ShawnRyan-related stories
Posted Aug 8th 2009 7:01AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Industry, Rescue Me, TCA Press Tour, Reality-Free
FX held panels for
Archer and
Sons of Anarchy on Friday morning, but by then press tour fatigue had set in, and the energy in the room was low for both. It was especially low for
Archer, a Adult Swim-esque spy cartoon by the creator of
Sealab 2021 that most of the critics hadn't yet seen. The panel seemed to be more content with answering with wise-ass remarks that made themselves laugh but the just served to make us tired masses annoyed.
Things perked up, though, when the network presented five of its show-runners to talk about what it's like to develop edgy dramas for basic cable. But since the theme of the week has invariably been "Leno at 10," the questions often came back to the fact that NBC with one fell swoop wiped out five hours of scripted drama per week. And the show-runners took every opportunity to bash the Peacock for it.
And it got ugly: "I feel they should take the American flag down in front of the building and just put up a white one," said
Rescue Me's Peter Tolan, "because they've clearly given up."
Continue reading FX showrunners take turns tearing NBC a new one - TCA Report
Posted Aug 7th 2009 12:29PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Industry, Programming, OpEd, Cancellations, Ratings, Reality-Free
Earlier this week, I told you about
the real reason Without A Trace was cancelled. Now, executive producer
Shawn Ryan reveals the real reason The Unit was cancelled. "Listen, if the show had been owned by Paramount and
Medium had been owned by 20th Century Fox, we'd be making the fifth season of
The Unit now." You see, TV fans, it's comes down to money. CBS owns Paramount so it would earn more in the long run if
The Unit made more episodes, went into syndication and reaped revenues for years to come. However, Fox owns
The Unit. Get it?
Continue reading The real reason The Unit was cancelled
Posted Jul 30th 2009 1:02PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Casting, Reality-Free
I'm still not sold on that show title;
Terriers makes me think of little dogs yipping and running around. But FX and Shawn Ryan created magic with
The Shield, and Ted Griffin made
Ocean's Eleven so much fun. So I'm really excited about the show. My excitement can even withstand the news that
Donal Logue (Life) has been cast in the lead role of Terriers.
I've never connected with Logue. I thought
Grounded for Life was mostly crap, and he wasn't as "amazing" as the critics told me he was going to be in
Knights of Prosperity. He has done better in some of his dramatic work. Maybe I'm just bitter that the hype machine told me
Knights was going to be the greatest sitcom of the last millennium, and the next.
Continue reading FX nabs Donal Logue for the lead in Terriers
Posted Jul 17th 2009 12:02PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Awards, Emmys, Reality-Free
Television is a vast alien landscape of shows, programs and other watchables. So the odds of a really good show not getting special recognition are about as good as Michael Chiklis' chances of his noggin being mistaken for a shiny, beige Brunswick in a bowling alley.
The Emmys also tend to favor younger shows rather than the oldies that have had their chance to win some awards because the best stuff on television is always fresher out of the gate. It's just the beast of the cycle. Great movies age like a fine cheese. Great TV shows age like spray cheese.
The Shield, however, got totally snubbed from this year's nomination list. And is that something the Academy really wants to do to a guy with a hair trigger anger who considers a Smith and Wesson as his "backup piece"? (I should ask myself the same thing after that bowling ball noggin joke.)
Continue reading The Shield gets the big ol' cold shoulder from the Emmy collective
Posted Jul 6th 2009 3:18PM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Casting, Reality-Free
I had just gotten into watching
The L Word when it got the ax, but at least now we can see more of Jennifer Beals. She guest-starred in two episodes of
Lie to Me last season, and will
have a recurring role in the upcoming season, playing Assistant U.S. Attorney Zoe Landau, Cal Lightman's ex-wife and mother of their teenage daughter.
Mekhi Phifer (Dr. Gregory Pratt from
ER), who also appeared in two episodes, will come back as FBI agent Reynolds, brought in as a liaison between the Lightman Group and the FBI for those tough cases the FBI can't solve through traditional methods.
The show's second season kicks off Sept. 28 with Shawn Ryan as the new showrunner. He's got some great creds, having worked on
The Unit,
The Shield and
Angel.
Lie to Me really seems to be picking up steam heading into its second season. We gotten a little hooked on it in this household, meaning it isn't "must-see" TV, but if we know it's on, we'll definitely check it out -- and pick up a few pointers on lie detection from Cal Lightman and crew.
Anyone else watching
Lie to Me?
Posted Jun 10th 2009 5:34PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, The Shield, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
The Shield may have wrapped its run this past year, but that doesn't mean creator Shawn Ryan is done with FX. The network did let his vision run its course to completion, so I'm sure he's quite comfortable there. I know I am. This time, he's executive producing with
Ocean's Eleven scribe Ted Griffin on the new dramedy
Terriers, about a detective who teams up with a young hot-shot.
FX has already greenlit Terriers, and Griffin has turned in the scripts so it's down to casting.
Continue reading FX greenlights Terriers from The Shield's Shawn Ryan
Posted Jun 5th 2009 4:29PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: TV on the Bigscreen, OpEd, The Shield, Reality-Free
Did you ever get news that both enthralled and worried you all at the same time? Like remember when you were a kid and you heard you were going to Disney World but first you would have to drop off your sick puppy at the vet for a little nap?
That's the feeling my gut got when
series creator Shawn Ryan said
Fox might make a Shield movie if demand called for it.
The question actually sparked an interesting and light-hearted war of friendly curses between the cast and
Sons of Anarchy star Ron Perlman who was also on the dais to grub for Emmy nods.
Walter Walton Goggins, the actor who brilliantly played the daft and overly cocky Shane Vendrell, uttered "That is bull#*$&!" since his character killed his family and then shot himself in the final episode just as the Barn closed in on him. That's not a direct quote, by the way. He may have used different punctuation marks.
Continue reading Holy Shield! Don't do it!
Posted Jul 16th 2008 2:02AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Industry, The Shield, TCA Press Tour, Damages, Reality-Free
The FX panels on Tuesday were pretty uneventful,
aside from the news from network president John Landgraf. There was supposed to be a panel for
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but that was mysteriously dropped from the schedule. I'm guessing that the boys figured they'd get too hammered at the FOX party the night before to handle questions from the reporters. Indeed, I witnessed Rob McElhenny and Glenn Howerton try to ride the Tilt-a-Whirl at the Santa Monica pier right after they pounded a couple of beers. Maybe canceling the panel was a smart idea.
Anyway, the three shows that paneled were
Damages, Sons of Anarchy, and
The Shield. More on what transpired after the jump.
Continue reading FX Round-up: Shield finale, Sons of Anarchy, and some words from Ted Danson - TCA Report
Posted Apr 24th 2008 12:41PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
Back in February, when
CBS announced a bunch of renewals for next season as well as which shows would be back with new shows this season, one that was in limbo was
The Unit. That led to many emails and questions about the Dennis Haysbert drama and whether CBS was going to stick with the military drama. It's with some hope that I tell you that things are looking up.
Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan reported that while the decision has yet to be made, and won't be made for a few more weeks,
Shawn Ryan, The Unit's executive producer, is "pretty optimistic." He and his staff of writers have presented an outline for the fourth season explaining where the storylines will be going and how it'll play out. CBS's reaction was very positive. Ryan said things couldn't have gone any better. That's great news for the fans of
The Unit who feel like they've been twisting in the wind waiting for word about the show.
Continue reading Hopeful news about The Unit
Posted Nov 7th 2007 9:36AM by Liz Finn-Arnold
Filed under: Industry, WGA Strike
It's Day Three of the WGA Strike, and things are getting serious. Production on some scripted sitcoms and dramas is already
coming to screeching halt -- despite the fact that completed scripts have yet to be shot.
Sitcoms which have already gone dark are:
The New Adventures of Old Christine,
Back to You, 'Til Death, and
Rules of Engagement. And with Steve Carrell refusing to cross the picket line,
The Office has
shut down for business, as well.
Meanwhile, Shonda Rhimes (
Grey's Anatomy,
Private Practice) and Shawn Ryan (
The Shield,
The Unit) have publicly stated that they won't perform their showrunner responsibilities either. Without their showrunners, these high profile dramas will most likely cease production earlier than networks expected.
Continue reading TV production halts as showrunners refuse to cross WGA picket lines
Posted Sep 15th 2007 1:01PM by Brett Love
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Industry, Casting
Shannon Lucio (The O.C.)has bounced back after getting axed from the perpetually transitioning Moonlight to land in Oaks over at Fox. It's a pretty good gig as the show will be run Shawn Ryan of The Shield, and the network has already given a series commitment. Oaks tells the story of three different families, in three different decades, all living in the same house. Not enough for you? Well, what if the house is haunted by a spirit that all of the families have to deal with? Matt Lanter (Heroes) and Bahar Soomekh (Day Break) have also been added to the cast.
Over at TNT, they know drama, and apparently are set to get to know Martin Mull. They've already picked up William H. Macy's Family Man, and now Mull has been added to the cast. He'll play the intellectual older brother of Macy's character, who used to run hotels, but now can't hold down a job.
Continue reading Pilot News: Lucio, Mull, Archer, Grazer
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