tbs-related stories
Posted Jun 27th 2009 10:02AM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Music and Variety
The variety show format seems like a no-brainer for success - get someone with star power and surround them with a bunch of ringers and some weird people spinning plates or bending themselves into curious shapes, and voila! Instant hit, right? But there have been some spectacular failures in recent TV history. Maybe it's the fact that there are so many talent/reality shows now that a show with no "winner" or competition doesn't seem as interesting.
Somehow, despite all of that, Ellen DeGeneres has managed some success with the format, and is now on her third -
Ellen's Bigger, Longer & Wider Show, on TBS Saturday at 9PM.
Perhaps it's the fact that it's on TBS, which means the stakes are slightly lower than on the main networks. Or the fact that DeGeneres brings a loyal fanbase from her
Ellen DeGeneres Show and her stand-up. Those would be the reasons you would look for if you were an industry executive or a media critic.
Continue reading Ellen's Bigger, Longer & Wider Show
Posted Jun 12th 2009 8:13AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Cancellations, Reality-Free
If any of you
Hickey fans were hoping that the show might live on in cable, it's time for me to shatter all your hopes and dreams like that first girl who told you you just weren't all that. The truth hurts. It looks like the producers couldn't make the numbers work, so
new episodes of My Name Is Earl won't be coming to TBS after all. I'm of mixed feelings about this now. I really enjoyed the show for the most part, but now that I have some distance from it, I don't think I'll be too shattered if it's gone.
Continue reading It looks like Earl has checked off his last list item after all
Posted Jun 9th 2009 10:17AM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Programming, Cancellations, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
Usually, TBS and I don't agree on what's funny. Sure, we both like
Seinfeld, but who doesn't like
Seinfeld? Normally, I stay away from the network's aggressive slate of not-so-groundbreaking sitcom pap like
The Bill Engvall Show and
Tyler Perry's House of Pain. But now I'm happy to hear that – instead of developing another show around another unfunny family-friendly comedian –
TBS is in talks to pick up My Name is Earl for 13 new episodes.
NBC unceremoniously canceled
Earl a few weeks ago when it announced its new fall season during its
Upfront presentation. TBS already has
Earl repeats lined up for the fall, as part of a deal with the show's producer, 20th Century Fox, but it's still unclear if the network will be able to produce new episodes of the show on a basic cable budget.
Continue reading TBS might save My Name is Earl
Posted May 29th 2009 1:32PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Late Night, Music and Variety, Pickups and Renewals, Casting, Reality-Free
"Very Funny" has been a tagline at TBS for a little while now. It's there to clarify for us that
The Bill Engvall Show and Tyler Perry's shows are funny. And I'm glad they did, because I've caught snippets of both
House of Payne and
Meet the Browns and I swear I would have had no idea they were funny if TBS hadn't told me. That's a public service well appreciated.
Now they're taking this one step further.
TBS' The Very Funny Show will feature stand-up comedians being funny. And not just funny, but very funny. Tim Meadows who was the very funny on
Saturday Night Live is pegged to host. And by very funny I mean that he was there for a long time. Actually, Tim can be funny in a stand-up environment, so he may do alright here. All of the footage for the November-bowing series will be filmed at a July event called "TBS Presents a Very Funny Festival: Just For Laughs." So at least the comedians on the very funny show will come from this very funny festival meaning it will be very, very funny. Right?
Posted May 27th 2009 8:05AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Watercooler Talk, Reality-Free
I wonder if a show like
My Boys could survive on network television. Probably not. Nothing to do with the quality of the show, but it seems like the type of show that does better on cable (in a 10:30 time slot) than it would on ABC or NBC, with all that pressure. Last night the guys went to spring training in Arizona (maybe a little late for that, but there you go).
Posted May 21st 2009 4:39PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Pickups and Renewals, Upfronts, Reality-Free
TBS is currently running repeats of
My Name Is Earl, and to pretty solid ratings. With
NBC cancelling Earl, it looked like all that might end. Well, not the re-reuns -- they can run forever -- but that influx of new episodes. But in this era of cross-network deals and shows jumping ship to keep costs down, it may not be the end of the road for the Hickey boys after all. Steve Koonin, president of Turner Entertainment Networks, loves the show and would be more than willing to discuss having
My Name Is Earl move to TBS for a fifth season.
He hasn't approached them, but he's said "I'm in the book" about them approaching him. "We'd definitely look," he says about trying to work out a deal to keep the show on the air.
Law & Order: Criminal Intent and
Friday Night Lights have already found new life in cable deals, though theirs involved sharing with NBC, so it's not unprecedented. And with TBS trying to ramp up its original slate it wouldn't be a bad move to take an established property to anchor the schedule.
Continue reading TBS says, "Hey Earl, call me. Maybe we can work something out."
Posted May 21st 2009 3:25PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Industry, Programming, Pickups and Renewals, Upfronts, Reality-Free
With all this news from
ABC,
CBS,
NBC,
FOX, and
The CW about their new fall schedules, we can't forget what's happening on cable.
TNT and
TBS have announced some new shows of their own. Some might say that these shows are even more promising than what the other networks have to offer this fall. In fact, one of them has me more excited than Richard Simmons in a tank top factory.
Besides returning shows like
The Closer (June 8),
Raising The Bar (June 8),
Saving Grace (June 16), and
Leverage (July 15), TNT also has the following new shows.
Continue reading Hey, TNT and TBS have new shows coming too
Posted May 13th 2009 9:31AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Watercooler Talk, Reality-Free
Is
My Boys the sitcom we all should be watching? We hear so much about
30 Rock,
How I Met Your Mother,
Scrubs, even
Big Bang Theory, but
My Boys has its following too. Last night's episode was about Facebook, and yes, the show has a
Facebook page!
Posted Apr 14th 2009 6:03PM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Reality-Free
Let's just get this out of the way:
My Boys isn't a very good show. Calling it mediocre is even going too far. However, I can't be the only one that's watching it, because the TBS sitcom is already a few episodes into its
third season. That's right -
My Boys has actually been somewhat of a minor success for TBS, partially due to some wise scheduling. Save for the first half of season one,
My Boys is always on during the spring and summer months when - surprise - there isn't much else to compete with. The show might not be great, but hey, new TV is better than no TV.
Continue reading Press Kits Unwrapped: My Boys, season three
Posted Mar 27th 2009 2:00PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Interviews, Celebrities, Reality-Free
Actor and comedian
Jim Gaffigan has come a long way from driving down the stock price for Hot Pockets.
He landed his own short-lived sitcom on CBS, thanks to David Letterman, called
Welcome to New York and a co-starring role on the hit TBS' dramedy
My Boys, which returns for a third season on March 31.
He also racked up a long resume of funny and dramatic roles on hit shows like
Sex and the City,
Flight of the Conchords, and
That 70's Show. He is also one of the few actors to score appearances on all of the
Law & Order series if you don't count
the spinoff that hardcore
L&O cultists are forbidden to say out loud.
Continue reading Jim Gaffigan: The TV Squad interview - VIDEOS
Posted Mar 25th 2009 7:14PM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Late Night, Programming, Celebrities, Reality-Free
Andy Warhol's comment about everyone getting fifteen minutes of fame has apparently morphed into everyone getting fifteen minutes as a talk show host. George Lopez is the latest, according to the
Hollywood Reporter. Lopez will start a
34-week test run in November on TBS, in the 11 p.m., Monday through Thursday timeslot.
Lopez seems like a personable guy, and if his ABC sitcom was any indication, he should have a pretty good mainstream appeal. But this will be an experiment for Lopez and TBS. The network has only dabbled in late night programming, and many a comedian and comic actor (Joan Rivers, Chevy Chase, Dennis Miller) have found late night talk shows to be a quagmire. The success of the show may depend on how much leeway Lopez has for trial and error (a la Conan, who hit a great stride after a rough start).
Continue reading George Lopez, you get a talk show! And you get a talk show! And you... - VIDEO
Posted Mar 24th 2009 5:06PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Late Night, Programming, Celebrities, Talk Show, Reality-Free
I'm not sure if the world needs another talk show (though if Amy Sedaris were to host one I'd watch it, and I like Bonnie Hunt's show), but we're getting one:
TBS has just signed George Lopez to host a late night show on the network.
The show (no title yet) will air Monday through Thursday at 11pm, and is described by Turner Entertainment President Steve Koonin as "an outdoor street party." Koonin also says that the show won't just be Lopez behind a desk "interviewing other old people." I'm sure it will please Lopez to be thought of as "old." He also says it's going to be more like Arsenio Hall's show, with live music, comedy acts and musical guests. Yeah, because that's what's missing on Letterman and Leno and Kimmel, live music, comedy acts, and musical guests. If he has a band, then it will truly be groundbreaking television. But I really liked
Lopez's sitcom, so more power to him.
The show premieres in November.
Posted Mar 6th 2009 1:31PM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Cancellations, Reality-Free
The first season of Frank Caliendo' s
Frank TV debuted with some of the strongest numbers TBS had seen with over three million viewers for its first episode. That was bolstered by a constant barrage of spots during the MLB playoffs, and although that first run was cut to five episodes by the writers' strike, the show's future seemed bright.
Now season two is in the books, and that will do it for
Frank TV.
Broadcasting & Cable reported yesterday that Caliendo's series has been canceled.
Caliendo entered the second season in an optimistic mood. He had made some changes with the bigger budget TBS gave him, adding people to the cast to address the major criticism from Season One that Caliendo was playing every part. When doing impressions is your main strength, you're probably going to need an ensemble cast. Caliendo is one of the most talented mimics in comedy - watch his face during his signature George W. Bush or John Madden impressions. He gets the physical tics, as well as the voice, perfect.
Continue reading Say goodbye to Frank TV
Posted Feb 1st 2009 1:15PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, News, Programming, Animation, Adult Swim, Children, Game Show, Super Bowl
If you're like me (you have my deepest sympathy), you don't have a dog in this Sunday's hunt.
Thanks to the Arizona Cardinals' first appearance this weekend, my hometown team, the New Orleans Saints, will now be one of only five left in the NFL that have never made a Super Bowl appearance. Three if you don't count the expansion clubs.
So if you're a Cardinals fan and don't have the stomach to endure their slow, agonizing and inevitable defeat at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers, here are some alternative shows you can watch instead of the Super Bowl.
Continue reading Sick of the Super Bowl? Here's a sampler platter of what else you can watch
Posted Dec 5th 2008 12:06PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Industry, Music and Variety, Reality-Free
Memo to TBS: vaudeville is dead. Apparently, the folks at Turner never got that news flash.
TBS has greenlighted a vaudeville pilot to be hosted by Harland Williams. The half-hour installments -- should it get picked up -- would be a late-night entry.
That means you'd have to be up late and probably pretty bored with infomercials to not surf away from the jugglers, puppets, plate spinners, gymnasts and other novelty acts likely on the program.
TBS is serious about this concept, tentatively called
The TBS Comedy Roadshow, and if they emphasize the comedy aspect, maybe it'll find a niche. But the term vaudeville makes me very wary.
Continue reading TBS to try vaudeville...no kidding
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