Sunday, July 20, 2008

2008 TCA Awards Winners; Summer 2008 TCA Press Tour: NBC, Day 1

Our normal ratings report and coming week preview will return next week, as we are focused on the TCA tour. Last night at the summer 2008 TCA press tour was the annual TCA Awards. The 24th annual event saw Mad Men dominate the night. 2008 TCA Award recipients are as follows:

PROGRAM OF THE YEAR: Mad Men (AMC)
OUTSTANDING NEW PROGRAM: Mad Men (AMC)
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY: 30 Rock (NBC)
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA: Mad Men (AMC)
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN NEWS & INFORMATION: The War: A Film by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick (PBS)
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CHILDREN'S PROGRAMMING: WordGirl (PBS)
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN MOVIES, MINI-SERIES & SPECIALS: John Adams (HBO)
INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY: Tina Fey, 30 Rock (NBC)
INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA: Paul Giamatti, John Adams (HBO)
HERITAGE AWARD: The Wire (HBO)
CAREER ACHIEVEMENT: Lorne Michaels

Related:
2008 Nominees
2007 Winners
2006 Winners

We are nearing the end of the summer 2008 TCA press tour. NBC has the final two days including today. Today NBC will mainly showcase its cable networks while NBC itself will go tomorrow. NBC did have a few announcements to make today, however. Tuesday is a TCA set day visit, so nothing really will be covered then.
Up at the panel today were after lunch were Friday Night Lights (NBC/DirecTV), Tabatha's Salon Takeover (Bravo, The Real Housewives of Atlanta (Bravo), Coolio's Rules (Bravo), qubo TV shows, then The Starter Wife (USA Network), Sanctuary (Sci Fi), Caprica (Sci Fi), and then closing it out were SNL (NBC) and America's Toughest Jobs (NBC).

NBC's popular game show Deal or No Deal and the all-new extreme reality competition series America's Toughest Jobs will premiere with four special Monday night episodes beginning August 25. Deal or No Deal will return with the exciting Million Dollar Mission from 8-9 p.m. (ET), and America's Toughest Jobs will air from 9-10 p.m. (ET) before moving to Fridays at 8 p.m. ET beginning September 19. Deal will debut its Wednesday and Friday night episodes in October.
Saturday Night Live will make an early return this fall to capitalize on the hotly contested Presidential race, extending its traditional 20-episode season to 22, in its 34th season to premiere on Saturday, September 13. In addition, after making a splash this spring during the Democratic primaries, Saturday Night Live will return to the air with 10 new live broadcasts this fall with a Presidential Bash special prior to Election Day, Monday, November 3 (9:30-11 p.m. ET). And as we announced already, SNL is ready for primetime with Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday. Three live primetime half-hours will air October 9, 16 and 23 at 9:30 p.m. ET.

In Plain Sight, USA Network's newest original scripted series, will return for a second season with series star Mary McCormack (The West Wing, Private Parts) returning. The series, created/written/executive produced by David Maples and executive produced by Paul Stupin, has been given a 16-episode order and will start production in October.
USA Network will advance the 'Characters Welcome' brand by inviting a CIA linguist, an inner city trauma surgeon and a salesman turned morgue investigator among others to join the ambitious development slate for the 2008-09 season. A slate of three new pilot scripts, Covert Affairs, Operating Instructions and Stiffs, were announced today.
USA's previously announced project Royal Pains (working title) is being produced as a pilot starring Mark Feuerstein and directed by Jace Alexander and White Collar (working title) is a cast-contingent pilot.
USA Network's award-winning hit series, Monk, will air its 100th episode this summer during its seventh season on the network. The special episode will feature an all-star guest-cast, including many who have previously appeared in some of the show's most memorable episodes. Guest-stars include Eric McCormack, John Turturro, Howie Mandel, Sarah Silverman, Andy Richter, Brooke Adams, Sharon Lawrence, Ricardo Chavira, Kathryn Joosten, Jarrad Paul, Tim Bagley, David Koechner and Angela Kinsey. The landmark episode will air on Friday, September 5 at 9/8c on USA Network.
The Emmy Award-winning hit original series, The Starter Wife, starring Debra Messing will return on Friday, October 10 at 10/9c for 10 episodes on USA Network as a series after premiering as a mini-series in 2007.

Moving on to Sci Fi Channel, this fall, Sci Fi Channel is the ultimate destination for all things Halloween, featuring all-new episodes of Ghost Hunters, the 3rd annual Ghost Hunters Live Halloween event and the all-new 31 Days of Halloween programming extravaganza! Beginning October 1, this marathon will serve up the spookiest fare that Halloween has to offer, concluding with Ghost Hunters Live on Halloween night. Speaking of Ghost Hunters, the series was renewed for a fifth season. 25 episodes of spine-tingling investigations will air when the show returns in 2009.
Sci Fi's original movie franchise promises more action, thrills, cataclysmic disasters and mythological adventures in 2009 with an unprecedented 36 original action movies - up from 2008's slate of 24. The Channel's high-octane, entertaining original movies have made Sci Fi Saturday: The Most Dangerous Night of Television a destination for viewers, bringing in an average of 1.8 million viewers so far in 2008. In addition to the Saturday offerings, Sci Fi will also present its original movie fare on Sunday evenings beginning next year. Movies include Hellhounds (directed by Rick Schroeder), Lost Treasure of the Grand Canyon starring Shannen Doherty, and Lake Placid 3, sequel to Sci Fi's original movie Lake Placid 2. Also, Sci Fi Channel has greenlit Mirabilis, (working title) a 4-hour fantasy adventure miniseries where heroes battle the forces of darkness set against a backdrop of knights, sorcerers and dragons. Set to star in the movie are David James Elliott as protagonist John Serrogoth and Natassia Malthe as Perfidia.
Sci Fi Channel is also developing new series and mini-series. Projects include an original miniseries in development with Bryan Singer, a documentary drama called What If? as well as a slew of exciting alternative reality projects.
Sci Fi Channel has picked-up three original reality series for this fall. Six one hour episodes each that will premiere in November for Cash or Capture and Estate of Panic. Outer Space Astronauts will be a half-hour series and five episodes have been ordered, but no launch date as of yet.

Bravo announced a number of new and returning programs in the food, fashion, beauty, design and pop culture affinity groups, as well as various projects in development. From producer Sarah Jessica Parker, her production company Pretty Matches, comes American Artist (wt), an hour-long creative competition series in development between aspiring contemporary artists who will create and compete in a range of disciplines including sculpture, painting, photography and industrial design. Based on the British format and show of the same name comes Fashion House (wt), a creative competition series in development where teams of designers replicate the workings of the fashion business through a fashion house by designing an entire, cohesive line with the opportunity of having their line mass marketed. And Top Chef: Masters, a spin-off of the Emmy-nominated Top Chef produced by Magical Elves also in development, featuring world-renowned chefs competing against each other in a series of weekly challenges.
The network also unveiled a number of pick-ups for its returning series, and premiere dates for upcoming fall series and specials. Pick-ups include second season orders for Make Me A Supermodel and The Real Housewives of New York City, which boasts a new housewife for season two designer, model, author and fashion editor Kelly Bensimon. Additionally, the network announced that the upcoming fifth season of the No. 1 food show on cable, Top Chef, will be set in the culinary mecca of New York City.
The Rachel Zoe Project will premiere on September 8 at 11 p.m. ET/PT following the finale of Date My Ex: Jo & Slade (which launches Monday, July 21 at 10 p.m.), before moving to its regular time period on September 15 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The Real Housewives of Atlanta will premiere on Tuesday, September 16 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, and the special Tommy Hilfiger Presents: Ironic Iconic America will premiere on October 3 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

Newly owned NBC Universal cable network Oxygen also announced programming. Oxygen brings dance, diet and divas together with the pick-up of the new reality competition series Dance Your Ass Off. In this unique show, talented, full-figured contestants who struggle with their weight will dance to unleash their inner thin. Scheduled to premiere on Oxygen in 2009.
Oxygen's hit series The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency will return for a dramatic and sizzling new season on Tuesday, August 26 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
Oxygen has ordered a third season of The Bad Girls Club, the network's highest-rated original series ever to date. For the first time, the show's format has been expanded from half-hour to one-hour, giving new episodes even more drama, more conflict and more outrageous laughs.

Today felt like the TCA cable portion yet again with all of this cable stuff...tomorrow it will feel more like broadcast again when NBC has many panels tomorrow with their own shows and not their cable networks. So come on back tomorrow!


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, January 23

Shifting Gears - "Accommodations" (ABC, 9:02PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Matt joins Riley at Carter’s high school open house, where he’s unsettled to learn about the “accommodations” made for his grandson’s anxiety. Meanwhile, Riley reconnects with Caitlin, a former classmate, and sets her up with Gabriel.

Only Murders in the Building - "Sparring Partners" (ABC, 9:33PM ET/PT)
Closing in on the killer, Mabel takes her investigative talents into the ring; Oliver and Charles duke it out over a birdcage only to end up confronting their deepest paternal struggles.

Only Murders in the Building - "I Know Who Did It" (ABC, 10:12PM ET/PT)
The question of who did it remains, along with a few more questions that have been raised.

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "An Old Mustang" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Georgie worries that he’s leaving Connor out of his new project with Jim. Meanwhile, Mandy and Audrey struggle to decorate CeeCee’s nursery without fighting.

Ghosts - "The Primary Source" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Sam’s book publisher requires source material for her biography on Isaac, she and Jay take a field trip to find a diary he claims he hid when he was alive.

Animal Control - "Baby Kangaroos and Chickens" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Frank and Victoria compete to win Fiona's affections at the new kennels' fundraiser; Emily gets some very bad advice from Bettany on her speech; Patel and Shred find themselves facing the world's most charming squatter.

Going Dutch - "Korfball" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Everyone in town is talking about the upcoming Korfball match between the Americans and the Dutch; the colonel refuses to lose to the Dutch and Quinn brings out her high school alter ego "The Rocket" to make her dad proud.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 20)

Thursday, January 23

  • James Marsden (30 Rock) - Catch James on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Fortune Feimster (FUBAR/Kenan/Bless the Harts/Champions) - Fortune appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Denis Leary (Going Dutch/No Good Deed/Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll/The Job) - Denis stops by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Nick Kroll (Big Mouth/The League/Cavemen) - Nick appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Britt Lower (Ghosted/Man Seeking Woman/Big Lake) - Britt is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Thomas Lennon (The Odd Couple/Sean Saves the World/Reno 911!), Paul F. Tompkins (The Great North/BoJack Horseman/DAG) and Joe Manganiello (How I Met Your Mother) - Thomas, Paul and Joe are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Al Madrigal (Lopez vs Lopez/About a Boy/Gary Unmarried/Welcome to The Captain) - Al appears on Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
  • Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
  • Jason Biggs (Outmatched/Mad Love/Drexell's Class) - Jason and his wife Jenny Mollen are telling Drew about their new show Dinner and a Movie that features an episode focusing on 50 First Dates on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.


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10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
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02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series

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