," Bader says. "If there's more buzz, if people hear about a show again and again, they might" check it out.
That's why, despite the seemingly soft early numbers for the summer class of 2010, it won't be a complete shocker if a show like the Scoundrels or Rookie Blue ends up returning for another season next summer. "This isn't an experiment that's going to go away," Bader says. "This is just the start." As Beckman puts it, "We aren't going back." And unless viewers prefer reruns of the canceled FlashForward, they might want to help them go forward.
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/01/inter-office-memo-ricky-gervais-wishes-steve-carell-good-luck/
Though NBC and the producers of “The Office” have yet to comment publicly on Steve Carell’s recent statements that he plans to leave that comedy after its coming seventh season — one presumes they’re not thrilled — Mr. Carell has received a warm send-off from his trans-Atlantic counterpart, Ricky Gervais.
Mr. Gervais, a co-creator of the original BBC version of “The Office,” and who starred as David Brent, the oafish paper-company manager who inspired Mr. Carell’s Michael Scott character, wrote on his blog that Mr. Carell’s departure was “of course inevitable (and sad), but I wish him all the luck in the world.”
Mr. Gervais added:
It was expected of me, as executive producer, to persuade him to stay on. With syndication in full swing, the more successful the show remains, the more billions we all make. It was tempting, but the truth is, I believe he is doing the right thing. He’s fulfilled his contract and more, and is a huge film star now. (I knocked it on the head after 12 episodes and a Christmas special.) I’d be lying if I said he should do more. He shouldn’t. He should move on, continue to do great work, and buy a new house every time “The Office” is repeated somewhere.
No comment yet on the widespread suggestion that an ideal replacement for Mr. Carell on “The Office” could be Mr. Gervais himself.
http://www.deadline.com/2010/07/cheryl-hines-in-talent-deal-with-abc/
Curb Your Enthusiasm co-star Cheryl Hines has signed a talent holding deal with ABC. Once the norm, such pacts are rare these days, with maybe a handful across all broadcast networks a season. Hines already has a history at ABC. She starred in the network’s short-lived comedy series In the Motherhood last year and recently did an arc on Brothers & Sisters and co-starred in the network’s comedy pilot Wright vs. Wrong. Under her talent deal with ABC she might reprise her role in the new pilot for the Sony TV-produced project starring Debra Messing, which is in the works. Hines, who also is set to reprise her role as Larry David’s wife Cheryl on Curb’s upcoming eighth season, executive produces NBC's new feel-good fall reality series School Pride. She is with WME and Principato Young.
http://www.deadline.com/2010/07/shocker-drama-chaos-left-to-die-after-cbs-and-20th-tv-cant-agree-on-order/
After five weeks of negotiations between CBS and 20th Century Fox TV over a midseason order for CIA drama pilot Chaos, the project, once considered a shoo-in for a spot on the schedule, now appears dead after the options on the actors expired at midnight last night. There was a lot of afterhours back-and-forth last night, with CAA, which is behind the Tom Spezialy-written drama, making a last-ditch effort to bring the two sides together. But no last-minute agreement was reached in what is described a classic example of political gamesmanship between two companies that don’t trust each other. I hear a lot of people on both sides are shell-shocked today as Chaos has been well liked at both the network and the studio and had been on the verge of a series order for so long. There is a slim chance that if a deal is made today, the project could get resurrected and the actors could be asked to come back, but the chance is indeed slim.
CBS originally was expected to make a decision on Chaos immediately after its May 19 upfront presentation so, if picked up, producing studio 20th TV could sell the drama at the LA international screenings the following week. The midseason order came on the last day of screenings, but 20th TV didn’t accept it because it was for 8 episodes as opposed to the standard 13-episode pickup, making the series hard to impossible to sell internationally through studio's output deals. Another non-starter for 20th TV: CBS asked for reshoots on the Brett Ratner-directed pilot but refused to split the cost for them with the studio. After 10 days of little movement, CBS, which didn’t feel it needed more than 8 episodes with another midseason drama, the Criminal Minds spinoff, already picked up for 13, upped the Chaos order to 13 episodes (including the pilot). But the larger order came with a lower license fee, $100,000 less per episode, and again wasn’t accepted by the studio, putting the two sides in another standoff. The license fee was eventually raised to its original level by CBS but disagreement over splitting the cost for the pilot reshoots remained, joined by a new big sticking point: the series’ budget. With its international window closing as many foreign buyers had already fulfilled their quotas with the slew of new drama series offered by the broadcast and cable networks this year, 20th TV indicated that it would have to produce the series more economically to offset lost international revenue and was looking to film Chaos out of state, taking advantage of tax incentives elsewhere. The studio was considering filming the series in Dallas, which offers tax breaks, or Vancouver, which offers more European look fitting the international elements in the CIA drama. Being closer to Los Angeles and in the same time zone, Vancouver also would've worked better for Spezialy and the other producers, who would have had to shuttle between location and the writers room in Los Angeles. That proved unacceptable to CBS, which wanted assurances that the series will keep the high quality of the pilot and asked 20th TV to commit to a budget of $3.1 million an episode. Additionally, the network was concerned that Vancouver would not provide the “blue sky” look they were looking for the series. 20th TV would commit to delivering a high quality series but not to a budget dictated by the network. Exacerbating the standoff even further, CBS asked to take over production of the show but was turned down by 20th TV. And while all this was going on, Spezialy lost the writers he had wanted for the series, including Reaper creators Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters who eventually joined another 20th TV series, Terra Nova.
Over the past five weeks, CBS and 20th TV never met eye-to-eye, ultimately letting Chaos die last night with the expiration of the actors’ options – a heartbreaking result for Spezialy who wrote and produced a good pilot that became a victim of the still-fragile economics of producing primetime series and good ol' Hollywood gamesmanship.
http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2010/07/01/90210-blair-redford/
90210 has procured a fresh slab of beefcake for its upcoming third season.
Former soap star Blair Redford — probably best known as the third Miguel on NBC’s defunct Passions — is joining the CW soap in a major recurring role, sources confirm to me exclusively. And what role would that be? Keep reading for the deets…
Redford will play Oscar, a handsome, charismatic, and charming Brit that a show insider describes as “one part Talented Mr. Ripley, one part young Johnny Depp, and all parts sexy.” But don’t be fooled. Oscar, who moves in with Ivy and her mom, is trouble with a capital “T” that rhymes with “P” that stands for pot stirrer.
This isn’t Redford’s first brush with The CW. The actor had a role in the network’s ill-fated drama pilot Betwixt.
90210‘s third season (and first on Monday night!) premieres on Sept. 13.
