Category Archives: Adweek

With Support From Yahoo, ‘Community’ Now Looks to Go Beyond ‘Six Seasons and a Movie’

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Community has managed to cheat death more times than Jason Voorhees. Last June, the cult sitcom — which had been canceled by NBC in May — pulled off its most improbable comeback yet, finding a new home on Yahoo Screen just hours before the cast’s contracts were set to expire.

Creator Dan Harmon and his reunited (and slightly smaller) cast spoke at winter press tour about the sixth season of the show — which debuts March 17 — and how audiences will watching in. As I wrote at Adweek,

The Yahoo Screen version of Community will be free but ad-supported. “The entire sixth season takes place inside a Honda,” joked Harmon. “Whether or not that means there will be classic commercial pods placed within the playtime, I’m a little out of my jurisdiction saying that, but I do know that I’m writing it as if there will [be ads] because as a writer, three-act stories are what work for me.

Much more remains up in the air, including how long each episodes will be, and whether Harmon will be given any ratings metrics. Also, Harmon said the shows longtime “six seasons a movie” mantra might need a rewrite: “I’m definitely not writing it as if it’s the end. That’s not happening,” he said. You’ll also want to read what Harmon and Gillian Jacobs said might happen the next time Community enters what fans refer to as “the darkest timeline.”

With Support From Yahoo, Community Now Looks to Go Beyond ‘6 Seasons and a Movie’

Cosby Show Retrospective Quietly Pulled From Rebranded TV Guide Network’s Lineup

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It’s not easy breaking exclusive news when you’re alongside 200 TV journalists at press tour, but it can be done. While researching my Adweek story on the launch of Pop, I noticed that a retrospective on The Cosby Show, announced last October as part of Pop’s initial slate, had quietly been dropped from the lineup. Brad Schwartz, Pop’s president of entertainment and media, explained his decision to place the episode on “permanent pause”:

“With everything going on, why do you need to run it?” said Schwartz, whose rebranded channel, Pop, celebrates “enthusiastic fandom,” which is pretty much the opposite of how most audiences now feel about Cosby. “I’m not going to pass judgment or make a decision on who’s right and wrong, but it was a very easy decision for us to say, ‘Let’s not air it.'”

The marks at least the fourth Cosby-related program to be taken off the air in the wake of Bill Cosby’s scandal. I also asked Schwartz, who had previously pulled 7th Heaven off TV Guide Network in response to the Stephen Collins child molestation allegations, if there are any circumstances under which the show will air. You’ll have to read what he told me.

Cosby Show Retrospective Quietly Pulled From Rebranded TV Guide Network’s Lineup

TV Guide Network Relaunches as Pop, With Original Shows and No Annoying Scroll

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While I’ve been busy covering (and writing about) all the panels at winter press tour, I’ve also been conducting several one-on-one interviews with various execs and talent. Many of those  will be banked for the weeks and months ahead, but a few of them are running this week. First out of the gate is this Adweek feature on Pop, the new channel that TV Guide Network (also known as TVGN) is relaunching as beginning tomorrow. Brad Schwartz, Pop’s president of entertainment and media, walked me through the relaunch:

He and his team determined that “a complete revolution of the channel, where you completely alienate the people and start again with something fresh and new, is a very difficult road,” as OWN learned when it struggled after rebranding from Discovery Health. Instead, they opted for “an evolution. Let’s stay in this pop culture lane,” and take advantage of parent company CBS’s vast entertainment resources like Entertainment Tonight and Big Brother.

“Fandom, social media and these digital tools, they’ve created these borderless communities of people with shared passions,” explains Schwartz. “It’s why Comic-Con has never been bigger. It’s why there’s a show called Talking Dead that does nothing but talk about another show. Fandom is this thing that’s dominating culture these days. … I think it’s something that is a very appealing brand sensibility for advertisers.”

There’s a lot on Pop that will appeal to TV lovers, particularly Schitt’s Creek, a new original comedy series starring Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara. Schwartz also talked about the name change and where he wants to take Pop going forward.

Farewell, TVGN!

TV Guide Network Relaunches as Pop, With Original Shows and No Annoying Scroll

How Showtime Got David Lynch to Revive ‘Twin Peaks’

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kyle maclachlan twin peaks

As reporters covering TCA winter press tour, we don’t clap or cheer for the panelists (which often confuses those who are used to being showered with applause when they walk on stage for a large audience), but I was sure tempted to break that rule when Kyle MacLachlan came out dressed as Agent Dale Cooper to announce that he had signed on to Showtime’s upcoming revival of Twin Peaks.

Showtime Networks President David Nevins, who had previously talked with me about landing the show, shared more details about what audiences should expect from the limited series when it airs next year. As I wrote at Adweek,

Now that the deal is clinched, Nevins says his job boils down to “more or less, writing checks and leaving them alone. It’s David’s show, it’s Mark’s show, I will be the grateful recipient of it,” he said. “I will say that they have been very specific in promising closure, and that’s exciting. … From what I’ve seen, this is going to live up to expectations and then some.”

Production will begin later this year, and while locations haven’t been finalized, “I hope to go back to Washington,” where the series was shot, said Nevins.

Read the rest of the story for much more on how Nevins sealed the deal with Lynch, and why Twin Peaks represents an anomaly for Showtime.

How Showtime Got David Lynch to Revive Twin Peaks

‘Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ Will Debut Sept. 8

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CBS still leads all broadcasters in total viewers, but during winter press tour, all anyone wanted to talk about was its big upcoming year in late-night. That included network president Nina Tassler, who announced that Late Show with Stephen Colbert will debut Sept. 8. While the title and premiere date are set, everything else about the show is up in the air, as I wrote at Adweek:

Colbert will have music and guests on the show, but “whether or not he’s going to start with an opening monologue, he’s working on that right now,” said Tassler. “But clearly he knows that he is introducing the real Stephen Colbert to his audience. And he’s really putting a lot of attention on making sure the show is still topical, is still relevant.”

Tassler said she is open to throwing out much of the traditional talk show format if that’s what Colbert wants, explaining that part of CBS getting into business with him was about “really letting him do what he wants to do. We’re sitting back and waiting for him to come to us and say what he has in mind.” Still, she said, “I think there will be parts [that are] traditional, in some context, and then there are things where he’s going to want to try something else.”

Tassler also talked about her surprising plans to bridge the gap this summer between Letterman’s May exit and Colbert’s debut in September.

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Will Debut Sept. 8

The CW Takes the Unusual Step of Renewing Its Entire Fall Lineup

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Several hours before The CW won its first-ever Golden Globe, becoming the only broadcast network to do so this year, the network had an even bigger drop-the-mic moment: at winter press tour, it renewed eight series, including its entire fall lineup. As I wrote at Adweek,

No broadcaster in recent memory has ever renewed its entire fall lineup before. Pedowitz told reporters that this is part of the network’s transition to year-round scripted programming, with the renewed series returning over next fall, midseason and summer. “This enables us to finally get to the place of providing scripted summer programming,” he said, “and so the summer of ’16 should be a much bigger summer for us than ever before.”

Those hits have helped draw men back to the network. In the 2010-2011 season, the CW’s audience was only 30 percent male, and that percentage has grown to 40 percent this season. Also, “we grew a little older than we used to be,” said Pedowitz. “Our affiliates are happier [with] that.”

Pedowitz also talked about nurturing his low-rated but critically-acclaimed (and now Golden Globe-winning) Jane the Virgin, and why he’s exercising caution when it comes to crossovers and adding other superhero series to his stable.

The CW Takes the Unusual Step of Renewing Its Entire Fall Lineup

No, Walter and Jesse Won’t Be in ‘Better Call Saul.’ But Anyone Else Could Turn Up

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Ever since Breaking Bad went off the air, AMC has been desperately searching for the next Breaking Bad. Now the network hopes it has found it…with their new Breaking Bad prequel, Better Call Saul, which paneled today at winter press tour.

As I wrote at Adweek, Vince Gilligan, the creator of both Breaking Bad and its spinoff, says the sky’s the limit when it comes to Breaking Bad characters popping up on Better Call Saul — well, everyone except Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul).

“Walt and Jesse don’t show up in Season 1. But everything else is on the table,” co-creator Peter Gould told reporters at today’s press event. “We want this thing to stand on its own.” (Also, as the AMC panel pointed out, Jesse Pinkman would have been in middle school during Better Call Saul’s first season.)

Before introducing the Better Call Saul panel, AMC president Charlie Collier talked about the “dramatic change” facing in the network, and why AMC is now operating in “a Live + 365 environment” (do advertisers know?).

No, Walter and Jesse Won’t Be in ‘Better Call Saul.’ But Anyone Else Could Turn Up

‘Mad Men’ Creator Hopes Finale Will Delight Fans, But Not ‘Give Them Everything They Want’

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AMC is calling the upcoming Mad Men finale “The End of an Era,” and that’s not hyperbole. Today at winter press tour, creator Matt Weiner and Mad Men’s original six cast members assembled to reflect on Mad Men’s legacy, and its “surprise” conclusion.

As I wrote at Adweek, Weiner admitted he didn’t want to craft a finale that would spark fan outrage, like the How I Met Your Mother conclusion did:

“I’m trying to delight them and confound them, and not frustrate and irritate them. I don’t want them to walk away angry,” Weiner said of Mad Men viewers. But at the same time, “I don’t want to pander to them. … Sometimes, people have to be protected from what they want to see happen. You can’t just give them everything they want.”

There’s much more from the cast on how they reacted to the finale, and Weiner talks about protecting the Mad Men brand in the years to come.

‘Mad Men’ Creator Hopes Finale Will Delight Fans, But Not ‘Give Them Everything They Want’

Discovery’s New President Promises to Ditch Silly Stunts Like ‘Eaten Alive’

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Discovery Channel president Rich Ross had only been on the job 72 hours when he appeared at TCA winter press tour this week, but he already had plenty of ideas about how to stem the network’s eroding ratings. As I wrote at Adweek,

The key, he said, will to be “authentic.”

“It’s really important that we look into this incredible brand and all the programming that we make and make sure that’s what we stand for,” he told journalists at the Television Critics Association winter press tour. “And it’s a filter in which we’re looking at everything we have on the air and everything we’re talking about moving forward.”

That means no more silly stunts like December’s Eaten Alive special. As Ross promised, “I don’t believe you’ll be seeing a person eaten by a snake during my time.”

Discovery’s New President Promises to Ditch Silly Stunts Like ‘Eaten Alive’

History Channel Heads West With New Texas Series, Shot in Classic CinemaScope

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Hoping to replicate its Memorial Day ratings bonanza from its 2012 miniseries Hatfields & McCoys, History is debuting another Western miniseries, Texas Rising, in the same slot this year. As I wrote at Adweek, History is making a little history of its own in the process:

The miniseries is being filmed in CinemaScope (with its 2.35:1 shooting ratio), a first for a television program. “When you watch it at home, it will be as if you’re watching one of the great classic Westerns,” said executive producer Leslie Greif. “We made a film that’s just airing on television.”

It actually won’t just be airing on television. History is partnering with Fathom Events to air a sneak preview of the first episode in Regal, Cinemark and AMC theaters. So, to recap: if you want to see a new movie like The Interview, turn on your TV. If you want to see the premiere of Texas Rising, go to a movie theater.

History Channel Heads West With New Texas Series, Shot in Classic CinemaScope