NBC is building momentum among broadcast networks, but parent NBCUniversal’s cable networks are in transition, with USA regrouping after giving up on last year’s comedy push and Bravo and E! venturing into scripted series for the first time. All three networks made the case for their respective new directions at winter press tour, as I wrote at Adweek:

“It’s about creating that next generation of hits for us,” USA president Chris McCumber told Adweek. He said the network is shifting away from comedy to focus on its strong drama development slate, including Dig (debuting March 5), Complications (summer), and its cyber-crime drama Mr. Robot, which McCumber is most enthusiastic about.

“We saw the dramas that were coming down the line, and we said, we feel so strongly about them, that we want to make sure we pick our shots,” McCumber said. “You can’t launch everything. And so you need to be able to say, we’re going to prioritize these.”

Read the story for much more on Bravo and E!’s respective forays into scripted territory, with Odd Mom Out and The Royals.

From USA to Bravo, NBCUniversal’s Cable Channels are in Transition

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Has the ‘Sharknado’ Franchise Finally ‘Jumped the Shark’?

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I can’t remember too many nights of TV that I enjoyed more last year than watching Sharknado last July 11, along with seemingly all of Twitter. Even Syfy was shocked by the social media tsumani that ensued, so it’s no surprise that they’re hoping to replicate it again this summer with Sharknado 2: The Second One. At The Daily Beast, I spoke with stars Ian Ziering and Tara Reid, director Anthony C. Ferrante and writer Thunder Levin (in interviews I conducted at TCA summer press tour) about the first film’s unlikely success, and the attempt to over-the-top themselves with the sequel. As I wrote,

The cast and crew also bristle whenever someone describes Sharknado as “campy,” insisting that one of the secrets to its success is that everyone involved is playing it straight. “That’s the brilliance of Anthony, because he made sure that there was never a moment where anybody would break the fourth wall. No one’s feeling better than this material. No one’s winking, like, ‘Hey, we both know…’ We took it all seriously,” says Ziering, who has now embraced the franchise to the point where he refers to the films as “S1” and “S2.” “If you put yourself in that situation, it’s lethal, and there’s really nothing funny about this. So even the most ridiculous lines have to be said earnestly. But if you step outside and you’re watching, you’re like, ‘Oh my God, did he just say there are flaming sharks flying out of the air? It sounds ridiculous!’”

Adds Ferrante, “The magic to the movie is that you have everybody play it straight, unless they’re intentional comic relief like Judd Hirsch or Judah. If everybody’s taking it seriously, that’s where it’s funny. And the fact that Matt Lauer gives a war cry before he kills the shark, and he does it with conviction, that’s just gold.”

The first Sharknado was set in L.A. and its sequel is in New York City, so where should the third film be set? I asked the cast and crew, who have some pretty intriguing ideas.

‘Sharknado 2’ in Winter: Has the Franchise Jumped the Shark?

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