Question: I'm a 45-year-old mother concerned about today's programming. It seems all there is to watch is blood, murder and sex. Whatever happened to funny family shows? You cannot sit down as a family and watch TV anymore. I'm not sure whom the networks are trying to appeal to, but do they realize that there are still generations of families with kids watching TV at 8 pm? This is a sad state of affairs when I can't even let my 15-year-old sit down with me to watch TV. We're reduced to Nick at Nite! When there is a good show, the networks cancel it. Look at the history: American Dreams, Yes, Dear, all replaced with sex: Two and a Half Men, the CSIs, Grey's Anatomy. And how many nights can they shove Dancing with the Stars down our throats? I'm just disgusted that when I sit down to relax, there's nothing to watch anymore.
Answer: Unfortunately, I can't give you much hope. These days, the networks' idea of "family" programming takes the form of the more benign reality programs, like
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Question: I was just wondering if anyone happens to know if there's something wrong with Anthony Clark. He just doesn't seem to be himself on Last Comic Standing. His hands and voice are shaky.
Answer: You're not the only one who wrote in with this observation as the show ended its run. I haven't a clue if he wasn't feeling well this summer or something, but it seemed clear to me that he was peculiarly and particularly ill at ease in the role of host. He was painful to watch. But then, he made my skin crawl on Yes, Dear as well, so maybe I'm just not a fan ...
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Question: OK, please tell me what the new CW is thinking. I just read in the news section that the CW announced they will not be picking up Reba for next season. Yet when they first announced the merger, they listed Reba as an asset. Do they really have enough quality comedies in the works that they can afford to dump WB's No. 1 comedy? Is there any hope of Reba being picked up by another network? I am a huge Reba McEntire fan (both of her acting and singing). How can they treat this wonderful woman like yesterday's garbage?
Answer: All I can say is that CW must really not want this show on its schedule, because according to what the trades say, the network may have to pay a steep penalty to cancel Reba, which still had a year to go on its current WB contract (although in the long run, it may be cheaper not to produce a full season of episodes — don't ask me). To be honest, I was always puzzled about why Reba was on WB instead of on a more mainstream network like CBS, where she would be
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Question: First, let me say that I really look forward to reading your columns each week; we seem to have the same taste in programming. My question is about how and why there seems to be an ever-growing incongruity in this country these days in terms of what passes for good TV comedy. To be honest, it really bothers me that shows like Arrested Development and Sons & Daughters could never bring in viewers despite being two of the sharpest and wittiest comedies to be produced in recent memory. Even Scrubs has never been a commercial success, and I frankly marvel that (thankfully) it's been able to stick around for at least five seasons. At the same time, inane drivel such as According to Jim and Yes, Dear have enjoyed great success in viewership (even making it to syndication!). It just seems that more often than not the only TV comedies that survive are the stale, formulaic ones, while the innovative, edgy, truly funny ones die premature deaths. Are these comedy gems just ahead of ...
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Question: Hi, Matt! I just read that Out of Practice is going on hiatus again and may even be canceled. Please say it ain't so! I adore this show. The script is so tight. The characters and the actors who portray them are brilliant, and the show has me crying with laughter whenever I watch it. Why, oh, why won't they move it back with Two and a Half Men, where it was rating fairly well and was safe?
Answer: It is true that with The Amazing Race now airing Wednesdays at 8 pm/ET, Out of Practice and the much worse Courting Alex are for now in limbo again. It's a fact that every comedy on CBS wants that time period following Two and a Half Men, but it looks like The New Adventures of Old Christine has it tied up for the rest of the season. And if the numbers (and the quality) hold, it may well inherit that slot again in the fall. Of all the shows that tried out that spot this season, Christine is my favorite, but I'd like to see CBS give Out of Practice a second chance, if only because I
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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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Casting for Season 6 of The Apprentice, the first edition to be set in Southern California, begins March 10. For a complete list of tryout locations and an application, click this NBC.com link.... Late Night with Conan O'Brien is dedicating its March 10 show to the host's recent visit to Finland — including his meeting with his "look-alike," President Tarja Halonen.... Yes, Dear's Anthony Clark has been tapped to host this summer's edition of NBC's Last Comic Standing.
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CBS has announced a March 7 premiere of The Unit and a March 13 debut of Julia Louis-Dreyfus' The New Adventures of Old Christine, giving the Seinfeld alum the Mondays-at-9:30 slot behind Two and a Half Men. (Get. Out!) As a result, Jenna Elfman's Courting Alex and its time-slot predecessor, Out of Practice, will move to occupy Wednesday's 8 o'clock hour, replacing Yes, Dear and Still Standing, which, apparently, were still on the air.
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The fun (and confusion) never stops as the networks continue scrambling their schedules, with a new wave of mid-season changes kicking in the instant the Olympics and February sweeps conclude.
As a helpful guide to get you through the exhausting month of March, here's a night-by-night rundown of what to expect (until the next changes are announced):
March 1: After a 90-minute American Idol, Fox airs a preview of quasi-improvised slacker sitcom Free Ride (it will regularly air on Sundays starting March 12, replacing American Dad for a while). Invasion is preempted for the annual Oscar-themed Barbara Walters Special, which for the first time is not airing on Oscar night.
March 2:
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Question: It really irritates me that you and the rest of the mainstream media completely ignore the African-American comedies on UPN. Girlfriends/America's Next Top Model are not the only successful shows on that network. Just because you don't watch them does not mean they are not worth saving. Broad comedies are all over the rest of the networks, and they feature mostly white casts. I realize ratings play a big part, but these shows would not have lasted as long as they have if they had not been generating ratings and some kind of revenue.
Answer: True enough. There is a market for these shows, and there's no question this audience is being woefully underserved by the major networks, which is why it's important that CW not ignore that part of UPN's (and once upon a time, WB's) legacy. But critically speaking, I'm just as happy to ignore network mediocrities like According to Jim, Still Standing, Yes, Dear, Four Kings and Courting Alex as I am the equally forgettable likes of Half &
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