TCA 2007 Summer Tour: CBS Day 1; TBS Adds 'Just Shoot Me', Ratings News for New Sitcom; Our Emmy Picks

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

TCA 2007 Summer Tour: CBS Day 1; TBS Adds 'Just Shoot Me', Ratings News for New Sitcom; Our Emmy Picks

It is now CBS's turn at the TCA Summer Press Tour. The session panels for today were: Executive Session, Cane, Shark, How I Met Your Mother, Kid Nation, Moonlight, Big Bang Theory. They also have released their fall premiere dates. CBS today announced plans for the premieres of its new and returning series which includes the early debut of its freshman reality series Kid Nation, as well as Survivor: China and most of its Sunday lineup during the week of Sept. 17. The network will launch the remainder of its schedule beginning Monday, Sept. 24, the official start of the 2007-2008 season.
Viva Laughlin, the new mystery drama with music, will have a special preview on Thursday, Oct. 18 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) following CSI before moving to its regular Sunday (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) time period on Oct. 21 to take advantage of a two-week window in the schedule without football overruns.

CBS Fall Premiere Dates:

Wednesday, Sept. 19
8 p.m. Kid Nation

Thursday, Sept. 20
8 p.m. Survivor: China

Sunday, Sept. 23
7 p.m. 60 Minutes
9 p.m. Cold Case
10 p.m. Shark

Monday, Sept. 24
8 p.m. How I Met Your Mother
8:30 p.m. The Big Bang Theory
9 p.m. Two and a Half Men
9:30 p.m. Rules of Engagement
10 p.m. CSI: Miami

Tuesday, Sept. 25
8 p.m. NCIS
9 p.m. The Unit
10 p.m. Cane

Wednesday, Sept. 26
9 p.m. Criminal Minds
10 p.m. CSI: NY

Thursday, Sept. 27
9 p.m. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
10 p.m. Without a Trace

Friday, Sept. 28
8 p.m. Ghost Whisperer
9 p.m. Moonlight
10 p.m. NUMB3RS

Saturday, Sept. 29
8 p.m. Crimetime Saturday
9 p.m. Crimetime Saturday
10 p.m. 48 Hours Mystery

Thursday, Oct. 18
10 p.m. Viva Laughlin (special preview)

Sunday, Oct. 21
8 p.m. Viva Laughlin (time period premiere)

TBS will add the hit '90s sitcom Just Shoot Me to its afternoon line-up starting August 6. It will air weekdays at 1:00 & 1:30pm, shifting the Steve Harvey Show hour to 12 & 12:30pm. Thus, NewsRadio will be leaving the line-up. In addition, it looks like TBS will not renew the contract for The Drew Carey Show, because starting August 27, an extra Cosby Show episode will air at 6:30am weekday mornings. Anyway, I'm not sure how long TBS will run Just Shoot Me. It is coming to TV Land in January and then it will also come back to local channels next June. TBS could share it with TV Land, so who knows, Discuss these pre-fall schedule changes, by clicking HERE.
Sticking with TBS, last night's premiere of the new sitcom The Bill Engvall Show scored big. The series' debut telecast last night delivered 3.9 million viewers and 2.8 million households, securing a place among ad-supported cable's Top 3 sitcom telecasts (original or acquired) of all-time among households and Top 5 original sitcom telecasts of all-time among key adult demos and viewers. The premiere garnered a 3.0 coverage household rating/2.5 national rating. It ranked as ad-supported cable's top program for the entire day in delivery of adults 18-49, adults 25-54, viewers and households.
Set in a Denver suburb, The Bill Engvall Show casts the Blue Collar Comedy headliner as Bill Pearson, a family counselor whose own family is unpredictable, somewhat absurd and a little mixed up themselves. Nancy Travis plays his wife, Susan, who is trying to make sure their three children turn out all right. Filling out the rest of the family, Jennifer Lawrence plays Bill and Susan’s teenage daughter, Lauren, while their sons are played by Graham Patrick Martin as Trent, a sports and video game enthusiast, and Skyler Gisondo as Bryan, a musically talented neat freak with a pet snake. Tim Meadows and Steve Hytner co-star as Bill's best friends.

Today we will give our preview of what we think the nominations for the Emmy's will look like. The real nominations are tomorrow (Thursday) morning, so we will give you those then. But for now...here are our predictions for the main acting categories for the 59th Annual Emmy Awards:

BEST COMEDY SERIES
Desperate Housewives (ABC)
The Office (NBC)
Ugly Betty (ABC)
30 Rock (NBC)
Entourage (HBO)
MY THOUGHTS: Two and a Half Men, Weeds or Scrubs could sneak in. The winner will be Ugly Betty or The Office, I think.

BEST COMEDY ACTOR
Tony Shalhoub, Monk (USA Network)
Steve Carell, The Office (NBC)
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock (NBC)
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men (CBS)
Zach Braff, Scrubs (NBC)
MY THOUGHTS: Braff could be left off again and maybe Jason Lee will be in. Eric Mabius is a long shot.

BEST COMEDY ACTRESS
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty (ABC)
Teri Hatcher, Desperate Housewives (ABC)
Mary Louise Parker, Weeds (Showtime)
Felicity Huffman, Desperate Housewives (ABC)
Tina Fey, 30 Rock (NBC)
MY THOUGHTS: Marcia Cross could be in here. Look for this category to be almost totally different than last year. Ferrera will be the favorite.

BEST SUPPORTING COMEDY ACTOR
Kevin Dillion, Entourage (HBO)
John Cryer, Two and a Half Men (CBS)
Rainn Wilson, The Office (NBC)
Michael Urie, Ugly Betty (ABC)
Jeremy Piven, Entourage (HBO)
MY THOUGHTS: Tough category. HBO and NBC stars will rule this list. Urie will be the huge underdog.

BEST SUPPORTING COMEDY ACTRESS
Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty (ABC)
Elizabeth Perkins, Weeds (Showtime)
Jamie Pressly, My Name is Earl (NBC)
Nicollette Sheridan, Desperate Housewives (ABC)
Jenna Fischer, The Office (NBC)
MY THOUGHTS: Nicollette better get nominated this year! She was great again. Other ladies who can get nods are Becki Newton, Conchata Ferrell and the great Kathryn Joosten.

BEST DRAMA SERIES
Lost (ABC)
Friday Night Lights (NBC)
Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
The Sopranos (HBO)
Heroes (NBC)
MY THOUGHTS: Tough category. House could get snubbed this year. Brothers & Sisters could be in here over FNL. 24 had a bad year.

BEST DRAMA ACTOR
Hugh Laurie, House (FOX)
James Spader, Boston Legal (ABC)
James Gandolfini, The Sopranos (HBO)
Denis Leary, Rescue Me (FOX)
Michael C. Hall, Dexter (Showtime)
MY THOUGHTS: Kyle Chandler and Kiefer Sutherland would not be surprises if they get nominated. Patrick Dempsey and Matthew Fox are long shots.

BEST DRAMA ACTRESS
Edie Falco, The Sopranos (HBO)
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer (TNT)
Minnie Driver, The Riches (FX)
Ellen Pompeo, Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
MY THOUGHTS: I think Pompeo will make it this year. Connie Britton, Calista Flockhart or Patricia Arquette could also sneak in.

BEST SUPPORTING DRAMA ACTOR
Terry O'Quinn, Lost (ABC)
William Shatner, Boston Legal (ABC)
Masi Oka, Heroes (NBC)
Michael Imperioli, The Sopranos (HBO)
Michael Emerson, Lost (ABC)
MY THOUGHTS: Please give the nomination and win to O'Quinn. He deserves it.

BEST SUPPORTING DRAMA ACTRESS
Rachel Griffiths, Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
Patricia Wettig, Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Katherine Heigl, Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
Lorraine Bracco, The Sopranos (HBO)
MY THOUGHTS: ABC will rule this category. Chandra Wilson and Elizabeth Mitchell could also be here.

Nominations are announced tomorrow morning. Come on back here and we will give you the official nominations and you can compare those to our picks!

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, April 9

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A Stuffed Monkey and an Ex-Girlfriend" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When CeeCee loses her favorite toy, Mandy and Meemaw (Annie Potts) take it as an opportunity to make some money. Meanwhile, Connor contemplates revisiting an old relationship.

Ghosts - "Michael Jackson Goes to HR" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Trevor lands himself in trouble when an inappropriate gift to a co‑worker forces him into an HR meeting only Jay can handle. Meanwhile, Pete unintentionally sparks drama with Alberta after casually mentioning a surprise visit to his ex.

Animal Control - "Scaredy Cats and Card Sharks" (Fox, 9:02PM ET/PT)
When Frank and Daisy lose $5,000 in union funds, they try to win the money back by gambling; Shred and Patel cover the late-night shift at the precinct.

Going Dutch - "The Heart Locker" (Fox, 9:32PM ET/PT)
After throwing out his back, the Colonel is ordered to bed rest; the base is sent to sweep for landmines at a local farm, where Major Shah suddenly finds himself in serious danger when he steps on one.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 6)

Thursday, April 9

Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Catch Kerry on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Riz Ahmed (Bait) - Riz is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Nathan Lane (Mid-Century Modern/Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Arsenio Hall (Arsenio) - Arsenio is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Jim Parsons (Young Sheldon/The Big Bang Theory) - Jim appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Judy Reyes (Scrubs) - Judy talks about Scrubs and High Potential on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Dany Levy (Big Mistakes/Schitt's Creek) - Dan talks about Big Mistakes on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Felicity Huffman (Sports Night) - Felicity dishes on Doc on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair/Malcolm in the Middle/The Louie Show), Frankie Muniz (Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair/Malcolm in the Middle) and Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair/Malcolm in the Middle/Help Me Help You) - Bryan, Frankie and Jane talk about Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
John C. Reilly (Moonbase 8) - NBC's Today has "Head or Tails" with John in the 9am hour.
Billy Magnussen (The Franchise/Made for Love) - NBC's Today catches up with Billy in the 9am hour.
Terry Crews (Brooklyn Nine-Nine/Are We There Yet?/Everybody Hates Chris) - Tamron Hall has a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE with Terry and Rebecca King-Crews revealing for the first time Rebecca's health battle, so check your local listings.
Kenya Barris (blackAF) - Kenya talks about Prime's Jerry West: The Logo on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Juliette Lewis (Camping/I Married Dora) - Juliette tells Drew about her current run in Broadway show The Rocky Horror Show on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.