Julianna Margulies
The network fall lineups are starting to take shape. As execs lick their wounds, dust off their failures and prepare to try it again with a whole new crop of shows, this is the time of year when they tell themselves — and more importantly, try to convince advertisers — that next season will be different.
And sometimes it is. Witness ABC's 2004 turn-around year, when Lost and Desperate Housewives hit the air, or the 1994 season, when NBC was blessed with ER and Friends. But those game-changing years don't come along often. As we head into the mid-May network "upfront" presentations (when new series are unveiled to media buyers and bubble shows are fed their fates), here's a network-by-network guide on what to look out for.
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Eva Longoria and Marc Cherry
Eva Longoria is staying close to her ABC and Desperate Housewives roots for her first new gig following the end of the drama series.
The star is set to executive-produce ABC's Devious Maids pilot from Housewives creator Marc Cherry, TVGuide.com has confirmed. Deadline first reported the news.
Everybody Loves Raymond's Doris Roberts to visit Desperate Housewives
Based on...
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Kate Reinders, Rebecca Mader, Amaury Nolasco
As he stepped in front of reporters at this month's TV Critics Association press tour, ABC entertainment president Paul Lee knew a surefire way to get a rise out of the assembled reporters: "So, what do you think of Work It?"
The critics, who had christened the sitcom this season's worst new TV series, laughed. And when Lee put the cross-dressing comedy out of its misery a few days later, few tears were shed. Even ABC execs quietly admit that Work It wasn't good — and left many viewers asking the age-old question, "How does a critically reviled show like that make it to the air in the first place?"
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Desperate Housewives
What will the final chapter of Desperate Housewives look like? Don't bother asking series creator Marc Cherry. "I'm so not revealing what the end is going to be," the creator and executive producer told reporters Tuesday at ABC's winter TV previews. "I have it in my head and I'm hyper-protective of it."
The Housewives boss is confident he's ending the series at the right time, acknowledging that in recent years it became more difficult for...
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Emily VanCamp
When ABC announced its fall schedule in May, the network's critics and competitors were skeptical. Not only were its aging dramas quickly eroding, but ABC faced a formidable task in launching a whopping 13 new series.
It seemed like a tall order for ABC Entertainment Group president Paul Lee, who was coming off his first full development season at the network. But as NBC sinks into an even deeper slump, ABC has somehow managed to defy the odds. It doesn't yet boast the ratings prowess of top-rated CBS and Fox, but Lee is encouraged by his network's ability to debut a handful of promising new series.
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Desperate Housewives
Birth. Death. Marriage. Divorce. Tornadoes. Shootings. Plane crashes. Cancer. Yes, the women of Desperate Housewives have been through a lot. But they ain't seen nothing yet.
"You get to do story lines that you wouldn't otherwise do because you don't have to worry about the ramifications," executive producer Bob Daily tells TVGuide.com of the series' final season. "So people can move, people can die, people can have babies and you don't have to worry about the babies growing up. It will definitely change the way we...
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Desperate Housewives
"The only thing harder than creating a hit show is knowing when to end it," Marc Cherry, creator of Desperate Housewives, told critics Sunday at ABC's fall previews. "I am also aware of people overstaying their welcome. I didn't want that to happen to Desperate Housewives. I wanted to go out when the network still saw us as a viable show and a force to contend with. We felt from a creative standpoint that this was the right time. I feel so good about it."
Desperate Housewives To End This Season
His statements came just minutes after ...
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Malik Yoba, Azita Ghanizada, David Strathairn
The networks are still holding out for a superhero. While comic-book films Thor, X-Men: First Class and Green Lantern all hit No. 1 at the box office recently (with mixed staying power), TV has been slower to cultivate a new generation of caped crusaders.
But have no fear, citizens of TV land: Help is on the way. Super-heroes play a role in...
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Christiane Amanpour
The new president of ABC News is ready to shake up This Week with Christiane Amanpour.
Ben Sherwood, who took over the reins of ABC News from David Westin last month, said Monday at the Television Critics Association winter press tour that he wants to focus "on making the best possible program for Christiane and her many strengths... This Week can do more to showcase Christiane's prodigious talents in another way for viewers and that's what we're going to be doing."
While ABC replaced This Week anchor George Stephanopoulos with an established star in the former CNN foreign correspondent, ratings have been in decline. There has also been talk that Amanpour wants to move the show from Washington, D.C. to New York where ...
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Ellen Pompeo, Nathan Fillion
Six ABC series have received early renewals, the network announced Monday.
Medical dramas Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice, crime drama Castle and the network's three sophomore comedies, The Middle, Modern Family, and Cougar Town will each return next season.
Winter Preview: Get scoop on all your favorite shows
"We really stood by our Wednesday comedy block and who would have thought a year ago that The Middle, which I think is such an underrated show, would kick off what I think is one of the best nights of comedy," ABC President Paul Lee said at the Television Critics Association's winter previews. "That's a core part of our schedule."
Lee also said Grey's and Private Practice "were really at the top of their creative form" this season...
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