Skip to main content

Network Notes: CBS to Mind "Mentalist," While ABC Reups "Jim"?

Despite comments made yesterday by CBS topper Les Moonves that pilots were "overrated" and that he would vow to do fewer expensive pilots, CBS announced its first post-WGA strike pilot order.

The Eye has handed out a pilot order to The Mentalist, about a psychic who works as an independent detective in concert with the police, using his unique skills to solve crimes.

Project, from Warner Bros. Television, is written and executive produced by Bruno Heller (Rome). David Nutter (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) is said to be in negotiations to direct the pilot and come on board as an executive producer.

* * *

Meanwhile, ABC is circling According to Jim... yet again. The beleaguered sitcom appears to have nine lives: after it fell off of ABC's fall schedule last May, the network then ordered 18 episodes a month later.

Once again, ABC is deliberating about whether to put the sitcom out to pasture or to bring it back for yet another season. The Hollywood Reporter is quick to point out that, while ratings are way down on the series, studio ABC Television makes a mint from syndication sales for the sitcom, which appears to have run about 3000 episodes. Or at least it seems that way to me.

* * *

Elsewhere at the Alphabet, Miss/Guided will finally launch next month after lingering in the limbo section of the network's lineup.

Series, which stars Judy Greer as a hapless wannabe who returns to her high school alma mater as a guidance counselor but still can't fit in, is scheduled to launch on March 18th at 10:30 pm, immediately following the season premiere of Dancing with the Stars.

Miss/Guided will then move to its regular timeslot on Thursdays at 8 pm later that week, where it will air back-to-back episodes.

* * *

Finally, the writers strike has claimed its first official casualty: NBC's long-running drama Las Vegas will not resume production now that the strike has ended.

NBC has decided not to restart shooting the series, currently in its fifth season, despite having its last original installment end on a "to be continued."

Ouch.

Comments

LB said…
Hmmm... will the "The Mentalist" be CBS's "Psych" or "Medium"?

Jace, what do you hear about "Miss/Guided"? I really want to like it, but ABC certainly hasn't treated it well and I know it was held off the Fall schedule to allow for some tweaking.
Jace Lacob said…
LB, I saw a cut of the pilot last May and, no offense to Caroline Williams or Judy Greer, but it was ghastly. Let's hope the additional months have helped them perform some major fixes...
Ugh. Another show about a psychic detective? And more According to Jim? As Gob Bluth would say... "COME, ON!"

On a brighter note, the Bruno Heller pilot has potential. I'm still desperately missing Rome.
Anonymous said…
watch the original...NBC's Psych!
there's a reason it's in it's third season. Psych is a Great show! CBS...how sad!

Popular posts from this blog

Katie Lee Packs Her Knives: Breaking News from Bravo's "Top Chef"

The android has left the building. Or the test kitchen, anyway. Top Chef 's robotic host Katie Lee Joel, the veritable "Uptown Girl" herself (pictured at left), will NOT be sticking around for a second course of Bravo's hit culinary competition. According to a well-placed insider, Joel will "not be returning" to the show. No reason for her departure was cited. Unfortunately, the perfect replacement for Joel, Top Chef judge and professional chef Tom Colicchio, will not be taking over as the reality series' host (damn!). Instead, the show's producers are currently scouring to find a replacement for Joel. Top Chef 's second season was announced by Bravo last month, but no return date has been set for the series' ten-episode sophomore season. Stay tuned as this story develops. UPDATE (6/27): Bravo has now confirmed the above story .

BuzzFeed: Meet The TV Successor To "Serial"

HBO's stranger-than-fiction true crime documentary The Jinx   — about real estate heir Robert Durst — brings the chills and thrills missing since Serial   wrapped up its first season. Serial   obsessives: HBO's latest documentary series is exactly what you've been waiting for.   The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst , like Sarah Koenig's beloved podcast, sifts through old documents, finds new leads from fresh interviews, and seeks to determine just what happened on a fateful day in which the most foul murder was committed. And, also like  Serial  before it,  The Jinx may also hold no ultimate answer to innocence or guilt. But that seems almost beside the point; such investigations often remain murky and unclear, and guilt is not so easy a thing to be judged. Instead, this upcoming six-part tantalizing murder mystery, from director Andrew Jarecki ( Capturing the Friedmans ), is a gripping true crime story that unfolds with all of the speed of a page-turner; it

BuzzFeed: "The Good Wife Is The Best Show On Television Right Now"

The CBS legal drama, now in its sixth season, continually shakes up its narrative foundations and proves itself fearless in the process. Spoilers ahead, if you’re not up to date on the show. At BuzzFeed, you can read my latest feature, " The Good Wife Is The Best Show On Television Right Now," in which I praise CBS' The Good Wife and, well, hail it as the best show currently on television. (Yes, you read that right.) There is no need to be delicate here: If you’re not watching The Good Wife, you are missing out on the best show on television. I won’t qualify that statement in the least — I’m not talking about the best show currently airing on broadcast television or outside of cable or on premium or however you want to sandbox this remarkable show. No, the legal drama is the best thing currently airing on any channel on television. That The Good Wife is this perfect in its sixth season is reason to truly celebrate. Few shows embrace complexity and risk-taking in t