ThreeRivers-related stories
Posted Nov 17th 2009 11:50AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Programming, OpEd, Reality-Free
Sundays have always been a good night for CBS. It's been a good day for years, thanks to the NFL. Traditionally, the football games bleed right into prime time, which commences at seven o'clock because of
60 Minutes. Even in the days when CBS broadcast Sunday night movies, the network has done well on that night of the week.
However, the advent of the NBC
Football Night in America has put a dent in CBS's strength. Also the ABC lineup and Fox's animation domination are no slouches either. So, CBS is going to do something to bolster Sundays.
Three Rivers and Cold Case will switch time slots.
.
Continue reading CBS's Sunday flip-flop: Cold Case for Three Rivers
Posted Oct 14th 2009 8:04PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Casting, Reality-Free
If I were an executive at CBS, I would never want to do business with actor
Mandy Patinkin again. Even though Mandy is a terrific actor and one of my personal favorites -- I loved him on Broadway in
Evita and
Sunday in the Park with George, not to mention on screen in
The Princess Bride and
Yentl -- his history with CBS is abominable.
He was an Emmy-winning star on
Chicago Hope, then left after a couple of seasons to be closer to his family in New York. Okay, that was understandable. Then after getting
Criminal Minds off to a great start, he walked out of that show, citing creative differences.
Apparently, someone has said let bygones be bygones because
Mandy Patinkin will be a guest star on Three Rivers. Maybe because this is a very personal issue with Mandy, he's convinced the powers that be to let him return to the network, albeit for just a guest appearance.
Continue reading Mandy Patinkin back to CBS... as guest on Three Rivers
Posted Oct 9th 2009 9:03AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, Reality-Free
A little over a year ago, CBS was all a flutter with thoughts of a new
Hawaii Five-O.
Jane wrote about it and even allowed herself to get geeked about a new Jack Lord and company. Well, that incarnation by
Criminal Minds executive producer Ed Bernero failed to make it into production. I guess it didn't have enough "Book 'em, Danno's" -- or maybe it had too many. Whatever the reason, that version died and a new one has been ordered. CBS now has
a new plan for an updated Hawaii Five-O.
Continue reading CBS orders pilot for a new Hawaii Five-O ... again
Posted Sep 8th 2009 7:01PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, OpEd, NCIS, Reality-Free, Glee, Community, Modern Family, V
Each year, as the new fall season approaches, I go through all the magazine and online sources talking about the various shows to try and figure out which ones I'm going to be excited about, and which I'm going to avoid like the plague.
Inevitably, I wind up sampling plenty of shows from which I should have steered clear. At the same time, a few shows will slip between the cracks, and then I'm bashing my head against the wall because I missed out on the beginning of something special. I hate coming into things late.
This year, I decided to share my top and bottom five selections. I'm sure the rest of the Squadders and you will have differing opinions than mine, but that's what makes America great, right? Chime in with your own lists in the comments.
Continue reading Ranking my enthusiasm for the new fall slate
Posted Sep 3rd 2009 12:04PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Programming, Reality-Free
The networks have had a quiet summer, quietly introducing scripted bomb after scripted bomb, so they're certainly ready to jump into the new fall season. And It looks to be an interesting one. ABC is scheduling a two-hour block of new comedies on Wednesdays as the sitcom tries to make a comeback.
Even more risky is NBC handing 10:00 to Jay Leno every night of the week. Everyone's waiting to see how that one plays out. FOX is banking on huge positive buzz for
Glee to make it a hit, while ABC is hoping
FlashForward can pick up where
Lost is leaving off when it wraps its run this season.
To help you with it all, TV Squad has put together a handy calendar of all the premieres so you can schedule responsibly in this busy time of TV watching. Some nights have as many as twelve premieres scheduled, so you might need to invest in a few more DVRs to catch all your favorites; Monday's still look grim. Bookmark this page and you'll have it handy to help see you through.
Continue reading TV Squad's complete 2009-10 fall season premiere calendar
Posted Aug 13th 2009 11:32AM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Celebrities, Reality-Free
Through all of
The L Word's ridiculous six seasons, Kate Moennig played Shane, the character that put butterflies in the tummies of men and women alike, gay, straight or otherwise. Hey. No use in deny it. We all felt it.
And watching this
behind-the-scenes video of Three Rivers, it just seems like Shane decided to clean up her womanizing act and throw on some scrubs. There was a similar effect when Moennig played a small part in
Art School Confidential. Is Moennig going to be able to convince viewers that Shane is in her past?
Continue reading Can Katherine Moennig ever shake Shane?
Posted Aug 4th 2009 8:57PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Programming, OpEd, Cancellations, Ratings, NCIS, Reality-Free
Amid the CBS Summer Press Tour this week, the subject came up about why the network had
cancelled Without A Trace. It wasn't ratings, which is clearly the truth because just this past weekend,
Without A Trace was pulling over six million viewers for a rerun, doubling the number of people who tuned in for the brand new ABC series,
Defying Gravity. Therefore, if
Without A Trace was still capable of besting the fodder produced by the competition, why on earth would CBS dump it?
"Every show has its own life cycle," said CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler, who went on to explain that the shows the network had in development were just too good to wait. In other words,
The Good Wife, Three Rivers and
NCIS: Los Angeles, none of which are proven hits, were more important than an established success.
Continue reading The real reason Without A Trace was cancelled
Posted Jul 2nd 2009 2:00PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Other Reality Shows, Programming, OpEd, Upfronts
Generally speaking, CBS had a strong 2008, developing one bona fide hit drama --
The Mentalist -- even though shows like
The Ex-List never found an audience or a critical plaudit. Ironically, I liked
The Ex-List based on the screener I reviewed last summer, so go figure. Sometimes a preview can inform you about a show's potential and sometimes it's just the best it'll ever be.
CBS has shared previews for
the new season and we've had a chance to take a look. There are star vehicles for Jenna Elfman, Alex O'Loughlin and Julianna Margulies, which would seem logical based on the success of Simon Baker as
The Mentalist. CBS is counting on familiar, popular TV stars to win over audiences. Will the strategy work? It's probably too soon to tell.
Continue reading TV Squad previews CBS's new shows
Posted Jun 12th 2009 1:02PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Reality-Free
Just because
CBS is changing where the new medical drama Three Rivers will be filmed, doesn't mean the show is in trouble. After all, a lot of shows are retooled once the pilot is filmed. However, they recently dumped the leading lady, Julia Ormond, too. To me this says that
Three Rivers is shifting focus, and I don't mean by filming in a Pittsburgh hospital set that they're building in Los Angeles instead of the real thing in Pennsylvania.
It could well mean that CBS is thinking about making
Three Rivers a star vehicle for
Alex O'Loughlin. CBS has
The Mentalist in mind for
Three Rivers, with Alex becoming the next golden pin-up, just like Simon Baker. I mean, take a look at this publicity picture. That's a muscle shirt more than a surgical scrubs top. And don't get me wrong, Alex has the body to pull it off.
Continue reading Three Rivers making changes
Posted May 28th 2009 12:24PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Industry, Casting, Reality-Free
The networks are in the process of
recasting some of their new shows before the fall season starts. Some of the shows getting new cast members include ABC's
The Forgotten, CBS'
NCIS: Los Angeles, and
Three Rivers, also from CBS.
Don't worry Alex O'Loughlin fans.
Three Rivers' hunky vamp turned transplant surgeon isn't going anywhere. But his lead co-star, Julia Ormond, has been shown the door. CBS has yet to announce who will replace Ormond on the show. If they're smart, the network will try to nab O'Loughlin's former
Moonlight co-star, Sophia Myles, to replace Ormond.
Our coverage of
Moonlight and our
recent interview with O'Loughlin taught us a few things: There are tons of
Moonlight fans out there. They love O'Loughlin, and they'll watch anything he does. O'Loughlin fans also love Sophia Myles. They couldn't get enough of Mick and Beth's season-long love story on
Moonlight.
Continue reading There might be hope for a Moonlight reunion on Three Rivers
Posted May 20th 2009 10:59AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Industry, The Amazing Race, CSI, Survivor, How I Met Your Mother, NCIS, Upfronts, Reality-Free, The Mentalist, The Big Bang Theory
Coming off a strong 2008 season, CBS is taking some bold moves with their new season program schedule. As we wrote earlier, there are four new dramas, a sitcom and a reality show in the mix.
The big news is how it's shifting around some hit shows on Monday and Thursday, while standing pat on Wednesday. Here's what we know right now...after the jump.
Continue reading The Upfronts: CBS
Posted May 19th 2009 12:03PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Upfronts, Reality-Free
We're still over 24 hours away from
CBS making their official announcements about the new season, but apparently pre-upfront news is as plentiful as upfront news, so here we are with
more information about what CBS will be telling us tomorrow. In addition to the already leaked
three dramas that are a go -- Alex O'Loughlin in
Three Rivers, Julianna Margulies in
The Good Wife, and LL Cool J and Chris O'Donnell in the
NCIS spin-off -- today we've learned about three more new shows.
Jenna Elfman is back on TV with a new sitcom. In 2006, she tried a CBS comedy called
Courting Alex that failed to click, but she had a five-year run on ABC with
Dharma & Greg. The actress toplines
Accidentally on Purpose, playing a film critic (and I hope whatever publication she writes for doesn't go belly-up like so many others these days) who accidentally gets pregnant after a fling with a younger man. I'm laughing already.
Continue reading More about CBS's plans for the new season
Posted Apr 28th 2009 11:00AM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Video, Interviews, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
Moonlight is history, but Alex O'Loughlin is still in demand. The actor, who garnered a huge fan base playing
Moonlight's good guy vampire Mick St. John, returns to TV this week. O'Loughlin will guest star as a conflicted serial killer on CBS's
Criminal Minds on Wednesday.
For O'Loughlin fans, the guest appearance is only a tease. What they really want to see is their favorite Aussie actor starring in a new weekly series. They might get their wish if CBS picks up
Three Rivers, a drama pilot starring O'Loughlin as an organ transplant surgeon.
I got a chance to speak with O'Loughlin this week. We chatted about his new projects, his love for the vampire genre, and how Mick St. John could totally kick Kate Beckinsale's ass. Click through for the conversation, plus preview images and video from the actor's appearance on
Criminal Minds.
Continue reading Moonlight's Alex O'Loughlin talks guest spots, TV pilots, and vampire smackdowns
Posted Mar 17th 2009 3:29PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
Vampires don't die, they just move on to crime procedurals and medical shows.
Angel's David Boreanaz is solving murders on
Bones, and CBS is in negotiations with
Moonlight's
Alex O'Loughlin to star in a medical drama pilot called
Three Rivers. O'Loughlin will play a doctor who heads up a team of organ donor transplant specialists.
In an effort to stand out from all the other medical shows clogging up the tube,
Three Rivers will focus on organ transplants as seen through the eyes of the donors, doctors and recipients. Carol Barbee (
Jericho) is scripting the pilot and filmmaker Curtis Hanson (
8 Mile) is executive producer.
Continue reading Mick St. John is back, and he's a doctor
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