michael.schneider

Fall TV: The 5 Big Questions

It's do-or-die time at the broadcast networks, as executives make some tough choices for next season. On their plates: deciding which current shows to kill and identifying potential hits from more than 80 pilots. Here are some burning questions to keep in mind as the powers that be prepare to unveil their 2011-2012 schedules the week of May 16.Will the networks play it bold or play it safe?After a lackluster season, executives are itching to find riskier fare, like the 1960s-set drama Playboy and the Steven Spielberg-produced musical drama Smash (a lock to get on the air) at NBC, as well as ABC's airline period ...

Mon, May 9, 2011

Exclusive: NBC Launches First-Ever America's Got Talent Online Audition App

Wanna audition for NBC's America's Got Talent? There's an app for that.NBC is set to announce the launch of a new America's Got Talent app that will allow users to upload their audition videos directly to YouTube via an iPhone or Android device. NBC says the app is the first of its kind for a competition reality show."This process throws a wider ...

Thu, May 5, 2011

Exclusive: NBC Launches First-Ever America's Got Talent Online Audition App

Can Mark Burnett Save the Emmys?

Can Mark Burnett save the Emmys? The reality-TV kingpin, currently riding high thanks to the success of his new NBC singing competition The Voice (not to mention the renewed interest in Celebrity Apprentice), has agreed to take on a ...

Thu, May 5, 2011

Lifetime Orders Modern Love Pilot

Lifetime has ordered the pilot Modern Love, based on a series of columns published in The New York Times. The project centers on newspaper science editor Simon McElvane, who must balance his collapsing marriage while raising an adopted 15-year-old daughter. He's then given the job of editor of the newspaper's "Modern Love" column, giving him the opportunity to learn more about life and love.The show will weave in stories...

Tue, May 3, 2011

Bones Renewal Is Set at Fox, According to David Boreanaz

Bones is back. After another down-to-the-wire negotiation, Fox and 20th Century Fox TV are expected to announce a firm one-year renewal for the show later this week. Star David Boreanaz couldn't resist jumping the gun, however, writing on his Twitter account on Monday night that "Season 7 is GO for Bones." Coincidentally, it was...

Tue, May 3, 2011

Bones Renewal Is Set at Fox, According to David Boreanaz

The CW Names Mark Pedowitz New President

As five-year-old network The CW hits some growing pains, new president Mark Pedowitz has some work cut out for him."Some of the challenges are self-evident," Pedowitz tells TV Guide Magazine. "It's a crowded marketplace. And in our core demographic of women 18-34, we need to grow our audience both inside and outside that core."Indeed, the network faces more competition than ever for its narrow target audience. Cable outlets like ABC Family and Oxygen are chasing ...

Thu, Apr 28, 2011

The CW Names Mark Pedowitz New President

NBC Firms Up Plans for a TV Version of John Grisham's The Firm

Looking for some good ratings counsel, NBC is turning to John Grisham's The Firm. The network is in talks to pick up a new series based on the best-selling legal thriller, which was also the basis of a 1993 movie starring Tom Cruise. Lukas Reiter (The Forgotten, Law & Order) is adapting the book for TV and wrote the pilot script. The Firm has actually been in development for some time, originally at CBS. More recently, Reiter and Grisham, who are both executive producing, pitched The Firm to several cable networks.

Thu, Apr 28, 2011

NBC Firms Up Plans for a TV Version of John Grisham's The Firm

Exclusive: Animal Planet Wades into Another Season of River Monsters

Animal Planet's River Monsters and host Jeremy Wade have been baited into continuing their search for the river world's most disturbing creatures. River Monsters, which has quickly turned into one of Animal Planet's signature shows, was just given a fourth season order by the cable network and shooting has begun on seven new episodes that will air...

Wed, Apr 27, 2011

Exclusive: Animal Planet Wades into Another Season of River Monsters

The CW Renews Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, Announces All-Star Top Model

The CW went on a pick-up spree on Tuesday, handing out fall renewals to network staples The Vampire Diaries, 90210, Gossip Girl, Supernatural and America's Next Top Model. As part of the announcement, the C-Dub also confirmed that this fall's Top Model will be the show's first-ever all-star cycle. That's right — fan favorites and notorious contestants will be back to take...

Tue, Apr 26, 2011

The CW Renews Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, Announces All-Star Top Model

New to Your TV Screen: Twitter Hashtags

What was the deal with this week's episode of Glee? And we're not talking about Will Schuester's questionable math skills or Holly Holiday's take on Adele. Nope, we were wondering about that bug at the bottom of the screen that read "#Glee" throughout the entire show. Get used to it. Although the TV screen is already crowded — with network logos, news crawls and promo messages routinely popping up throughout a program — broadcast and cable networks are now starting to add Twitter hashtags to the bottom of their shows.

Thu, Apr 21, 2011

Scouring the Headlines, Law & Order: LA Takes on Two Big L.A. Scandals

They've been busy reading the Los Angeles newspapers at NBC's revamped Law & Order: LA. The show is relying on two of the year's biggest L.A.-centric news stories to fuel its narrative over the next two weeks. Tonight, Law & Order: LA will tackle local government corruption — motivated by the well-publicized mess in the City of Bell, a suburb of Los Angeles. Then, on April 25, the show airs its episode based loosely on the mysterious murder of Hollywood power publicist Ronni Chasen.

Mon, Apr 18, 2011

Scouring the Headlines, Law & Order: LA Takes on Two Big L.A. Scandals

ABC's The Revolution Producer to Soap Fans: I Feel Your Pain

Reality producer J.D. Roth had a hunch that ABC was close to picking up his new daytime series The Revolution. But Roth says he had no idea until Thursday morning that his greenlight would come at the expense of two soap opera staples. Thursday's ABC soapocalypse left daytime fans reeling, as the network pulled the plug on 43-year-old One Life to Live and 41-year-old All My Children. Roth, whose new show will take the place of OLTL in January, says he first brought The Revolution to ABC more than a year ago.

Fri, Apr 15, 2011

ABC's The Revolution Producer to Soap Fans: I Feel Your Pain

NBC Launches New Social Network

NBC's getting more social. As the networks continue to dabble with Twitter and Facebook, NBC this week will unveil plans to take that kind of interactivity one step further.Get ready for the launch of NBC Live (www.nbc.com/live), which will shoot out polls, trivia, insider commentary, photos and other behind-the-scenes information synced up to what's happening ...

Thu, Apr 14, 2011

Exclusive: Science Officially Orders Season 2 of Ricky Gervais' An Idiot Abroad

Ricky Gervais' pal Karl Pilkington has proven to be quite the useful Idiot for Science. The cable network is set to announce Thursday that it has secured the second season of hit series An Idiot Abroad. For season two, Gervais and Stephen Merchant are again sending the dimwitted Pilkington on a trip around the world — but this time to tackle a "bucket list" of things to do before you die. Unlike season one, which was produced first in the U.K. and later acquired by...

Thu, Apr 14, 2011

Exclusive: Science Officially Orders Season 2 of Ricky Gervais' An Idiot Abroad

Exclusive: Jill Wagner Wipes Out of ABC's Wipeout

After four seasons as one of the hosts on ABC's hit competition series Wipeout, Jill Wagner is bouncing on to new things. Wagner will continue to be seen on the show's upcoming summer episodes, but plans to depart after that to focus on her acting career. Producers Endemol USA and Matt Kunitz are currently conducting a search to...

Tue, Apr 12, 2011

Exclusive: Jill Wagner Wipes Out of ABC's Wipeout

Exclusive: Not So Fast, Here's Why House Is Unlikely to End Up at NBC

Is House grabbing his cane and jumping to NBC? Don't hire the moving vans just yet. Fox's deal with Universal Media Studios, which produces the Hugh Laurie drama, is expiring, and as Variety reported Friday, there's no resolution in sight. That's led some to wonder whether Universal might ultimately move the show, entering its eighth season this fall, to sister network NBC. Even though new NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt is high on his new development, the network could...

Sat, Apr 9, 2011

Exclusive: Not So Fast, Here's Why House Is Unlikely to End Up at NBC

History Mounts New Taxidermy-Themed Alaska Reality Show

Hungry for yet another reality show set in the 49th State? We're stuffed — but then again, so are the animals in History's Mounted in Alaska, and that's the draw.The show, which launches Thursday night at 10/9c on History, revolves around Alaskan taxidermist Russell Knight. The owner of Knight's Taxidermy, Knight and his team are asked to preserve wildlife ...

Thu, Apr 7, 2011

History Mounts New Taxidermy-Themed Alaska Reality Show

Exclusive: Sleuth Gets a New Name; Meet Cloo

From the company that morphed Sci Fi into Syfy comes another channel name destined to wreak havoc with your computer's spell check.TV Guide Magazine has confirmed that NBCUniversal will change the name of Sleuth, its crime and mystery cable channel, later this spring. The new name? Cloo TV.Why the name change and quirky spelling? Just as NBCUniversal realized that it ...

Thu, Apr 7, 2011

Exclusive: Home Edition's Ty Pennington Lands Auction-Themed Pilot at ABC

Ty Pennington has found the most extreme home of them all: The high-end auction house. The host of TV's long-running feel-good reality series Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Pennington has now signed on to host The Great Big American Auction — which just landed a pilot order from ABC. (Pennington's not moving far: ABC is also the network behind Home Edition.) Think of Great Big American Auction as a more contemporary Antiques Roadshow. In this case, Great Big American Auction will feature personal treasures with a historic, artist or pop culture bent, all being auctioned off to the higher bidder (and all with a personal story to boot). Among the examples: A near-mint copy of Amazing Spider-Man #1; a ring once owned by Elvis Presley; and an autographed Les Paul guitar being auctioned off to benefit Cystic Fibrosis research. The show is also touting a fully intact

Tue, Apr 5, 2011

Exclusive: Home Edition's Ty Pennington Lands Auction-Themed Pilot at ABC

Busy Dr. Drew Drops Medical Director Job To Focus More on TV

Dr. Drew Pinsky is finally practicing a little work/life balance. Well, to be honest, it's more of a work/work balance. But for workaholic Pinsky, at least it's an acknowledgement that something had to give. As he turns even more attention toward TV, Pinsky confirms that he has wound down his medical practice.

Tue, Apr 5, 2011

Busy Dr. Drew Drops Medical Director Job To Focus More on TV

Mad Men's Matt Weiner Sets Firm End Date: "That's How Long the Story Is"

Mad Men executive producer Matt Weiner says he's made up his mind: The critically acclaimed AMC drama will end its run after three more seasons."I think that's how long the story is," he tells TV Guide Magazine. "I'm not The Simpsons. They're amazing. I don't know how they do it. I look at TV shows that I admire, and I think this is the length that they should be. At a certain point you're driven to a desire not to repeat yourself. I want the show to end before the machinery has worn out."Weiner, who struck a deal Thursday with AMC and production company Lionsgate that keeps him at the helm of a fifth and sixth season (with the option for that seventh), says he was ready to throw in the towel several times in recent weeks...

Fri, Apr 1, 2011

Mad Men's Matt Weiner Sets Firm End Date: "That's How Long the Story Is"

Exclusive: NBC Imports Australian Host for Summer Reality Show Love in the Wild

NBC has tapped Australian TV personality Darren McMullen to host its new summer "adventure dating" show Love in the Wild. The show — a mashup of Survivor and The Bachelor, with a little Temptation Island sprinkled on top — follows ten single men and ten single women as they pair up each week to...

Wed, Mar 30, 2011

Exclusive: NBC Imports Australian Host for Summer Reality Show Love in the Wild