Oxygen has OK'd a reality show about rapper Coolio's attempts to raise six teens as a single parent. Coolio & the Gang will debut in the second quarter of '08.... Fox and McG (The O.C.) are developing Spaced, a comedy based (of course) on a British series from Shaun of the Dead creators Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright. In it, two singles pose as a couple so they can rent a flat. Er, apartment.... Andy Barker, P.I. creator Jonathan Groff's new laffer, Private Lives of Public People, started a bidding war between ABC and CBS. In the end, the Eye landed the pilot about upstanding citizens whose home lives are disastrous.... Arrested Development alum Abraham Higginbotham got a go-ahead from Fox for his untitled comedy pilot featuring Reno 911's Niecy Nash among the lowbrow staffers at a highfalutin NYC hotel. — Ben Katner
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Question: What was the thinking behind putting all six episodes of Andy Barker, P.I. online before the series debuted? I watched all of them before the first episode aired and then found that I didn't need to see them again. How many others did this? I am sure many Andy Richter and Conan O'Brien fans didn't wait for them to air. It almost seems like someone at NBC purposely set this show up to fail. Why didn't they just do like 24 did, and put one or two episodes online to whet the appetite and then post the shows after they aired? NBC is looking more and more like the Dumont network for this millennium, with a few quality shows and a lot of cheap, filler programming all scheduled at random. Finally, when will someone release the DVD set of Andy Richter Controls the Universe? Maybe as part of a set of DVDs called the Best TV You Never Saw?
Answer: As usual, no clue on the DVD front, although that's a good idea. About Andy's online gamble: the jury's still out, from what I can tell, on
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Question: I'm wondering if The Winner will be returning to Fox any time soon. I enjoyed the show and felt it had the potential to be a decent hit.
Answer: The earliest it would likely return would be in the fall, if it were renewed beyond the six-episode tryout in March. Given that the critical reception was mixed (I liked it, but that was hardly a universal opinion) and the ratings nothing much to celebrate, I wouldn't hold my breath. It's looking like The Winner and NBC's Andy Barker, P.I. will be among the mid-season's most regretful lost opportunities ...
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As you likely read in my Today's News blog, Andy Barker has been hastily ushered off NBC's lineup, and last night's double bill was likely the last we shall see of our intrepid sleuth. Unfortunately my schedule did not afford me the chance to view the episodes, but please feel free to use this blog to discuss it amongst yourselves.As I said in the news blog, it's a shame this show didn't catch on, as it had a wholesome, sweet, suburban feel to it. Not every sitcom needs to be littered with pop culture shout-outs and knowing winks.RIP, P.I.PS. Now how about that prequel spin-off "Guy Halverson, Two Tons of Don Juan"?
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NBC has pretty much closed the case on Andy Richter's Andy Barker, P.I., shuttling the short-run series' fifth intended-for-broadcast episode from this Thursday to Saturday at 8 pm/ET, where it will be paired with a sixth episode that was originally planned for online streaming only. Filling Barker's 9:30 slot this Thursday, a week sooner than planned, is a fresh episode of Scrubs.It's too bad, seeing the Andys get this less-than-honorable send-off. The show had much promise and a sweet, wholesome undertone long missing from TV comedies, which these days can be so... snarky.
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