True Blood showrunner Mark Hudis, who took over the job from creator Alan Ball in May, has now been replaced by writer-producer Brian Buckner, The Hollywood Reporter reports.
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It's difficult to believe that the creators of Showtime's Episodes are not holding a grudge against network TV.
Their last series, the CBS sitcom The Class, was axed after one short season, and their follow-up comedy (for cable, natch) is nothing if not an indictment of how the worst broadcast shows get made, sometimes in spite of a great idea. Just take a gander at Episodes' fictional network honcho, a crass and careless tyrant who transforms an urbane British hit about the headmaster of an elite boys school into a broad comedy for American audiences starring Matt LeBlanc.
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The chasm between cable and network programming loomed especially large on Thursday, Day 2 of the Television Critics Association presentations, as Showtime occupied the morning and the CW the afternoon. Never the twain shall meet, as Showtime unveiled a provocative array of shows that caters to the very adult, while the CW, whose focus is anything but, introduced a mere two-pack of new fall shows that rests safely if stylishly within the network's comfort zone of young female empowerment...
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Question: Why is it that networks rarely grab each others' shows after they are canceled? This year there were a few cases where this would have made a lot of sense. For example, a show like The Class had average ratings, but it was canned because CBS didn't have many hours available. Wouldn't it have made sense for ABC, which is starving for even a marginal comedy, to pick it up instead of renewing According to Jim or Notes from the Underbelly? Traveler and Masters of Science Fiction are other shows that I think have some cult following despite the lack of network support and might prove profitable elsewhere. Why do networks put their faith in ratings-challenged or untested shows rather than something that can obviously improve their present situation?
Answer: The reason this rarely happens is the same reason situations like Jericho's (being resurrected after cancellation) are so rare. When a show fails on one network, there usually isn't a clamor elsewhere to keep something alive that
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Two of my first Trivial Matt'rs blogs were dedicated to my early thoughts on the 2006-07 TV season, and at long last I have a few minutes here to revisit that "forecast" and see how I did. This is literally the first time I have looked back at those blogs, so here we go.Brothers & SistersI said: "Expectations were modest" given "foreboding backstage shuffles," but "by the end I was pulled in." Outcome: Lotsa critical acclaim and an early Season 2 pickup by ABC!The ClassI said: "The cast threatens to be unwieldy, but... I smell another [How I Met Your] Mother." Outcome: Some avid fans, some "decent" ratings, but no renewal yet. (Oh, and they shed one cast member.)RunawayI said: "The concept is nifty" and "good casting."Outcome: Far from a runaway hit, it was shelved after just a few airings.VanishedI said: "I need more answers, or at least hints of answers." Outcome: Fox's answer was, "Nope," and Vanished... quickly did just that.HeroesI said: "This show will be full of surprises...
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