Image Credit: Charles Norfleet/PR Photos; Cliff Lipson/CBSSoon, Jennifer Morrison may not just be paying How I Met Your Mother a house call, she may be calling the hitcom home.
Sources confirm to me exclusively that the House grad is among a handful of actresses in the running to play a major new love interest for Ted.
How major? READ FULL STORY »
TNT and TBS have ramped up their development by taking a chance on four new projects from producers and writers like Dean Devlin (Leverage); Kenneth Biller and Mike Sussman (Star Trek: Voyager), and Allan Loeb (The Switch, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps). TNT ordered three pilots: An update of TV’s long-running Dallas, which will focus on rivals J.R. and Bobby Ewing, from Cynthia Cidre (The Mambo Kings); Perception, a drama from Biller and Sussman that’s about an eccentric neuroscientist who help the Feds solve complex cases, and the untitled Loeb project, a drama based on The Rabbit Factory by novelist Marshall Karp.
TBS, meanwhile, picked up a pilot called Brain Trust, a comedic detective series from Marco Schnabel (TNT’s The Librarian).
“These pilots reflect our enthusiasm for relatable but complex everyman heroes, showcased in exciting storytelling environments,” said Michael Wright, executive vice president, head of programming for TNT, TBS, and Turner Classic Movies (TCM), in a statement. “They also reflect our reliance on extraordinary talent to deliver on the promise of quality series television. The writers of these projects bring great intelligence, heart, and humor to their work. We are confident each of these projects would be a terrific addition to our original series line-up.”
Bored with the Emmys? The Paley Center for Media may have a viable alternative. The organization announced today that it has scheduled its first awards program for May, 2012 in New York City. Earlier this year, a committee of TV executives — which included Sony Pictures TV president Steve Mosko and Fox Networks Group CEP Tony Vinciquerra — began discussing the creation of a new awards show that “would take a fresh and distinctive approach” to giving away trophies that would also “attract a broad and diverse viewing audience to a televised event.” READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Albert L Ortega/PR Photos; Paul Drinkwater/NBCChuck‘s latest casting coup is a dream come true: The NBC spyomedy has tapped the original Freddy Krueger—a.k.a. Robert Englund—to guest-star in next month’s Halloween episode, sources confirm to me exclusively. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Sylvain Gaboury/PR PhotosCSI has finally succeeded in capturing Katee Sackhoff. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Justin Stephens/USA Network; Marc Hom/TNT; Discovery Channel; Eric Ogden/TNTUPDATED, 9/8: Ad-supported cable networks like TNT and USA benefited (yet again) from fed-up TV fans who didn’t want a nightly diet of reality shows from NBC, CBS, ABC, and Fox this summer. New scripted shows like Rizzoli and Isles and returning hits like The Closer attracted lots of drama-hungry viewers who weren’t getting their fill from D.O.A. series like ABC’s The Gates and Scoundrels. Granted, the balance of power should shift come Sept. 20 when the official Nielsen TV season gets underway (and new dramas like Fox’s Lone Star and NBC’s The Event will theoretically lure everyone back to scripted fare on the broadcast nets). Over the last three months, however, basic cable served up enough watchable, buzz-worthy series that should have had you asking, “Do I really care to watch Minute to Win It or Bachelor Pad, instead?“
Here are the top 25 most-watched shows on the ad-supported cable networks from May 31 to Aug. 22, the latest numbers available (kiddie programs were excluded):
Rizzoli and Isles (TNT): 8.44 million
The Closer (TNT): 8.20 million
Royal Pains (USA): 7.154 million
Burn Notice (USA): 7.151 million
Covert Affairs (USA): 6.74 million
Pawn Stars (History): 6.33 million
Jersey Shore (MTV): 6.07 million
Deadliest Catch (Discovery): 5.92 million
White Collar (USA): 5.28 million
American Pickers (History): 4.98 million
In Plain Sight (USA): 4.93 million
Psych (USA): 4.87 million
Memphis Beat (TNT): 4.59 million
Leverage (TNT): 4.328 million
Army Wives (Lifetime): 4.327 million
After the Catch (Discovery): 4.29 million
Hot in Cleveland (TV Land): 4.27 million
Next Foot Network Star (Food): 4.02 million
Project Runway (Lifetime): 4.01 million
The Glades (A&E): 3.88 million
Pretty Little Liars (ABC Family): 3.25 million
American Chopper: Senior (TLC): 2.78 million
Are We There Yet? (TBS): 2.72 million
Haven (SyFy): 2.51 million
Top Shot (History): 2.47 million
Fox announced today that it has ordered a second season of Gordon Ramsay’s newest series, Masterchef. The reality show is the No. 1 new program of the summer among adults 18-49. “Gordon Ramsay is an incredible talent and the biggest culinary star on television today, so we’re very happy to have Gordon and Masterchef back for another season on Fox,” said Mike Darnell, Fox’s president of alternative programming, in a statement. “Masterchef has resonated with viewers this summer, and we look forward to seeing where Gordon takes the show in Season Two.”
“It’s amazing and refreshing to see how much passion and raw talent there is from amateur home cooks across America,” added Ramsay. “It’s extraordinary the amount of energy and excitement the show brought in Season One, and I’m thrilled to be back at Fox for a second season.”
The first season finale of the show will air Sept. 15, when the remaining four home cooks go head-to-head and battle it out to become the Masterchef. The winner will earn the title of America’s Best Home Cook and win $250,000 and a cookbook-publishing deal.
Image Credit: Everett Collection; Alan Zenuk/USADiane: 5:35 pm, third floor, Time Inc. headquarters here in New York. I just got my hands on a red-hot scoop regarding Psych‘s forthcoming Twin Peaks-inspired episode. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Michael Courtney/The CWSmallville is turning up the, ahem, AC in its final season. (Look, it was either that or some cheese-saturated H20 pun. Count your blessings.)
Sources confirm to me exclusively that Alan Ritchson has signed on to reprise his role as Arthur “AC” Curry (a.k.a. Aquaman) during November sweeps. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Greg Gayne/Fox; Mathieu Young/FoxMethinks someone over at Bones is a closet reality TV addict. The Fox hit—which just wrapped production on a Jersey Shore-inspired episode—is now setting its sights on So You Think You Can Dance.
Although not an outright homage to Fox’s summertime sleeper, the episode will take Booth and Brennan into the world of street performers and feature a guest appearance by SYTYCD MVP and burgeoning actor Stephen “tWitch” Boss. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Tommaso Boddi/PR PhotosEW.com has learned that Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation) will host Saturday Night Live when the late-night comedy show returns to NBC on Sept. 25. (Katy Perry will be the musical guest.) Poehler, who was a member of the SNL troupe from 2001-2008, earned her fourth Emmy nomination this summer for playing Leslie Knope on Parks. The single-camera comedy from Greg Daniels and Michael Schur will begin its third year on NBC later this season (see the Peacock’s fall premiere schedule here).
SNL, which is about to begin its 36th year on NBC, will also add four featured players to the mix this season to help fill the void left by Will Forte. EW has confirmed they are actor/comedian Taran Killam, who’s appeared on Mad TV and How I Met Your Mother, Chicago-based comedians Paul Brittain and Vanessa Bayer, and newcomer Jay Pharoah, who has performed on BET’s “One Mic Stand.” READ FULL STORY »
You’re looking at the official poster for Grey’s Anatomy‘s upcoming seventh season.
Maybe.
In a shrewd marketing gimmick, ABC is letting fans select the picture from a field of six possible images—all of which are featured here. READ FULL STORY »
HBO announced today that it has acquired the U.S. TV rights to Public Speaking, a documentary directed by Martin Scorsese about Fran Lebowitz and her “unique take on modern life.” The feature-length film spotlights Lebowitz’s humor and extemporaneous monologues and uses archival footage.
Lebowitz wrote two collections of humorous essays, Metropolitan Life in 1978 and Social Studies in 1981, along with the children’s book Mr. Chas and Lisa Sue Meet the Pandas in 1994. She is also a contributing editor at Vanity Fair.
The documentary was produced by Graydon Carter.
James Hibberd
@James_Hibberd
Lynette Rice
@EWLynette
