As veteran media reporters Felix Gillette and John Koblin explain in their new book, It’s Not TV: The Spectacular Rise, Revolution, and Future of HBO, HBO was born from journalism, a byproduct of Time Inc.’s plan to diversify its holdings. Their gossipy, cameo-padded reporting breezes through the improbable story of how a print media company invested in a scheme to bring a clearer television picture to certain neighborhoods, embraced satellites and discovered that original programming was a cheaper way to fill its slate than paying Hollywood studios.
NBC has handed the expected early renewals to its stronger drama series, freshmen Revolution and Chicago Fire as well as Parenthood, Grimm and veteran Law & Order: SVU. All have received full-season, 22-episode pickups.
NBC is holding up the return of two of its most popular shows, Revolution and Grimm, until March so that it can air only new episodes for the remainder of the season.
Only a handful, including Revolution, Arrow and Malibu Country, are off to promising starts, following last year’s better-than-average crop.
The network announced Tuesday that it is picking up for a full-season order the adventure-drama Revolution and the comedies Go On and The New Normal.
Exclusives
Capping a busy day for the Peacock net, NBC has picked up the Ryan Murphy comedy The New Normal and the J.J. Abrams-Eric Kripke thriller Revolution to series.
