WorstWeek-related stories
Posted Sep 21st 2009 9:02PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S01E01) Watching
Accidentally on Purpose, thoughts of Seth Rogen danced in my mind. Not Seth, actually, but the film
Knocked Up. This is the second year in a row that CBS seems obsessed with that film. Last season, it was
Worst Week, with a schlubby Kyle Bornheimer channeling Rogen's goofy lack of grace. It didn't work and
Worst Week bit the dust. Now we have
Jenna Elfman in the Katherine Heigl role, knocked up by accident after a one-night stand, albeit with a twist. Instead of a schlub, Jenna's fling is a boy-toy named Zach.
And there you have the premise of
Accidentally on Purpose. Are you ROFL? Will you LOL? Read on after the jump.
Continue reading Accidentally on Purpose: Pilot (series premiere)
Posted Mar 18th 2009 4:26PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Casting, Reality-Free
While I've not seen official word that CBS's
Worst Week has been canceled, it doesn't look like its star has much faith, as he's been cast in a new comedy pilot.
ABC has tapped Kyle Bornheimer to star opposite Alyssa Milano and Eric Christian Olsen in a new comedy from
Family Guy writer Ricky Blitt. Now that's no Seth MacFarlane, but it is one of the manatees on his team. And it has Alyssa Milano and we haven't fallen out of love with her yet, so I'd say it has a good chance of not being total crap and maybe even making it onto my TV screen.
I thought Bornheimer was pretty funny in
Worst Week as the unluckiest bumbling fool on television in a long time. The rest of the show, however, kind of got boring for me after a few weeks. The article says that Bornheimer would stick with
Worst Week if it's renewed, but you know he's rooting for it to die. Ratings weren't great and this pilot has him playing second banana to lead Olsen (
Brothers & Sisters), which I see fitting his manic energy well. And did I mention Alyssa Milano?
Posted Nov 27th 2008 2:29PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, 30 Rock, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory
As I think about the past year, in both my life and in the world of TV, there's plenty I have to be thankful for. The life stuff is obvious: health, family, my girlfriend, a roof over my head, food on my plate, and a job that I enjoy. But the TV stuff isn't quite as obvious. So, as the balloons float over midtown Manhattan and people get ready to gorge themselves, here are a few things that made me happy to be a television watcher this year:
The election - Yes, it was too long. And, yes, it was exasperating at times. But it was the source of a lot of entertaining television. Of course,
The Daily Show, The Colbert Report and
SNL were in top form (Tina Fey became a huge star, thanks to Sarah Palin). But entertainment came in many forms this election season, from Katie Couric's skewering of Palin to David Letterman's spat with McCain to just about anything that came out of Joe Biden's mouth. Finally, I have three words of infinite entertainment for you: Chuck Todd's goatee.
Continue reading What Joel is thankful for
Posted Oct 24th 2008 10:01AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Programming, Reality-Free
CBS has a killer Monday night lineup. The sitcom block from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., followed by the very popular
CSI: Miami consistently delivers in the Nielsens. The only vulnerable, flexible and soft spot is 9:30, after
Two and a Half Men, before Horatio Cane and company.
The network apparently isn't sure that
Worst Week has earned that coveted spot -- even though it's doing well enough in the ratings -- or else they're wondering what they have in
Gary Unmarried.
Next Monday, Gary Unmarried will get a shot at 9:30. The pilot episode of
Gary Unmarried --
which was pretty good -- will be rerun in that cushy timeslot with the idea of getting more people to sample it.
Continue reading Gary Unmarried getting a Monday night tryout
Posted Oct 17th 2008 10:54AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Interviews, Reality-Free
The new TV season has produced at least one breakout star for sure -- Kyle Bornheimer. On
Worst Week, CBS's new entry in its solid sitcom block on Monday nights, Bornheimer has made his mark and the show is proving a ratings hit.
Kyle's every guy, not too bright, essentially sweet character on
Worst Week, Sam Briggs, fits him like a glove. It's his ability to deliver the physical comedy as well as the self-deprecating lines with a knowing smile that has made him endearing.
Kyle Bornheimer has one of those really recognizable faces. You might remember having seen him in
Jericho or
Breaking Bad or
The Unit. He's been kicking around for the past few years, searching for a role that would give him a chance to shine. That's what he's found in
Worst Week.
Continue reading Quick Chat with Kyle Bornheimer of Worst Week
Posted Sep 19th 2008 11:04AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Early Looks, Reality-Free
Sam Briggs is a schlemiel. Everything that can go wrong in his life, every dumb thing a guy can do while trying to do the right thing, happens to Sam.
The preview of
Worst Week (premiering Monday at 9:30 PM ET on CBS) has not changed dramatically from this ready-to-go pilot. The premise is simply this: can a good guy like Sam overcome all the stupid things he does and find happiness with the girl he loves and her family that loathes him?
For the pilot,
Worst Week works really well as broad farce. The situation of this situation comedy goes from bad to worse to worse still. It's funny. It's over the top. It's very, very outrageous. Whether or not they can sustain this level of silliness and maintain some semblance of believability week in and week out is the big question for
Worst Week.
Continue reading Worst Week -- An early look
Posted Sep 4th 2008 2:44PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Contests and Giveaways, Reality-Free
The good folks at the
New York Television Festival have been nice enough to give us
four full festival passes to give away this week! These passes will not only get you into all panels and pilot screenings (except the Industry Day panels on Monday the 15th), but will also get you into all of the
premiere screenings and after-parties (21 and up only) that will be held that week, complete with the stars and producers of each show.
Among the shows that will have premieres that week:
Fringe,
Life on Mars,
Life, and
Worst Week. The Festival will be held from September 12-17 at New World Stages in midtown Manhattan.
To enter, leave a comment below before 5:00PM Eastern, Tuesday, September 9 simply telling us which of the premieres you most want to see. As always, we'll randomly choose four winners amongst the eligible entries. Some other details:
- To enter, leave a confirmed comment below stating which NYTVF premiere you'd most like to see.
- The comment must be left before September 9, 2008 at 5:00PM Eastern Time.
- You may enter only once.
- Four winners will be selected in a random drawing.
- Four winners will receive a full festival pass to the New York Television Festival (valued at $175).
- Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 21 and older.
- Winners will be responsible for their own transportation to, from and within New York, and lodging.
Click
here for complete Official Rules.
Posted Sep 2nd 2008 12:42PM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Industry, OpEd, CSI, NCIS, Reality-Free
A
CBS press release landed in my inbox today with this earth-shattering news: CBS's fall programming ads (20 total) will be featured exclusively in
People's Sept. 22 issue.
From the release: "In a special arrangement with the magazine, CBS will be the exclusive broadcast advertiser in the issue, on stands Sept. 12." Of course, that's right before the launch of CBS's new fall lineup.
And it sounds like this might be a first. George Schweitzer, president of CBS Marketing Group says, "CBS has long valued its relationship with
People, and we're elated that they worked with us to pull off this first-time strategy to be the sole broadcast advertiser in this well-timed issue." You know, whatever. Blah, blah, blah.
So why should we care? Honestly, I really don't. I just keep thinking,
People? What, they couldn't come up with anything snappier? Like, I dunno ... maybe
Entertainment Weekly?
Vanity Fair? I guess with 43 million readers, they'll reach a lot of people in
People.
Continue reading CBS to rule People magazine
Posted Jul 19th 2008 9:43AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Industry, TCA Press Tour, Reality-Free
The four CBS show panels on Friday involved four of the five new programs the network is rolling out in the fall (there was no panel for
Gary Unmarried, or whatever they're calling it today, because Jay Mohr and his wife Nikki Cox are renewing their vows overseas). While the panels for
The Mentalist, The Ex List, Eleventh Hour, and
Worst Week had their moments, none of them were particularly newsworthy or interesting.
At least Diane Ruggiero, the creator of
The Ex List, was entertaining enough to keep me from jabbing a pen in my arm to keep me awake. In fact, she might have actually convinced me to watch
The Lake House, as long as I have a drink in my hand.
Continue reading CBS wrap-up: Diane Ruggiero livens up a dull day - TCA Report
Posted Jul 18th 2008 3:26PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Industry, CSI, How I Met Your Mother, TCA Press Tour, Moonlight, Reality-Free
The first day of the combined CBS / CW / Showtime part of the tour kicked off with the executive session from CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler. Before she got on stage, the network showed a montage of their shows. It was then I realized, "Boy, I really
don't watch anything on this network, do I?" I mean, outside of the Monday comedies and
The Price is Right, there isn't one show on the Eye net that I tune in on a regular basis.
Anyway, she addressed the departure of William Peterson from
CSI, just about right off the bat, giving the gathered writers a clue as to the nature of the character who will be coming in to fill his void. Oh, and Tassler is studying to become a cantor. For some reason, a reporter asked her about that.
Continue reading CBS executive session: Peterson's CSI departure, Moonlight fans, and a different sensibility - TCA Report
Posted Jul 8th 2008 9:38AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Industry, OpEd, Reality-Free
Nothing is exempt from betting, including television shows. According to Horizon Media's annual television report, Fox's new show
Fringe and CBS' sci-fi drama
Eleventh Hour will fare best of the new wave of freshman television shows. Doing worst would be NBC's
Kath & Kim and CBS'
Worst Week.
The report produced some unsurprising claims, such as that
Grey's Anatomy,
Heroes and
Survivor will continue to kick butt in the ratings. The report did produce some surprises such as ABC overthrowing CBS on Friday nights and the Fox sitcom
Do Not Disturb finding success. I guess we'll have to wait until the fall season to see how correct the report is.
What irks me is that after combing through the article I found no mention of Joss Whedon's
Dollhouse. Did they forget to review that one? Is this a sign of things to come that Horizon Media didn't even find the show important enough to rank?
Posted Jun 11th 2008 10:41AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Programming, Early Looks, Reality-Free
Of all the networks,
CBS has the most new shows on deck, including two new comedies,
Worst Week and
Project Gary, and two new dramas,
The Ex-List and
The Mentalist. Another drama is set for mid-season,
Harper's Island. We've had a chance to look over these new TV shows, and by and large, it's a fascinating bunch. Also adventurous. No procedurals. More character-driven programming it seems. CBS seems determined not to rest on their laurels.
Read what we thought about these advance screeners, bearing in mind that things are liable to change before the shows start to air.
Continue reading TV Squad previews CBS's new shows
Posted May 15th 2008 2:02PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Pickups and Renewals, Upfronts, Reality-Free
Yesterday,
CBS presented their new schedule for 2008-09. If you'd like to see a sample of the new shows coming to CBS next year, click over to
TV Week.
There are clips from Eleventh Hour, The Ex-List, Harper's Island, Project Gary, The Mentalist and Worst Week. I've given them a once-over (actually, I watched them more than once) and here's my impressions. That means if you want to watch them fresh without my observations mucking up yours, take a look at them first before reading on.
Continue reading TV Week gives a peek at CBS's new shows
Posted Aug 6th 2007 7:18PM by Varun Lella
Filed under: Industry, Programming, Pickups and Renewals
Who is ready for
more new show news? Good to hear.
Mark Gordon, executive producer
of Grey's Anatomy, has just been given the go by CBS to produce another hour-long medical drama with director Kasi Lemmons. It follows the life of a Bellvue psychiatric neurologist who also serves as a crisis manager. But guess which calm, cool professional has a chaotic life at home?
Lemmons, whose Don Cheadle-headlined
Talk to Me is winning rave reviews, will direct, writer and produce the pilot.
Continue reading CBS greenlights a pair o' pilots
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