Posted Nov 3rd 2009 8:05PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Cancellations, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
Some more sad TV news that thankfully doesn't involve
Kirstie Alley:
Flight of the Conchords might not be returning to television.
Jermaine Clement, one of the show's stars, told the Reuters News Service that their hilarious show might not return to television for a third season because the amount of work that it requires.
This isn't his or anyone else's final decision on the matter. Clement and his costar Bret McKenzie will discuss the possibility of a third season with directors and producers and should come to a decision by the end of the month. So all of you fans with
Flight of the Conchords prayer alert hidden in your closet might want to a light an extra candle before you go to bed tonight.
Posted Oct 29th 2009 8:02AM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Cancellations, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
The Goode Family -- the Mike Judge show ABC did everything it could to kill -- has a new home at Comedy Central.
According to Daily Variety, the
cable network will air all 13 episodes of
the animated comedy that ABC canceled last summer. That's good news for fans of a show ABC buried in its line-up -- moving it around like a pea under a nutshell until it finally put the Goodes out of their misery.
At the time, the show was embraced by fans of
Beavis & Butthead and
King of the Hill as a worthy sardonic successor to Judge's animated quiver. But, critics often attacked its mockery of political correctness and progressive politics. Some pundits went so far as claiming such a show was inappropriate in the era of Obama.
In other words, it's only censorship when your side is the one being silenced.
Continue reading Comedy Central is 'Goode' to Mike Judge with new deal
Posted Oct 29th 2009 12:17AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Industry, Programming, Cancellations, Reality-Free
You really can't leave your computer or your TV screen anymore or you'll miss the latest news/cancellation from NBC. The latest?
Trauma, the new, heavily-hyped medical drama that had that big splashy pilot with the helicopter and car crashes.
Does this news really surprise anyone though?
Continue reading Goodbye Trauma
Posted Oct 28th 2009 7:01PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Industry, OpEd, Cancellations, Ratings, Reality-Free
Every year, there's a show that's on the top of viewers' "You mean that's
still on the air?" list. Whether the show was good or not, it was one that hung on in obscurity for years and years, getting just enough of an audience to keep it going. You know the shows I'm talking about:
The Facts of Life. Wings. Yes, Dear. Matlock.Just Shoot Me. George Lopez. King of the Hill. JAG. Heck, even the great
Scrubs was at the top of this list for many people for awhile (still might be for some).
But for the last five years or so, the reigning champ of that list was
According to Jim, both because of its inexplicable longevity and its questionable quality. Now, with Jim Belushi's vanity project finally gone, it looks like another show has taken its place: FOX's
'Til Death.
The network just doesn't want to let the show die. Every time the show is in a low-rated slot, the network moves it to one that's higher-profile in an attempt to boost ratings. Case in point: the
Brad Garrett sitcom will be replacing Brothers on Sundays at 7, starting January 10, after football's regular season is over.
Continue reading 'Til Death: The new According to Jim?
Posted Oct 22nd 2009 4:05PM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Cancellations, Reality-Free
It's a rare, disturbing sight to watch a television show torn to pieces -- literally.
While on my
set visit for Stargate Universe at Bridge Studios in Vancouver, I stayed with the main press tour. It took us from the main stage holding the massive set of the starship Destiny across the expansive lot to a series off small office buildings housing the show's costume shop and editing bays.
The route took us past the sound stage that once housed the production for ABC's
Defying Gravity. Of course, the ambitious prime time sci-fi drama was canceled early this fall season. So, the cast and crew were long gone.
The sounds coming out of that distant sound stage were strangely tragic. There was the grinding of band saws, the pounding of sledgehammers and the growling of large cranes -- all working together to tear the show's elaborate sets to pieces.
Continue reading Set visits reveal ghosts of Defying Gravity set destruction
Posted Oct 20th 2009 5:01PM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: TV on the Bigscreen, Arrested Development, Cable/Satellite, Cancellations, Reality-Free, Gone Too Soon
It seems these days when anyone talks about
Arrested Development, the conversation inevitably turns to the still up-in-the-air film sequel -- something that's proven to be more elusive than finding your own Cornballer. Last we heard,
the film was actually in development (a term that only loosely means what it's supposed to in Hollywood), but in the meantime, though, there is some good news -
IFC has picked up the off-network rights to Arrested Development.
Continue reading Arrested Development news that isn't about the movie: IFC to air series
Posted Oct 19th 2009 2:29PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Cancellations, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
Just when I'd added
Southland to my list of shows to spotlight in upcoming editions of "Gone Too Soon," now there are glimmers of hope for its future. After NBC unceremoniously dumped it
before it premiered this season, in favor of more
Dateline, fans and television pundits were stunned.
Executive producer John Wells has reportedly been in contact with the cast to tell them he has at least
two cable networks interested in picking up Southland. The good news comes in two ways. One, the series gets to come back. And two, a cable network is a lot less likely to tamper with the storytelling style
Southland was developing in its first season. NBC already had them de-emphasizing the larger cast and the serialized nature of their storytelling in the episodes they were filming for the new season.
Continue reading Southland may yet find new life on cable
Posted Oct 8th 2009 10:07PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Industry, Programming, Cancellations, Reality-Free
Oh, this is going to tick off sooooo many people.
NBC has decided to cancel Southland! They have finished filming six episodes for season two but NBC suddenly pulled the plug on the show. There's still a chance that a cable network could pick it up. I can picture the show on FX or TNT or USA. Or maybe NBC could put it on Bravo? Nah, then they'd have no room for
Real Housewives of Bangor, Maine.
Continue reading Goodbye Southland
Posted Oct 7th 2009 5:01PM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Cancellations, Reality-Free
I've just learned from a source at Comedy Central that
Krod Mandoon and The Flaming Sword of Fire will not return be returning for a second season. Now, I'm sure this wasn't anyone's favorite show, and there won't be too many online petitions for its return. But I was fond of it, and was hoping it would get a chance to grow a bit more.
For one thing, a fantasy comedy was a departure for Comedy Central's schedule. It was a little island of oddity amongst the more modern-looking programming, a pleasant change of pace. I also enjoyed the crew of supporting characters. Mandoon himself was kind of the standard altruistic oaf, but there was plenty of room for development, especially learning the others.
Continue reading Krod Mandoon has flamed his last
Posted Sep 29th 2009 5:25PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Cancellations, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
When ITV canceled their hit series
Primeval, I was baffled. This was the top-rated show on BBC America, and it was a pretty solid hit worldwide as well. Apparently, I was right about that, though, as BBC Worldwide and German ProSeiben are part of a complex deal that enabled the show to go back into production.
If only there were an organizaton like that that could step in every time a network axes a sci-fi show on a massive cliffhanger, like
Primeval was. Even better, the renewal gives the series
two new seasons at 13 episodes each. We're going to have to wait until 2011 to find out how Connor and Abby get out of that tree, but that's better than never finding out.
Unlike the
Jericho renewal of a few years back, this deal doesn't include any reductions in budget of any kind, so not only will they be able to keep the entire cast intact, the effects budget remains untouched. I'm glad to hear that, as I don't think I was ready for men in rubber suits chasing the crew around.
Posted Sep 28th 2009 7:02PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Web, Cancellations, Reality-Free
If all of the people who watched the first two episodes of
The Beautiful Life signed
this petition...well, the show would still be
canceled (if you had
TBL in the office "which show will get canceled first" pool, congrats!).
Cancellations + the web = instant petitions. A TV show used to just die and then that would be it. Oh, sometimes something happens where a show gets a second chance (exec taking a chance, summer reruns getting good ratings, the show doing well on DVD, buzz, etc), but it's a long shot. And now, whenever a show is canceled the web gives us the opportunity to create and/or sign a petition to get the show renewed.
Continue reading Help save The Beautiful Life (or you could just do your laundry or something)
Posted Sep 26th 2009 3:40PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Cancellations, Reality-Free
While a lot of shows seem to be thriving in cable, in the last couple of days, two series have bitten the dust.
TBS dumped The Bill Engvall Show after three seasons, and now
A&E Network has canceled The Cleaner, opting not to give the drama series another year. Hmm... does that mean Benjamin Bratt is available to return to
Law and Order?
Probably not. Been there, done that, you know. But the TV pro is now unemployed although I doubt that'll be for long.
The Cleaner just never really clicked for A&E. It was as intense as the network's hit reality show, Intervention, but it wasn't nearly as compelling.
Continue reading A&E cancels The Cleaner
Posted Sep 25th 2009 10:29PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Cancellations, Reality-Free, Vampire Diaries
The cancel hammer fell faster this season than I expected. After only two episodes, even The CW's lower ratings expectations couldn't save
The Beautiful Life. The real reason
The CW canceled The Beautiful Life: TBL is right there in the title. How pretentious do you have to be to put your acronym in your title?
Acronyms are earned. Acronyms like
OTH,
VD and
MP. Those stand for shows that are doing much better for The CW. The network has tossed a
full season order to the veteran One Tree Hill. They came a little short of that with
The Vampire Diaries, ordering nine more scripts, but a full-season pick-up can't be far behind. While
TBL slipped to one million,
VD achieved 3.8 million and growing.
As for
Melrose Place, it's not doing nearly as well, but The CW is maybe hoping that Heather Locklear can save this iteration the way she did the original. I'm not so sure, but they've got six more scripts to prove their case.
Posted Sep 25th 2009 5:06PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV Squad Polls, Cancellations, Reality-Free
If you haven't heard,
TBS has canceled The Bill Engvall Show after three seasons. I watched one episode of the show during its first season and found it to be a cute and harmless family sitcom.
Did you watch it, and if you did, will you miss it?
Posted Sep 22nd 2009 9:00AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Cancellations, Emmys, Reality-Free, Glee
The good news is the
Kristen Chenoweth won an Emmy Sunday night. But the bad news is the she was so ill backstage she needed to be checked out by paramedics. Here's what happened.
Early during the Primetime Emmys, when Kristin's name was announced for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy, I don't know about you, but I let out a whoop! She won for
Pushing Daisies, a show – as she pointed out in her tear-filled speech – was no longer on the air. At least one of the fine actors on that wonderful, fanciful show was recognized!
Continue reading Kristin Chenoweth's Emmy night, the good and bad
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