Posted Jul 4th 2008 12:23PM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: OpEd, Grey's Anatomy, Short-Lived Shows, Cancellations, Casting, Journeyman, Reality-Free
Like many people, I was
miffed that Journeyman wasn't picked up for another season. But maybe we'll get our fix of
Kevin McKidd at Seattle Grace next year.
Entertainment Weekly is reporting that the Scottish actor, who blew (some of) us away as the time-traveling journalist Dan Vasser on
Journeyman, is in talks to join the cast of
Grey's Anatomy. The rumor is that McKidd would play a doctor who scrubs in at the hospital after a stint in Iraq.
Continue reading Kevin McKidd Joining Grey's Anatomy?
Posted Jun 13th 2008 7:02PM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: OpEd, Arrested Development, Video, Retro Squad, Cancellations, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.
(S03E13) Originally aired February 10th, 2006 -- I could roll out about a dozen clichés when describing the series finale of Arrested Development, but I'm honestly not sure that saying "this was the end of an era" does it enough justice. For those that own the DVD sets, take a look at the cover for season two. There's a quote from Entertainment Weekly on it: "Once in the history of time comes a sitcom like Arrested Development."
Too bad FOX never saw it that way. Not only did they delay the airing of the final four AD episodes, but when it came time to show them, they got bundled together and aired 'em in a row - on a Friday night in the middle of winter! As I've said before, it sucks that Emmy wins don't dictate a show's future. But we really can't blame FOX because those Emmys are arguably why we were lucky enough to get three seasons period. Blame the people who watched Skating with Celebrities (AD's time-slot replacement) instead.
Continue reading Arrested Development: Development Arrested (series finale) - VIDEO
Posted Jun 10th 2008 2:14PM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, OpEd, Video, Short-Lived Shows, Cancellations, Reality-Free
Invasion aired for one season from 2005-2006. Check out Jonathan Toomey's great reviewcaps
here.
Along with
Surface,
Invasion was one of my favorite new shows that season, with each episode getting better and better. By the series finale, I was hooked. I'm still miffed that ABC didn't give it more time to flesh out the story and characters.
Incorporating a sci-fi-alien mystery, a government conspiracy, and plenty of family drama,
Invasion had a built-in audience because it aired directly after another sci-fi mystery,
Lost. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to keep the series on the air.
Continue reading Short-Lived Shows: Invasion - VIDEO
Posted Jun 9th 2008 12:24PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Industry, Cancellations, Dirt, WGA Strike, Reality-Free
You don't usually get cancellation or pick-up announcements about TV shows at a charity fund-raising event. But that's what happened yesterday at the "A Time for Heroes" Celebrity Carnival benefiting the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, or the "ATFH"CCBTEGPAF for short. When asked about the chances of her FX series getting picked up for a third season, Courteney Cox announced that
Dirt has been canceled.
The show was never really embraced whole-heartedly, either critically or in the ratings, but it managed a second shot. Unfortunately for Cox and company, that second season was cut short by the WGA Strike, and as with many bubble shows, it just fell by the wayside. Maybe the
tweaking they did to the format for Season Two, making it lighter and more accessible to the casual viewer turned off more of their hardcore fans than they anticipated. Maybe the ratings it was getting just weren't enough for FX to pick back up production after the strike. Maybe David Arquette had a habit of showing up on the set in his BVDs and it finally just got to be too much for the cast and crew, so they walked. Or maybe Shane dropped a grenade in Lucy's lap in that finale they just never got a chance to film.
Posted Jun 6th 2008 11:59PM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Arrested Development, Cancellations, Awards, TV Squad Lists, Journeyman, Moonlight, New Amsterdam, TV Squad Awards
There were plenty of choices for
The Arrested Development Award, a.k.a. The Show Least Deserving of Cancellation Award. Among them,
Las Vegas,
New Amsterdam,
Miss Guided,
Aliens in America, and
Women's Murder Club.
The Readers Choice Award goes to
Moonlight, the vampire-themed crime-drama-romance that amassed an insane amount of fans during its short run. And it still might come back on another network, so we'll keep our collective fingers crossed on that.
The TV Squadders' pick is
Journeyman. Here's why:
1. Time-traveling is cool. The idea of time-travel is always intriguing, as evidenced by other shows like
Quantum Leap and
Sliders. What's cool about
Journeyman is that Dan Vasser, played by
Kevin McKidd, is just a normal guy who could be any one of us. At first, he hates the time-traveling. It interrupts his life and causes undue stress, both at home and work. But later, when given the opportunity to make it stop, he chooses to keep time-traveling. He knows he's been chosen for a reason, and feels it's his calling to help people right the wrongs of history. Never mind that every episode made me wonder how much of history he changed by leaping into the past. I can only imagine that even the smallest of events might drastically alter the space-time continuum.
Continue reading The Arrested Development Award: Winner - VIDEO
Posted May 30th 2008 1:41PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Programming, Jericho, Cancellations, Reality-Free
I know, I know, you're thinking to yourself, "I thought we went through this already and Jericho has been officially, definitely, and finally canceled by CBS?" Oh, silly people!
Jericho fans just won't quit. The "Save Jericho" people have erected a billboard on Ventura Blvd. in Los Angeles. It looks like a real estate ad, with a sign that says "TV Show For Sale," and includes the CBS phone number and the URL for a web site. They're looking for a new home for the show, and if it's not CBS then maybe The Sci-Fi Channel or another cable network.
Now, I sort of rolled my eyes at this, but what makes it a little bit more confusing is that Jericho producers Carol Barbee and Jon Steinberg called into a radio show during Jerichon and said that they were having meetings with various people and that they were optimistic. Huh?!
[via Franklin Ave.]
Posted May 29th 2008 10:41AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, OpEd, Cancellations, Awards, Upfronts, Journeyman, Moonlight, New Amsterdam, Reality-Free, TV Squad Awards
Did your favorite show get canceled? Yeah, mine too. It makes you think twice about investing time into a new show, because you never know how long it'll last. Sometimes even shows with fairly good ratings are sent to the chopping block.
Here at TV Squad, we're doing our part to bring attention to cool shows that were axed in the recent
upfront announcements. Last week, I put out a call for considerations for
The Arrested Development Award, a.k.a. The Show Least Deserving of Cancellation Award.
You made your opinions known - thank you! - and now we're into Phase 2: The Nominees. The Squad will pick our own winner, but we're giving you the chance to pick a Reader's Choice winner. Here are the nominees, and be sure to vote in the poll at the bottom.
Continue reading The Arrested Development Award Nominees
Posted May 16th 2008 8:00AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Cancellations, Reality-Free
Frasier has left the building, but Kelsey Grammer hasn't. Or maybe he just doesn't want to. The actor, whose Fox situation comedy,
Back to You, was canceled after just one season, doesn't want to call it quits. He wants the show to continue and he's so determined, he's even lobbied for the show personally. The Emmy award winning star phoned CBS executives -- including CBS CEO Les Moonves -- to plead the case for
Back to You.
When Kelsey phoned, Les took the call, and he even told Grammer that he'd "think about it," that is, moving
Back to You to CBS. However, when Kelsey followed up with a call to Nina Tassler, CBS Entertainment prez, she dismissed it. There really was no room on the
CBS schedule for another sitcom; even
Rules of Engagement (which CBS has a vested interest in bringing back) won't be broadcast till mid-season next year. There's no mention of Kelsey calling ABC or NBC; perhaps they didn't take his call?
Continue reading Kelsey asks CBS to save Back to You
Posted May 15th 2008 9:01AM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: Programming, Celebrities, Cancellations, Super Skank Wednesday
Flavor Flav's search for the right woman will end in Paris next week. Sniffle. Hold on while I wipe the single tear from my eye. After three seasons of
Flavor of Love, VH1 has announced that next Monday's show will be Flav's last chance at finding love... well, his last chance on a reality dating show where VH1 casts a bunch of skanks for him to choose from. I'm already planning a
Super Skank Wednesday tribute to the glorious
Flavor of Love, the show that started it all. (Don't ask me to define what exactly it started. Just know that whatever was started, was started by
Flavor of Love.)
The season and series finale of Flavor of Love will air on Monday, May 19th at 9:00 p.m. ET / PT. In the words of Flav (a man never at loss for something pithy to say), the finale is sure to be "dramatical."
I put a clip from the finale after the jump for you enjoyment.
Continue reading Flavor of Love: Three's a charm - VIDEO
Posted May 14th 2008 10:19AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Industry, Programming, The Amazing Race, CSI, Survivor, Numb3rs, How I Met Your Mother, Cancellations, Pickups and Renewals, Shark, Upfronts, Cane, Moonlight
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 RaceOut: Shark, Moonlight, Cane, Kid Nation, Power of 10, Secret Talents of the Stars, Viva Laughlin, Welcome to the CaptainNew: 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.Continue reading The Upfronts: CBS
Posted May 13th 2008 8:29PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Cancellations, Pickups and Renewals, Shark, Reality-Free
CBS doesn't announce its new schedule till tomorrow, but the news is spilling out everywhere about what's in and what's out.
The New Adventures of Old Christine has been given a 22-episode commitment for a third season; Shark has been sunk. For fans of the James Woods legal drama -- and I know there are lots of you out there because you've posted here -- my heart goes out to you. It was a good show, but it seems that CBS has four new dramas on deck for next season (that we have heard they're announcing tomorrow), so something had to give. It's likely that the choice came down between
The Unit and
Shark, with
The Unit getting the renewal.
As for Christine, I say "Yeah!" I love Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Hamish Linklater (Matthew, her brother on the show) and would have been really upset if CBS let the show get away. If the network had passed on the sitcom, ABC was reportedly very, very interested in taking it on. They had visions of pairing
Samantha Who? with
Christine for an all-girl sitcom hour. That's not going to happen now because Julia is staying put on CBS.
Whether the show remains on Monday nights, however, is still to be determined. For the past year, it has mostly shared the 9:30 slot with
Rules of Engagement, which has also been renewed. Some reporters are suggesting that CBS could be launching a second sitcom night.
Posted May 13th 2008 8:00PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Other Reality Shows, Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Industry, Programming, Smallville, Supernatural, America's Next Top Model, Cancellations, Pickups and Renewals, Upfronts, Reaper, Reality-Free, Gossip Girl
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 GameOut: Aliens in America, Life is Wild, Girlfriends
New: 90210, Surviving the Filthy Rich, Stylista
More after the jump...
Continue reading The Upfronts: The CW
Posted May 13th 2008 4:20PM by Jen Creer
Filed under: Industry, OpEd, Cancellations, Moonlight, Reality-Free
This is it,
Moonlight fans. Vampires might be immortal, but this cult favorite is not. Today, sources at CBS have confirmed (though this is "not truly official" yet): The bubble has been popped, and
the network has decided not to renew the series for a second season. You can't say the fans haven't tried to save this show, hosting nationwide blood drives and showering the network with garlic cloves. But according to The Hollywood Reporter, the show couldn't sustain viewers after
Ghost Whisperer on Friday nights. Rabid, repeat viewings by diehard fans don't really count as multiple viewers, I guess.
This will cast a pall at this month's
Moonlight Convention, I'll bet.
Continue reading Moonlight done, say CBS sources
Posted May 13th 2008 9:07AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Industry, Programming, Cancellations, Pickups and Renewals, Upfronts, Reality-Free
ABC released its 2008-09 prime-time schedule this morning during a press conference call conducted by Steve McPherson, president of ABC Entertainment. I listened in and got the rundown:
Returning: Boston Legal, Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Dirty Sexy Money, Eli Stone, Grey's Anatomy, Lost (Midseason)
, Private Practice, Pushing Daisies, Ugly Betty, According to Jim (Midseason)
, Samantha Who?, America's Funniest Home Videos, The Bachelor (Midseason)
, Dancing With The Stars, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Supernanny, Wife Swap, Saturday Night College Football, Primetime: What Would You Do? Out: October Road, Notes from the Underbelly, Men in Trees, Big Shots, Carpoolers, Cashmere Mafia, Cavemen, Miss/Guided, Women's Murder Club, Oprah's Big Give
New: Life on Mars, The Goode Family (Midseason)
, Scrubs (Midseason)
, Opportunity Knocks, Untitled Ashton Kutcher/Tyra Banks Project (Midseason)
Continue reading The Upfronts: ABC
Posted May 13th 2008 8:02AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Industry, Programming, Cancellations, Reality-Free
I think Back To You producer Steven Levitan is echoing the sentiments of many TV viewers when he says about the show's cancellation, "we were surprised, but not shocked...nothing surprises me with [FOX Broadcasting] anymore."
As we told you earlier, FOX decided to dump Back To You but keep 'Til Death. This surprised many fans of the show, as they thought that out of the two of them FOX would probably go with the Kelsey Grammer/Patricia Heaton/Fred Willard show instead of the Brad Garrett/Joely Fisher show. Funny how Garrett played Heaton's brother-in-law on Everybody Loves Raymond and now it's his show being renewed while she is kicked to the curb.
Continue reading Back To You producer never wanted to be on FOX anyway
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