Stoney Mason
Banned
World According to Jim renewed for another season!!!
CBS announced its plans for the 2008-2009 season today. For the most part, things are staying the same, but there are two new sitcoms and four hour dramas planned. Here are the highlights:
Returning: The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Rules of Engagement, The Unit, Cold Case, Numb3rs, Criminal Minds, The Ghost Whisperer, CSI, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, NCIS, 60 Minutes, Without A Trace, Survivor, The Amazing Race
Out: Shark, Moonlight, Cane, Kid Nation, Power of 10, Secret Talents of the Stars, Viva Laughlin, Welcome to the Captain
New: The Worst Week, Project Gary, The Ex List, Eleventh Hour, The Mentalist
Mid-season: Harper's Island, Rules of Engagement
Schedule and detailed descriptions of the new shows coming soon, after the jump.
Project Gary (Wednesday, 8:30) is a new sitcom starring Jay Mohr (goodbye, Ghost Whisperer!) and Paula Marshall (Nip/Tuck) about a recently divorced dad trying to balance the demands of his kids and his ex, while getting out into the dating world. Ed Yeager (Still Standing) and Ric Swartzlander (8 Simple Rules) are the executive producers -- I know, yeech! -- but there's supposedly very good buzz about this show, and CBS apparently wanted to keep Mohr on the net. By the description, it sounds like this might pair well with Christine on Wednesdays -- two divorce, single parent comedies. "We really wanted to focus on comedy, and we had the goods to it this year," said CBS entertainment president Nina Tassler. "We've been looking to expand, to build out to another night. We have two of highest-testing new comedies we've had in years."
The Worst Week (Monday, 9:30) is an American version of a British comedy (The Worst Week of My Life) about a young engaged couple getting acquainted with their in-laws. Kyle Bornheimer and Erin Hayes (Kitchen Confidential) star as the couple. Kurtwood Smith (That '70s Show) also stars. (By the way, didn't ABC do a similar show in 2006 -- remember Big Day? It starred Wendie Malick and Marla Sokoloff among others). Matt Tarses (Scrubs) wrote the script. NBC Universal owns this sitcom; the net had first shot at this show and passed.
The Ex List (Friday, 9:00) (formerly known as Mythological Ex) is a romantic drama about a woman who gets a tarot card reading at a party and learns that she needs to marry very soon and she's already met the man who is her destiny. She has to go back through her ex-es to find him. Elizabeth Reaser (an Emmy nominee for Grey's Anatomy) stars. Diane Ruggiero (Veronica Mars) wrote the pilot, and it's said to have a sweet, romantic comedy flair. It sounds interesting, especially if Ruggiero does her Mars magic here. Pairing this with Ghost is an attempt to draw the ladies to the TV. "Women drive network television," Tassler said. "Women watch our procedurals and comedies and we wanted to build on that. We've added more female faces to the network."
Eleventh Hour (Thursday, 10:00) is a latest from Jerry Bruckheimer's production company -- Cold Case, CSI -- so you know that this will be given every chance to succeed. CBS loves Jerry. The show stars Rufus Sewell as a scientific investigator working for the government to probe unsolved anomalies. Based on a British series that starred Patrick Stewart, it already has sci-fi fans curious. Sounds like an X-Files wannabe to me. The showrunners are Cyrus Voris and Ethan Reiff, formerly of Sleeper Cell.
The Mentalist (Tuesday, 9:00) marks the return of Simon Baker (The Guardian, Smith) to CBS. He plays a man who has superior innate (ESP?) powers of deduction to assist the California Bureau of Investigation. Bruno Heller (Rome) is the writer. Robin Tunney (Prison Break) co-stars.
Mid-season
Rules of Engagement - yes, it's coming back. Watch for it to replace any sitcom that falters.
Harper's Island is a murder mystery involving a group of friends who meet on an island near Seattle for a wedding when things go very wrong, like murder. Jericho producer Jon Turteltaub is in charge and the pilot was penned by Ari Schlossberg. It hasn't been shot yet nor has it been cast. Tassler described it as a cross between 10 Little Indians and Scream. (What no Gilligan's Island and Lost?)
Other Notes
The Amazing Race will have two editions for the 2008-09 season (yes!). Similarly, Survivor will air the 13th edition -- Africa -- in the fall, and the 14th in the spring. Both will be in HD for the first time.
Moonlight is definitely gone. It will not get another go on The CW. According to CBS, it was a tough decision to let it go, but they felt they needed to make space for other projects.
Here's the schedule:
Monday
8:00 The Big Bang Theory
8:30 How I Met Your Mother
9:00 Two and a Half Men
9:30 The Worst Week
10:00 CSI: Miami
Tuesday
8:00 NCIS
9:00 The Mentalist
10:00 Without A Trace
Wednesday
8:00 The New Adventures of Old Christine
8:30 Project Gary
9:00 Criminal Minds
10:00 CSI: NY
Thursday
8:00 Survivor: Africa
9:00 CSI
10:00 Eleventh Hour
Friday
8:00 The Ghost Whisperer
9:00 The Ex-List
10:00 Numb3rs
Saturday
8:00 Crimetime Saturday
9:00 Crimetime Saturday
10:00 48 Hours
Sunday
7:00 60 Minutes
8:00 The Amazing Race
9:00 Cold Case
10:00 The Unit
At this morning's ABC news conference, most of the news of the fall pickups ("Opportunity Knocks," "Life on Mars"), cancellations ("Men in Trees" and lots more) and renewals (all their hit shows, plus "Boston Legal" and "Eli Stone") had already come out. And it was a badly kept secret, if the word even applies, that "Scrubs" would be moving to ABC from NBC next season.
But the network's president, Steve McPherson, offered a few new bits of information. For example, he said the network would be reshooting parts of the pilot for "Life on Mars," the remake of the BBC series about a detective who finds himself back in 1973 after he's run over by a car. (In the American version, it's 1972 for some reason.) He said there will be some casting changes, but not Jason O'Mara, the lead, who guest-starred recently on "Grey's Anatomy" as a patient with a deadly brain tumor. The new show will air on Thursday nights at 10 p.m. in the post-"Grey's" time slot.
McPherson also said that because David E. Kelley, the executive producer of "Life on Mars," will be writing nearly every one of the 13 episodes of the final season of "Boston Legal," he won't be concentrating much on "Life on Mars" yet. Which led a reporter to ask: This is the final season of "Boston Legal" for sure? Yes, it will be, McPherson answered.
Another reporter asked McPherson about "Ugly Betty's" move to New York, and McPherson said he was "excited from a production standpoint" that a show that takes place in New York could shoot in New York. He reiterated what has already been reported -- that New York City had made ABC Studios a great offer to move the production there.
When asked about the cancellation of the much-loved "Men in Trees," McPherson said "we just couldn't get traction on that show" (but did not mention the many time-slot changes and long hiatuses it was subject to). He said that the network is still in business with series creator Jenny Bicks, whom he called "one of the great female voices."
ABC's fall schedule is below, with new shows in bold.
MONDAY:
8:00 p.m. Dancing with the Stars
9:30 p.m. Samantha Who?
10:00 p.m. Boston Legal
TUESDAY:
8:00 p.m. Opportunity Knocks
9:00 p.m. Dancing with the Stars" (results show)
10:00 p.m. Eli Stone
WEDNESDAY:
8:00 p.m. Pushing Daisies
9:00 p.m. Private Practice
10:00 p.m. Dirty Sexy Money
THURSDAY:
8:00 p.m. Ugly Betty
9:00 p.m. Greys Anatomy
10:00 p.m. Life on Mars
FRIDAY:
8:00 p.m. Wife Swap
9:00 p.m. Supernanny
10:00 p.m. 20/20
SATURDAY:
8:00 p.m. Saturday Night College Football
SUNDAY:
7:00 p.m. Americas Funniest Home Videos
8:00 p.m. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
9:00 p.m. Desperate Housewives
10:00 p.m. Brothers & Sisters
The CW released its 2008-09 prime-time schedule tonight, and here's the rundown:
Returning: Reaper, Smallville, Supernatural, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, America's Next Top Model, Everybody Hates Chris, The Game
Out: Aliens in America, Life is Wild, Girlfriends
New: 90210, Surviving the Filthy Rich, Stylista
To quote Dawn Ostroff, the President of Entertainment for the CW: "With shows that everyone is talking about, from 'Gossip Girl' and 'America's Next Top Model' to our upcoming '90210,' our new lineup has the best Monday-Friday schedule flow we have ever had at The CW." No one has ever accused a network of underselling its shows and The CW is no exception to this.
New Shows:
90210 (Tuesday, 8 p.m.) From the press release: "An edgy, contemporary spin-off of the iconic drama Beverly Hills, 90210, the new 90210 looks at life through the eyes of Annie Mills (Shenae Grimes, Degrassi: The Next Generation) and her brother Dixon (Tristan Wilds, The Wire), whose first day at West Beverly Hills High School leaves no doubt they're not in Kansas anymore." Just when you thought nobody in Hollywood had any original ideas anymore, you were proven correct. The first episode guest starts Jennie Garth as Kelly Taylor from the original series, which is a bit like having Michael Knight guest star in the pilot of a new Knight Rider series. Oh wait, they did that too.
Surviving the Filthy Rich (Tuesday, 9 p.m.) From the press release: "Twenty-three-year-old Megan Smith (JoAnna Garcia, Reba) has a Yale education, a relentlessly positive attitude and a plan to conquer the world of journalism, despite the fact that she is currently slaving away at a tabloid rag. Megan's plan is thrown off course when, in one whirlwind day, she gets fired, meets cosmetics mogul Laurel Limoges (casting TBD) and becomes the live-in tutor for Laurel's twin teen granddaughters in the heady Palm Beach world of wealth and power." A couple of the Gossip Girl folks are behind this series and I suspect it to be somewhat similar in tone.
Stylista (Wednesday, 9 p.m.) From the press release: "If The Devil Wears Prada were a reality show, it would be Stylista. Eleven aspiring fashion enthusiasts vie for a much-coveted editorial job with Elle magazine. They work as assistants to Elle's Fashion News Director, Anne Slowey, a demanding but well-respected fashion icon. The competitors will carry out an assistant task and a fashion editorial assignment in each episode. Each week, in consultation with Elle's Creative Director, Joe Zee, Anne fires one person, until the last assistant standing gets "promoted" to the coveted real-life job opportunity. The grand prize includes a paid editorial position at Elle magazine, a paid lease on a great apartment in Manhattan, and a clothing allowance at H&M, all for one year, valued at $100,000." In other words, it's The Apprentice meets Sex and the City. I don't like reality television to begin with and I have many writer friends who bust their ass to get into the industry without making it. As a result I feel that this particular program deserves a special corner in Reality Television Hell.
The CW's fall prime-time schedule (new shows in bold):
Monday:
(8 p.m.): Gossip Girl
(9 p.m.): One Tree Hill
Tuesday:
(8 p.m.): 90210
(9 p.m.): Surviving the Filthy Rich
Wednesday:
(8 p.m.): America's Next Top Model
(9 p.m.): Stylista
Thursday:
(8 p.m.): Smallville
(9 p.m.): Supernatural
Friday:
(8 p.m.): Everybody Hates Chris
(8:30 p.m.): The Game
(9 p.m.): America's Next Top Model (encore presentation)
Additional notes:
*The CW has subcontracted out their Sunday night block to independent producers, much like many networks do for Saturday mornings. It's an interesting experiment. Imagine if another producer found a hit for Sunday night then moved it to another network.
*As previously reported, Reaper will be returning mid-season for a shortened 13 episode season taking Smallville's timeslot.
Actually, NBC already had its upfront over a month ago. This is a "spotlight event," a Part 2, if you will (a walk-thru set up at 30 Rock for advertisers and the media), but they did make some interesting announcements today.
This biggest announcement (though hardly a surprise at this point) was that Jimmy Fallon will take over on Late Night when Conan O'Brien takes over for Jay Leno. This will happen next year.
Here are some of the other announcements made at today's even and a recap of the new shows and the shows that have been canceled. And in this post, I promise not to fail you, rainbow chicken.
New shows: My Own Worst Enemy, with Christian Slater as a spy and co-starring Saffron Burrows and Mike O'Malley (Monday at 10); Momma's Boys, a Ryan Seacrest-produced reality show where moms try to find mates for their sons (ugh); the island adventure series Crusoe (Friday at 8); the Molly Shannon sitcom Kath & Kim (Tuesday at 9:30); Celebrity Circus; and the remake of Knight Rider (Wednesday at 8). The new drama The Philanthropist (with David Eick as showrunner) will air in the My Own Worst Enemy's time slot in the winter. Two other dramas will also debut in the winter: Kings (with Ian McShane) and Merlin, as will the reality show America's Toughest Jobs.
Returning: 30 Rock, Medium, The Office, Celebrity Apprentice, Life, Chuck, Heroes, Dateline, Deal Or No Deal, My Name Is Earl, America's Got Talent, Last Comic Standing, Nashville Star, The Biggest Loser, American Gladiators, SNL, ER, Law and Order, Law and Order: CI, and Law and Order: SVU.
Gone: Scrubs (probably moving to ABC), Bionic Woman, Las Vegas, Amnesia, 1 vs. 100, Journeyman, My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad, Clash of the Choirs, The Singing Bee.
Also: There will be a spinoff of The Office, which will air after the Super Bowl (along with an episode of The Office). Friday Night Lights has been renewed for 13 episodes. The episodes will first air on DirecTV in the fall, and then air on NBC in the winter. Also: in the summer of 2009, the network will debut the new reality shows Shark Taggers, The Chopping Block, as well as The Listener, a drama.
Fox, the "American Idol" network, announced its new schedule on Thursday of this upfronts week.
The network comes from a position of strength: It will once again win the season in viewers ages 18 to 49, and, in what could represent a sea change in broadcast television, Fox has also wrested the most-watched title away from CBS, as our columnist Scott Collins anticipated in March.
Its two most high-profile new projects are "Fringe," from Team J.J. Abrams, and Joss Whedon's "Dollhouse." "Fringe," and indeed the entire Fox "fall" lineup, will make its debut in late August. ("Prison Break" will kick off the Fox season Aug. 25; a two-hour "Fringe" will premiere the next night.)
As usual, Fox announced its schedule in two separate parts because of "Idol." What will be different in this coming season, assuming there are no strike disruptions or other disasters, will be the return of "24" -- the Kiefer Sutherland-led adventure series will come back to the airwaves for the first time since spring of 2007. On Thursday, the network announced the airdate of the two-hour "24" prequel: Sunday, Nov. 23.
And "Day 7" of the veteran show, which suffered a creative downturn in its sixth season after an Emmy-winning run in its fifth, will come back to Fox in January. It will be in its regular 9 p.m. Monday slot, with "Dollhouse" as its lead-in.
Other notes: "Back to You," "Canterbury's Law," "New Amsterdam" and "The Return of Jezebel James" have indeed been canceled, as we previously reported. "Unhitched," the Farrelly brothers comedy, can now be added to that list as well.
And also check out below that the "Idol" results show is, at least for now, going back to a half-hour after a season in which viewers seemed to begin tiring of the singing competition for the first time.
The schedule is after the jump, with new shows in bold.
-- Kate Aurthur
FOX PRIME-TIME SCHEDULE: FALL 2008
(All times Eastern/Pacific)
MONDAY
8-9 p.m. TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES
9-10 p.m. PRISON BREAK
TUESDAY
8-9 p.m. HOUSE
9-10 p.m. FRINGE
WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m. BONES
9-9:30 p.m. 'TIL DEATH
9:30-10 p.m. DO NOT DISTURB (working title, formerly "The Inn")
THURSDAY
8-9 p.m. THE MOMENT OF TRUTH
9-10 p.m. KITCHEN NIGHTMARES
FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5th GRADER?
9-10 p.m. DON'T FORGET THE LYRICS!
SATURDAY
8-8:30 p.m. COPS
8:30-9 p.m. COPS
9-10 p.m. AMERICA'S MOST WANTED: AMERICA FIGHTS BACK
11 p.m.-midnight MADtv
Midnight-12:30 a.m. TALKSHOW WITH SPIKE FERESTEN
SUNDAY
7-8 p.m. THE OT (NFL post-game)
8-8:30 p.m. THE SIMPSONS
8:30-9 p.m. KING OF THE HILL
9-9:30 p.m. FAMILY GUY
9:30-10 p.m. AMERICAN DAD
FOX PRIME-TIME SCHEDULE: BEGINNING JANUARY 2009
(All times Eastern/Pacific)
MONDAY
8-9 p.m. DOLLHOUSE
9-10 p.m. 24
TUESDAY
8-9 p.m. AMERICAN IDOL
9-10 p.m. FRINGE
WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m. HOUSE
9-9:30 p.m. AMERICAN IDOL Results Show
9:30-10 p.m. TBA Comedy
THURSDAY
8-9 p.m. HELL'S KITCHEN
9-10 p.m. SECRET MILLIONAIRE
FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. BONES
9-9:30 p.m. 'TIL DEATH
9:30-10 p.m. DO NOT DISTURB (wt)
SATURDAY
8-8:30 p.m. COPS
8:30-9 p.m. COPS
9-10 p.m. AMERICA'S MOST WANTED: AMERICA FIGHTS BACK
11 p.m.-midnight MADtv
Midnight-12:30 a.m. TALKSHOW WITH SPIKE FERESTEN
SUNDAY
7-7:30 p.m. COMEDY ENCORES
7:30-8 p.m. COMEDY ENCORES
8-8:30 p.m. THE SIMPSONS
8:30-9 p.m. KING OF THE HILL (January) / SIT DOWN, SHUT UP (wt) (spring)
9-9:30 p.m. FAMILY GUY
9:30-10 p.m. AMERICAN DAD (January) / THE CLEVELAND SHOW (wt) (spring)
