mitch hurwitz-related stories
Posted Oct 20th 2009 5:01PM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: TV on the Bigscreen, Arrested Development, Cable/Satellite, Cancellations, Reality-Free, Gone Too Soon
It seems these days when anyone talks about
Arrested Development, the conversation inevitably turns to the still up-in-the-air film sequel -- something that's proven to be more elusive than finding your own Cornballer. Last we heard,
the film was actually in development (a term that only loosely means what it's supposed to in Hollywood), but in the meantime, though, there is some good news -
IFC has picked up the off-network rights to Arrested Development.
Continue reading Arrested Development news that isn't about the movie: IFC to air series
Posted Aug 13th 2009 11:06AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Arrested Development, Pickups and Renewals, Casting, Reality-Free
Arrested Development was a critical darling that managed three seasons of low ratings before FOX pulled the plug. Creator Mitch Hurwitz reunited with
AD star Will Arnett for this past season's animated disaster
Sit Down, Shut Up.
Now, they're reuniting with
AD co-executive producer Jim Vallely for a third shot. This one's a live-action
single camera comedy on FOX starring Arnett as a jackass. It's off to a good start; Arnett plays jackass very well.
The premise: Arnett is rich Beverly Hills stock and falls in love with a tree-hugger who hates him and every shallow thing he stands for. Just for being live-action, I think this one has potential. Arnett is waiting for the right vehicle to make him a star, and we already know what Hurwitz is capable of. Could this be their pot of ratings gold?
Continue reading Hurwitz and Arnett hoping third time is the charm for new comedy
Posted May 13th 2009 9:03AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Programming, Animation, Reality-Free
Fox must be really disappointed in this show. Not only is it incredibly unlikely to get a renewal beyond this horrible first season, but now
Fox won't even air Sit Down, Shut Up's finale this weekend. Instead, they're going with a rerun of already canceled
King of the Hill. While Fox is notorious for yanking a show before it gets a chance to find its audience, I think it's safe to say that
Sit Down, Shut Up had found about as much audience as it was going to.
In four short episodes, it managed to undo all the work that Fox had done in the past two decades proving that quality animation could be made for prime time. I don't know why the formula didn't work, but I think Mitchell Hurwitz would have been better off trying it live action, like the Australian original.
Continue reading Fox won't even air Sit Down, Shut Up's finale
Posted May 4th 2009 12:22AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Animation, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S01E03) I'm still not completely sure what I think about
Sit Down, Shut Up yet. This is the third episode, and this is what I have so far: it's funny enough that if I were flipping channels and came across it, I'd keep it on FOX, but if I didn't have to review it, I wouldn't set my DVR.
This week's episode, in which Knob Haven High was up for a distinguished school award, definitely had its funny moments -- the very end where Ennis realizes that he slept with Miracle's mother made me chuckle. However, it wasn't consistent enough to keep my mind from wandering in the middle. I had to rewind a couple of times because I completely spaced out and missed a few scenes.
Continue reading Sit Down, Shut Up: World's Greatest Teacher
Posted Apr 28th 2009 9:10AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Programming, Reality-Free
In a move that should come as no surprise to anybody, Fox has
shifted the air time for the new Mitch Hurwitz animated comedy
Sit Down, Shut Up to 7PM, also known as the "Sunday Night Fox Animated Death Slot." Given the startlingly low ratings the series has gotten in its first two weeks, I can only wonder if anybody will even notice.
Seriously, I watched the premiere (which we
reviewed here on TV Squad) and honestly, the rumors are true. The show is cute and quirky (it would probably do well on Adult Swim), but it doesn't have the right kind of funny for Fox Sunday night animation.
In an even bigger insult, Fox is switching the cartoon with its timeslot predecessor
King of the Hill, which is now in its final season on the network. It says something when Fox offers greater support to a show that they know won't be back (which, at this stage, now includes
Sit Down, Shut Up).
Posted Apr 20th 2009 3:03PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: OpEd, Reality-Free
What do you call an animated show whose premiere is sandwiched between two other highly-rated animated shows yet still
manages to be third in its timeslot? You could call it a lot of things. You could call it "poor" or "slow". You know what I call it? A one-season show.
Seriously, I watched the premiere of
Sit Down, Shut Up (and it was
reviewed here on TV Squad), and while I thought some bits were funny, I don't see it lasting more than a season on Fox, if that. This is a network that is quick to pull the plug on many quirky shows (including Hurwitz's previous work,
Arrested Development).
I could be wrong.
Arrested Development lasted three seasons and animated shows are only a fraction of the budget of live-action ones. If his last show is any indicator,
Sit Down, Shut Up is probably one of those shows that rewards loyal viewers with various Easter eggs and hidden double-meanings. Hopefully Fox will give it time.
Posted Apr 19th 2009 9:31PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Animation, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S01E01) I still stand behind the
early look of Sit Down, Shut Up I did a few days ago: the pilot was underwhelming. For everything that works about it, there seem to be at least two things that don't. However, before I did this review, I decided to watch the pilot again, so it would be fresh in my mind. What I found is that the show definitely grows on you.
While I didn't really laugh at all the first time through, re-watching it allowed me to pick up on some of the more subtle things that I missed. That, combined with the fact that I've seen the second episode, which is much better, really made me appreciate this episode more.
Continue reading Sit Down, Shut Up: Pilot (series premiere)
Posted Apr 17th 2009 5:02PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Animation, Early Looks, Reality-Free
I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who has been breathlessly anticipating
Sit Down, Shut Up (premiering on FOX Sunday at 8:30 PM ET), the newest series from
Arrested Development creator
Mitch Hurwitz.
SDSU is an animated series based on a live-action Australian show by the same name. It follows a group of under-performing teachers at a Florida high school.
The teachers are all flaky, disinterested in their students, and with the exception of Larry Littlejunk (
Jason Bateman), highly under-qualified for their positions. An example? Miracle Grohe (
Kristen Chenoweth), the science teacher, beat Larry out of the job by stripping off all her clothes and yelling, "I ain't come from no monkey!"
The humor manages to be both broad and subtle at the same time, much in the way
Arrested Development managed to be. However, though Bateman himself calls this show an animated version of
AD, that's overstating it a bit.
Sit Down, Shut Up, is more like
Arrested Development's annoying younger brother.
Continue reading Sit Down, Shut Up -- An early look
Posted Apr 16th 2009 10:04AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: OpEd, Animation, Reality-Free, Press Kits Unwrapped
I don't know about you guys, but I've been super-excited about the premiere of
Mitch Hurwitz's new animated show,
Sit Down, Shut Up. It seems like I've been hearing about it forever, but it finally premieres this Sunday night on Fox. Recently, the screener came up for grabs, so naturally I jumped at it. What I didn't realize is that I would be getting the whole press kit with it.
All press kits are not created equal: I'd definitely enjoy a
talking Barney bobblehead from
How I Met Your Mother, but a busted picture of
Eliza Dushku's face from
Dollhouse really wouldn't do a whole lot for me. The press kit for
Sit Down, Shut Up is kind of low-rent, but it
is for a Mitch Hurwitz show on FOX. The low-rated
Arrested Development didn't exactly make FOX a boatload of cash while it aired, so they're probably waiting to see how the ratings go for this one before they shell out any more dough on fancy tschotkes for the press.
Continue reading Press Kits Unwrapped: Sit Down, Shut Up
Posted Sep 5th 2008 10:02AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Programming, OpEd, Arrested Development, Casting, Reality-Free
Aside from a couple of TV shows in the 1990s (
Drexell's Class and
Total Security -- ever heard of them?), most of
Jason Biggs' career has been in the film industry -- most notably as Jim Levenstein in the
American Pie series.
Now it looks like he might be headed back to TV with a
CBS comedy about a family that "loves too much." He's in final negotiations to
headline the as-yet-untitled project, which has received a pilot commitment and an order for six additional scripts.
The show revolves around adult siblings and their parents, all of whom are over-involved in each others' lives.
Continue reading Jason Biggs heading to CBS?
Posted Jun 13th 2008 12:19PM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: OpEd, Arrested Development, Video, Retro Squad, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free
This week TV Squad has been paying tribute to
Arrested Development with special
Retro Squad pieces. I decided that I would highlight my favorite character from the show, GOB. After watching several episodes of
Arrested Development, I realized that I couldn't just narrow it down to the five greatest moments. I would have to do a list for each season.
You've already seen
Five greatest GOB moments (season one) and
Five greatest GOB moments (season two). After the jump, I have my favorite moments from season three.
Continue reading Five greatest GOB moments (season three) - VIDEOS
Posted May 1st 2008 3:05PM by Richard Keller
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Programming, Casting, Reality-Free
As Bob reported earlier this week, FOX is considering a number of new animated series for its schedule. Most likely due to the fact that their new live-action series tend to, um, stink. One of those being considered is Sit Down, Shut Up, which may have an upper hand over its competitor The Pitts due to the creative talent behind the show.
I'm talking about Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein. Fans of The Simpsons would know these two as writers and executive producers of the show during its so-called golden years. Others may know them from their WB animated series Mission Hill and their sort-lived UPN live-action comedy The Mullets. Now they have been named executive producers on Sit Down, Shut Up. They will be taking the creative reigns from Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz, who wrote the first script and now wants to be in a more supervisory role.
Continue reading Former Simpsons producers are asked to Sit Down, Shut Up
Posted Jun 20th 2007 11:02AM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Celebrities
Most folks probably know comedian Patton Oswalt as Spence on the recently-departed King of Queens, but us comedy fans have known him for even longer as a very funny man who stands up and does comedy. He was the mastermind behind the Comedians of Comedy tour, and he's done voice work for a few Adult Swim series, including Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Also, he plays the lead role in the upcoming Pixar flick, Ratatouille.
Continue reading A series from Hurwitz and Oswalt? Perhaps.
Posted Jun 4th 2007 1:02PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Industry
The Hollywood Reporter reports that The Thick of It, a new pilot from Arrested Development creator Mitchell Hurwitz that was rejected by ABC, may still have a fighting chance.
The Thick of It is based on a British series about folks working for a low-level congressman. The series boasts some amazing comedic talent, including John Michael Higgins, Oliver Platt, Alex Borstein, and Michael McKean. The pilot was also directed by Christopher Guest.
Continue reading NBC's Silverman has his eye on Hurwitz's rejected pilot
Posted Feb 26th 2007 7:41PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, ABC, Celebrities
Christopher Guest has agreed to direct the pilot for
The Thick of It, a comedy being created for ABC by
Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz.
The show is being adapted for an American audience from the popular British comedy by the same name. In Britain, it was about a member of Parliament who had to deal with inept politicians, a prime minister and other silly minions. I can only guess that the American version will take place in Congress?
According to his
IMDB bio, Guest hasn't done much directing for television lately. He seems to stick to the "mockumentary" (he hates that word) movie genre that's heavy on improv, such as
Best in Show and
Waiting for Guffman.
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