Question: Do you know if it's true that E-Ring will be back with new episodes in August? That's what it says on NBC.com.
Answer: That was a boo-boo. An NBC rep says there are "no scheduled airdates for E-Ring this summer." Fun sidebar: Just hours after I called the Peacock about the typo, the entire E-Ring page vanished from NBC.com. Now all that remains is the flop sweat on Benjamin Bratt's brow.
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Reunion, Love Monkey and Commander in Chief
Reunion. Threshold. E-Ring. Invasion. Emily's Reasons Why Not. Love Monkey. Commander in Chief. Heist.
What do these shows have in common? They all debuted at some point during this soon-to-wrap TV season, yet each saw their run either cut surprisingly short or handicapped by irregular scheduling. Was 2005-06 the worst year ever to sample a new show? Were the networks especially hasty in deciding the fate of freshman series? TVGuide.com consulted a panel of experts with unique points of view to examine this strange little season gone by.
Are New Shows Getting Short Shrift?Jeff Bader, executive vice president of ABC entertainment programming and scheduling, dismisses the suggestion that prime time is a crueler-than-ever proving ground for new series. "
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Question: What is the status of Joey? I haven't seen it on air in a while. Has this show been canceled?
Answer: Not officially. But let's face it, it's dead. Also from my FAQs file, and also on indefinite hiatus without hope of renewal: E-Ring and, as of this week, Commander in Chief, which was just yanked for the rest of the month ...
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Question: What has happened to E-Ring? Is it coming back? There are many of us who love the show, and we've been searching TV Guide frantically each week looking for it. Thanks.
Answer: I'm still fielding a ton of questions about this show, but there's still no news. NBC has put the show on indefinite hiatus, with no indication that the remaining episodes will be scheduled anytime soon, especially during the next critical sweeps month. (There's a chance E-Ring could return in the summer, but beyond that, not so much of a chance.) Helpful hint to regular readers: If you're curious what's up with a show you haven't seen or heard about in a while, plug the title into TVGuide.com's search area. Listings will come up, along with links to previously published news and commentary items ...
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Question: What's the latest news on E-Ring? Is it coming back next season?
Answer: Considering USA Today listed it as "gone or nearly dead" in its ninth-annual Save Our Shows poll, I'm guessing not. Speaking of the influential S.O.S. survey, click here to throw your support behind such beloved bubble shows as Veronica Mars, Everwood, One Tree Hill, Scrubs and Invasion. The networks really pay attention to this stuff, people. Every vote counts!
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Dennis Haysbert, The Unit
Question: I consider myself a fan of NBC's television series E-Ring (although I must admit to having to suspend belief when I see Dennis Hopper in the role of the division chief of the Joint Staff's J-3 Special Operations Division. I will probably always see him as Peter Fonda's sidekick, Billy, in Easy Rider). I have also seen the first two episodes of CBS' The Unit, a program whose story line is ostensibly based on the book Inside Delta Force. Having held six military assignments in the Pentagon (including senior positions on the Joint Staff and within the Office of the Secretary of Defense), and being a retired Special Forces-qualified Army colonel, I must say that I believe Ken Robinson's E-Ring is the more correct version of how things are in the special-operations community (and even more specifically, of how things are in the Pentagon itself). I really don't know what to say yet about The Unit, after only two episodes, since I know that the writers are still attempting to ...
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Kevin James, The King of Queens
This week the networks began meeting with ad-agency execs to talk about what's in development for the 2006-07 season. That means it's time for producers of current shows with less-than-robust ratings to start worrying about getting picked up for next season. Here's what industry insiders are telling the Biz.
ABC: The network's comedies are having a tough year in the ratings, but you can't cancel all of them. Rodney, Hope & Faith, Crumbs and Less than Perfect aren't likely to make the cut. According to Jim, George Lopez and Freddie have a chance of returning. Since ABC has two more hours to program in the fall now that football has moved to NBC, shows that would otherwise be doomed have a chance. We're talking Invasion and Commander in Chief. Their survival depends on the strength of the network's new-program development.
CBS: Another season of The King of Queens depends on whether the n
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Question: I'm not normally a big fan of procedurals. I've quit all the CSIs and all the Law & Orders (though I used to love the original L&O, back in the day). I find I'm more drawn to dramas with longer story arcs and character development (Gilmore Girls, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, etc.). There are a few procedurals I really have gotten into. I love Without a Trace and Numbers. Here's the thing: I know it's not a critical favorite, but I've really gotten into E-Ring. There's something about the international intrigue and the action elements that I find fun. But it seems to have disappeared from the schedule! What's more, I feel like it could have longer arcs and it could have more character development if it could get comfortable. But it seems like NBC moves it around, replaces it with Deal or No Deal (ugh), and gives it no respect. Do you know what they plan to do with this show? On a similar topic, I've heard rumblings about a show called The Unit, which sounds very similar. Do you ...
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Per the Hollywood Reporter, Mena Suvari will play a girl sucked into a modern-day cult in CBS' Orpheus, while Blair Underwood has been tapped to star in another CBS drama, Company Town.... Mitch Rouse has landed the lead in the CBS comedy The Angriest Man in Suburbia.... Josh Meyers is That Guy in a Fox comedy.... Lori Loughlin has joined ABC's In Case of Emergency.... E-Ring's Kerr Smith is onboard for Fox's American Crime.... Rebecca Gayheart now is part of Fox's Vanished.... Patricia Wettig has been added to ABC's Brothers & Sisters family sudser.
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Question: I know you're not a fan of E-Ring, but I wanted to know how it's doing in the ratings and if it's likely to get a second season.
Answer: It's doing fairly well, especially since NBC moved it away from Lost to kick off the Wednesday-night schedule. But I'd still consider it a pretty mediocre player, especially given the buildup and the Jerry Bruckheimer pedigree. So its chances for a second-season renewal probably depends on the quality of NBC's development for next season ...
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