Steven Levitan-related stories
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
Posted Sep 18th 2007 10:41AM by Liz Finn-Arnold
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV Royalty, OpEd, Early Looks
In July, I was at a
sitcom writing seminar in which
Sam Simon (who helped develop
The Simpsons)
declared: "the sitcom is dead." Veteran comedy writer
Ken Levine (who hosted that sitcom seminar), however, disagrees. Ken believes the traditional multi-camera sitcom
might be on a respirator, but still has a pulse. Levine said, "I would amend Sam's statement and say that yeah, the bad, stale, family sitcom with tired rhythms, forced laughs, and bogus characters is dead."
I guess if you're trying to revive the dying sitcom, a good way to start is by assembling a top-notch team. And Fox's new Wednesday night comedy,
Back to You, does just that.
Continue reading Back to You -- An early look
Posted Jan 24th 2007 12:35PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Industry, Celebrities
The Hollywood Reporter is saying that Patricia Heaton and Kelsey Grammer are in talks to co-star in a sitcom together. The comedy is called
Action News, in which Heaton and Grammer would star as a reunited anchor team at a local television station. It's being written and produced by Steven Levitan of
Just Shoot Me,
Greg the Bunny and
Stacked, and Christopher Lloyd of
Wings and
Out of Practice.
I'm always a fan of a comedy that's based in a newsroom because I think there is a bottomless supply of humor. But, Patricia Heaton drives me nuts. I didn't like her on
Raymond-- by the end of that series, she was a whining, yelling shell of a housewife. And those grocery stores ads are infuriating! I'm lukewarm on Kelsey Grammer.
What do you think of the possible pairing?
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