CBS Cancels 'CSI: Miami,' 'Rob' & 'NYC 22,' Renews 'CSI:NY'
Mad Men Recap: "Mad Money"
six degrees
Report: ABC puts Six Degrees on hiatus
Entertainment Weekly's web site is reporting that ABC is pulling the troubled show Six Degrees from the schedule for the remainder of November and all of December.The series, produced by J.J. Abrams, has been in trouble ever since its premiere in the post-Grey's Anatomy slot on Thursday nights, losing over half of it's lead-in's audience. To date, the show has been averaging 9.6 million viewers, which puts it 45th amongst prime-time shows. It has also received a critical drubbing, with many critics calling it boring and self-indulgent. No word on when or if the show will come back to the schedule, or what will replace it in its current timeslot.
This just goes to show that you don't lose half the audience of the number-one show on TV and survive very long, no matter who is producing your show. ABC may have given it a longer leash because of the Abrams pedigree, but the bad ratings were too much for it to ignore.
(UPDATE: According to Variety, ABC will put Men In Trees in the Thursday at 10 timeslot, starting November 30. It has also given Trees a full-season order.)
What's on tonight: The Office, Supernatural, The O.C., Freak Show
At 8, ABC has a new Ugly Betty, followed by new episodes of Grey's Anatomy and Six Degrees. - CBS has a new Survivor, then new episodes of CSI and Shark.
- NBC has new eps of My Name Is Earl, The Office, Deal Or No Deal, and ER.
- FOX has a new 'Til Death at 8, followed by new episodes of Happy Hour and The O.C.
- There's a new Smallville on The CW at 8, then a new Supernatural.
- Also at 8: FX has Jim Carrey in Me, Myself & Irene (excellent soundtrack).
- At 9, Sundance has a new Iconoclasts, with Mikhail Baryshnikov and Alice Waters.
- Food Network has a new Throwdown with Bobby Flay at 10.
- At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Freak Show.
Out of the Blogosphere
TV Newser has a preview of an upcoming interview that Larry King did with Details magazine. - That cartoon Donald Trump is going to do? There already was one.
- Lots of good stuff over at Ken Levine's pad, including memories of writer Jerry Belson and the script of a scene from the 80s show Mary.
- TV Guide's Surfer Girl doesn't like 1 vs. 100.
- Do you like a new show that isn't doing too well, like Studio 60, Six Degrees, or The Nine? Kristin over at E! Online wants you to help Save Your New Fave.
American TV is as popular as ever in Europe
If you've been to Europe at any time over the last five years, you'll know that the United States isn't particularly popular over there. Besides the fact that they think we act like ugly tourists who don't know that "raw ham and cheese" is called "prosciutto and mozzarella," residents of many European nations aren't big fans of President Bush or his policies.But they do love our TV. And according to The New York Times, American TV is as popular in Europe as ever, with shows like the Lost, Grey's Anatomy, the various CSIs, House, Monk, and even Six Degrees popping up on primary broadcast channels all over the continent. American TV is so popular that the UK independent Channel Five is starting a new digital channel called Five US, which will show nothing but American programming. The resurgence is due to a combination of higher-quality product from the U.S. and lower production budgets in Europe, says the Times article.
The last time American TV was so popular in the Old Country? The '80s, when the most popular U.S. shows were Dynasty, Dallas, and The Dukes of Hazzard. At least Europeans have better taste these days.
Jakob Dylan writing music for Six Degrees
The lead singer for the Wallflowers (and son of Bob) is writing music for the new ABC show, Six Degrees. More specifically, it's J.J. Abrams' newest show about six random people whose lives cross paths. Dylan performed the show's theme song, "Here Comes Now", and you can hear it this Thursday when episode two of Six Degrees airs on ABC at 10pm. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dylan is hard at work writing more music to fit with the overall tone of the show.In a world where music is becoming increasingly important on television shows, this could put the Wallflowers back on the map. They had a couple big hits a few years ago but haven't seen much mainstream attention for a while. Then again, he's a Dylan so maybe he's just doing what he likes and, right now, that happens to be Six Degrees.
So, what the heck are you watching tonight?
Wow, what a crazy night for television.
At 8, we not only have the season premiere a recap episode of Grey's Anatomy but we also have the season premieres of My Name Is Earl and The Office. Plus, CBS has a new Survivor at 8, while FOX has new eps of 'Til Death and Happy Hour (if you are, um, watching those shows). Then, at 9, FOX has a new Celebrity Duets, the Grey's season premiere on ABC, the season premiere of CSI on CBS, and a new Deal Or No Deal on NBC.
But wait! At 10, we have the season premiere of ER on NBC, while CBS has the series premiere of Shark and ABC has the season premiere of Six Degrees. Jeez. I tink everyone's TiVo is going to explode at once (and we haven't even mentioned PBS and what's on cable).
What are you watching tonight?
Bob's Fall TV Schedule
So many new shows to watch, so many old shows to keep watching. But one - even someone who writes about TV for a living - has to draw the line somewhere. So, right off the bat, I've decided to no longer watch Survivor, American Idol and ER. And I won't miss them.
Here's what I will be watching this season, and what I'll TiVo:
Sunday: 60 Minutes at 7pm, then The Simpsons at 8, then I'll watch Family Guy at 9.
Monday: I'll give The Class a shot at 8, then Heroes at 9, followed by Studio 60 at 10.
Which new show are you most looking forward to?
Over at TV.com they're doing a special poll to see which new shows readers are most looking forward to. So what do you think is the #1 show?
Nope. It's Six Degrees.
All I can guess is that people with an interest in the show are clicking and clicking and clicking. Either that, or I completely underestimate the power of having J.J. Abrams' name on a project.
The other top shows on the list are 30 Rock, Ugly Betty, Studio 60, and Brothers and Sisters. Take a look and see what show got what numbers. And let us know in the comments below the one show you're most looking forward to.
For me, it's Studio 60.
[thanks to Jason]
The Boston Globe rates the new shows
Matthew Gilbert has an interesting article in The Boston Globe, about the new season of shows and how TV shows are now more complicated than ever (but that's a good thing). Not just returning shows like 24 and Lost, but new complex series like DayBreak, Kidnapped, and Vanished.
One page that the print edition of the Globe has that the web site doesn't (at least I couldn't find it) is Gilbert's grades for all the new shows. Quick summary: he thinks the best new shows are The Nine, Studio 60, Heroes, Six Degrees, Smith, The Knights of Prosperity, and Justice. The worst are Happy Hour, Twenty Good Years, and Help Me Help You.
The Upfronts: ABC
ABC released its 2006-07 prime-time schedule this morning during a press conference conducted by Steve McPherson, president of ABC Entertainment (at 8 AM no less... those executives like to catch the early news cycles, don't they?), which I sleepily attended by phone. The changes in brief:Returning: Grey's Anatomy, Lost, Desperate Housewives, Dancing with the Stars, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Boston Legal, The Bachelor, Supernanny, What About Brian, According to Jim, America's Funniest Home Videos, American Inventor, George Lopez, Wife Swap, 20/20, Primetime (limited specials).
Out: Invasion, Sons & Daughters, Less Than Perfect, Hope & Faith, Rodney, Commander-In-Chief (although that may return as a two-hour movie), Freddie, In Justice, Emily's Reasons Why Not, Crumbs, Hot Properties, Jake in Progress, Alias, The Evidence, Miracle Workers.
New: Betty the Ugly, Big Day, Brothers & Sisters, Day Break, Help Me Help You, In Case of Emergency, Greg Behrendt's Wake-Up Call, Just for Laughs, Let's Rob..., Men in Trees, The Nine, Notes from the Underbelly, Set for the Rest of Your Life, Six Degrees, Traveler, ABC Saturday Night College Football.
Moving: Grey's Anatomy (to Thursdays at 9), Dancing with the Stars (to Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8), According to Jim / George Lopez (to Wednesdays at 8 when Dancing isn't on).
Detailed descriptions of the new shows (and some notes on the schedule) after the jump.
ABC picks up 3 dramas, 3 sitcoms
Ahead of next week's Upfronts, where the networks lay out their fall schedules, ABC has announced it's picking up a handful of new dramas and sitcoms for next fall. Also, NBC is expected to pick up Tina Fey's new comedy and put it on Thursday nights. Oh, and NBC canceled Teachers. Shocker.Details, details, details on ABC's pick-ups:
- The Nine, a drama following the aftermath of hostages in a bank robbery;
- Six Degrees, a drama about six strangers brought together by mysterious circumstances (Identity meets Lost?);
- Day Break, a drama starring Taye Diggs as a cop who tries to figure out who tried to kill him;
- In Case of Emergency, a comedy starring David Arquette, Greg Germann and Jonathan Silverman as a group of high school buddies who reunite when their lives intersect in some sort of comedic way;
- Help Me Help You, a comedy starring Ted Danson as a troubled celebrity shrink;
- Notes from the Underbelly, a comedy about how the life of a couple changes as they're expecting their first child.
It's pilot season in LA
'Tis the season to kiss television networks' butts. January is a big month in Los Angeles, when writers and producers
are pitching their show ideas to all the networks. This week, networks placed their orders for a whole bunch of new
dramas, including some created by well-knowns such as J.J. Abrams and Ridley and Tony Scott. Here is a list of some
shows we know about so far:- Six Degrees, J.J. Abrams (Lost, Alias),
ABC: stories of six strangers in New York intertwine.
- Jericho, Jon Turteltaub, CBS: social,
psychological, physical chaos ensue when a small town is cut off from the rest of the world after a nuclear
disaster.
- Orpheus, Ridley & Tony Scott, CBS: a man's girlfriend is involved in a
cult.
- Faceless, Joe Carnahan, FOX: prosecutor goes undercover to an underworld organization
(a prosecutor?).
- Heroes, Tim Kring, NBC: everyday people discover they have super hero
powers.
- Seeing Red, Graham Yost, NBC: a cop talks to dead people to solve cases.
- Untitled Alicia Keys project, Alicia Keys, UPN: inspired by the life of Alicia Keys, the show is about a 24-year-old musician who grew up in Hell's Kitchen.
- Underfunded, David Breckman & Rob Abrash, USA: a brilliant agent for the Canadian Secret Service solves cases despite the agency's severe lack of funding.
[Via The Hollywood Reporter]
TV Squad Hot Topics
Most Popular Articles
From Our Partners
- Chris Hayes apologizes for not calling fallen soldiers 'heroes'
- Bethenny Frankel teases 'Bethenny Ever After' Season 3 finale
- 'Hemingway & Gellhorn's' Clive Owen: 'He was in my head every day'
- 'Hatfields & McCoys' Kevin Costner: 'Life is all about whose pig it is'
- Zap2it Awards: Nina Dobrev vs Sarah Michelle Gellar and more for Best Actor Playing Two Characters
- More From Zap2it
- Eye on Emmy: Sons of Anarchy's Charlie Hunnam on Jax's Evolution and His Real Stance on Awards
- What to Watch: The TVLine-Up for Monday
- Mad Men Recap: A Woman's Worth
- The Idol (Less) Rich: For Jessica Sanchez, No Guaranteed Album Deal, Likely Smaller Payday
- What to Watch: The TVLine-Up for Sunday
- More From TVLine
