It took years for The Playboy Club to hop into primetime. It took NBC three weeks to kill it.
Quick cancellations are nothing new in TV, but the rapid demise of The Playboy Club might serve as a cautionary tale for programmers as they depend more on familiar franchises and icons to attract distracted viewers.
With so much competition for the attention of viewers, network execs are looking for anything that might give them an edge in marketing and awareness — which is why so many remakes with familiar titles are hitting the air. The Playboy Club wasn't a reboot of an old show, but rather an original series looking to leverage a popular global brand.
NBC liked that the name "Playboy" would at least cut through the clutter of fall TV's slew of new series launches. "Many programmers would look at it and say, 'Here's a huge brand that should be able to...
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If we've learned anything from the ladies of 90210 — now in Season 2 of their hit show — it's that emotional baggage isn't any easier to lug around when it has Louis Vuitton's initials monogrammed all over it. Yes, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills may have 15,000-square-foot homes and blinding rocks — but they're also rich in drama. We met up with Camille Grammer, Lisa Vanderpump and Kyle Richards at NYC pizzeria Lombardi's — for the record, they can put away some pie — to find out how they're faring in their gilded fishbowl. [Editors note: This interview was conducted prior to the suicide of cast member Russell Armstrong.]
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NBC has ordered Up All Night and Whitney for full seasons, and has canceled The Playboy Club.
Check out our fall preview for galleries, scoop, premiere calendars and more!
"We made comedy an important goal for us this season and I'm very pleased to be making full-season commitments to both Whitney and Up All Night," Bob Greenblatt, chairman of NBC Entertainment, said. "We're thrilled with the creative direction of both shows as well as the potential for them to continue to build loyal audiences over the coming ...
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The Parents Television Council says seven companies have pulled their advertising from NBC's The Playboy Club, and wants more to follow suit.
"The Playboy Club is a commercial disaster and must be removed from the airwaves. We call for the network to cancel this degrading and sexualizing program immediately," PTC President Tim Winter said.
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Actor Billy Zane, who terrorized Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in Titanic, will soon be doing the same to Eddie Cibrian on NBC's The Playboy Club. Billy will play the recurring role of Oscar Bianchi beginning in the sexy series' sixth episode.
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