Lie to Me's surprise midseason success last year has been attributed to its compelling leading man (Tim Roth) and its unconventional approach to the cop procedural.
So when Shawn Ryan (The Shield, The Unit) was brought in to co-executive-produce the show (with Samuel Baum, the show's creator) this season, he wanted to maintain those two elements.
Fall TV: Get scoop on all the new and returning shows
"There were a lot of things that worked well about the show last year, primarily Tim Roth," Ryan says. "He's one of the premier actors in the world. The show had a lot of strengths. I have just been trying to refine it, add a little adrenaline, add some deeper character work and dig really deep into who these characters really are."
Ryan's higher-octane imprint has already been felt. In the second-season premiere ...
read more
Fox, which is set to announce its complete fall plan at its May 18 "upfront" presentation and just recently renewed Fringe, has proactively filled in a few more blanks.
The network on Tuesday ordered a second, 13-episode season of the midseason entry Lie to Me, starring Tim Roth and Kelli Williams.
Lie to Me will undergo one change for its sophomore run ...
read more
By now you've seen how The Shield took its final bow. [And if you haven't and don't want to know what happened on the series finale just yet, you shouldn't read any further. This story requires one big SPOILER ALERT!] Corrupt cop Vic Mackey got his immunity deal, but it came with several justice-serving, tragic trade-offs. Shane, his former Strike Team comrade, killed himself and his family. Ronnie, who was left out of Vic's deal, was arrested. Vic's family entered the witness-protection program without telling him. And that cushy job offer from the Feds turned out to be a workaday desk job. No more action for Vic! After so many startling developments, we had to talk to series creator Shawn Ryan about his last creative choices for the show, what he thinks its legacy will be and what he'll work on next. (Hint: It's a sitcom!)
read more
Question: I am a huge fan of The Shield and cannot wait for the last season to begin. I was shocked to see, though, that Shawn Ryan — the creator and showrunner for all six seasons — would not allow himself to edit the final episode because of the strike. How seriously do you think this will affect the finale, and how soon would the strike need to end to allow him to return?
Answer: As bittersweet as it was for the final episode to proceed without the participation of its passionate creator, I'm betting Shawn Ryan's absence won't have that much effect in what we see on-screen. Besides, we don't even know yet exactly when The Shield is going to return, FX's schedule like so many others being affected by strike disruptions. Once the strike is over, if The Shield has yet to air the finale (which is entirely possible), I imagine Shawn Ryan will be able to go into the editing room and work his magic. The good news is that the season was able to be completed. Personally, I can't wait ...
read more
Question: I never watched the CW before this year, but suddenly I'm finding myself watching shows that have been running for a while. Some of them I didn't know I was missing (Everybody Hates Chris, Beauty and the Geek and Supernatural), while others have only just started (Reaper, Gossip Girl and Aliens in America, definitely the funniest new show of the year). Am I a statistically insignificant anomaly, or do the ratings indicate that this will be the breakout year for the CW (or would have been if not for the strike)? On another note, I'm curious how the strike will affect certain cable shows. I don't know how much truth there is to this, but I've heard that some cable series typically have their entire season's worth of episodes produced far in advance of when the season starts. I'm particularly interested in learning the status of the final seasons of The Shield, The Wire and Battlestar Galactica. Do we know when they'll be airing and how much of their final seasons are in the can? ...
read more
