Newlyweds Jerry O'Connell and Rebecca Romijn play against type (fans hope) when Romijn guests on her hubby's ABC series Carpoolers. Romijn plays Joannifer, O'Connell's womanizing Laird's much-maligned ex-wife.Creator/exec producer/writer Bruce McCulloch (Kids in the Hall) says Romijn was a frequent set visitor, since her Ugly Betty set is nearby. "She started to hang around, she was laughing, we were buying her sushi," and he told O'Connell, "We gotta get her on the show."While Laird's ex has often been mentioned — he reportedly received "the worst divorce settlement" ever — she has yet to be seen, until now.Romijn "is a force of nature," so she's perfect for the role of Joannifer, who McCulloch describes as "ferocious," but also "vulnerable and emotional." Basically, she's mercurial: "Part of the fun of playing Joannifer is she's sweet one moment, but can turn on a dime."It didn't hurt that the couple has real-life chemistry. "It's an added thing that they're married in r...
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ABC has ordered an additional three scripts for two more of its freshman series: Dirty Sexy Money (woo-hoo!) and... Carpoolers (who knew!). Thus far this season, ABC has picked up Private Practice and Pushing Daisies for full seasons, ordered six more Samantha Who? scripts and, well, done nothing yet about improving Cavemen.Elsewhere, the CW has picked up three additional scripts for Reaper, while Aliens in America, sources tell the Reporter, is set to stay in production beyond its original 13-episode order in hopes of getting a full-season ride.
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Question: How do you think Bones will fare in the ratings? I see it recently averaged around the eight million mark. I'm glad it won't be up against Dancing with the Stars every week! However, it does compete with the well-established NCIS and now the two ABC comedies Cavemen and Carpoolers, which for me have no appeal. Bones doesn't get the media blitz that some other Fox shows do, like House and Prison Break. I'm concerned it will spend another season as an underrated show. Shouldn't Fox be putting a few more bucks into promoting a series with such heart and humor, one that is well-crafted and has a terrific ensemble cast with great chemistry? I enjoy the pairing of Bones and House, but I know American Idol is looming in the background, waiting to snatch away its time slot. Having a short break for baseball after only three episodes doesn't exactly help build the fan base, either. So what do you think Bones' chances are in its third season?
Answer: Bones is probably never going to be a
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Despite mostly weak reviews, ABC's Carpoolers and its equally critically maligned lead-in show Cavemen managed a solid second place in their respective debuts against CBS' NCIS last week. Considering both shows' lack of good buzz, they each did well in the Nielsens, averaging roughly nine million total viewers. Carpoolers (Tuesdays, 8:30 pm/ET) actually exceeded the network's internal expectations for young and male-skewing demos by about 15 percent."We maybe didn’t garner as much attention as some other shows out there [before the premiere]," says Carpoolers star Jerry O'Connell, who plays one of four guys who share their ride to work. "Half-hour comedies have to be given a chance, you know? We started off pretty well, so hopefully we can even build on it."A guest appearance next month by O'Connell's new, real-life bride, Ugly Betty's Rebecca Romijn, in which she'll play his character's ex-wife, couldn't hurt either. "We had some scenes where we had to be physical with each ot...
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Question: You and every other critic warned us that Cavemen was horrible, but I decided to check it out anyway. I imagined it as a traditional comedy that just used the cavemen issue for the occasional good joke. In fact, I thought it would be just as silly but as fun as Dinosaurs was in the early '90s. But instead of a show that acknowledged its silly gimmick, I found a show that actually thinks it is genius. I felt like the people behind the show were screaming, "Look at us! We are quirky! We are original! Admire us for our imaginative, offensive-to-none look at social problems! We are a serious show but still have a sense of humor!" Everyone knows that if you have to tell someone you have a serious side or a sense of humor, you don't have either. On the plus side, it made Carpoolers look really funny.
Answer: That's the first time I've seen Carpoolers and "really funny" in the same sentence. And hopefully the last. (And how bummed were you to learn that Cavemen is now set in San
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