Imagine a world in which the NFL, the NBA and Major League Baseball all decided to move their seasons to the same time of year. It would be chaos, for fans and the professional sports business alike. And yet, in television, that's essentially what happens during pilot season.
The broadcast networks traditionally order pilots during the first few months of the year. From there, it's a race to find the best actors, hire a crew, build sets and produce a show before May, when the upcoming fall schedules are announced. The field has always been crowded, but this spring, several cable networks and online retailer-turned-programmer Amazon are also developing new shows that they hope will go to series (cable networks typically produce pilots throughout the year, usually avoiding the spring).
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A critic has become the center of controversy after calling Identity Thief star Melissa McCarthy "tractor-sized" and a "hippo" in a review of the film.
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Damages is back for one final showdown between Patty Hewes and Ellen Parsons.
Season 4 ended with Patty (Glenn Close) stealing the High Star case from Ellen (Rose Byrne) and taking all the credit for bringing down Howard Erickson (guest star John Goodman). But Ellen had the last laugh: She was named as the sole character witness to testify against Patty in her custody battle with her son for her granddaughter.
Summer TV: Get scoop on your favorite returning shows
But don't count Patty out. In Wednesday's premiere (9/8c, DirecTV's Audience Channel), Patty...
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Every week, editors Adam Bryant and Natalie Abrams satisfy your need for TV scoop. Please send all questions to mega_scoop@tvguide.com.
Every week I ask for Private Practice news and will keep asking till I get some. Please, I'm desperate! Any CharCoop news? —Kriti
NATALIE: Erica's inevitable demise will be the first parenting challenge for Charlotte and Cooper. "Their principal concern is Mason's psychological well-being in dealing with her [death]," Paul Adelstein says. "He said goodbye to her, but she's still alive and he knows she's still alive, so as much resolution as there was, that actually causes some problems. Then they're going to have a grieving child, and they're going to be grieving themselves, so it's a big challenge for them."
It's odd, but I missed Betty in the Mad Men premiere. When will be seeing her? — Ashley
ADAM: Don't worry, Ashley, Betty is in Sunday's episode. And...
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This fall, the networks want to party like it's 1992. It was 20 years ago that stars like Roseanne Barr, John Goodman, Kirstie Alley and John Stamos ruled the sitcom world. Now they're all back, and signed on to star in new comedy pilots this spring.
The trend started this season with Tim Allen's successful return to TV as the...
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