After seeing the abysmal ratings for NBC's Web-to-prime-time experiment with Quarterlife, it's obvious viewers thought the show's network turn was a mistake. Those viewers will get no argument from the show's co-creator Marshall Herskovitz.According to the Hollywood Reporter, in a speech at the Harvard Business School's Entertainment & Media conference, Herskovitz told a group that the drama about a blogger and her group of twentysomething friends "never should have been a network show. It's too specific." The show's premiere was the network's worst performance in the 10 pm time slot in at least 17 years, averaging 3.1 million viewers overall. No official cancellation has been announced, but sources believe it's likely the show's second episode — set for this Sunday — will never make it to NBC's air. Herskovitz suggested that the show will probably end up on cable.— Adam Bryant
read more
Question: Do you have any idea what is going on with the CBS series Moonlight? I have just read a rather distressing article saying that it's going on hiatus in February to be replaced by The Price Is Right. Many of us Moonlight fans are obsessing over whether it is indeed going to return after the strike is resolved. And why would CBS not continue to air repeats in lieu of a game show? Many of us were looking forward to reruns, we are so addicted to this show. As a loyal TV Guide subscriber for many years, any information or light you can shed on this topic would be greatly appreciated.
Answer: Stop obsessing. During this topsy-turvy strike season, almost nothing means anything where scheduling is concerned. The current dilemma for network schedulers is how to keep as much of the lineup as fresh as possible, and now is not the time to get all snarky about the relative freshness of The Price Is Right, which is clearly meant only to be a place-holder on what's already a ratings-starved
...
read more
Thirtysomething, My So-Called Life and Once and Again were all the products of the mega TV-and-film power producing team of Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick. They have been critical successes as well as having huge and devoted fan bases. Now, Herskovitz and Zwick have done it once again, with their multimedia-platform Web-based series Quarterlife. The initial season will feature a total of 36 eight-minute webisodes, all of them available for viewing on quarterlife.com, as well as at MySpace (Thursdays and Sundays, 12 am/ET), YouTube, IMEEM, Bebo and Facebook. It's the first network-quality show made directly for the Internet and has already attracted a significant audience — averaging a total of 250,000 views for each of the webisodes it has posted to date. That exciting news comes on the heels of the recent announcement that NBC has picked
read more
Get ready for the future of TV, because it's here. On Nov. 11, a new drama series, quarterlife, premieres on MySpace. Why should you care? Because for one thing, it's the brainchild of Emmy-winning writers-producers Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick (thirtysomething, My So-Called Life, Once and Again). And it's being touted as the first "network-quality" series created specifically for the Web. Whether or not the show takes off, it's a sign that the times are changing. And with the Writers Guild strike in full swing, more Hollywood scribes may find a creative outlet, like Herskovitz and Zwick, by writing directly for the Internet
read more
Sick and tired of being bossed around by network suits, Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick — the guys behind thirtysomething and My So-called Life — have decided to broadcast their new series, the post-college drama Quarterlife, exclusively on MySpace.com (starting Nov. 11). Did I say "new show"? It's not entirely new. It aired once on ABC in 2005, then got yanked after its makers clashed with Alphabet brass. This time around, however, there are 35 more episodes at the ready. Can Cavemen say that?
read more