TV Envy | TV Envy

Bob Saget Lands Game Show Gig

Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Games, Prime Time, CBS, NBC, Talent,

Hoping to join the ranks of fellow comic Howie Mandel, whose Deal or No Deal has broken out of the stratosphere for ratings, Bob Saget has signed on to host 1 vs. 100 on NBC. Catchy title, huh? Well, the concept is that one contestant plays a game against 100 others. The show is set to air during the 2006-2007 season, although there’s no word on whether or not it will be paired with Deal. Craig Plestis, head of alternative programming at NBC said, “Bob is popular with audiences of all ages and is a perfect fit as host. His irreverent sense of humor and comedic timing will keep audiences laughing and glued to their TV sets as the drama of this high-stakes game unfolds.” The game show eliminates members of the group of 100 as they answer trivia questions incorrectly. Depending on how long the single player stays in the game, the prizes will increase in value. His latest endeavor is a parody called Farce of the Penguins, set to be released in 2007 (although I’m not clear on how you parody March of the Penguins); Saget is also the narrator on How I Met Your Mother.

Gallery: Bob Saget Lands Game Show Gig

NBC to Air Diff’rent Strokes Movie

Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Drama, NBC,

Diff'rent Strokes Diff’rent Strokes, the hit 1970s show about two Harlem orphans who were adopted by a rich businessman, will be the subject of a new NBC movie. The movie, titled Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Diff’rent Strokes, takes a behind-the scenes look at the show that aired from 1978 to 1986. Specifically, the movie looks at Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges and Dana Plato and the pitfalls of child stars. Coleman and Bridges appear in on-camera interviews, but sadly, Plato passed away in 1999, the result of an overdose/suicide attempt. I was watching one of those “child star” shows on E! the other day and saw an interview with Dana Plato—she addressed how her life had taken a downward turn as she battled drugs and alcohol. It was such a sad look at someone who was on top at a young age and lost it all. The movie hopes to shed more light on the rise and fall of childhood stars. The movie will air on Monday, September 4th.

Gallery: NBC to Air Diff’rent Strokes Movie

Chance of Survival for New Fall Shows

Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Drama, ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC,

James Woods_Shark If you’re like me, you can’t wait for the fall TV season to begin. The summer programming has grown tiresome—our favorite shows will soon return, as well as some freshman offerings. The Programming Insider has released their odds for survival for the new series, with 1-1 being a sure thing and 10-1 considered a long shot. The odds are calculated by looking at the time slot competition, lead-in show, the “current viewing climate” and the quality of the show.

Shark (CBS) – Thurs. 10 p.m.: 1-1
The Class (CBS) – Mon. 8 p.m.: 2-1
‘Til Death (Fox) – Thurs. 8 p.m.: 3-1
Brothers & Sisters (ABC) – Sun. 10 p.m.: 4-1
The Nine (ABC) – Wed. 10 p.m.: 4-1
Vanished (Fox) – Mon. 9 p.m.: 4-1
Day Break (ABC) – Wed. 10 p.m. (filling in for Lost beginning on Nov. 15): 5-1
Six Degrees (ABC) – Thurs. 10 p.m.: 5-1
Smith (CBS) – Wed. 10 p.m.: 5-1
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (NBC) – Mon. 10 p.m.: 5-1
Heroes (NBC) – Mon. 9 p.m.: 6-1
The Game (CW) – Sun. 8:30 p.m.: 7-1
The Knights of Prosperity (ABC) – Tues. 9 p.m.: 7-1
30 Rock (NBC) – Wed. 8:30 p.m.: 7-1
Stand-off (Fox) – Tues. 8 p.m.: 7-1
Twenty Good Years (NBC) – Wed. 8 p.m.: 7-1
Friday Night Lights (NBC) – Tues. 8 p.m.: 8-1
Happy Hour (Fox) – Thurs. 8:30 p.m.: 8-1
Help Me Help You (ABC) – Tues. 9:30 p.m.: 8-1
Justice (Fox) – Wed. 9 p.m.: 8-1
Kidnapped (NBC) – Wed. 10 p.m.: 8-1
Runaway (CW) – Mon. 9 p.m.: 8-1
Men In Trees (ABC) – Fri. 9 p.m.: 9-1
Ugly Betty (ABC) – Fri. 8 p.m.: 9-1
Big Day (ABC) – Thurs. 8 p.m.: 10-1
Jericho (CBS) – Wed. 8 p.m.: 10-1
Notes From the Underbelly (ABC) – Thurs. 8 p.m.: 10-1

Gallery: Chance of Survival for New Fall Shows

Three New Employees Join The Office

Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Prime Time, NBC, Daily Show, The, The Office,

Oh my, I don’t know if I can handle more characters on The Office. The cast is just too perfect… so what will happen when three new people join the payroll? I wouldn’t want them to spoil a great thing, but the new additions will certainly spice things up anyway. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ed Helms, of The Daily Show, and Charles “Chip” Esten, of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, will be series regulars. Rashida Jones, from Boston Public, will join the third season in a recurring role. Helms and Jones will be new employees, while Esten reprises his role as the regional manager from another Dunder-Mifflin branch (seen previously in the Valentine’s Day episode). Does that mean that Helms will be leaving his post at The Daily Show? If so, he will surely be missed—of course, reuniting with former Daily Show alum Steve Carell on one of the hottest shows on primetime isn’t such a bad deal.

Gallery: Three New Employees Join The Office

Zach Braff May Star in Upcoming Fletch Prequel

Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Prime Time, NBC, Scrubs, Talent,

Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence is on board to adapt and direct Fletch Won, a prequel to 1985’s Fletch, starring Chevy Chase. Lawrence’s top pick for the actor to play the young Fletch-ling? None other than Scrubs star, Zach Braff. Being a huge Braff fan (and ok, a fan of Fletch—who isn’t?), I couldn’t be happier about the news. If you recall, Fletch is the funny-guy investigative journalist made famous by Chase, and Braff should have no problem filling those shoes. The film will be based on Gregory Mcdonald’s comedy-mystery that follows reporter Irwin Fletcher on his first murder case. Lawrence is thrilled to take on the job, saying, “Like Batman Begins, I think people will enjoy seeing how Irwin Fletcher became Fletch. Not only can I recite the original Fletch movie line for line, I actually read all the Greg Mcdonald books as a kid. Consider me obsessed—I’m going to try as hard as I can not to screw this up.” In response to his determination to get Braff to star, Lawrence said, “Zach is perfect for the role. I’m going to use all my pull trying to make him do it.” And what perfect timing – Fletch Won is scheduled to begin shooting in April, during Scrubs’ hiatus.

Gallery: Zach Braff May Star in Upcoming Fletch Prequel

Last Comic, America’s Got Talent Renewed

Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Prime Time, NBC, Talent, Renewals,

NBC announced that it has ordered additional seasons of Last Comic Standing and America’s Got Talent, set to air in 2007. Last Comic will return next summer, while the second season of Talent promises a January midseason premiere, following the end of the NFL season. Says NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly, “Both of these series have been bright spots on the summer television landscape. We think they’ll be around for a long time.” Talent has definitely improved NBC’s summer ratings, ranking as the most watched original show of the season. The episodes average about 11.7 million viewers a week. Next month, the million-dollar winner will be announced. Similarly, NBC has seen good ratings for Last Comic, drawing about 8.2 million viewers per week. Personally, I tuned out pretty early on with both of these shows, but hey, somebody’s watching!

Gallery: Last Comic, America’s Got Talent Renewed

Tina Fey Resigns From SNL

Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Late Night, Prime Time, NBC, Saturday Night Live, News,

The rumors have come to fruition. Tina Fey is leaving Saturday Night Live to pursue her new gig on the NBC series 30 Rock, which premieres on October 11th. Fey has been with SNL since 1997, starting as a writer and becoming the first female head writer in 1999. Her role as co-anchor for the “Weekend Update” segment of the show began in 2000. During Fey’s appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Friday, she said, “The new show’s going to take a lot of time. I wanted to stop doing Saturday Night Live so I could spend more time with Star Jones.”

The plot of 30 Rock in many ways mirrors her role on SNL—she’ll play the head writer of a fictional late-night sketch show. So, not much of a stretch, I suppose… but she has a lot of great experience to work with. Fey told Leno, “This is the big leap I’m making, it’s a show about working at a late-night comedy show… I’m very creative.”

According to Lorne Michaels, executive producer of 30 Rock and SNL, they will test various individuals and duos in September to find a replacment for Fey on “Weekend Update.” “If you’re asking if I’m happy about it, no,” said Michaels. “Tina disappearing is a huge hole in the writing staff.”

Gallery: Tina Fey Resigns From SNL

Nobody’s Watching Gets a Second Chance

Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Prime Time, NBC, WB, Scrubs, Internet,

I love it. A failed sitcom pilot has been given a new life on the Internet. Nobody’s Watching, a sitcom that was previously passed on by both NBC and the WB was posted on YouTube in June. The show ended up getting a lot of attention and before you know it, hundreds of thousands of people were stopping by to check the pilot out. The show was created by Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence and two Family Guy writers, so there is an impressive comedic pedigree. Says NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly, “I love the spirit of the experimentation and I think if we can actually have something find an audience on the web, gravitate over to the network, continue with a web presence and have them feed each other, that could end up being a really cool thing.” To test the waters, Nobody’s Watching will continue online in a series of webisodes before airing on NBC. Look for the webisodes within the next month. At present, there is no guarantee that the pilot will ever make it to the small screen, but its online popularity could certainly improve its chances.

Gallery: Nobody’s Watching Gets a Second Chance

Madonna Concert to air on NBC in November

Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Music, Prime Time, Specials, NBC, Ratings,

Madonna Hoping to increase ratings, NBC is planning to air a two-hour Madonna concert in November. Madonna: The Confessions Tour Live will be taped in London’s Wembley Stadium this summer. Since Madonna shows are anything but squeaky clean, NBC is expected to tape the concert and edit the show for broadcast. Kevin Reilly, president of NBC Entertainment said, “She is going to do her show, and we will decide which numbers are in the (TV special) and which are not, and that is whole numbers. We are not going to make piecemeal edits.” NBC is currently ranked in fourth place among the four major U.S. broadcast networks, so the Madonna special could certainly bring in the numbers.

Gallery: Madonna Concert to air on NBC in November

Now Available from Netflix: NBC’s New Shows

Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Drama, Prime Time, NBC, Internet, News,

NBC announced that it will be offering a preview of two of their new shows to Netflix subscribers this summer. Taking a different approach to promoting their new series, NBC will offer Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and Kidnapped a full six weeks in advance of their fall premiere on the network. Netflix subscribers can view the first episodes of the shows, as well as previews for the other NBC series on the 2006/2007 lineup. It seems like it could be a fairly successful endeavor – with over 5 million Netflix subscribers out there, it’s likely that the response to these episodes will be favorable. The shows will be available on August 5th. Hey, it beats the marketing genius of promoting your network on eggs!

Gallery: Now Available from Netflix: NBC’s New Shows

Page 170 of 183 pages ‹ First < 168 169 170 171 172 > Last ›

Site Links

All About Gear Live

Gear Live Tools

Check out the Gear Live Touls that let you integrate Gear Live into your site.

Advertise

You can buy advertising on Gear Live through our advertising partner Federated Media.

Gear Live Social

Check us out on:

Gear Live Store

New! Get Gear Live hats, shirts, hoodies and more at the new GearLive Store, coming soon.

© Gear Live Media, LLC. 2007 – User-posted content, unless source is quoted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain License. Gear Live graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, videos, articles, blogs, forums, scripts and other service names are the trademarks of Gear Live Inc.

Welcome, Guest