matt.mitovich

Daytime-talk Talk, Eureka and More Short Cuts

Warner Bros. syndicated division has cleared a fall 2008 daytime talker to be hosted by actress-comedian Bonnie Hunt. The Reporter also reports deal extensions for Ellen (through 2011) and Extra (through 2012).... Sci Fi Channel has ordered a third season of Eureka, to launch in summer '08, and a second round of Destination Truth.... Showtime has erected or modified fountains in 14 U.S cities, including in Times Square and Hollywood & Highland, to flow red, promoting the Season 2 premiere of Dexter. The cabler, though, insists the color choice is to match its logo, not to symbolize blood. Uh-huh. Tell it to Doakes.

Fri, Sep 28, 2007

Daytime-talk Talk, Eureka and More Short Cuts

Ratings: Bionic Woman Gives Addison a Scare

This Wednesday, as DWTS' first results show topped the night with 16.62 million total viewers:8 pm/ETKid Nation was a distant second with 7.61 mil, a 15 percent drop from its premiere. Similarly, Fox's twofer of Back to You (7.54 mil) and 'Til Death (6.2 mil) each shed 20 percent of their previous audiences. Top Model (4.85 mil) saw 300K take a catwalk.9 pmPrivate Practice (14.4 mil) came away with a slight lead over Bionic Woman (13.6 mil) in total viewers, though Jaime Sommers drew a slightly sexier demo. (Note: The Grey's eppy that laid the foundation for the spin-off drew 21 mil. Apples, oranges, I know.) Criminal Minds was No. 3 with 12.7 mil (a 23 percent plunge from a year ago). Gossip Girl (2.55 mil) was down 30 percent from its debut. UPDATE: BW was NBC's highest-rated Wednesday series launch (in 18-49) since '99's The West Wing, and is the TV-season-to-date's best drama debut in said demo.10 pmCSI: NY delivered 12.7 mil (down 21 percent from last fall's opener), followed b...

Thu, Sep 27, 2007

Ratings: Bionic Woman Gives Addison a Scare

NBC Takes Knight Rider for Another Spin

"Michael, I don't like the sound of this.... "NBC has put director Doug Liman in the driver's seat of a two-hour TV-movie that will reboot that '80s show Knight Rider and ideally serve as a backdoor pilot for a new series. ("No, Michael, not the back door.... ") Variety reports that the plan is to air the flick later this season, and if successful/not entirely abysmal, have a new series ready for fall 2008. Dave Andron (Raines) is penning the script and will exec-produce with Liman and Dave Bartis (Heist).The vision for this redo is to take advantage of current TV special effects to allow K.I.T.T. some Transformers-esque shapeshifting. (But no, Hoff, no amount of state-of-the-art trickery will get you your old job back.)

Thu, Sep 27, 2007

New TV: Mark Burnett's Dueling Dads, and More

Mark Burnett has set up at NBC My Dad is Better than Your Dad, a game show in which fathers face off in stunt-driven challenges, Variety reports.... FX has given Nip/Tuck creator Ryan Murphy a series commitment for Queen B, a workplace drama centered on a female CEO who grooms a young girl in her ruthless image.... Homicide's Tom Fontana and Barry Levinson are reteaming for the NBC pilot The Philanthropist, a series that sound a bit like The Equalizer.... After a fierce bidding war, ABC has ordered six episodes of Section 8, a drama penned by X-Men 3's Zak Penn and described as a blend of House, X-Men and The X-Files. OK.... ABC is teaming with hip-hop producer Pharrell Williams and filmmaker McG on Limelight, a drama set at a performing arts-school.

Thu, Sep 27, 2007

Eric McCormack Tells the Truth, More Casting News

Will & Grace's Eric McCormack has been tapped to star in the TNT drama pilot Truth in Advertising, playing a family-man art director trying to negotiate the politics of the snake-oil biz. Ed's Tom Cavanagh is in talks to play his copywriter partner (no, not that kind of partner).... Joseph Fiennes will undergo some nipping and tucking of his own as the star of Nip/Tuck creator Ryan Murphy's untitled drama (née 4 Oz.) about a husband and father who opts for a sex change. Blythe Danner and Robert Wagner play his folks.... Jenna Elfman is reuniting with Dharma & Greg boss Dottie Dartland Zicklin, who has come onboard to run the show at Literary Superstar, Elfman's new comedy about a book publicist to quirky (read: zany!) authors.

Thu, Sep 27, 2007

Eric McCormack Tells the Truth, More Casting News

Jenna Elfman One of Six Wives, More Movie News

Jenna "This Is My Day" Elfman is Tim Allen's second (... and fourth) wife in the indie The Six Wives of Henry LeFay.... Also per the Reporter, Robert Redford is attached to direct Against All Enemies, an adaptation of Richard A. Clarke's memoir about the Bush admin's handling of the Al Qaeda threat pre-9/11.... Per Variety, Martin Scorsese plans to direct an authorized documentary about George Harrison, the Beatle felled by lung cancer in 2001.... A June 26, 2009, release has been earmarked for Transformers 2, with Michael Bay and Shia LaBeouf expected to return.

Thu, Sep 27, 2007

Jenna Elfman One of Six Wives, More Movie News

Cavemen Will Now Go Clubbing in San Diego

ABC's lightning-rod Cavemen sitcom has undergone more than a cast tweak and pilot reshoot. The titular Cro-Mags also are no longer braving Atlanta, and will instead call San Diego home, the Associated Press reports. Does Cali offer better car-insurance rates? Nah, it was simply a matter of not being able to "fake" Atlanta with a Los Angeles shoot. As previously reported, the original pilot  in which the wonderfully snarkastic Nick and his hirsute homies crash an upper-crust country club  has been scrapped, and the first episode out of the gate now will concern the revelation that one of the guys is dating a (gasp!) Homo sapien. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Thu, Sep 27, 2007

Cavemen Will Now Go Clubbing in San Diego

Ratings: Prancing Stars, Cranky House Are Tops

ADDENDUM: Veronica Mars drew 3.3 mil in each of its last two season premieres, since many were asking.On this first "real" Tuesday of the new ratings season, as Dancing with the Stars' all-male revue averaged 18.34 million total viewers over its 90-minute run:8 pm/ETNCIS' shinier, happier backstage mood paid off on-screen, as it (13.65 mil) outperformed last year's premiere by 530 thou. Bones (8.25 mil) was down 16 percent versus its own previous opener. With three mil, Beauty and the Geek kissed off about 340K week-to-week.9 pm House's season premiere fared a hair better than last year's, with 18.13 mil. (What's more, it did better in key demos than the older-skewing DWTS and was Fox's highest-rated drama premiere in nearly seven years.) The Unit (10.73 mil) recruited 1.4 mil fewer than last fall. The arrival of the CW's Reaper (3.22 mil) improved upon its Geek lead-in.10 pmSVU topped the hour with 12.1 mil, albeit a 16 percent premiere-to-premiere plunge. Cane got some sugar from ...

Wed, Sep 26, 2007

Ratings: Prancing Stars, Cranky House Are Tops

Heroes Uses Loophole to Supe Up Premiere Ratings

Forget invisibility and super-healing. NBC has discovered the power to inflate the ratings for Heroes' season premiere, seizing a new Nielsen rule that allows a network to add in the audience for any same-week rebroadcast. NBC will re-air the Heroes episode this Saturday night, and as long as the hour features the exact same commercial content  an easy requirement in this case, as Nissan was the eppy's sole sponsor  its numbers can be bundled into the 14.12 mil recorded on Monday. But pay attention: Not only does the Peacock get to puff up Heroes' tally, it also won't get dinged for the typically lousy Saturday hour that normally would have sucked up prime-time space. "Theoretically, [NBC is] doing nothing wrong," ABC's research chief tells Variety. "But morally, they're playing with the weekly averages. You could see where this could lead to abuse."

Wed, Sep 26, 2007

Sutherland Honored for Excellence, One Day After DUI

On Tuesday evening, barely half a day after he was arrested on misdemeanor DUI charges, Kiefer Sutherland received the Award of Excellence from the Alliance of Cinema, Television and Radio Artists at the Canadian consulate, reports the New York Daily News. Upon arriving at the event in a chauffer-driven Town Car, the 24 star did not speak to reporters, but went on to give "a beautifully eloquent speech," says pal and NYPD Blue alum Gordon Clapp. "He was very affable with everyone, very social."While Sutherland is due back on the 24 set Wednesday without missing a beat, the matter of any long-term effect on the series' production remains to be decided. Having violated a five-year probation with his new DUI arrest, the Reporter notes, he could face up to a year in jail.

Wed, Sep 26, 2007

Sutherland Honored for Excellence, One Day After DUI

Fall's First Casualty: Nashville Hits a Sour Note

After two weeks of averaging a CW-worthy 2.4 million total viewers, the Fox docusoap Nashville has been pulled from its Fridays-at-9 time slot, ostensibly to return sometime in October, Variety reports. Until The Next Great American Band arrives on Oct. 19, Fox will fill the vacancy with repeats encore presentations of the freshman drama K-Ville.

Wed, Sep 26, 2007

Fall's First Casualty: Nashville Hits a Sour Note

Biel May Lasso Wonder Woman Gig, More Film News

You know I'm all about Ms. Charisma, but I could kinda see this: Jessica Biel is in talks to make Wonder Woman's cups runneth over in the Justice League of America film, says Variety. The studio has no comment on the buzz, instead saying it will announce its Batman, Aquaman et al all at once, at a later date.... Jennifer Aniston is a floral designer who befriends Aaron Eckhart's hypocritical self-help guru in the drama Traveling.... Kevin James will write, produce and star as a Mall Cop thrust into comedic action when a band of thieves take over his turf.... Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren and Robin Wright Penn have come on board State of Play, an adaptation of the U.K. miniseries.

Wed, Sep 26, 2007

Biel May Lasso Wonder Woman Gig, More Film News

Casting: Austin from Cincinnati Washes Up on FNL

Austin Nichols, who starred as HBO's John from Cincinnati, is returning to his hometown of Austin, Texas, to play a Dillon High teach on NBC's Friday Night Lights, reports the city's Statesman paper. Nichols' multiple-episode arc will begin soon after the Oct. 5 season-opener.... Regina Hall (Ally McBeal) will play Cedric the Entertainer's successfully entrepreneurial housewife in the comedian's comedy pilot for ABC, says the Reporter.

Wed, Sep 26, 2007

Casting: Austin from Cincinnati Washes Up on FNL

Indiana Jones 4 Spoiled by an Extra; Lucas and Spielberg Strike Back

A stupefying loose-lipped extra who worked on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has incurred the wrath of no less than George Lucas and Steven Spielberg by blabbing plot points to a hometown paper. Despite having inked a nondisclosure agreement with the production, Tyler "You'll Never Hear About Me Again" Nelson  who played "a dancing Russian soldier" in a reportedly since-snipped scene  revealed to Oklahoma's Edmond Sun (Non-spoiler alert) the nature of Indy's latest quest, how Karen Allen's Marion plays into it, and the context of a pivotal scene between Harrison Ford and Cate Blanchett. A rep for Spielberg would not confirm for the New York Post the veracity of the apparent spoilers, but literally mwa-ha-haed, "Who knows whether that particular person will ever work in this town again?" And I'm assuming he didn't mean Edmond, Oklahoma.

Tue, Sep 25, 2007

Indiana Jones 4 Spoiled by an Extra; Lucas and Spielberg Strike Back

Casting News: Timothy Hutton Gains Leverage, and More

Timothy Hutton, who last tempted TV viewers with last season's Kidnapped, has landed the lead in the TNT drama pilot Leverage, says the Reporter. Hutton plays an investigator for Big Insurance who turns around and targets greedy corporations when his dying son is denied medical treatment.... Kevin Spacey has joined Recount, HBO's movie about the bungled 2000 election, playing a top aide to Vice President Al Gore.... Gail O'Grady, Greg Germann and Robert Mailhouse will star in All I Want for Christmas, a Hallmark flick about a single mom whose sad little dating life miraculously turns around. That's lovely and all, but what does it have to do with my two front teeth?

Tue, Sep 25, 2007

Casting News: Timothy Hutton Gains Leverage, and More

In the Works: Disney's Jones for the Jonases, More

Disney Channel has ordered a series, TV-movie and concert special starring Jonas brothers Kevin, Joe and Nick. The movie, which we were the first to tell you about, is called Camp Rock, and it has HSM written all over it. The series, says the Reporter, will be a spy comedy titled J.O.N.A.S. (as in, har-har, Junior Operatives Networking as Spies). The concert special will air Oct. 6.... NBC has given a 13-episode commitment to Fear Itself, a horror anthology in which big names from the fright world will pen hour-long one-offs.... AMC has officially ordered that second season of Mad Men, which delivers a modest (841,000 viewers at last count) but very affluent following. Man, which millionaire out there is offsetting my paycheck?

Tue, Sep 25, 2007

In the Works: Disney's Jones for the Jonases, More

Ratings: Those Dancing Stars Dominate Yet Again

There's a lot to cover for this Monday, so let's rip into the ratings: Dancing with the Stars topped the evening, averaging 21.2 million total viewers over its 90-minute run. (That's on par with its previous season-opener.) Lead-out The Bachelor, however, dropped its partner, managing just 9.56 mil (a 500K dip from Officer and a Gentlemen's debut). CBS' comedy lineup did as follows: Mother, 8.27 mil, down 2.2 mil from last year's launch; newcomer The Big Bang Theory, 9.58 mil, a marked increase on HIMYM's lead-in; Men, 13.45 mil; and Rules of Engagement, 12.09 mil. On NBC, Chuck got his geek on to the tune of 9.3 million. That led into Heroes, which with 14.12 mil nearly matched its series premiere, and certainly improved on last May's season-ender. Journeyman (9.5 mil) then let slip nearly a third of its lead-in. Fox's Prison Break (7.27 mil) slipped a bit from its premiere, while 31 percent fewer people decided to return to K-Ville (6.16 mil). Monday'...

Tue, Sep 25, 2007

Ratings: Those Dancing Stars Dominate Yet Again

Sheen Slams "Diabolical" Richards, More Love Notes

Denise Richards' Wild Things character is starting to look rather sane by comparison. In a statement to TV's Extra, Charlie Sheen calls his ex-wife's latest round of court-paper allegations  which, in part, regurgitate the Two and a Half Men's star's predilection for online porn  "unlawful and diabolical," and says she's keepin' on with the crazy largely out of spite for his disclosing her request for his sperm to sire another child. "I will not dignify the majority of these allegations... with any measure of response," Sheen says. "On its best day, it remains laughable and inane"  like Hot Shots! Part Deux.... Family Ties alumna Tina Yothers gave birth to her and husband Robert Kaiser's second child, a son named Jake, says People.

Tue, Sep 25, 2007

Sheen Slams "Diabolical" Richards, More Love Notes

Sally Field as G--damn First Lady, More Movie News

Brothers & Sisters Emmy winner Sally Field is attached to play Honest Abe's wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, in Steven Spielberg's Liam Neeson-fronted biopic, says Reuters.... Newman! Seinfeld's Wayne Knight is in talks to play The Punisher's confidant and armorer, Microchip, in the big-screen adaptation of the Marvel Comics character.... Studio 60's Sarah Paulson has been cast as Dr. Ellen Dolan in Frank Miller's take on Will Eisner's The Spirit.

Tue, Sep 25, 2007

Sally Field as G--damn First Lady, More Movie News

CSI Video Game, Private Practice and More Short Cuts

CBS Mobile is launching this week a cell-phone game based on CSI: Miami. I imagine it's like Donkey Kong, but instead of barrels you jump little flipping sunglasses.... Producer Mark Gordon (Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Army Wives) has inked a new deal to stay put at ABC Studios through 2011.... Brooks & Dunn, Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood are among the performers lined up thus far for the CMA Awards, airing Nov. 7 on ABC.... Brokeback Mountain writer Annie Proulx has greenlit an opera about those two frisky cowpokes.... The ratings people have begun beta-testing "Hey! Nielsen," an online forum in which TV enthusiasts can express their views.

Tue, Sep 25, 2007

Kiefer Sutherland Arrested for Misdemeanor DUI

Kiefer Sutherland was pulled over in West Hollywood in the wee hours of Tuesday morning and arrested for suspicion of DUI after allegedly exceeding the legal blood-alcohol limit, TMZ reports. Being the 24 star's second DUI in the past five years, by California law, if convicted, he must serve a minimum of five days in jail.Sutherland, who was stopped after making an illegal U-turn, was transported to a Hollywood police station and later released on $25,000 bail. Sources tell TMZ he was "cooperative and mellow" while in custody. Sutherland is scheduled to face a judge on Oct. 16.

Tue, Sep 25, 2007

Kiefer Sutherland Arrested for Misdemeanor DUI

Men in Trees Is Bloomin' Wonderful Yet Again

Let others wax pop-culturey about the premieres of Chuck, Reaper and Gossip Girl. The show I'm excited to see on the air  and after an unacceptably truncated first season  is ABC's Men in Trees. Uprooted from its time slot without any fanfare (and all to make room for the likes of October Road and Notes from the Underbelly), Men in Trees returns Friday, Oct. 12, at 10 pm/ET, with a rather excellent episode, which I had the pleasure of screening over the weekend. (Any quality TV that engrosses and delights my wife always gets the upgrade to "excellent.")As you may know from embracing my news blog, ABC decided to take last season's unaired episodes and use them to "supersize" Men in Trees' sophomore season, resulting in fewer repeats and whatnot. Yet the first new episode out of the gate on the 12th is not from that batch. Rather, to better ease those both familiar with and new to the Anne Heche-starrer into the new season, they shot a brand-new episode titled "A Tree Goes...

Mon, Sep 24, 2007

Men in Trees Is Bloomin' Wonderful Yet Again