TVSquad

I was looking forward to Matthew Perry's new Showtime show The End of Steve, a drama about a radio talk show host. Unfortunately, Showtime wasn't looking forward to it as much as I was and didn't pick up the show.

Instead, Perry is going to produce, co-write, and star in a new comedy about a sports arena manager who finds himself thinking about where his life is at after he turns 40. Fans of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and The West Wing (two other shows that Perry was in) will be interested to know that Thomas Schlamme will be involved in the show too as director and co-producer.

Ten years after ABC prematurely cancelled Rob Thomas' dramedy Cupid, the alphabet net has decided to give it another go. The new version of the show, which premieres Tuesday at 10 PM ET, now stars Sarah Paulson and Bobby Cannavale in the roles originated by Paula Marshall and Jeremy Piven, respectively.

The premise is the same: Trevor Pierce claims to be Cupid, exiled from Mt. Olympus, and he needs to find true love for 100 couples before he is allowed back home. After Trevor is arrested for one of his stunts and sent to a psychological hospital, singles self-help guru Dr. Claire McCrae is assigned to keep track of him as he makes his way in the outside world. This time around, the show is set in the fast paced and cynical world of New York, complete with all the modern touches of dating in the late '00s (Maybe Cupid will have a Twitter account).

I spoke to the stars of the new Cupid last week. While I was on the phone, I asked Paulson about what happened on her previous series, Studio 60. I got a pretty interesting response...

We told you a while back about Matthew Perry's new Showtime series, The End of Steve. He'll play an arrogant local talk show host who is going thorugh some changes in his life. Now some other cast members for the series have been announced.

Nate Torrence, who costarred with Perry on the short-lived Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (he played Dylan), has joined the cast and will play Perry's assistant. Other people signed on for the show include Martha Plimpton (she'll play Perry's producer), Eddie Shin (he'll play Perry's boss), and Kiele Sanchez, who Lost fans will remember as the much-loved character of Nikki, who is currently still buried on the beach somewhere. She also starred in one of my favorite sitcoms of the past ten years, ABC's Married to the Kellys.

Oh, besides Studio 60, Perry also starred in a show called Friends that lasted a few years or so.

Looks like the NBC black hole time slot of Monday at 10 p.m. is about to swallow another victim.

My Own Worst Enemy, the new Christian Slater spy series that I'm really enjoying, continues to drop in the ratings. The premiere episode did only so-so, and this week's second episode saw a drop of 22%. Those aren't the kind of numbers that scream "second season renewal" or even "full season order." Seems more like "put on hiatus" or maybe a "let's put it on Friday nights instead!" thing.

Remember Studio 60? It was a little show that not many people had opinions about, and no one here really talked about it that much. But creator/writer Aaron Sorkin is talking about it, to GQ.

Sorkin actually feels guilty about the entire thing, because he knows he screwed it up. He tells Mickey Rapkin that the ultimately the show didn't work because he made too many mistakes:

I was too angry when I wrote Studio 60. The show became like the cover of Abbey Road. Everybody was trying to figure out who this character was in real life or what that incident was trying to be.

One of my favorite parts of the summer press tour was the last day, mainly because a busload of critics got to go to the Warner Bros. lot and tour sets from ER, Chuck, and Pushing Daisies (we also saw the Dollhouse set on the Fox lot later that day).

On the Pie Hole set of Daisies, for instance, all the stars and producers were available for interviews. Kristin Chenoweth held court right outside the pie-shaped diner's entrance, sporting a splint on her right hand from a recent bat bite (I kid you not... wonder what scene they were shooting at the time). But I was there to ask her about how she felt about being the model for Harriet Hayes on Studio 60 two years ago. And she was very candid about the situation,especially in light of the fact that her former (and current?) boyfriend, S60 creator Aaron Sorkin, never was.

First, though, a question about Jeff Probst; Chenoweth dropped the tidbit that the two of them dated when she announced his Emmy nomination the week before. Audio is after the jump.

Matthew Perry spent ten seasons on Friends and a rough season on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, but it looks like he isn't sick of television.

Perry has signed to star in a new comedy titled The End of Steve. Perry will play a radio talk show host in Rochester, NY who likes to swear a lot. In fact, the first word you hear Perry's character say on the show is a certain word that women don't like to hear. It begins with a C and rhymes with something a baseball batter does, especially if there is a runner on first with no outs.

The show is from Peter Tolan (Rescue Me, The Larry Sanders Show, Home Improvement), and while there is no network announced for the show, I think we can assume it's going to be HBO or Showtime (unless it airs on FX or AMC and they bleep the swears, but that would blunt the edginess of the words).

[via Google News]

It's hard to believe that we're a full year removed from the glorious mess that was Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. It seemed that the split between "liked it" and "hated it" was about 50-50, but everyone wanted to comment. One thing I noticed in those comments was that, even among the people who liked it, there was a strong sentiment against the performance of Sarah Paulson as Harriet Hayes. Most people just didn't like the chemistry she had with Matthew Perry, and she didn't manage to make us care enough about the plight of the über-religious comedian to root for her to connect with anyone.

So, for anyone who's looking forward to the revival of Rob Thomas' Cupid, the news that Paulson's been cast as the female lead on the show has to be disheartening. She's playing Dr. Claire Allen, the same role Paula Marshall played in the original series, opposite Bobby Cannavale, who is taking over the Cupid role from Jeremy Piven.

... Five canceled shows.

Isn't it really sad when a TV show is canceled? It's like a family pet has died. You're not going to see these characters anymore, you're not going to find out what happened to them, and now you have to learn to like a whole new show and a new set of characters. And if the show replaced your favorite canceled show, you probably won't even watch. I still remember when Walker, Texas Ranger replaced Raven on CBS in the early 90s. I never forgave Chuck Norris for doing that and couldn't even watch his show, even though both shows were about heroes who kicked people with their feet.

2007 brought many cancellations to fans. Many cancellations we saw coming, many we didn't care about at all, and some truly hurt us. After the jump are the top five cancellations of the year. The ones that hit us the most and we talked about the most. Air your cancellation grievance in the comments below and at your Festivus party.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

• Absolutely Fabulous - The White Box
• Charlie and Lola - Vol. 6
• The Christmas Blessing (TV movie)
• The House Without A Christmas Tree (TV movie)
• Ironside - Season 2
• MacGyver - The Complete Series
• Masters of Horror - Season 1, Vol. 2 and The Damned Thing
• Medium - Season 3
• Mythbusters - Collection 2
• Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares (UK) - Vol. 1
• Roseanne - Season 9
• Squidbillies - Vol. 1
• Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip - The Complete Series
• That 70s Show - Season 7
• Wanted: Dead or Alive - Season 3

The Onion's AV Club has an interesting interview with D. L. Hughley discussing, among other things, why Studio 60 failed to live up to its potential.

Hughley says that despite the pilot being some of the "most well written television" that he had ever seen, the show "became too aware" and started "taking [itself] too seriously". Hughley compared the drama to a "number one draft pick" that "crumpled under the weight of expectations".

I find the interview interesting for three reasons...

Looking at the Emmy nominations announced this morning, one word comes to mind: BORING.

Or maybe two words, if you add "safe." I mean, come on. I don't usually watch Friday Night Lights, Dexter, or Battlestar Galactica, but even I know that those shows should have been nominated for something (beyond technical and writing awards). Instead we get...Tony Shalhoub again? He's fine, but there has to be someone else who they can plug in there. Grey's Anatomy and House for Best Drama? That's not to say that the shows nominated aren't good and solid, but when you take a look at the dramas that were left out...gah.

Beyond the major nominations (Best Comedy, Best Drama, Lead Actor and Actress, etc), there are other nominations where a lot of your favorite shows actually show up. After the jump, I'll highlight several.

• At 8, CBS has a new Pirate Master.
• FOX has a new Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader at 8, then a new So You Think You Can Dance.
• Tavis Smiley hosts a Presidential Candidates Forum with Democrats on PBS at 8.
• HBO has the first three episodes of John From Cincinnati, if you'd like to try to figure it out.
• At 9, Colin Powell guests on CNN's Larry King Live.
• USA has the series finale of Starter Wife at 9, followed by the premiere of Burn Notice.
• At 10, NBC has the series finale of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
• Food Network has a new Throwdown with Bobby Flay at 10.
• Sundance has a new Live From Abbey Road at 10, with The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Snow Patrol, and Madeleine Peyroux.
• Also at 10: Bravo has the premiere of the reality show Hey, Paula.

Check your local TV listings for more.

From the Things I Don't Understand file: NBC is selling video of Matt Lauer's interview with Prince William and Prince Harry on iTunes, even though the entire interview is available on MSNBC.com for free.

Now, before you say "nobody would buy that," please note that the $1.99 video is the number two TV video on iTunes right now, right behind video of the recent Miss Universe Pageant. Just kidding. Actually, number one right now is the latest episode of Starter Wife. The rest of the top 10: recent eps of The Office, Lil' Bush, The Starter Wife, Kyle XY, The Starter Wife, Hannah Montana, Stargate: SG-1, and Studio 60.

I guess if you buy it from iTunes you can keep it forever and watch it over and over and over.

• At 8, CBS has a new Pirate Master.
• FOX has a new Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader at 8, followed by a new So You Think You Can Dance.
• History Channel has a new Mega Movers at 8.
• At 9, USA has a new Starter Wife.
• Lifetime has the new movie My Baby Is Missing at 9.
• There's a new movie on Hallmark at 9 too: Love's Unending Legacy.
• At 10, NBC has a new Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
• Sundance Channel has a new Live From Abbey Road at 10, with John Mayer and Norah Jones.

Check your local TV listings for more.