Finally, an employment crisis this TV Addict can get behind. Yes, ABC has put the brakes on the upcoming debut of LET’S DANCE, a reality show that was to be hosted by original D-Lister Kathy Griffin and was to feature “Celebrities” re-creating famous dance routines. According to the Live Feed, “Sources say the network had difficulty casting the series.” And while we’re slightly disappointed over the fact that Kathy Griffin — whose penchant for shamelessly plugging her book in between putting celebrities in their place never seems to grow old — will be out of a job. We’re not gonna lie, there is something oddly satisfying with regards to the idea that the American job market for once-famous-has-beens might be drying up. Even if it’s only a teensy little bit.
You’ve seen the commercials. You’ve heard the hype. Now there’s only one thing you want to know: Which of the new fall shows are worth watching and which should be avoided at all costs? In this continuing series, we give you the scoop on some of the most highly-anticipated shows of the season. Which will be the next GREY’S ANATOMY… and which will be the new JOEY? Next up, proof that ABC’s comedy development paid off with a first look at MODERN FAMILY.
Why We’ll Watch: Shot in the now all too familiar documentary style, MODERN FAMILY is ABC’s answer to THE OFFICE and what you get when you marry a ridiculously smart script from veteran scribes Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd (JUST SHOOT ME, BACK TO YOU) with a cast of immensely likable actors including Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell (Who play a married couple with three kids), Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet (Playing a gay couple on their way home from Vietnam having just adopted a baby) and Ed O’Neill and Sofa Vergara (Who play newlyweds with more than a few years in between them).
An attempt to make sense of ABC’s “thrilling limited series” IMPACT (debuts Sunday at 9 p.m. est and concludes the following Sunday) would be to court serious depression. Running three hours over two nights, it’s so impressively horrible that there just isn’t enough room here to detail all of its failures.
Like many an Apocalypse Cometh TV movies, it opens calmly: people around the world gather in their backyards to witness a meteor shower seen only every 10,000 years. Among these meteors is a brown dwarf, or dead star, which unceremoniously crashes into the moon, sending debris our way and the moon off its natural orbit. It is later discovered by Dr. Maddie Rhodes (ELI STONE’s exceptionally wooden Natasha Hentrsidge) that the moon is set to crash into the earth – and wipe us all out – in 39 days.
At 9PM eastern standard time, ACCORDING TO JIM will illicit its last laugh (or lack-their of) after eight years of refusing to die. And in honor of this momentous occasion, theTVaddict.com thought it might be fun (or as it turns out, incredibly depressing) to look at what could have been as we present our list of shows that ACCORDING TO JIM outlived. Some good (8 SIMPLE RULES), some bad (BOB PATTERSON), but all with one thing in common. According to us, they were all more deserving of a spot on the schedule than JIM*
THE DEEP END According to the official ABC description: Sterling Law is one of L.A.’s most prestigious law firms. Each year it recruits four new young lawyers from the finest law schools worldwide. It will nurture, guide and shape these recruits into the best damned lawyers they can possibly be — or else.
According to this TV Addict: It’s GREY’S ANATOMY meets L.A. LAW. Which is something we’d usually be far more critical of, except for the fact that these lawyers include JACK & BOBBY’S Matt Long! VERONICA MARS’ Tina Majorino! TITANIC’s Billy Zane! And Broadway’s Norbert Leo Butz! (TV Addict note: Gratuitous use of exclamation marks denotes our off-the-charts level of excitement for this series)
This morning Stephen McPherson, ABC Entertainment Group president, revealed ABC’s plans for next season and unveiled the network’s 2009-10 fall schedule. Plans that can be summed up in four words: A Bet on Comedy (ABC, get it?)
Adding to the already solid lineup which include the inexplicable ratings juggernaut that is DANCING WITH THE STARS, CASTLE, GREY’S ANATOMY, PRIVATE PRACTICE, UGLY BETTY, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES and BROTHERS & SISTERS are a slew of high profile new Wednesday night comedies which include Kelsey Grammer’s HANK, Patricia Heaton’s THE MIDDLE, Ed O’Neill’s MODERN FAMILY and Courteney Cox’s COUGAR TOWN. Also on for the fall is the Jerry Bruckheimer procedural THE FORGOTTEN, the high concept sci-fi series FLASH FORWARD and EASTWICK based on the popular movie THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK.
Being held for midseason are returning favorites LOST, SCRUBS, BETTER OFF TED and THE BACHELOR alongside new offerings V (a re-boot of the 80’s classic) and HAPPY TOWN (a small town murder mystery from the brains behind LIFE ON MARS and OCTOBER ROAD).
Full schedule after the jump with “Snap Judgements” following ABC’s upfront presentation later in the day.
It’s May, which in case you didn’t know in TV land is kind of a big deal. Not only does it signify the end of the official television season, with the big five networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX and the CW) beginning to roll out their big finales (see: our May 2009 calendar.) It also just so happens to be the start of something new. With next week marking the official start of the 2009 UpFronts where ABC, CBS, FOX, CW and NBC will unveil their fall schedule to advertisers at their annual UpFront Presentation.
But before they do, theTVAddict.com editorial team, led by our very own Ken-Tucker-in-training Aleks Chan will be posting our wish list for what we’d like to see announced.
Taking much of the excitement and suspense out of next month’s annual Upfront, ABC announced today that they are picking up 12 of their current shows for next season. Which means actors on UGLY BETTY, GREY’S ANATOMY, PRIVATE PRACTICE, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, BROTHERS & SISTERS and LOST can relax and breath a big sigh of relief (Yes, we’re talking to you @michaelurie)
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the likes of veteran stars such as Nathan Fillion, Christina Applegate, Bob Saget, Bobby Cannivale, Megan Mullally and Harold Perrineau — all of whom will have to wait until ABC’s May 19th presentation in New York City to discover the official fate of SCRUBS, BETTER OFF TED, SAMANTHA WHO, IN THE MOTHERHOOD, THE UNUSUALS, CASTLE, SURVIVING SUBURBIA and CUPID.
Having no life is finally about to pay off! Thanks to today’s announcement courtesy of ABC that the remaining episodes of some of your favorite brilliant-but-cancelled series will burn off their final batch of episodes throughout the summer on Saturdays at 10PM. With PUSHING DAISIES airing on Saturday May 30th through Saturday June 13 at 10PM, ELI STONE airing from June 20 through July 11, and DIRTY SEXY MONEY from July 18 through August 8.
This morning Stephen McPherson, ABC Entertainment Group president, revealed ABC’s plans for next season and unveiled the network’s 2009-10 fall schedule. Plans that can be summed up in four words: A Bet on Comedy (ABC, get it?)
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