Image Credit: Albert L. Ortega/PR PhotosThe CW wisely took Entertainment Weekly‘s recent Bullseye suggestion and gave Scott Porter his own show.
Sources confirm to me exclusively that the network has tapped the Friday Night Lights MVP to star in Nomads, an hour-long drama pilot about a group of young backpackers who work odd jobs for the CIA. Porter will play John, a magnetic and forceful college grad who is determined to find his missing brother.
The project hails from Ken Sanzel (Numb3rs).
Image Credit: Rodriguez: Albert L. Ortega/PR Photos; Jensen: David Gabber/PR Photos; Gorham: Valerie Macon/Getty ImagesWho says you can’t go home again? As Ugly Betty nears its April 14 series finale, it’s welcoming back, like, half of its former cast, including Ashley Jensen (Christina), Freddy Rodriguez (Gio), and maybe Chris Gorham (Henry). READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: : Ron Tom/ABCWow – and I thought I was popular! Dana Delany is so well-regarded over at ABC that network prez Steve McPherson is inviting her to cheat on Desperate Housewives by starring in Body of Evidence, an Alphabet pilot that, if it’s picked up, would almost certainly take her away permanently from Wisteria Lane. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Randy Holmes/ABCFile this one under “G” for very good career move. Better yet, file it under “V” and cross-reference it under “G.” Oh, screw the filing and just listen up: Sources confirm to me exclusively that Rob Lowe is nearing a deal to join the cast of TV’s best comedy, Parks and Recreation. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images; Dempsey: Bob D'Amico/ABCHow’s this for a twist: Shonda Rhimes is introducing Derek Shepherd’s kid sis, but not on Grey’s Anatomy.
Twist! READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Michael Desmond/ABCSpoiler alert: Looks like Bailey’s about to get her heart broken on Grey’s Anatomy. READ FULL STORY »
Well, it sounded like an intriguing idea at the time: ABC decided to pass on developing a small screen version of the apocalyptic film 2012, a drama series that would have depicted the disaster’s aftermath. Future production costs may have been a factor in ABC’s decision, though the status of the network’s other high-concept genre shows (FlashForward, V) could have played a role, too. Both shows struggled in the ratings last fall and have yet to receive a second season pickup. A spokeswoman for ABC declined to comment.
Last November, 2012 executive producer Mark Gordon, who was on board to produce the TV show, told EW that ABC “will have an opening in their disaster-related programming after Lost ends” so he thought “people would be interested in this topic on a weekly basis. There’s hope for the world despite the magnitude of the 2012 disaster as seen in the film. After the movie, there are some people who survive and the question is how will these survivors build a new world and what will it look like. That might make an interesting TV series.”
For more on ABC’s fall development:
NBC Universal Domestic TV announced today that it is rolling out a new, hour-long live daily version of Access Hollywood on six NBC stations this fall. Dubbed Access Hollywood Live, the show will feature in-studio guests and fashion segments, and will likely air in the time slots previously occupied by The Martha Stewart Show, which is set to move to Hallmark. The company will slowly roll out Live on WNBC-TV in New York, KNBC-TV in Los Angeles, WMAQ-TV in Chicago, KNTV-TV in San Francisco, KNSD-TV in San Diego, and WVIT-TV in Hartford. It’s unknown whether Access Hollywood host Billy Bush will also appear on the live show; NBC has yet to announce the talent lineup.
Analysts are already bullish about Live’s chances. “Celebrity news and gossip is the one thing that is working, so this will allow them to extend Access‘ brand and do a hybrid kind of show,” says Bill Carroll, director of programming for the Katz TV Group. “It will have the ideal time slot coming out of the final hour of Today.”
Image Credit: Cliff Lipson/CBSNCIS fans are still freaking out over exec producer Shane Brennan’s cryptic tease last week that Gibbs will be forced to make a “life-changing decision” this May “that will impact every member of the team.” In fact, the tantalizing spoiler left some wondering — crazy talk alert! — if Mark Harmon’s days are numbered. READ FULL STORY »
Sci-fi dramas like ABC’s FlashForward may have a tough time attracting new viewers when it returns with originals on March 18: The freshman drama lost 43 percent of its viewers last fall while the network’s V was down 35 percent over four airings (it also doesn’t help that FlashForward is on its third show runner now that co-creator/executive producer David Goyer has decided to leave the show to focus on his film career). So it’s hardly surprising that none of the Big Four nets have a sci-fi show in development for the 2010-11 season (ABC’s superheroes pilot No Ordinary Family starring The Shield’s Michael Chiklis comes close).
At least the ABC-owned FlashForward (unlike the Warner Bros. owned V) has an ace in the hole: It does well in the U.K., Italy, and Spain, and the robust international sales could sway the network to pick up the Joseph Fiennes series for another season. ABC may not make a decision on FlashForward and V, which returns March 30, until right before its upfront presentation in New York this May. Several ABC dramas, in fact, have yet to receive pickups for another season, though Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice and Brothers and Sisters are slam dunks. Comedies like Cougar Town, The Middle and Modern Family have already been picked up, while shows like Ugly Betty have already been cancelled. Long shots include Better Off Ted, The Deep End, Scrubs and The Forgotten.
For more on Fall 2010:
Renewal scorecard: what’s in, what’s out, what’s in limbo
Image Credit: Giovanni Rufino/The CWSpotted: Gossip Girl fans piddling themselves upon learning that the show’s season finale will, in the words of executive producer Stephanie Savage, conclude with “two OMG moments.”
Savage declined to provide specifics, although she did reveal that the season 3 capper — which is currently being shot — will be unlike the show’s previous two finales in that READ FULL STORY »
A spokeswoman for Julianne Moore confirmed an EW exclusive report that the co-star of A Single Man will make an appearance on As the World Turns, the CBS soap that helped to launch her career in Hollywood. Moore’s appearance will be a walk-on, her spokeswoman said. She’ll greet her character’s parents and wish them well. Moore could tape her episode as early as this Wednesday.
The Oscar-nominated actress got her start on ATWT in 1985 by playing half-sisters Frannie and Sabrina Hughes – a depiction that earned her a Daytime Emmy in 1988, the year she left the show. ATWT will end its 54-year-run in September.
Also: Exclusive: Julianne Moore may return to ‘As the World Turns’
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