Channel Surfing: CBS Breaks Up with "Ex List," New "Daisies" for ABC This Week, Katee Sackhoff, "90210," and More
Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.Hope you weren't too attached to CBS' The Ex List. The Eye has pulled the low-performing drama off of its schedule, effective immediately, and will fill the Friday night timeslot with repeats of NCIS for now. Decision comes on the heels of yet another batch of low ratings for the drama (5.3 million viewers and 1.5/5) and the departure of showrunner Diane Ruggiero. No word on whether production will continue (series is currently shooting its eleventh episode) or whether CBS will air the produced episodes later down the line. My thought is that they won't be going to prom any time soon. (Variety)
Barack Obama's presidential campaign has decided not to enlist a full broadcast regime on Wednesday night, opting not to purchase the 8 pm air time on ABC, which will instead air an original episode of Pushing Daisies instead. I'm hoping that the fact that Daisies is one of the few series that will air original episodes in that timeslot (other than the CW's Top Model) will mean some more eyeballs tuning in. Fingers crossed. (Variety)
Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica), recently cast as the lead in NBC's procedural crime drama Lost and Found, will appear in an upcoming episode of NBC's Law & Order, which returns to the lineup on November 5th. (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)
Writer/director Luke Greenfield (The Girl Next Door) has set up two projects at the networks: ABC comedy My Mom is Hot, about a man whose newly divorced mother reenters the dating scene, from writer Duncan Birmingham (Greenfield will direct and executive produce with his mom, Beth Greenfield), and FOX comedy Broke Friends, about a naive Midwestern kid who moves to New York, where he moves in with two con men. The latter project comes from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia writers Sonny Lee and Patrick Walsh; Greenfield will again direct and executive produce. (Congrats, Sonny!) (Variety)
Megan Dodds (Spooks, a.k.a. MI-5) has signed a talent holding deal with 20th Century Fox, under which she will star in an upcoming one-hour series. Dodds recently starred in the courtroom dramedy pilot Courtroom K for the studio. (Hollywood Reporter)
Jennifer Lopez's Nuyorican Prods. have signed a first-look deal with Universal Media Studios, under which they will create a variety of TV projects for the studio. Company had previous sold a TV version of film Maid in Manhattan to ABC and Amigas to Disney Channel. (Variety)
Comedy Central has ordered an 11-minute pilot presentation for Secret Girlfriend, based on Fremantle's web series of the same name, about a twenty-something guy and his friends "'living the dream' in the pursuit of sex, beer and more sex.” (Broadcasting and Cable)
UK residents will be able to catch the antics of a new generation of Beverly Hills denizens next year: Channel 4 has outbit rival networks ITV, Five, and Living to acquire 90210, which it will air on C4 and E4 early next year. (Variety)
ABC Family has given a pilot order to drama Perfect 10, from writer/executive producer Holly Sorenson, about a group of teen gymnasts training for a shot at the Olympics. (TV Week)
Nina Lederman has been hired by Lifetime as SVP, series programming and development; she was previously the president of Joe Roth TV. (Variety)
Stay tuned.
Comments
There was a faint glimmer of hope in the last episode where Bella's old beau was "almost" going to remain in the picture - but they reverted to their old ways by having him leave anyway.
Too bad. If they would have just switched things up a little, I think it could have lasted.
But that ABC Family gymnast show? Woo!! That show was made for me. And yes. I am being completely serious.
So we're both kind of sad this one is getting the boot.