Alison Brie

Following the early renewal handed out to ‘Parks and Recreation,’ NBC has renewed the remaining comedies of their Thursday comedy block.

Freshman comedy ‘Community’ produced by Universal Media Studios in association with Sony Pictures and veteran Universal Media Studios pair ‘The Office’ and ‘30 Rock’ will all be back in fall 2010.

“We are happy to give these early pickups to these critically acclaimed, incredibly funny comedies,” said Angela Bromstad, NBC entertainment president. “As a result, we look forward to continuing our rewarding partnership with the respective creative teams and talented show-runners for ‘30 Rock,’ ‘The Office’ and ‘Community’ as they all consistently deliver quality shows.”

Despite these pick ups, NBC has up to ten comedies in the works, so if the Thursday block remains NBC must be planning for another comedy block which can only be good news for fans of comedy.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Erica Durance and Tom Welling

The CW has renewed ‘Smallville’ for a tenth and possibly final season.

Recently, The CW renewed ‘The Vampire Diaries,’ ‘Gossip Girl,’ ‘90210,’ ‘Supernatural’ and ‘America’s Next Top Model’ but absent from the list was veteran ‘Smallville’.

According to a number of sources, the delay was due to talks with the cast and crew.

Now a deal has been struck and The CW has confirmed that ‘Smallville’ will be returning this fall.

Following its move to Fridays this fall, a timeslot The CW has usually struggled with, the show has performed solidly and developed a loyal following.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

'The Vampire Diaries' returning for a second season.

The CW has announced five series from its 2009/2010 line up will return for 2010/2011. ‘The Vampire Diaries,’ ‘America’s Next Top Model,’ ‘Supernatural,’ ‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘90210′ will all return in fall 2010 as The CW attempts to settle on their 2010/2011 line up ahead of the May upfronts.

The renewal of ‘The Vampire Diaries’ and ‘America’s Next Top Model’ comes as no surprise despite the latter fading quickly. ‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘90210,’ Dawn’s babies, were sure bets because of president – Dawn Ostroff’s continual public praise but ‘Supernatural’ was a surprise. There have been a number of reports that the writers and producers wanted this season, the fifth to be its last, so Dawn must’ve done a good job in convincing the writers and producers for another season.

Absent from the list is veterans, ‘One Tree Hill’ and ‘Smallville’ and freshman dramas ‘Melrose Place’ and ‘Life Unexpected.’ ‘One Tree Hill’ remains on the bubble but ‘Smallville’s’ prospects are in the hands of its star Tom Welling. There have been reports Tom Welling has been auditioning for other projects and if he is successful and wants to start afresh, he might jump ship. However, the chances of him remaining as Clark Kent is relatively strong. With this news, the axe is getting sharper for low-rated drama ‘Melrose Place.’ As for ‘Life Unexpected,’ its still too early to determine the prospects as only five episodes have aired. Its prospects will most likely depend on The CW’s pilot projects.

Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen DeGeneres’ syndicated daytime talkshow has been renewed for three additional seasons.

‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’, which is the No. 2-rated talk show among women 25-54 behind ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’, will continue to air on NBC’s owned-and-operated stations until at least 2014.

“Ellen is one of those unique personalities that comes along once in a generation,” said Ken Werner, president of Warner Bros Domestic TV. “Her program has been embraced by viewers as their generation’s talk franchise, and we couldn’t be happier that the NBC stations will continue to have ‘Ellen’ as the cornerstone of their syndicated lineup for years to come.”

“I’m so excited to sign on for three more years at NBC,” said DeGeneres. “They were the ones that believed in my show from Day 1. So, I’m thrilled to know I’ll be here ’til at least 2014. Things will be a lot different by then. I won’t be dancing over my coffee table anymore. Through the magic of 3D, I’ll be dancing over yours!”

‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ airs 12pm weekdays on Nine.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

David Goyer

‘FlashForward’ is set to get yet another new showrunner.

David Goyer is stepping down from the top job to focus on feature films and directing.

“As my feature projects have started ramping up again, I felt I was being pulled in too many directions,” said Goyer in a statement. “I’m proud of the show and excited about the relaunch. It’s in great hands.”

Goyer will still remain involved with the show, but will pass his day-to-day showrunning duties on to another yet to be announced producer.

Production is currently taking place on episodes 17 and 18 of the 23-episode season order.

‘FlashForward’ returns March 18 on ABC. Seven have yet to announce a return date.

UPDATE: Dateline Hollywood reports that Goyer, who co-wrote ‘Batman Begins’, and penned the story for ‘The Dark Knight’, is working on the third ‘Batman’ installment with director Chris Nolan’s brother Jonah.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

FTA ad revenue drops across the board

Metropolitan ad revenue of free-to-air networks dropped 5% in the six months to December last year, compared with the corresponding period in 2008, with all metro and regional areas dropping revenue.

Total ad revenue for FTA, including regional areas, was down 4.4%, hitting $1.9bn. Of the metro areas, Sydney was worst hit, reporting an ad revenue slide of 7.2% at $525.5m, while Melbourne posted a drop of 4.6% at $399.4m. Brisbane was similarly hit at -4.5% and$ 246.5m. Adelaide and Perth were not hit as hard, percentage wise, with the former dropping 1% and the WA capital down 2% at $148.7m.

Seven had the lion’s share of ad revenue across all capital cities at 38.1%, over Nine with 31.91% and Ten with 30.08%.

Regional areas were down -2.2% overall, with Victoria showing the second greatest decline at -4.3% and $63.5m. New South Wales was down 0.2% at $194m. Queensland posted -3.5% and $108m. Western Australia was down the most at -6.7% and $22m. South Australia was down -2.4%, and Northern Territory/Tasmania slid 3%.

Source: B&T

Phil Keoghan

Reality fans are in for a shock…not. CBS have picked up both ‘Survivor’ and ‘The Amazing Race’ for the 2010-2011 television season.

‘Survivor’ has been renewed for two more editions with host Jeff Probst, making it the longest-running reality series on US television.

The Emmy-winning reality series ‘The Amazing Race’ will return for a seventeenth season, with host Phil Keoghan.

‘Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains’ premieres on Thursday, February 11 on CBS. The series will air later this year on Nine.

Season 16 of ‘The Amazing Race’ premieres on Sunday, February 14 on CBS. The series is expected to air later this year on Seven.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

'How I Met Your Mother' retuning for a sixth season.

Fans of Seven’s hit primetime comedy ‘How I Met Your Mother’ have reason to cheer. CBS have picked up the Emmy-nominated comedy for a sixth season.

The early pick up comes hot on the heels of the show’s 100th episode — which aired on January 11 in the States — and show creators/executive producers Carter Bays and Craig Thomas newly inked deal with production company 20th Century Fox Television.

‘How I Met Your Mother’ joins fellow CBS comedies ‘Two and a Half Men’ and ‘The Big Bang Theory’, which were picked up for multiple seasons early last year.

The new season of ‘How I Met Your Mother’ returns after the tennis, this February on Seven.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Shonda Rhimes

It’s that time of year again where the networks go in search of pilots for the upcoming fall TV season.

ABC has picked up two dramas, ‘Off the Map’ and ‘Body of Evidence’ and one comedy ‘Happy Endings’

Shonda Rhimes serves as executive producer for ‘Off the Map’ and to no one’s surprise it centres on doctors, three doctors infact, who are eager for a fresh start. They leave their home country for work in an isolated tropical clinic exotic and unusual medical cases and of course personal problems. ‘Off the Map’ is from ABC Studios.

As the title suggests, ”Body Evidence’ is be a crime procedural from executive producer Matt Grose distribured by ABC Studios, with the script provided by Chris Murphey. It follows Megan Hunt, a former neurosurgeon-turned-medical examiner, who brings a unique crime solving method which puts her at odds with the bosses.

‘Happy Endings’ is a single camera comedy from Sony TV and Tarses’ Fanfare, it focuses on a couple who break up at the altar, forcing everyone to figure out how to maintain the relationship after the break up. Jamie Tarses will serve as executive producer and is written by David Caspe.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Julia Bowen, Courtney Cox and Patricia Heaton star in ABC's Wednesday night comedy block.

ABC Entertainment Group president Steve McPherson announced on Tuesday that the network had given early second-season orders to Wednesday night comedies ‘Cougar Town’, ‘The Middle’, ‘Modern Family’.

The three shows have helped the network to establish a much needed comedy block amongst it’s strong slate of reality and drama.

Variety reports that the news was so fresh that producers on the shows hadn’t even been informed of the renewals.

Together, ‘Cougar Town’, ‘The Middle’ and ‘Modern Family’ have been outperforming the network’s timeslot average of last season, which was home to ‘Pushing Daisies’ and ‘Private Practice’.

The network have yet to decide the fate of more challenged comedies ‘Scrubs’,
‘Better Off Ted’ and ‘Ugly Betty’.

Separately, ABC also announced the pickup of ‘Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution’ — which is set to air on Network Ten later this year. The series follows Oliver as he travels to Huntington, West Virginia, in order to change the way Americans eat and depend on fast food.

McPherson also confirmed that the network is working on a spinoff for the hugely successful reality series ‘The Bachelor’. The new show, ‘Bachelor Pad’, will similarly be hosted by Chris Harrison and will feature former ‘Bachelor’ contestants living in a house together — ‘Big Brother’ style.

The series will air mid-year, between ‘The Bachelorette’ and the new fall season.

Finally, another show which could see a late season premiere is the Alyssa Milano comedy ‘Romantically Challenged’ — which co-stars Australia’s Josh Lawson. The show is expected join the Wednesday night comedy block, at 8pm, the former timeslot of cancelled comedy ‘Hank’.

‘The Middle’ airs 8pm Mondays on Nine. ‘Cougar Town’ and ‘Modern Family’ are scheduled to premiere on Seven and Ten respectively in the coming months.

Source: Variety

Press Release

GLEEKS REJOICE! FOX PICKS UP SECOND SEASON OF “GLEE”

NATIONWIDE OPEN CASTING CALL FOR “GLEE” BEGINS FEBRUARY AND WILL AIR AS MULTI-PART SPECIAL THIS FALL ON FOX

Series Returns with All-New Episodes Tuesday, April 13, on FOX

FOX has ordered a second season of the genre-defying comedy GLEE, it was announced today by Kevin Reilly, President, Entertainment for Fox Broadcasting Company. GLEE has become a bona fide cultural phenomenon boasting winning ratings, critical acclaim, a rabid fan base of “GLEEks,” two certified Gold albums and more than 4 million song downloads. The series has received four Golden Globe nominations, including one for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy; a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series; two Directors Guild of America Award nominations; and a Writers Guild of America nomination for Best Comedy Series and Best New Series. Additionally, the American Film Institute named GLEE one of the Top 10 TV Programs of the Year, and the series also recently won a People’s Choice Award for Favorite New TV Comedy.

“We’ve loved GLEE ever since it was a pilot script, so it’s been an incredible thrill to watch the show take root and see audiences embrace these characters in such a huge way this season,” said Reilly. “The show is a true and rare gem in television. We couldn’t be more proud of what Ryan Murphy and the GLEE team have created so far, and can’t wait to see what they come up with for Season Two.”

GLEE has also launched the acting and singing careers of its young, talented cast, and turned them into international sensations. Replicating and expanding on the process used to discover the stars from Season One, the series’ executive producers will begin a nationwide casting search this February to fill three new roles that will be added to the show’s second season.

Building upon the show’s incredibly supportive community of GLEEks and with the hope of bringing fans even closer to the series, auditions will be open to amateur individuals as well as professionals between the ages of 16-26, and all hopefuls will be able to submit auditions online. Additional details to be announced soon, please check www.fox.com/glee for updates.

This unique casting search and process will be chronicled in a multi-part special that will air leading up to the premiere of the series’ second season in fall 2010 on FOX, and the new cast members will be revealed in the premiere episode.

“GLEE has always been about finding new fresh exciting voices. Our second season search for young talent will be in the vein of our first season. We launched a nationwide search for talent for our first season with great unexpected results, and Season Two expands that search in an even bigger way,” said executive producer and creator Ryan Murphy. He added, “Anybody and everybody now has a chance to be on a show about talented underdogs. No matter who you are – a Broadway talent or a struggling singing waiter with a dream in the Midwest – you now have an opportunity to make that dream come true by posting your talent video and showing us what you can do. ALL the roles will be chosen from the video audition process, which is exciting and unprecedented. We want to be the first interactive musical comedy on television, and the search is ON.”

“GLEE is the hottest new show of the season, and it’s amazing to look back at the audition tapes of those stars as they were being discovered,” said Mike Darnell, President of Alternative Entertainment for FOX. “Just like GLEE, there’s never really been an unscripted program like this on television before. The stakes are real, and it’s going to be incredibly compelling to watch the lives of these unknowns transformed before our eyes.”

GLEE returns with all-new episodes on a new night beginning Tuesday, April 13 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.

GLEE follows an optimistic teacher who – against all odds and a malicious cheerleading coach – inspires McKinley High’s Glee Club to conquer the world one singing competition at a time. GLEE stars Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Jessalyn Gilsig, Jane Lynch, Jayma Mays, Kevin McHale, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Matthew Morrison, Amber Riley, Mark Salling and Jenna Ushkowitz.

GLEE is produced by Ryan Murphy Television in association with 20th Century Fox Television. Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan are co-creators of the series. Murphy, Falchuk and Dante Di Loreto serve as executive producers, while Ian Brennan serves as co-executive producer.

Source: FOX Broadcasting Company

Matt Bomer

There’s great news for Network Ten this morning, their hot new summer series ‘White Collar’ has been given a second season order from US cable channel USA Network.

The 20th Century Fox TV drama, which stars Matt Bomer and Tim DeKay, has been a solid performer for USA — garnering a 5.4 million reception for its series premiere and 5.55 million for its fall finale.

The show has similarly seen respectable results locally, with 774,000 tuning in for its summer premiere. The most recent outing took 728,000 viewers, winning its timeslot in the 50+ aud.

‘White Collar’ is scheduled to return January 20 for the remainder of its first season on USA.

The series airs 9.30pm Wednesdays on Network Ten.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

The cast of 'The Deep End'

Freshman dramas ‘V’ and ‘FlashForward’ have had their episode orders cut by one. This follows the news that ‘V’ and ‘FlashForward’ won’t be returning until March.

Other confirmed orders are:

‘The Deep End’ – 7
‘Romantically Challenged’ – 7
‘Happy Town’ – 8
‘Grey’s Anatomy’ – 24
‘Desperate Housewives’ – 23
‘Private Practice’ – 23
‘Lost’ – 18
‘The Forgotten’ – 17
‘Scrubs’ – 13
‘Better off Ted’ – 13

The remainder of ABC’s shows have 22 episode orders, ‘Brothers and Sisters,’ ‘Castle,’ ‘Cougar Town,’ ‘The Middle,’ ‘Modern Family’ and ‘Ugly Betty.’

Further, legal drama ‘The Deep End’ will take ‘FlashForward’s’ Thursday 8/7c slot after ABC announced, ‘FlashForward’ will be ‘rested’ after its fall finale last week.

David Hemingson is behind the Twentieth Century Fox drama.

Source: The Futon Critic

'Burn Notice' stars Gabrielle Anwar and Jeffrey Donovan.

USA Network has renewed ‘Burn Notice’ for a 16-episode fourth season.

The news comes just a day after USA picked up ‘Psych’ for a fifth season.

‘Burn Notice’, which stars Jeffrey Donovan as Miami-spy Michael Westen, was a solid performer for the network over the summer — during its first half of the season.

The second half of the third season is scheduled to resume in January on USA.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Brendan Hines, Tim Roth, Monica Raymund, Mekhi Phifer and Kelli Williams star in FOX's 'Lie to Me'.

FOX have ordered the back-nine episodes of the Tim Roth drama, ‘Lie to Me’.

The pick-up comes just a month after the network ordered three additional scripts of the second year drama.

Under the hand of the new showrunner, Shawn Ryan, ‘Lie to Me’ has become as solid performer for FOX in the post-’House’ time slot.

This past week, ‘Lie to Me’ averaged 7.3 million viewers overall, with a 2.7 rating in adults 18-49. A 60% retention of its ‘House’ demo lead-in.

Other dramas less fortunate include Joss Whedon’s ‘Dollhouse’ — which has already been cancelled — and J.J. Abrams’ ‘Fringe’ — which will go on a 7-week hiatus in February.

Source: Fox Broadcasting Company

James Roday and Dule Hill

‘Psych’ will be returning next season with a 16-episode order.

The crime comedy, created by Steve Franks and starring James Roday and Dule Hill, has delivered solid ratings for the cable channel, particularly with the younger demographics.

“‘Psych’ just keeps getting better and better,” said Jeff Wachtel, USA president of original programming. “Steve, James, Dule and the entire team keep us laughing and keep the audience coming back for more.”

The series will face a challenge come January, when it returns without its long running lead-in, ‘Monk’. The Tony Shalhoub comedy wraps up its eight and final season this December.

Following its mid-season break, ‘Psych’ is expected to be return with original episodes from January 29 on USA Network.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Production on 'FlashForward' has shut down for a six-day hiatus.

According to Entertainment Weekly, US network ABC has temporarily shut down production on ‘FlashForward’.

The hiatus comes just a month after the departure of co-showrunner, Marc Guggenheim, and an all-time series ratings low this past week.

An ABC spokesperson confirmed that production had ceased, however also explained that the show’s production schedule was designed to accommodate such breaks. “They started production early so that they could have the luxury to do this,” said the spokesperson. “They want to maintain the high quality of the show, and this gives the writers the opportunity to do so.”

Unlike fellow ABC drama ‘V’ — which is on a six-week long creative hiatus — ‘FlashForward’ will resume production next Monday after only six days.

The mid-season finale airs December 3 on ABC.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

NBC's 'Trauma'

I don’t know how much you should read into this, but there are reports that NBC has done an about turn with their earlier decision to cease production of freshman drama ‘Trauma’. The Hollywood Reporter claims NBC has ordered an additional three hours of ‘Trauma.’

Even though ‘Trauma’s’ ratings have stabilized, the figures aren’t anything to crow about and ordering another three hours of the struggling drama indicates the dire straits the network is in. According to a NBC source, it was ordered to plug up some holes for the remainder of 2009.

Who else gets depressed at the ratings for the network who brought you Friends, ER, Will and Grace and Frasier?

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

'Dollhouse' star Eliza Dushku.

According to Entertainment Weekly, FOX has informed Joss Whedon that they will not be ordering additional episodes of his drama series ‘Dollhouse’ beyond its current 13-episode order.

The struggling drama has been averaging a paltry 3 million viewers this season, down from a mere 4.7 million viewers last season.

“I’m extremely proud of the people I’ve worked with: my star, my staff, my cast, my crew,” said Whedon.

“I feel the show is getting better pretty much every week, and I think you’ll agree in the coming months. I’m grateful that we got to put it on, and then come back and put it on again.”

“By the time the last episode airs, you’ll know what my next project is. But for now, there’s a lot of work still to be done, and disappointment to bear. Thank you all for your support, your patience, your excellent adverts. See you again,” added Whedon.

The network still intends to air the remaining episodes from December.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Out of work: 'Hank' stars Melinda McGraw and Kelsey Grammer.

ABC have cancelled the Kelsey Grammer sitcom ‘Hank’, after only five episodes on the air.

Production on the comedy series will cease after filming the show’s tenth episode.

ABC’s fellow comedies ‘Modern Family’, ‘Cougar Town’ and ‘The Middle’ all received full season pick ups last month, but ‘Hank’ — the only traditional multi-camera sitcom on Wednesday nights – failed to receive an upping.

The network has no immediate plans to air the remaining five episodes of ‘Hank’.

Source: TV Guide

Cancelled: 'Eastwick'

According to Entertainment Weekly, ABC have decided not to order any additional episodes of ‘Eastwick’, while giving ‘The Forgotten’ an additional five.

The decision not to order more episode of ‘Eastwick’ effectively cancels the series, which has consistently come in last in the 10pm Wednesday night timeslot.

Meanwhile, the network have surprisingly ordered five additional episodes of ‘The Forgotten’.

The drama from Jerry Bruckheimer dropped to a 1.9/5 share in adults 18-49 this past week — 7.268 million viewers overall.

Both series are produced by Warner Bros. Television.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Rob Morrow stars in CBS' 'Numb3rs'.

As television ratings for ‘Numb3rs’ take a stumble, CBS have decided to cut back the number of episodes set to be produced this season from 22 down to 16.

The crime procedural, now in it’s sixth year, has struggled to maintain its audience share this season, with the series averaging a 1.7 rating/6 share among adults 18-49 and 7.9 million viewers overall — down from the seasonal average of 10.3 million viewers overall.

CBS declined to comment on whether or not this would be the final season of ‘Num3rs’, however with the series already having reached its syndication run of 100 episodes, its believed the network and studio are unlikely continuing to keep such a high cost drama in production.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

'American Dad'

Seth MacFarlane’s work load does not seem to be getting any shorter with news that his animated sitcom ‘American Dad’ has been renewed for a sixth season by the FOX network.

Having to prepare animated shows further in advance ‘American Dad’ has been given an early renewal that will see it guaranteed to be on air through to the 2010- 2011 ratings season.

The show regularly achieved numbers between six to eight million viewers this season against tough competition and has strong results in the demographics with men aged 18-49 and adults 18-34.

‘American Dad’ now joins Seth MacFarlane’s ‘Family Guy’ spin off,’ The Cleveland Show’ as being renewed for next season.

Source: TV By the Numbers

Elizabeth Mitchell and Logan Huffman star in ABC's 'V'.

Just last week, we reported that ABC had replaced the showrunners on ‘Brothers and Sisters’, this week it seems another alphabet series is getting a yet another staffing change.

‘Chuck’ executive producer Scott Rosenbaum is taking over as executive producer/showrunner of ABC’s new sci-fi series ‘V’, replacing Scott Peters.

There have been a few hiccups behind the scenes, including production on the series shut down for a “creative hiatus” in late August following the completion of just two episodes.

The studio then switched the showrunner duties on the project, after reevaluating the creative direction of the series — replacing Jeffrey Bell with Scott Peters.

Production resumed in mid-October to film one more episode, before going on a holiday hiatus.

This latest showrunner change would mark the third time the project had changed hands. Peters will continue as executive producer, while Bell is expected to depart.

ABC will air the four completed episodes this year, with the series resuming broadcast in 2010 after the Winter Olympics.

‘V’ is scheduled to resume production in January on the remaining nine episodes.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Jon Foster, Jenna Elfman and Grant Show star in CBS' comedy 'Accidentally on Purpose'.

CBS has upped their order for the Monday night comedy ‘Accidentally on Purpose’.

The Jenna Elfman comedy has been a solid performer on Monday nights, where it shares the lineup with powerhouse comedies ‘How I Met Your Mother’, The Big Bang Theory’ and ‘Two and a Half Men’.

While ‘Accidentally’ is the lowest-rated series of the lineup, it has seen an improvement on its retention from the ‘How I Met Your Mother’ lead-in.

This past Monday, ‘Accidentally’ also hit a season high among total viewers.

The network haven’t ordered a full season, due to the mid-season return of ‘Rules of Engagement’.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

It’s official. TNT have picked up the critically acclaimed police drama ‘Southland’. The network will air all 7 episodes the from the first season, plus the six episodes from the second season before making a decision on ordering additional episodes.

TNT Picks Up Acclaimed Drama SOUTHLAND

TNT has picked up the critically acclaimed series SOUTHLAND, closing a deal with Warner Bros. Television that will bring the drama from Emmy®-winning producer John Wells (ER, The West Wing) to the network in January. TNT has obtained exclusive rights to air all six episodes that have been shot for the second season, as well as the seven episodes from the series’ first season. SOUTHLAND will air on TNT Tuesdays at 10 p.m. (ET/PT), beginning with the first episode of the series on Jan. 12.

“This is a great win for fans of SOUTHLAND and a perfect opportunity to introduce the series to new viewers,” said Steve Koonin, president of Turner Entertainment Networks. “It’s also another outstanding example of how TNT has established itself as the go-to place for the best dramas on television.”

“We are extremely pleased that TNT has acquired all 13 episodes of SOUTHLAND, giving devoted fans the opportunity to watch a show that they passionately support,” said Peter Roth, president of Warner Bros. Television.

“We’re delighted that TNT has stepped forward to pick up SOUTHLAND. We are all extremely proud of the show,” Wells said.

SOUTHLAND premiered on NBC in April to rave reviews. The series was called “tough-minded [and] suspenseful” by The New York Times, which also said, “SOUTHLAND is commendably stinting and cold, a series that doesn’t aim to please, and is all the more pleasurable for it.” The Hollywood Reporter called SOUTHLAND “exciting, smart, realistic and brilliant,” while Daily Variety said, “[John] Wells and company have delivered a cop drama with its own racing pulse. The crisp execution … has a decidedly elite cable feel.

In SOUTHLAND, John Cooper (Michael Cudlitz – A River Runs Through It) is a veteran cop assigned to train young rookie Ben Sherman (Ben McKenzie – The O.C.). Cooper attacks his job with a no-nonsense firmness that sometimes leaves Sherman wondering if he’s really cut out to be a cop.

The series also follows Detective Lydia Adams (Regina King – Ray, Jerry Maguire), who spends her off-work hours serving as her mother’s primary caregiver. Her partner, Detective Russell Clarke (Tom Everett Scott – Boiler Room), is a father struggling with an unhappy marriage. Detective Daniel “Sal” Salinger (Michael McGrady – The Thin Red Line) oversees a unit of gang detectives, including Nate Moretta (Kevin Alejandro – Drive, Ugly Betty) and Sammy Bryant (Shawn Hatosy – Alpha Dog). And patrol officer Chickie Brown (Arija Bareikis – Crossing Jordan) is a single mom determined to make her mark as the first woman in the SWAT unit.

SOUTHLAND is from John Wells Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. Created by Emmy winner Ann Biderman (NYPD Blue, Public Enemies), the series is executive-produced by Biderman, Emmy winner Chris Chulack (ER, Third Watch) and Wells. Chulack is also a primary director of the series.

Warner Bros. Television (WBTV) is one of the entertainment industry’s most respected providers of original content, producing award-winning drama and comedy series for both broadcast network television and cable. For the 2009-2010 television season, WBTV is producing more than 25 primetime series, with at least one show on each of the five broadcast networks. New programs include the one-hour drama The Vampire Diaries, the #1 show on The CW; one-hour shows Human Target and Past Life for Fox; the hourlong V, Eastwick and The Forgotten, as well as half-hour comedies The Middle and Hank for ABC; and an untitled medical drama from Jerry Bruckheimer Television for midseason on CBS, among others. Continuing programs include TV’s #1 comedy among households and total viewers in Two and a Half Men, TV’s #1 comedy among adults 18-49 in The Big Bang Theory, the #1 new program of 2008-2009 among households and total viewers in The Mentalist, the Julia Louis-Dreyfus-starring comedy The New Adventures of Old Christine and veteran drama Cold Case for CBS; the #1 new program of 2008-2009 among adults 18-49 in Fringe for Fox; Chuck for NBC; and Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, Smallville and Supernatural for The CW. WBTV also produces The Closer for TNT and Nip/Tuck for FX.

TNT, one of cable’s top-rated networks, is television’s destination for drama and home to such original series as the acclaimed and highly popular detective drama The Closer, starring Kyra Sedgwick; Saving Grace, starring Holly Hunter; HawthoRNe, with Jada Pinkett Smith; Leverage, starring Timothy Hutton; Raising the Bar, with Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Gloria Reuben and Jane Kaczmarek; and Dark Blue, starring Dylan McDermott. TNT also presents such powerful dramas as Bones, CSI: NY and Numb3rs; broadcast premiere movies; compelling primetime specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards®; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR and the NBA. TNT is available in high-definition.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.

Source: TimeWarner

Derek Luke of 'Trauma'

A couple of big news stories today, following the annoucement of ‘Chuck’s’ extension, NBC has halted the production of high octane medical drama, ‘Trauma.’

This news hardly comes as a surprise granted the show’s budget and sagging ratings. However, NBC plans to air all thirteen episodes in its current slot.

This paves the way for ‘Chuck’ to return to its previous Monday slot.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Zachary Levy as 'Chuck'.

Despite not premiering until March, NBC has ordered six more episodes of spy drama ‘Chuck,’ bringing the third season episode order to 19.  This follows the abysmal ratings of their freshman class this fall with most shows on ‘the bubble.’

Further good news for ‘Chuck’ fans is NBC plans to push the third season premiere forward to January rather than March 2010.

This annoucement is the complete opposite to how NBC treated fellow Warner Bros. show, ‘Southland,’ which was cancelled earlier on in the month without airing any sophomore season episodes despite NBC ordering more in spring.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Sally Field stars as Nora Walker in ABC's 'Brothers and Sisters'.

Entertainment Weekly reports some rather interesting behind-the-scenes news this morning.

An ABC spokesperson is confirming that Monica Breen and Alison Schapker are stepping down as showrunners of ABC’s ‘Brothers and Sisters’ and will be replaced David Marshall Grant, who joined the show during its second season, serving as a writer and co-executive producer on the popular drama series.

Breen and Schapker will continue to serve as executive producers/writers on the show, but are now “concentrating more on development,” said the ABC rep.

This isn’t first time ‘Brothers and Sisters’ has seen its showrunner position change hands. In fact, this is just the latest in a long string of behind-the-scenes upsets.

Soon after the pilot, the series saw executive producer/appointed showrunner Marti Noxon (‘Grey’s Anatomy’) leave the show, following conflict with the series’ creator Jon Robin Baitz.

In stepped consultant Greg Berlanti (‘Everwood’, ‘Jack & Bobby’), who guided the show through its first season, given Baitz’ limited television experience. Berlanti stepped down as showrunner the following season to develop new projects for the network, though he continues to serve as an executive producer.

Baitz was ousted from the series soon after, following conflict with the network over the direction of the show.

Mark B. Perry (‘The Wonder Years’, ‘One Tree Hill’) stepped in to run ‘Brothers and Sisters’ up until the 2007-2008 writers strike, after which he was replaced by the series’ most recent showrunners, Breen and Schapker.

The reason behind this latest showrunner switch is pretty unclear, but with so much drama behind-the-scenes, it’s seemingly becoming the norm. No wonder the writers do drama so well.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

CarriageWorks

Move over Fox Studios Australia, the Redfern Waterloo precinct is the new home of film and television production in Sydney.

George Miller’s upcoming film ‘Mad Max 4′ will move into a new production facility next door to CarriageWorks. The creative arts centre where Network Ten films ‘So You Think You Can Dance’.

Miller’s production company, Kennedy Miller Mitchell, will convert the existing warehouse space into the new Digital Film Making Studio, with a motion capture stage, art department workshops, a visual effects studio and production offices.

ABC News was there as Miller talked about his upcoming film and the future of Australian cinema.

The former railway carriage and blacksmith workshops will house the upcoming sequel ‘Fury Road’, as well as pre-preduction on Miller’s ‘Happy Feet 2′, the sequel to smash hit animated film.

Australian Technology Park retrofitted for 'MasterChef Australia' heats.

A rendering of the Seven Network's new production offices and sound stages.

Sydney's new film and television hub (front center).

CarriageWorks is just across the train line from Australian Technology Park, which has similarly become a popular spot for film and television production.

‘Australian Idol’, ‘MasterChef Australia’ and ‘Top Gear Australia’ have all used its industrial surrounds for filming.

‘Idol’ holds its Sydney open call auditions at ATP, while ‘MasterChef’ shoots the top 100 heats inside ATP’s expansive carriage bays.

But that’s not all, the Redfern Waterloo precinct is also the future home for the Seven Network and Global Television.

Seven are in the middle of constructing 4 purpose built sound stages and a state-of-the-art broadcast facility within Technology Park’s grounds.

Shows currently filmed at Seven’s Epping studios, including ‘Home and Away’ and ‘Packed to the Rafters’, will move into the sound stages at the new facility in the near future.

Meanwhile, over at Moore Park’s Fox Studios Australia, things aren’t quite as bright.

The studio recently lost the major Hollywood feature ‘Green Lantern’, which director Martin Campbell (‘Casino Royale’) and actor Ryan Reynolds were scheduled to film in Australia. Just last week, Warner Bros. announced that the project would be shift overseas for budgetary reasons — a result of the high Australian dollar vs the weak US dollar.

Fox Studios are however preparing for production to begin on Stuart Beattie’s smaller budgeted feature ’Tomorrow When the War Began’, which stars ‘Home and Away’ actor Lincoln Lewis and former ‘Neighbours’ actress Caitlin Stasey. Production will be based at the Moore Park studios and will also shoot in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales.

But despite the upcoming project, it doesn’t change the fact that Fox Studios has remained vacant for over a year — following the conclusion of production on Hugh Jackman’s ‘Wolverine’.

The same can’t be said over at Redfern/Waterloo, where it seems there’s no shortage of film and television productions.

With Seven/Global opening their new facility in the near future; Miller’s ‘Mad Max 4′ and ‘Happy Feet 2′ in for the long haul; and returning series ‘Dance’ and ‘MasterChef’, it seems there really is a new film and television hub in Sydney — and it’s not likely to be slowing down any time soon.

'FlashForward' creator, David Goyer.

Co-creator/exec producer of ABC’s new hit series ‘FlashForward,’ David Goyer will be flying solo for the back 9 episodes of the mystery drama after co-showrunner/executive producer Marc Guggenheim decided to part ways.

Guggenheim was brought in to assist Goyer with the show, given his limited experience in TV. However after teaching him the ropes, ABC believes Goyer will be able to helm the series by himself.

There has been speculation that the network have become unhappy with the direction of show since the pilot. Whether Guggenheim’s departure has anything to do with this is unclear,  however it’s believed that Goyer would be able to return the show to the quality of its pilot, if left to steer the ship by himself.

Guggenheim will spend time focusing on other projects for ABC Studios.

Joel McHale stars in NBC's new comedy 'Community'.

It’s NBC’s turn for pickups and they come as quite a surprise, at least from a rating perspective.

The former number 1 US network has given full season orders to comedies ‘Parks and Recreation’ and ‘Community’ and medical drama ‘Mercy’.

Angela Bromstad, NBC/Universal Media Studios’ primetime entertainment president, gave special mention to ‘Community’ for “delivering a first-rate, quality show that is very promising as the newest of NBC’s first-rate Thursday night comedies.”

The comedy has averaged a 2.6 rating and 5 share with adults 18-49, with 5.7 million viewers overall.

Bromstad, on picking up ‘Mercy’ for full season, said that she thought the show could “be a strong player for us.”

The new medical drama, has averaged a 2.1 rating and 5 share with adults 18-49, with 7.8 million viewers overall. A far cry from the 15 million viewers tuning into ABC powerhouse ‘Grey’s Anatomy’.

As for the pickup of ‘Parks and Recreation’, Bromstad put it down to conventional wisdom, stating that the show had taken a giant creative leap this season.

Of all the pickups, ‘Parks’ has probably fared the worse in overall figures, averaging a 2.1/5 in adults 18-49 and 4.8 million viewers overall.

Conspicuously missing from the list is the new drama ‘Trauma’, which has similarly struggled on its Monday night slot — with a 1.8/4 share in viewers 18-49 and 5.52 million overall on its last outing.

Source: Variety

After almost half a decade on SBS, 'Top Gear' jumps ship to the Nine Network.

According to TV Tonight, the Nine Network has won the broadcast rights to ‘Top Gear’, after inking a new deal with BBC Worldwide Australia.

Nine now have exclusive broadcast rights to both the original UK series and ‘Top Gear Australia’.

PBL Media currently publish the official magazine through ACP Magazines, in addition to a local version of the ‘Top Gear’ website (topgear.com/au).

“We are thrilled to create a unified home for the Top Gear brand in Australia” said BBC Worldwide Australia’s Sales Director, Julie Dowding. “This country is Top Gear’s biggest territory outside the UK. We greatly look forward to developing its potential with a long-standing partner like Nine.”

Chief Executive of Nine, David Gyngell said “we are absolutely delighted to be working together with one of the world’s great broadcasting powerhouses on a program of this quality and wide appeal.”

“Top Gear is quite simply an outstanding television product, and linking the experience and expertise of BBC Worldwide with the proven capacity of the Nine Network is a great outcome.”

“We are genuinely excited to have Top Gear under the Nine banner and look forward to bringing it to an even wider audience,” he added.

The shift to Nine is disappointing news for SBS to say the least. The small public broadcaster lamented their loss, after spending years building the show a solid fan base in Australia.

“SBS was the only Australian network brave enough to take on the irreverent series in 2005 and we have built it into successful event television with a dedicated audience. We are proud of what we have achieved with Top Gear,” said SBS Managing Director, Shaun Brown.

“SBS, with its limited resources, lives with the knowledge that while it can discover and develop great programs and events, it cannot always defend them from the aggressive bids of well-heeled competitors.”

It’s believed the Seven Network were also very keen to pick up the rights to the successful car series, for their recently announced 7TWO.

Source: TV Tonight

'The Vampire Diaries' Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley.

The CW has finally given an official back-nine pickup to ‘The Vampire Diaries’, following the additional scripts they ordered last month.

The hot new series, developed by Kevin Williamson, has become to highest rated series on The CW — consistently topping 3.5 million viewers each week and boasting strong figures in the demos.

‘Vampire Diaries’ hit a series high this past week, with 3.85 million. Should the series continue on this path, it’s more than likely that the show will be snapped up for a second season.

Meanwhile, the network have also upped the episode order for ‘Melrose Place’, giving the struggling drama an additional 5 episodes.

The network are clearly hoping the ratings will pick up, especially come next month, when Heather Locklear returns to the famous apartment complex.

‘Melrose’ is unlikely to see a cancellation before seasons end, as The CW are only housing one additional drama for midseason (‘Life UneXpected’). It’s been speculated that the series is headed on a similar trajectory as last season’s ‘Privileged’, which played out though the entire season, before finally being cancelled.

No word on full season pickups for ‘Gossip Girl’, ‘90210′, ‘Supernatural’ and ‘Smallville’ just yet, but they’re probably a given.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

'Castle' stars Nathan Fillion and Susan Sullivan.

‘Castle’ fans have a reason to be happy as it has been confirmed the US murder mystery series starring Nathan Fillion has been picked up for a full season with a back nine order from the ABC network.

It has been speculated that ‘Castle’ would not go beyond its sophomore season but this news has given a glimmer of hope.

It is faring better than ABC’s other offerings at 10pm including freshman dramas ‘Eastwick’ and ‘The Forgotten’ which have been struggling in total viewers and the younger demos.

The show has also seen a 26% increase thanks to DVR viewing and has also had a stable audience of between 9 and 10 million viewers but many are also speculating that ‘Castle’ would not be able to hold onto its numbers.

As it is argued that it has a significant increase from having ‘Dancing with the Stars’ as a lead in but time will tell if it will see a third season and be able to give the talented Nathan Fillion a successful series that has seemed to elude him.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Joseph Fiennes

ABC has given a full-season order to ‘FlashForward’ and extended the season from 22 episodes to 25.

The news comes after just three strong weeks on the air, with the series averaging 10.7 millions viewers in the US.

‘FlashForward’ is one of the top new dramas of the season in adults 18-34, with a 3.6 rating/11 share.

Locally, the show debuted to a nice 1.7 million viewers. It was down to 1.5 million last night, though up from previous week.

‘FlashForward’ is the seventh new series to receive a full-season pickup, following the ABC comedies ‘Cougar Town’, ‘The Middle’, ‘Modern Family’; CBS dramas ‘NCIS: Los Angeles’ and ‘The Good Wife’; and FOX’s musical comedy ‘Glee’.

Source: Variety

Benjamin McKenzie

NBC have decided to cancel ‘Southland’, before it even had its second season premiere.

Production on the gritty cop drama has been shut down after just six episodes.

The show was originally scheduled to premiere in a new in September, but in August, the network decided to push the premiere back to October 23.

The show’s broadcast future is not clear, but series producers are believed to be shopping the drama around to other broadcast and cable networks.

“I’m disappointed that NBC no longer has the time periods available to support the kind of critically-acclaimed series that was for so many years, a hallmark of their success,” said executive producer John Wells. “We remain extremely proud of ‘Southland’ and are actively looking for another home for the series.”

Wells had been behind some of NBC’s biggest hits over the past 15 years, including ‘ER’ and ‘The West Wing’.

‘Southland’ debut modestly last season n NBC, but saw ratings erode over the course of the original seven episode run. Its second season renewal came as a great surprise, as many thought it it saw little chance of being renewed.

The series was created by Ann Biderman and starred Benjamin McKenzie, Kevin Alejandro, Arija Bareikis, Michael Cudlitz, Shawn Hatosy, Regina King, Michael McGrady, Tom Everett Scott.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

The full-season pickups are rolling in and ABC have decided to give some love to their

Courtney Cox

Wednesday night comedy block — which includes ‘Cougar Town’, ‘Modern Family’ and ‘The Middle’.

The comedy block make quite a splash during their respective debuts, but like most shows, ratings have dropped slightly as audiences re-evaluate their watching habits.

The dysfunctional family comedy, ‘Modern Family’, premiered to 12.7 million viewers, falling to 8.46 million this past week — though consistently strong in 18-49 demographic.

Meanwhile, the Courteney Cox comedy ‘Cougar Town’, from ‘Scrub’s creator Bill Lawrence, premiered to 11.4 million viewers, dropping down to 7.80 million.

‘The Middle’, which stars Patricia Heaton, premiered to 8.7 million viewers, dropping to 6.78 million.

Conspicuously, ‘Hank’ is the only Wednesday night show missing from the pickup list, though not surprising based on the early reviews for the Kelsey Grammer comedy.

Overall, it’s great news for the Seven Network, who will no doubt run with at least a couple of these comedies. ‘Cougar Town’ probably a shoe in.

Great news for all three commercial networks — Seven with ‘Cougar Town’, Nine with ‘The Middle’ and Ten with ‘Modern Family’.

Source: TV Guide

David Duchovny

Showtime has given an early fourth-season renewal to ‘Californication’ following its third season premiere last week.

The premiere garnered an all-time ratings high, drawing in 821,000 viewers, up 57% from the previous season.

The series stars David Duchovny as a sex addicted writer. The series is produced by creator Tom Kapinos, Duchovny and Gina Fattore.

‘Californication’ airs 10.40pm Sundays on Network Ten.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

David Boreanaz

David Boreanaz has come down with the flu, causing production on 20th Century Fox series ‘Bones’ to be shut down.

While it can’t be confirmed whether Boreanaz, who called in sick on Monday, has swine flu, showrunner Hart Hanson posted on his Twitter feed that the series would not shoot due to the virus.

“First time in Bones history we are shut down from production,” said Hanson. “Damn swine flu! That’s gonna cut into Christmas hiatus.”

A rep for the show said production on the series is expected to resume Tuesday.

“David is out with the flu and the show shut down today since he was in every scene. We hope to resume production tomorrow.”

Source: Entertainment Weekly

McDonald's 'MasterChef' parody, 'Macca's Chef'.

McDonald’s has jumped on its sponsorship opportunity to create a spoof webisode series to find the fast food restaurant’s next top chef.

The series will run on the official website for ‘Masterchef Australia’, which returns to for the first episode of ‘Celebrity Masterchef’ tonight on Network Ten.

‘Macca’s Chef’ was designed to promote the McDonald’s premium Angus Burger range and as a potential recruitment tool.

“We hope it will show potential new trainees the fun side of our business,” said Toby Dewar, McDonald’s national sponsorship and media manager.

The nine episode parody series has been created by Fremantle Media, the actual producers of the ‘MasterChef’ television format.

Watch the first episode below.

Catch ‘Celebrity MasterChef’ 7.30pm tonight on Ten.

The cast of 'Glee'.

Following three successful weeks on air in the States, FOX have picked up the back nine episodes of the hit show ‘Glee’, brining the season total to 22 episodes.

“The response we’ve received to ‘Glee’ has been remarkable,” said Fox entertainment president Kevin Reilly. “It’s already got the makings of a cultural phenomenon. I’ve seen all 13 episodes, and Ryan Murphy, his team and the talented ‘Glee’ cast have knocked our socks off with their incredible work. We’re happy to pick up this gem of a show, and can’t wait to see what they’ll do with the rest of the season.”

The news must come as huge sigh of relief for Network Ten, who’ve invested just about everything they’ve got in ‘Glee’. From hours of on air promotion, to print marketing campaigns and even flying the cast out for publicity appearances across the country.

While the series has yet to display stellar ratings locally, the show has performed quite well in the States, exceeding expectations with a 3.5 rating among adults 18-49. Marking FOX’s highest debut for a scripted series in three years.

For Network Ten, the true test will come this Thursday when the first new episode airs, following a repeat (albeit slightly different director’s cut) broadcast of the pilot.

‘Glee’ airs 7.30pm Thursdays on Ten.

Media Release

FOX SINGS PRAISES OF “GLEE” WITH FULL-SEASON PICKUP

FOX has ordered a full season of the critically acclaimed comedy GLEE, it was announced today by Kevin Reilly, President, Entertainment for Fox Broadcasting Company.

“The response we’ve received to GLEE has been remarkable,” said Reilly. “It’s already got the makings of a cultural phenomenon. I’ve seen all 13 episodes, and Ryan Murphy, his team and the talented GLEE cast have knocked our socks off with their incredible work. We’re happy to pick up this gem of a show, and can’t wait to see what they’ll do with the rest of the season.”

“It’s fantastic to be the first show picked up and that this underdog series, like its characters, will get the chance to keep singing,” said series co-creator/executive producer Ryan Murphy. “There are so many more stories to tell. We’re grateful for the incredible passion shown by everyone involved – the unbelievable fans, the cast, crew, our partners at the network and studio and even music artists and labels.”

In the next episode of GLEE, airing Wednesday, Sept. 23 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), Kurt (Chris Colfer) takes center stage when he tries out for the football team in order to impress his dad. Sandy (guest star Stephen Tobolowsky) and Sue (Jane Lynch) join forces to carry out their plans for disbanding the Glee Club. Meanwhile, Quinn (Dianna Agron) and Finn’s (Cory Monteith) relationship is tested when they receive some life-changing news.

GLEE, the genre-defying new musical comedy series, follows an optimistic teacher who – against all odds and a malicious cheerleading coach – attempts to save McKinley High’s Glee Club from obscurity while helping a group of aspiring underdogs realize their true star potential. The critically acclaimed series stars Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Jessalyn Gilsig, Jane Lynch, Jayma Mays, Kevin McHale, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Matthew Morrison, Amber Riley, Mark Salling and Jenna Ushkowitz. Guest stars this season include Victor Garber, Josh Groban, Kristin Chenoweth and Eve.

During its preview and throughout the summer, more than 25 million people sampled the first episode of GLEE. The Sept. 9 premiere of GLEE was FOX’s highest-rated fall scripted new series premiere in three years among Adults 18-49, Adults 18-34 and Teens. In fact, during its first week this season, over 15 million viewers watched GLEE’s fall premiere episode. Additionally, the show has attracted over 300,000 obsessed fans on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, and after only three episodes, six of the songs featured on GLEE have already made it into iTunes’ Top 100 Downloads.

GLEE is produced by Ryan Murphy Television in association with 20th Century Fox Television. Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan are co-creators of the series. Murphy, Falchuk and Dante Di Loreto serve as executive producers, while Ian Brennan serves as co-executive producer.

Source: Fox Broadcasting Company

Jon Hamm

It probably comes as no surprise, but basic cabler AMC have given an early renewal to ‘Mad Men’ following a record breaking season premiere of 4.5 million viewers on August 16.

“It’s been extremely gratifying to see ‘Mad Men’ develop into such a pop-cultural phenomenon with such a passionate fan base,” said AMC’s president and GM, Charlie Collier.

The series has been nominated for a phenomenal 16 Emmy Awards this year, the most nominations for any drama series. They include outstanding drama series, lead actor in a drama for Jon Hamm, supporting actor in a drama for John Slattery and lead actress in a drama for Elisabeth Moss.

Series creator Matthew Weiner, who similarly received several nominations, had already been signed on for a fourth season as part of an overall deal he inked with Lionsgate earlier this year.

” ‘Mad Men’ continues to surpass all expectations with each new season, and the series has become a signature show for Lionsgate around the world,” Lionsgate’s TV president Kevin Beggs said.

The series made it’s Australian free-to-air debut on SBS in April this year, which saw favourable numbers for the network. The second season recently concluded on Movie Extra, with the third season set to begin later this year.

The first two seasons are also available on iTunes.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Jennifer Garner

‘Alias’ star Jennifer Garner has inked a first-look deal with ABC Studios for her production company Vandalia Films.

Vandalia, which is run by Garner and Juliana Janes, hope to develop more female-driving material for the studio and re-team with a number of writers which they met during Garner’s time on ‘Alias’ and ‘Felicity’(both ABC Studios – formerly Touchstone Television).

“Steve McPherson (ABC Entertainment President) and I have a great relationship and have been talking about doing something together for some time now. It’s been over three years since the finale of ‘Alias’, ” said Garner, adding that she was looking forward “to have the opportunity to get back into television wearing my producer hat.”

Vandalia Films also hold a first look-deal with Warner Bros. Pictures on the features side.

The production company currently have a number films in development, including ‘Butter’ for Mandate Pictures; ‘Arranged’ with Mark Gordon and director Gary Winick; ‘Sabbatical’ for Disney; and ‘Three Days in Europe’ with Hugh Jackman and John Palermo.

Source: Variety

Tom Welling and Brandon Routh. The two latest on screen iterations of 'Superman'.

According to Variety, Warner Bros. and DC Comics have won a favorable ruling in a law suit filed by the heirs of ‘Superman’ co-creator Jerome Siegel.

In a decision announced Wednesday, U.S. Judge District Court Judge Stephen G. Larson found that the license fees Warner Bros. paid to  DC Comics (also a TimeWarner company) did not represent “sweetheart” deals as they weren’t below fair market value.

The ruling means the heirs Jerome Siegel will only be able seek profits from DC Comics (which received $13.6 million from Warner Bros. for the 2006 release of “Superman Returns”) rather than from Warner Bros. as well.

The heirs had accused Warner Bros. of making “sweetheart” deals with DC in 1999 for feature film rights and again in 2000 for television rights for ‘Smallville’.

The feature rights included $1.5 million upfront, $18.5 million for option extensions over 31 years and 5% of first-dollar worldwide distributor gross or 7.5% of domestic gross (whichever was larger), while the television rights included $45,000 per episode, 3% of first-dollar gross for the first $1.5 million and 5% thereafter.

Larson said in his 30-page ruling that there was “insufficient evidence that the ‘Superman’ film agreement between DC Comics and Warner Bros., whether judged by its direct economic terms or its indirect ones, was consummated at below its fair market value.”

In a statement released by both the companies, ”DC Comics and Warner Bros. Entertainment are very gratified by the court’s thorough and well-reasoned decision in this matter.”

“The decision validates what DC and Warner Bros. have maintained from the beginning, which is that when they do business with each other, they always strive for — and achieve — fair market value in their transactions. We are very pleased that the court found there was no merit to plaintiffs’ position that the Superman deals were unfair to DC Comics and, by extension, the plaintiffs.”

Warner Bros. chairman Alan Horn had testified that he hopes to make another ‘Superman’ movie but added that the property wasn’t under development at the studio, that no script had been written and that the earliest another “Superman” pic could be released would be in 2012.

The court ruled that if Warner Bros. does not start production on another ‘Superman’ film by 2011, the Siegels may be able to sue to recover their damages.

The Siegel heirs and the heirs of co-creator Joe Shuster will own the entire ‘Superman’ copyright in 2013, when both Warner Bros. and DC Comics rights to the franchise lapse.

Source: Variety

'All Saints' John Howard.

According to The Australian, long running medical drama ‘All Saints’ has not been renewed by the Seven Network for next season.

Sources say that the series’ declining ratings and higher production costs are the reason why the show hasn’t been picked up for 2010.

This year, the series underwent an overhaul to included the “Medical Response Unit”, which has since proved to be less than successful. It’s numerous number of exterior scenes and helicopter shots have helped pushed the budget on the series

While many expected the series to follow this year’s shortened 22 episodes model next season, things are starting to look quite bleak for the 12-year old drama.

Seven have yet to make any official decisions over the 2010 schedule.

Source: The Australian via TV Tonight

The Nine Network and Warner Bros. have inked the largest television deal in Australian history.

Despite earlier reports that the Seven Network were hoping the nab the Nine Network’s output deal with Warner Bros. for an estimated $52 million a year, Nine have come through with a offer the U.S.-based studio just couldn’t refuse.

The offer in question comes to a grand total of $500 million (or $100 million per year), almost double the offer from Seven.

Under the new pact, Warner Bros. will continue supplying content to Nine through 2015 from major producers such as Jerry Bruckheimer, John Wells, J.J. Abrams, Josh Schwartz, Kevin Williamson and Chuck Lorre, plus the studio’s entire feature slate, including the remainder of the “Harry Potter” series, the sequel to the Aussie animated comedy “Happy Feet” and upcoming blockbusters “Green Lantern” and “Where the Wild Things Are”, just to name a few.

Warner Bros. International TV president Jeffrey Schlesinger, who flew to Sydney last week to finalise the deal, said ”It was a very competitive situation in what is a very series-driven market”.

Nine’s CEO David Gyngell expressed relief over having closed the deal.

“We’ll have new digital channels in the coming years, and we need the best product available to attract viewers. The new deal grants us exclusivities and revenue-sharing in new-media windows. Plus, as was clear at the LA Screenings last month, Warners has the best slate.”

Nine plan to launch their third digital channel soon, and it’s believed that Warner Bros. strong youth oriented programmes are expected to form the backbone of the new channel.

New shows, like ‘The Vampire Diaries’ from ‘Dawson’s Creek’ creator Kevin Williams, and current popular series including ‘Entourage’, ‘Sex and the City’ and ‘Gossip Girl’ all received the nod from the network.

The younger target demographic for the new channel has also allowed Nine to secure big advertisers including Pizza Hit and Coca Cola, who previously reserved airtime for other younger skewed channels.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Seven Network, who’ve yet to announce details for their third digital channel, said yesterday, “We’ve determined our approach. Next decision will be timing on launch.”

Amidst the buzz from the media, the $500 million price tag for the Warner Bros. deal is raising a few eyebrows amongst the industry an shareholders alike, with Nine and parent company CVC Asia Pacific already under heavy financial turmoil. Sources believe questions will be raised as to the affordability of the deal.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter, The Australian

Reports that Seven’s medical drama ‘All Saints’ will be going under the knife next season have been confirmed.

The series will be trimmed down to 22 – 28 episodes in 2010, down from the current 40 episodes per season.

Cast and crew will conclude production on the series three months earlier in August, instead of November.

Ratings on the long running drama have slumped against strong competition from competing networks. Ratings have been hovering around 1.1 million viewers in the new 8.30pm timeslot, compared to the 1.6 million peak in its post ‘Packed to the Rafters’ slot.

Seven have said that the savings they’ll reap from ‘All Saints’ will be put towards a new drama series.

‘All Saints’ airs 8.30pm Tuesdays on Seven.

Jeffrey Bell at WonderCon, San Francisco 2009.

Writer/producer Jeffrey Bell (‘Harper Island’ and ‘Alias’) has signed a two-year overall deal with Warner Bros. Television.

The seven-figure deal will see Bell develop new projects for the studio, plus join the upcoming sci-fi drama ‘V’ as show runner/executive producer.

“Like many people, I have fond memories of whatching the original miniseries,” said Bell. “And to see how they did it now, it’s epic. Scott Peters (writer/executive producer) did a fantastic job relaunching it. It seems like there are so many ways that you could go with this story.”

Similar to the original 1980’s ‘V’, which used the alien invasion as an allegory for Nazi Germany, the new ‘V’ will deal with issues of government, devotion, race and faith.

“Especially when you look at our current times, with the economy, wars and social strife, it’s the perfect time for a force like this to come along,” said Bell. “In many ways this is a very American show, about the individual vs. society. It’s about how America can appreciate and question things that seem to be too good to be true.”

13 episodes of  the sci-fi drama have been commissioned this year, with the series set to debut mid-season on ABC.

Steven McPherson, President of ABC Entertainment, announced that like fellow ABC drama ‘Lost’, ’V’ will have a predetermined beginning, middle and end – giving the producers the opportunity to map out the entire series.

“I’ve been on a bunch of serialized shows now, and it helps the audience to know that this is what you’re in for, and this is how and when it’s going to end,” said Bell. “We’ve been talking about it in terms of installments, either by chapters or seasons. We’ll build this first season to a big conclusion that is hopefully awesome, with a cliffhanger that launches you into the second season.”

Bell serves as an executive producer alongside Scott Peters (who wrote the pilot), Jason Hall and Steve Pearlman.

The series stars Elizabeth Mitchell, Morris Chestnut and Scott Wolf.

Source: Variety

ITV Studios becomes the new name of Granada Productions.

Just two months ago Granada Productions, rebranded their entire UK production arm as ITV Studios in a radical restructure designed to emulate the scale and innovation of big US studios such as Fox and Universal.

The company previously used the Granada name for non-ITV channel productions.

“We need to change how we think and operate and to position ourselves to create programmes not just for ITV1, but for the world,” said ITV managing director of global content Lee Bartlett. “We want to attract the top talent, the top budgets and the top ideas, but to do that we have to be clear about who and what we are.”

It appears now that the UK-based conglomerate are rolling out the new name worldwide, with Granada America undergoing the same rebranding effective immediately.

The US arm produces a number of non-scripted series for FOX and NBC including, ‘Hell’s Kitchen’, Kitchen Nightmares’ and ’I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here’.

Granada Australia have yet to announce any plans for similar rebranding, however as the company tries the build stronger brand recognition around the ITV Studios name internationally, it’s expected all overseas production arms will undergo the same treatment.

Granda Australia produce a number of hit series for Australian screens, including ’Dancing with the Stars’, ‘Talkin’ ’bout Your Generation’ and ‘Australia’s Next Top Model’.

Sources: Variety and BroadcastNow.co.uk