Category Archives: Stories

Alyson Hannigan Crosses Fingers for Third Show as ‘How I Met Your Mother’ Signs Off

How I Met Your Mother signs off tonight after nine seasons on the air. I spoke with Alyson Hannigan for this piece at Today.com, where she talked about her next movie: shooting a CBS sitcom pilot, More Time With Family.

“I’ve been incredibly blessed that I’ve gotten two wonderful shows, but when I signed onto this, this was a hybrid show. It was going to be partially pre-taped, and partially in front of an audience,” Hannigan, 40, said of “Mother,” which ended up being entirely shot without one. (The laugh track is added in later.) “Well, we’ve yet to have the audience! So my next one is definitely an audience multi-cam.”

Alyson Hannigan Crosses Fingers for Third Show as ‘How I Met Your Mother’ Signs Off

James Van Der Beek on Playing an M.D. and the Chance of a ‘Dawson’s’ Reunion

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Who is “Walter Scott,” and why does he keep taking credit for my interviews? (I kid. Mostly.) At Parade, James Van Der Beek talked to me (from an interview back at TCA winter press tour) about his new CBS sitcom, Friends with Better Lives, the chances of a Dawson’s Creek reunion and what happened the last time he played a doctor on TV:

“I was in the last 10 episodes of Mercy on NBC. I came in for the last 10, and the ratings went up a tick but it wasn’t enough. The show got canceled [and] they used my picture: “James Van Der Beek’s Mercy…” and I was like, “Wait a minute! I wasn’t even in the pilot! How is this my show all of a sudden?”

James Van Der Beek on Playing an M.D. and the Chance of a ‘Dawson’s’ Reunion

How Apple Can Make Its Streaming Service Better Than Netflix

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Last night, the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple is in talks with Comcast to team up for a new streaming-television service that would use an Apple set-top box. At Quartz, I suggested four ways that Apple could make a splash and make its new service instantly better than Netflix. For starters, Use the Force:

In 2010, Apple finally landed exclusive digital rights to the Beatles catalog. Now, it should aggressively pursue the holy grail of exclusive movie digital rights: the Star Wars films, which still have yet to be released via any digital platform. (Remember, Lucasfilm is now owned by Disney, whose chairman and CEO, Bob Iger, sits on Apple’s Board of Directors.) Using the films to launch Apple’s streaming service, especially as anticipation builds toward the next Star Wars film, due out in December 2015, would be reason enough for many viewers to immediately get on board.

Assuming Apple goes ahead with the service, it needs to once again embrace its traditional role of innovator, not follower.

How Apple can make its streaming service better than Netflix

‘AMHQ’s’ Sam Champion Wants News Coverage to Help People Survive Weather Disasters

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Back at TCA winter press tour, I (nope, still not “Walter Scott”) spoke with Sam Champion for this Parade story about being frenemies with Al Roker, his new Weather Channel show AMHQ and why he left Good Morning America:

If I hadn’t taken this opportunity, I’d regret it the rest of my life. I like a challenge.

‘AMHQ’s’ Sam Champion Wants News Coverage to Help People Survive Weather Disasters

‘Shark Tank’ Video Interviews

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Just when you though it was safe to go back in the water … there’s even more Shark Tank material! Parade has posted the video interviews I conducted with the six Sharks after the photo shoot.

In the first video, I asked them to weigh in on why Shark Tank is so popular.

In the second video, they tell me what makes a successful Shark Tank pitch.

And with that, it’s finally time for me to leave the Shark Tank. What a fantastic story this was to work on — I had a blast!

Why is Shark Tank So Popular?: The Sharks Weigh In

What Makes for a Successful Shark Tank Pitch?

Just One Month In, Jimmy Fallon is Already King of Late Night—and YouTube

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Thanks to Mitra Kalita for this suggestion. One month into Jimmy Fallon’s tenure as new Tonight Show host, I wrote this Quartz piece on how he’s doing better than NBC could have ever dreamed: keeping the show number one in late-night while also dominating his competitors online:

Yet while Fallon has successfully maintained Tonight’s ratings dominance while drawing a significantly younger audience, his biggest achievement during his first month is online, where for the first time, people are viewing and sharing Tonight Show clips in massive numbers. His 10 most-watched Tonight clips on YouTube over the past month (from Feb. 17, the day of his first Tonight Show, to Mar. 15) have all garnered more than 2 million views. In contrast, only five of Leno’s Tonight Show clips have ever been watched more than 1 million times on YouTube.

While Quartz is famous for its innovative approach to charts and graphs, very few of my stories lend themselves to including them. But for this one, I was able to contribute some of my very own, as I painstakingly charted the number of times Fallon’s, Jimmy Kimmel’s and David Letterman’s most popular clips had been viewed on YouTube.

The numbers make one thing clear: almost immediately, Fallon has made the Tonight Show relevant online in a way it had never been before with Leno at the helm. And in the process, he has validated NBC’s controversial decision to give him The Tonight Show despite Leno’s continued reign atop the ratings. Fallon’s commanding numbers—both on TV and online—have ended (at least for now) any second-guessing that Leno was ushered off too early.

Meanwhile, Fallon and Kimmel’s YouTube success illustrates a key way the late-night landscape has evolved since the early days of Leno vs. Letterman: it’s no longer enough of a coup to simply land a big star; you also have to do something unexpected with them. The majority of both Fallon and Kimmel’s most popular YouTube clips feature big stars doing unexpected things, as opposed to the standard talk show anecdotes that Letterman (and Leno) stick to.

Until I did this story, I was shocked at Letterman’s meager online presence versus his time slot competitors. And congrats to Fallon on a first month to be proud of.

Just one month in, Jimmy Fallon is already king of late night—and YouTube

How the Weather Channel Plans to Keep You Tuned In for More Than 15 Minutes

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As the Weather Channel prepares to launch its new morning show, AMHQ with Sam Champion, I spoke with Champion and Weather Channel President David Clark (in interviews I conducted back at TCA winter press tour) about the network’s plans to keep audiences tuned in for more than 15 minutes.

Almost 10 million viewers tune in—and tune out—each morning. During the first eight weeks of 2014, the Weather Channel network enjoyed an enormous “reach” weekdays between 7 and 10am, with 9.5 million adults 25-54 (the advertising demographic most prized in cable news) tuning in for at least one minute. That number dwarfed the reach of the cable news networks during the same period: 8.3 million for CNN, 7.8 million for Fox News and 5.6 million for MSNBC.

But that morning audience isn’t sticking around. The Weather Channel’s average morning tune-in was 15.15 minutes, compared to 25.12 minutes for Fox News, 24.96 for MSNBC and 15.91 for CNN. “We have enormous reach in the morning, but it’s sporadic,” Weather Channel President David Clark told Quartz. “We felt there was an opportunity to put a big show there and change the relationship from a place where people come to check their weather to a place where people come to get a show and be part of their daily routine.”

Champion also talks about why viewers should watch the network as opposed to just getting weather info from the Weather Channel app, and his plans to expand the scope of the network’s weather coverage.

How the Weather Channel plans to keep you tuned in for more than 15 minutes

Meet the Sharks From ‘Shark Tank’

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As part of my extensive Parade cover story on Shark Tank, I wrote up sidebars on each of the six Sharks, packed with info about what makes them tick. Here they are:

Shark Tank’s Barbara Corcoran on the Deal She’s Proudest Of

Shark Tank’s Mark Cuban: “I Didn’t Think the Show Would Last!”

Shark Tank’s Lori Greiner: ‘I Don’t Pick People Who Are Just Using the Show for Publicity’

Shark Tank’s Robert Herjavec: ‘Don’t Mistake My Kindness for Weakness’

Shark Tank’s Daymond John on the Hollywood Star Who Loves the Sharks

Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary: ‘You’ve Got to Know the Numbers—Or I Will Eviscerate You’

Swimming With Sharks: The Moguls of ‘Shark Tank’ Tell All About Making Inventors’ Dreams Come True

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At long last, you can finally read the Shark Tank cover story for Parade that I’ve been working so long and hard on! I spent time with all six Sharks — Lori Greiner, Daymond John, Robert Herjavec, Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary and Barbara Corcoran — and also talked with executive producer Mark Burnett and several of the show’s most successful entrepreneurs. The result is what I think is the definitive Shark Tank story, for newbies and die-hard fans alike!

Shark Tank is one of the quietest successful stories on TV. Ratings have steadily grown each season, which is unprecedented, especially for a reality show. As I wrote at Parade,

In short, the country hasn’t been this shark-obsessed since Jaws. “It’s what America stands for. Everybody’s got a dream,” says executive producer Mark Burnett, who also oversees Survivor and The Voice. Sony Pictures Television produces the show and adapted it from the Japanese-based reality format known in most countries as Dragons’ Den. “It says a lot about the psyche of our culture: Crazy things are possible, even in a down economy,” adds Amy Cosper, editor in chief of Entrepreneur magazine. “Entrepreneurs see things that others don’t.”

I’m really proud of how this one turned out, and hope you all enjoy it!

Swimming With Sharks: The Moguls of Shark Tank Tell All About Making Inventors’ Dreams Come True

‘Shark Tank’: The TV Hit That’s Reinventing the American Dream

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I’m so excited to finally share the mystery story I’ve spent much of the past six weeks immersed in: my latest Parade cover, on the hit ABC reality competition show Shark Tank.

I spent time with all six Sharks — Lori Greiner, Daymond John, Robert Herjavec, Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary and Barbara Corcoran — for the cover story. The whole thing will go online tomorrow, but Parade has posted a cover tease today, including an explanation of what happens after the Sharks close the deals they make on the show:

After the deals close, the real work begins for the Sharks. “Filming is the easiest part,” says Cuban. “The hardest part is that you actually have to have a connection and help these companies.” That fact has helped the Sharks change the country’s perception of business moguls, who have long been equated with the toxic likes of Wall Street’s Gordon “Greed Is Good” Gekko. “We’re entrepreneurs helping fledgling businesspeople,” says Greiner. Adds Herjavec, “Shark Tank shows you don’t have to be a jerk to be successful.”

Look for much more tomorrow!

Shark Tank: The TV Hit That’s Reinventing the American Dream

TV & Not TV

Jason Lynch brings you everything you need to know about television — and beyond

Category Archives: Stories

Alyson Hannigan Crosses Fingers for Third Show as ‘How I Met Your Mother’ Signs Off

James Van Der Beek on Playing an M.D. and the Chance of a ‘Dawson’s’ Reunion

How Apple Can Make Its Streaming Service Better Than Netflix

‘AMHQ’s’ Sam Champion Wants News Coverage to Help People Survive Weather Disasters

‘Shark Tank’ Video Interviews

Just One Month In, Jimmy Fallon is Already King of Late Night—and YouTube

How the Weather Channel Plans to Keep You Tuned In for More Than 15 Minutes

Meet the Sharks From ‘Shark Tank’

Swimming With Sharks: The Moguls of ‘Shark Tank’ Tell All About Making Inventors’ Dreams Come True

‘Shark Tank’: The TV Hit That’s Reinventing the American Dream