Law & Order
The networks have started working on new fall series, which means pink slips are coming for some of your old favorites. Here's what could be on the chopping block.
NBC Did you ever imagine the day when Law & Order would be canceled? We're not saying it's going to happen — it probably won't. But costs on the show have risen while its ratings have dropped, which means its renewal is no longer automatic every year. NBC's other middling crime dramas — Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Crossing Jordan and Medium — are more vulnerable. The network has also yet to decide on another season for The Apprentice
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Richard Lewis with Jamie Lee Curtis, Anything But Love
Like countless other geeky gals, I had a crush on my best male pal throughout college. So watching the late-'80s sitcom Anything But Love, starring Richard Lewis and Jamie Lee Curtis as workplace buddies reluctant to act on their mutual attraction, was like my life — only much, much funnier. Although the black-clad, mullet-sporting Lewis was already a stand-up comedy legend, the series introduced his neurotic, Jewish Jersey boy persona to the prime-time masses. But while the show had a devoted following, it was never a certifiable hit; in fact, it was actually canceled after its second season, until ABC reconsidered and brought it back completely retooled the following year. (It didn't last too long after that.) Despite all the behind-the-scenes drama on this scr
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Stephen Collins with Diane Keaton, Because I Said So
Stephen Collins must have an "in" with The Big Guy Up There, because this weekend the patriarch of the CW's long-running 7th Heaven (Sundays at 8 pm/ET) is hitting the big screen to woo no less than Diane Keaton. TVGuide.com spoke with the actor about slipping out of the reverend's collar to reunite with (and mack on) Annie Hall, and invited him to dispel the "7th Heaven versus Everwood" myth.
TVGuide.com: First, let's put some people at ease. Stephen Collins does not have a serious heart condition. Rev. Eric Camden does. I hear there's some confusion?Steph
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Mackenzie Rosman, 7th Heaven
Most 17-year-olds are balancing time between their studies, sports and MySpace pages, but Mackenzie Rosman is concerned about getting her homework in on time and talking about sex — well, on camera, at least. Growing up on the set of 7th Heaven (Sundays at 8 pm/ET, on the CW), Rosman began as a little tyke but nowadays she's got some meaty, adult story lines as she plays out Ruthie's teen years. This week's episode, for example, deals with her character's current relationship and its level of intimacy. Here, Rosman speaks with TVGuide.com about how she handles those love scenes, how she's adjusted to attending public high school and what her postgraduation game plan is.
TVGuide.com: You're juggling work and public high school. How's that going?Mackenzie Rosman: It's going pretty well.
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The 7th Heaven cast reached out to Darfur on and off screen.
If you've watched 7th Heaven over its 11-season run — or even caught a glimpse of one episode — you know that the Camdens aren't just about achieving family harmony but about helping the entire community that surrounds them. This week's new episode (Sunday at 8 pm/ET, on the CW) is no exception. In fact, it covers a pressing issue that we've been hearing about every day: Darfur — a topic so devastating, it's a real departure from the common troubles we usually see on this family drama. Filled with information about the crisis abroad, executive producer Brenda Hampton spoke with TVGuide.com about the motivation behind this episode, 7th Heaven's again-uncertain fate, and saying goodbye to some of our favorite Camdens.
TVGuide.com: I just watched the Darfur episode, and it's amazing how much dial
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Question: I almost always agree with your opinions, but I've noticed that you have consistently put down the CW network since its inception, as you just did in your Year in Review column. Sure, there are some not-so-great shows on the new network (like One Tree Hill and 7th Heaven), but there are also some very good shows on the CW (such as Veronica Mars, Supernatural and Smallville), just like on any other network. You keep referring to it as cobbled together and uninspired. However, the CW did what it sought to do. It took the best-performing shows of the WB and UPN networks and combined them into one, and from what I understand, it is starting to make a profit. Like any other network, it had its missteps. Runaway barely lasted two episodes, and I certainly would've preferred a renewal for Everwood over 7th Heaven. But honestly, who's to say Everwood would have fared any better in the ratings than 7th Heaven or One Tree Hill? It's not as if that show was raking in the viewers, either. ...
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Question: I love 7th Heaven and watch the reruns on ABC Family all the time. During the Christmas season, it was on hiatus, and now I see that it has been replaced with Smallville. Do you know if ABC Family is just testing Smallville, or is 7th Heaven off the schedule for good? I really love 7th Heaven and know many people are disappointed that it has not been on in a while, so any information you have would be great!
Answer: I rarely answer questions about scheduling of shows in syndication or on cable — it's hard enough for me to keep up with the networks' first-run scheduling patterns — but I checked into this. ABC Family reports that while 7th Heaven is not currently on the channel's rotation of repeats (give Everwood a try, you'll like it), it will eventually return. I just can't give you a date ...
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After an extra week to digest the news of Angelo's death, What About Brian returns in a somber state. We open at Angelo's service and with Dave trying to remember the lighter moments of his friendship, mixed in with a little lesson for everybody: Life's too short. But sadness quickly turns into the quirky tone that usually resonates in this show, as Karen creates a schedule for the friends to rotate looking after Nic. Despite Brian breaking up with her after the service, I have an unsettling feeling that she's not completely gone. But how long is she going to stick around? Because I'm really missing sweet, levelheaded Julie from Felicity while I'm watching Amy Jo Johnson play this irritating part.William Devane is stirring the pot as Nic and Brian's father. Their family history is slowly unfolding — the mental health of their mom, the blame placed on their dad. Brian clearly still holds a grudge, and I'm quickly reminded of the sometimes-rebellious Matt we used to see on 7th He...
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A few Sunday-ratings headlines:— 7th Heaven, up 700,000 total viewers week-to-week, had its biggest audience (3.83 million) since being moved from Monday.— Desperate Housewives' gunplay was witnessed by 22.5 million, the series' best draw since the season opener. Brothers & Sisters, in turn, was up more than a mil, and had its own best audience since Oct. 1.And some Friday footnotes:— In its new home, Vanished (3.35 mil) was on par with, say, time-slot predecessor Nanny 911, but lost nearly half its average Monday audience.— This is unsettling: A special 9 pm edition of 20/20 (7.86 mil) outperformed the previous week's Men in Trees by a million heads.— Despite a 300K dip for lead-in Las Vegas (8.95 mil), Law & Order and its Mel Gibson riff surged 1.9 million, to 10.7 mil.
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Question: I've never known a network to screw themselves just to spite the public, but I have to wonder if the CW is now on that path. 7th Heaven's numbers have been downright terrible. It's a surprise that the show wasn't canceled right along with Runaway. We all knew it. We all predicted it. And yet I read that it's been picked up for the whole season. Are they kidding us? The word Everwood will forever haunt these people, and rightfully so.
Answer: I can't even count all of the "I told you so" letters I'm getting about this. Given the evidence of the CW's soft launch, I'm not sure Everwood would have lived up to its WB ratings, either, but I'm sure the show would have pulled in more of an audience than Runaway did, and it would have been good PR to boot. As for 7th Heaven, it seems clear to me that the spike in numbers last season was because viewers thought they were saying goodbye to a long-running TV family, and they weren't too enthusiastic about welcoming them back past thei ...
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