The CW Steps Up to the Plate at TCA

THE PROGRAMMING INSIDERFriday, July 30, 2010 LIVE FROM THE SUMMER TELEVISION CRITICS ASSOCIATION PRESS TOUR IN BEVERLY HILLS, CA Showtime CW Executive Session:Dawn Ostroff On the CW Panel Front:Hellcats and Nikita Press Tour Tidbits:Notes of Interest On the Air This Weekend:Prime-Time Programming Options ______________________________________________________________________ Showtime The second day of The 2010 Summer Television Critics Association Press Tour began with Showtime at bat with a morning of panels on upcoming dark comedy The Big C, which will feature guest stars Liam Neeson and Cynthia Nixon, non-scripted The Real L World, returning Dexter, and upcoming comedy Episodes with former Friends star Matt LeBlanc. Highlights of note at the critically acclaimed, and growing pay cable network include: -More 2010 Emmy nominations for Showtime’s original series than any other premium network, including nods to Dexter, Nurse Jackie, Toni Collette, Edie Falco, Michael C. Hall and John Lithgow.-An increased subscriber base of over 18 million homes. -Upcoming theatricals like Inglorious Basterds, The Hurt Locker and Twilight Saga: New Moon.-Increased web traffic at Sho.com, including 31 million unique visitors and 25 million video viewers in 2009.-Approximately 8 million Facebook fans, including 3 million for Dexter. In addition, the fourth season of Californication will premiere on Monday, January 10, 2011 at 10:30 p.m. ET with guest stars Carla Gugino, Rob Lowe, Tommy Lee, Zoe Kravitz, Michael Ealy and Callie Thorne. Nurse Jackie and The United States of Tara have been renewed for third seasons, while Secret Diary of a Call Girl will conclude after the upcoming fourth season. New drama Shameless from producer John Wells, meanwhile, will open on Sunday, Jan. 9, while The Borgias, based on the infamous Italian Renaissance family, will begin next spring. In original web online programming news, Showtime has ordered 10 episodes of a half-hour comedy called Web Theory – Web Therapy, which is being developed from Lisa Kudrow’s Web comedy series. ______________________________________________________________________ CW Executive Session:Dawn Ostroff Mass appeal, no, but the positive news for The CW going into the 2010-11 season is its first fall line-up of all original programming (translation: no unnecessary repeat telecast of America’s Next Top Model) and a schedule focused it young female targeted demographic. According to CW President Dawn Ostroff: “As The CW enters its fifth year, we are well positioned for growth. We’ve made some strategic moves with our returning shows, and we are introducing two new shows this season in Hellcats and Nikita. They are both on brand for us, on target for our viewers, and we are very excited about them.” “As the first network born in the digital age, tapping into all of the different media platforms isn’t just part of our strategy, it’s actually in our DNA, influencing everything that we do,” added Ostroff. “We were the first network to use Twitter and Facebook to connect with our audience and talk about our shows. And what’s interesting is that now Facebook and Google meet with their clients and ask if they could use us as an example as to how they should be using the technology.” While The CW has successfully attracted a young female audience, not everything is a bed of roses, so to speak. 90210 and veteran One Tree Hill are not strong enough dramas to anchor Monday and Tuesday. Returning Life Unexpected is a critic favorite still in search of an audience. And aging hours America’s Next Top Model and Smallville have lost plenty of steam over the years. On the subject of sitcoms, or lack or it in the case of The CW, the network will debut Canadian produced 18 to Life, with back-to-back episodes beginning on August 3 from 9-10 p.m. “We don’t really develop comedies as a comedy department,” said Ostroff. “When we hear something that’s funny, we develop it. Sometimes it can fit as an hour. Sometimes we’ve developed half hours, but we do have a half-hour comedy coming on called 18 to Life in another week, and it’s a Canadian import. It’s charming. It’s single-camera film, a half-hour show, and if it does well, we’ll see where we go from there. But we’ve tried a lot of comedies before. What we’ve really been doing is developing shows that have a lot of comedy in.” Coming up this season will be a season of America’s Next Top Model focusing on the high fashion world, the 200th episode of Smallville, and Gossip Girl in Paris for the first few episodes. As for Ostroff’s take on the departure of Steve McPherson at ABC: “We all live in these jobs, and I always say they’re rented chairs. It’s a rented seat. And I think it’s just part of this business is — you know, I’ve been sitting in here for nine years. I’ve seen a lot of people who have come and go from these jobs and a lot of people who I really respect a lot, and everybody comes and goes for different reasons. So unfortunately for us, it’s not that unusual.” ______________________________________________________________________ On the CW Panel Front: Hellcats Wednesday 9 p.m. -The Premise:The world of competitive college cheerleading is the focus of this ensemble drama. The cast includes Aly Michalka, Ashley Tisdale, Ben Browder, Elena Esovolova, Gail O'Grady, Heather Hemmens, Matt Barr, Robbie Jones and Sharon Leal. -Lead-in: America’s Next Top Model -Competition: Modern Family (ABC) and Cougar Town (ABC), Criminal Minds (CBS), Law & Order: SVU (NBC), Hell’s Kitchen (Fox) -Who Was on the Panel:Aly Michaelka, Ashley Tinsdale; and executive producers Kevin Murphy and Tom Welling. -The Scoop:Kevin Murphy on the comparisons to Fox’s Glee: “The dancing is a huge component of the show, but it exists very much with one foot in the world of the characters because I think that nobody is going to tune in to the show to watch the awesome three minutes of dancing that we are going to provide. They are going to tune in because they really care about what’s going on with Marti and her law career and what’s going on with the relationship between the two central girls and the family relationships. That’s really, I think, where the show – the sweet spot where the show lives. I would never have the temerity to try to compete with Glee in terms of razzle dazzle and music things and, you know, all of that. It’s just that they’ve got that territory pretty well staked out.” -The Reality:On paper, drama Hellcats looks perfectly compatible out of America’s Next Top Model, with this tale of college cheerleaders of potential interest to the target young female audience. Plus, the lead-in support form Top Model will certainly not hurt. But nothing the network has tried out of Tyra Banks and company has worked in recent years (think The Beautiful Life, High Society, Fly Girls and Stylista). And the competition (ABC’s Modern Family and CBS’ Criminal Minds, in particular) is fierce. As pretty as this looks, finding an audience could be an uphill battle for Hellcats. -Chance of Survival for Mike & Hellcats (Based on a scale of 1-1 to 10-1):8-1 -Did You Know?:Scripted TV series focused models have never been successful. And this goes back to drama Paper Dolls in 1984, followed by 1989 sitcom Living Dolls (a spin-off from Who’s the Boss? with Waltons Mama Michael Learned), 1994 Melrose Place spin-off Model’s Inc. and fall 2009 clinker The Beautiful Life. --------------- NikitaThursday 9 p.m. -The Premise:Based on the franchise, Maggie Q (Mission Impossible III) plays a spy and assassin for a top U.S. government agency who will stop at nothing to bring their powerful operation to an end. The cast includes Melinda Clarke, Lyndsy Fonseca, Ashton Holmes, Tiffany Hines, Aaron Stanford and Shane West. -Lead-in: The Vampire Diaries -Competition: Grey’s Anatomy (ABC), CSI (CBS), The Office (NBC) and Outsourced (NBC), Fringe (Fox) -Who Was on the Panel:Maggie Q, Shane West; and executive producers Craig Silverstein and McG. -The Scoop:Maggie Q on the action genre: “When I was living and working in Asia, at the time Jackie was looking for these new young people to star in movies that he was producing, not starring in, but producing. So his team of guys trained me when I was very young in different disciplines. They sort of — they broke me basically and sort of molded me. They gave me my introduction. I wouldn’t say they taught me everything at all because I have to tell you, once I got to Hollywood, I feel like that’s when I really got into the action genre because I felt like the people here — we really got the time to focus on things when we’re booked for a project. They were very serious. They’re like, “Listen, we’re going to train you from the ground up. This is how we’re going to make you real.” So it does become very real. You can’t fake this stuff. You either know it, or you don’t.” -The Reality:Once upon a time Thursday was the most competitive hour in primetime, with Grey’s Anatomy and CSI together bringing in about 40 million viewers and NBC’s The Office a solid player among adults 18-49. But the competition has fallen and lead-in The Vampire Diaries is a solid attraction for The CW’s target young female audience. While nothing, of course, is a sure thing, action packed Nikita is a definite option. -Chance of Survival for Nikita (Based on a scale of 1-1 to 10-1):4-1 -Did You Know?:Nikita is The CW’s first female-driven action adventure and the first time Supernatural will not be airing in the Thursday 9 p.m. hour in five seasons. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Press Tour Tidbits:Notes of Interest -Ellen DeGeneres to Exit American Idol:Ellen DeGeneres has announced her resignation from Fox’s American Idol after only one season on the long-running reality/competition. “A couple months ago, I let Fox and the American Idol producers know that this didn’t feel like the right fit for me,” said DeGeneres in a prepared statement. “I told them I wouldn’t leave them in a bind and that I would hold off on doing anything until they were able to figure out where they wanted to take the panel next. It was a difficult decision to make, but my work schedule became more than I bargained for. I also realized this season that while I love discovering, supporting and nurturing young talent, it was hard for me to judge people and sometimes hurt their feelings. I loved the experience working on Idol and I am very grateful for the year I had. I am a huge fan of the show and will continue to be.” “We love Ellen and understand and support her decision to bow out of Idol,” responded Peter Rice, Chairman of Entertainment, Fox Networks Group. “We were fortunate to receive the humor, energy and love for talent that she brought to the show.” “It was a joy to work with Ellen,” added Mike Darnell, President of Alternative Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company. “She brought an incredible spirit to Idol and was a great new addition to the team. While we’re saddened by her decision, we are very appreciative that she gave us ample notice so that we could work through it together.” With Simon Cowell also exiting, only Randy Jackon and Kara DioGuardi remain in the judging chairs. There is no word at present if American Idol will return to the three judge formula or look for a second replacement. ---------- -Showtime Panel Highlights: Laura Linney speaking about upcoming dark comedy The Big C: “When this script came to me, what hit me the most was the theme of time and what do you do with time, what are the choices that we make, how we spend our time, the fact that we all have a limited amount and that it’s a privilege to grow old. And that’s something that I think a lot of people have forgotten in this very fast-paced world where youth is overly celebrated, I think. So it was meaningful to me. It was more what the whole story was about more than just the wonderful character that’s there. Clearly, I thought The Big C was something that I could spend some time with and would be challenged by. But, more than anything else, it’s more, for me, about time.” ----- -Producer Ilene Chaiken on the casting of docudrama The Real L World: “We had some notion about representation, about a particular swath of women from a very diverse community. We’re clearly not purporting to represent every lesbian on the face of the earth or the entire lesbian community, and The L Word has a particular meaning. We wanted to cast women who in some ways spoke about the same thing that the The L Word spoke about. Beyond that, I learned about how important it is to be open to let people come in and tell their stories to you. And you learn things and you meet people you never anticipated, and then we made choices based on who we thought would have something really to say.” ----- -Dexter star Michael C. Hall on the topic of serial murder: “I don’t, you know, lose sleep over the possibility that I’m advocating serial murder through my work, you know. I mean, I think it’s undeniably relatable. Dexter is killing people. Most of us probably live in L.A. or spend time here in traffic, things like that. I mean, we get that impulse. But, I’m proud of the show. I feel like it’s more a meditation on the nature of morality, of our shadow side.” ----- -Upcoming Episodes star Matt LeBlanc on life after Joey Tribbiani on Friends and spin-off Joey: “Well, there were a few network shows that came and went that crossed my desk, and I said no to. I just took the time — you know, 12 years, every day, was a lot. It was a great time, but I wanted to take some time off and spend time with my daughter and just sort of take some time away from the business. It’s nice to be back with writing that I have real faith in, with, you know, a cast that’s really talented, and it was a lot of fun. It was a little different. This is single camera versus multi-camera in front of an audience. So, when the punch lines came up and you say the punch line and there’s no crowd laughing, it’s a little unnerving.” On the Air This Weekend:Prime-Time Programming Options Friday 7/30/10 ABC: 8:00 p.m. Wife Swap 9:00 p.m. Primetime: What Would You Do? (R)10:00 p.m. 20/20 CBS: 8:00 p.m. 48 Hours Mystery (R) 9:00 p.m. Medium (R)10:00 p.m. Flashpoint NBC: 8:00 p.m. Friday Night Lights 9:00 p.m. Dateline (two hours) Fox: 8:00 p.m. House (R) 9:00 p.m. Bones (R) CW: 8:00 p.m. Smallville (R ) 9:00 p.m. Supernatural (R) --------------- Saturday 7/31/10 ABC: 8:00 p.m. Movie: Flightplan (R)10:00 p.m. Rookie Blue (R) CBS: 8:00 p.m. Cold Case (R) 9:00 p.m. CSI (R)10:00 p.m. 48 Hours Mystery (R) NBC: 8:00 p.m. Persons Unknown 9:00 p.m. Law & Order: Criminal (originally aired on USA)10:00 p.m. Law & Order: Criminal Intent (originally aired on USA) Fox: 8:00 p.m. Cops (original and repeat) 9:00 p.m. America’s Most Wanted --------------- Sunday 8/01/10 ABC: 7:00 p.m. America’s Funniest Home Videos (R) 8:00 p.m. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (R) 9:00 p.m. Scoundrels 10:00 p.m. The Gates CBS: 7:00 p.m. 60 Minutes 8:00 p.m. Big Brother 9:00 p.m. Undercover Boss (R)10:00 p.m. The Good Wife (R) NBC: 7:00 p.m. Dateline (two hours) 8:00 p.m. Law & Order: Criminal Intent (originally aired on USA) 9:00 p.m. America’s Got Talent (R, two hours) Fox: 7:00 p.m. Sons of Tucson 7:30 p.m. American Dad (R) 8:00 p.m. The Simpsons (R) 8:30 p.m. The Cleveland Show (R) 9:00 p.m. Family Guy (R) 9:30 p.m. Family Guy (R) ____________________________________________________________________________ Coming Up on Monday: NBC and ABC at TCA

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The CW Steps Up to the Plate at TCA

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