Dancing wtih the Stars by Carol Kaelson/ABC
ABC's fall season leads off with no less than five and a half hours of reality TV, courtesy of Dancing with the Stars and The Bachelor. Uitlmately, some scripted stuff will make its way onto the screen. UPDATE: Boston Legal's premiere will be announced "soon," an ABC source assures me. Here is the premiere plan:Monday, Sept. 248 pm/ET: Dancing with the Stars (90-minute premiere)9:30 pm: The Bachelor (90-minute premiere)Tuesday, Sept. 25 8 pm: DWTS (90-minute performance show)Wednesday, Sept. 268 pm: DWTS (results show)9 pm: Private Practice10 pm: Dirty Sexy MoneyThursday, Sept. 278 pm: Ugly Betty9 pm: Grey's Anatomy10 pm: Big ShotsSunday, Sept. 307 pm: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (two-hour premiere)9 pm: Desperate Housewives10 pm: Brothers & SistersTuesday, Oct. 28 pm: Cavemen 8:30 pm: Carpoolers9 pm: DWTS (results show; regular time period)Wednesday, Oct. 38 pm: Pushing Daisies (woohoo!)Sunday, Oct. 77 pm: That home-videos showFriday, Oct. 128 pm: 20/209 pm: Women's Murder C...
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Question: Even with the summer programming ahead of us, I was looking forward to the new fall season, as I do every year. But I am stunned by the dearth of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered characters among the fall offerings on the broadcast networks. In fact, the only one I am aware of is a possible lesbian character in Cashmere Mafia, which, of course, could change by airtime, if it gets to air. Although Greg Berlanti (Dirty Sexy Money and Eli Stone), Bryan Fuller (Pushing Daisies), Darren Star (the afore-mentioned Cashmere Mafia) and Alan Poul (Swingtown) are behind the scenes on some of the offerings and will bring their sensibilities to their respective projects, that doesn't necessarily mean lead, supporting or even recurring LGBT characters on their shows. Not that those behind-the-scenes LGBT folk should always include a character in their show, but could they be deliberately shying away from doing so in order to show the broadcast networks that not every project they do ...
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Rene Balcer, who left the original Law & Order several years ago to develop and exec-produce Criminal Intent, is returning to the mother ship as an e.p. In a statement, Dick Wolf says, "Rene's return signals a creative renaissance... that should carry us closer to my ultimate goal of beating Gunsmoke" — which at 20 seasons holds the record for TV's longest-running drama.... Writer-producer Jeff Rake has inked a new deal with Sony Pictures TV under which he will exec-produce and show-run ABC's mid-season entry, Cashmere Mafia. Per Variety, the gig reunites Rake with Darren Star, with whom he created Fox's The Street.
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Scheduled to debut next season are four new comedy entries — Carpoolers, Cavemen, Miss/Guided and Sam I Am; along with seven new drama series — Big Shots, Cashmere Mafia, Dirty Sexy Money, Eli Stone, Private Practice, Pushing Daisies and Women's Murder Club. Oprah's Big Give is also slated to debut.In addition to the new series, ABC previously announced season renewals for Brothers & Sisters, Men in Trees, Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, Lost, Desperate Housewives, Boston Legal, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Dancing with the Stars, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, The Bachelor, Supernanny, America's Funniest Home Videos and Wife Swap. October Road and Notes from the Underbelly will also return for second seasons.As previously announced, Saturday Night College Football will return for a second season on Saturday, September 1 (8:00 pm, ET).ABC's fall prime-time schedule is as follows (all times listed are Eastern, with new shows in bold):MONDAY: 8 pm Dancing with the Stars9:30 pm Sam I ...
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The latest pre-upfronts news:ABCDrama pickups: Dirty Sexy Money and Eli Stone (both from Everwood's Greg Berlanti); the Grey's Anatomy spin-off Private Practice, the Sex and the City-esque Cashmere Mafia; Pushing Daisies, Women's Murder Club; Big Shots (Dylan McDermott, Michael Vartan, Christopher Titus and Joshua Malina as CEOs/wannabes). Comedies: Cavemen; Sam I Am (Christina Applegate as an amnesiac); Carpoolers. Other notes: October Road and Notes from the Underbelly will return mid-season with 13-episode runs. (Today's News)FOXDrama pick-ups: The Terminator-inspired sci-fi-er The Sarah Connor Chronicles; K-Ville (concerning cops in post-Katrina New Orleans); New Amsterdam (about an immortal homicide detective). Comedies: Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton's Back to You (FKA Action News); Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino's The Return of Jezebel James (starring Parker Posey); The Rules of Starting Over (courtesy of the Farrelly Brothers) (Today's News).NBCDrama pick-up...
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Upfronts week — the near-euphoric annual event where television enthusiasts such as you and I anticipate the new and returning fare heading our way — is upon us. Though some scheduling news has started to leak out — NBC has renewed Medium and fan-fave bubble show Friday Night Lights but is possibly crossing Jordan off its list — the official presentation of each network's fall schedule begins Monday with the Peacock showcasing its feathers, and concludes Thursday when the CW answers such questions as, "What will fill Gilmore Girls' void?"This here blog, my friends, is one to bookmark, as it will serve as a veritable clearinghouse for any and all news coming out of the upfronts. Each morning we will hurry to the fore the latest unveiling of network lineups, then throughout the day supplement it with expert insight from the likes of Matt Roush, Stephen Battaglio and Michael Ausiello.With the fun about to start, I leave you with these burning questions, which will, ...
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