The world’s biggest company is officially taking meetings as everyone from Jennifer Aniston to Steven Spielberg salivates over selling the first big show. One studio chief says, “Who wouldn’t want to be the Mad Men or House of Cards on Apple?”
Laff, the Katz-owned comedy multicast network that’s being acquired by E.W. Scripps, introduced the multiple Emmy-winning sitcom That ’70s Show to its lineup with a daylong marathon on Sunday, Sept. 24. The marathon […]
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The Morning Politics Of ‘Megyn Kelly Today’
As the first episode revealed, NBC has misread not only Kelly’s talents but also the changing nature of our cultural wars.
In 1982, Pat Sajak was a quick-witted former local weatherman with a season as a daytime game-show host under his belt, and Vanna White was a beauty pageant winner making her formal TV debut as his letter-turning co-host. Their surprisingly serendipitous pairing would swiftly turn “Wheel of Fortune,” already a 7-year-old daytime network series, into a worldwide syndicated phenomenon that remains a ratings powerhouse today. Now, “Wheel’s” syndicated game show format is celebrating its 35th anniversary season.
The expanding world of TV has brought more opportunity overall, with streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu joining broadcast and cable platforms to push the combined number of TV series to 400-plus and counting. An all-time high of 225 first-time directors were hired last season by studios, networks and executive producers, a 42% increase over the previous season, a new study from the Directors Guild of America shows.
The Big Bang Theory prequel launched Monday on CBS with the most-watched premiere on any network since 2011.
‘This Is Us’ Season 2 Premiere Sets New High
The This Is Us Season 2 premiere set a new high for the series in the key demo. The sophomore opener of the beloved NBC drama drew a 3.8 rating in adults 18-49 and 12.6 million viewers, airing at 9 p.m. That is a 36% improvement in the demo compared to the Season 1 premiere (2.9) and a 12% bump above the Season 1 finale (3.4). It was also the second most-watched episode of the series, behind only the Season 1 finale (12.8 million).
The new hour of Today dipped to a 1.9/7 on day two of head-to-head competition against the syndicated veteran in metered markets.
Nielsen: NFL Ratings Off 11% So Far This Year
For the week, NBC averaged 7.8 million viewers in prime time. CBS had 6.2 million, ABC had 4.2 million, Fox had 2.7 million, Univision had 1.6 million, Telemundo had 1.4 million, Ion Television had 1.3 million and the CW had 910,000.
‘Young Sheldon’ Off To Very Strong Start
It retains nearly all of its Big Bang lead-in, earning hit status out of the gate and stomping on The Voice. CBS will have more than a month to hold Young Sheldon over its competitors’ heads. Monday’s sampling of the new comedy, a month out from its official Nov. 2 premiere, likely set this season’s high bar for fall premieres.
Good Starts For ‘Judy,’ ‘Bench,’ ‘Minute"
Judge Judy was tops in both courtrooms and all of syndication, with her Hot Bench coming in second in the genre, while Right This Minute got underway with a 15% weekly rise.
Yelena Chak has been promoted to head of drama series development for CBS Entertainment. Chak, who is SVP, will oversee development for the network, reporting to Thom Sherman, senior EVP, programming. She succeeds Christina Davis, who left the network in July.
Based on the Puccini opera La Boheme, Rent follows the lives of struggling artists in New York City’s East Village. It’s by the late writer and composer Jonathan Larson. Casting details have not yet been announced.
The former Fox News anchor vowed to put aside the hard-edged interviewing style that made her famous and turned her energy Monday full-bore into the launch of a new morning program. Kelly told a live studio audience in the opening moments of her new Megyn Kelly Today that “I’m kind of done with politics for now,” and said she hoped instead to help viewers “get yourself through the day, to have a laugh with us, a smile, sometimes a tear — and maybe a little hope to start your day. Some fun! That’s what we want to be doing.”
What does it take to get “canceled” these days, anyway?
In its first major international acquisition, the U.S. giant stunned the Fox mogul with a deal that gives the Leslie Moonves-led company a foothold in the fourth-largest English-speaking market.
