Thursday, June 21, 2012
TBS, Local Syndication Acquire 2 Broke Girls in 2015, Locals Get Mike & Molly in 2014; Review of Worst Audition Ever's New York Show
TBS has acquired the off-network rights to 2 Broke Girls, the breakout freshman hit comedy created by Emmy(R) winner/executive producer Michael Patrick King (Sex and the City) and white-hot comedian Whitney Cummings. Television's #1 new series of the 2011-12 season with adults 18-49 and the #1 new comedy among total viewers, 2 Broke Girls is distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television and is set to join the TBS lineup in 2015. It is being reported that TBS has paid a record $1.7 million per episode for the series, beating the $1.5 million per episode they bought for The Big Bang Theory and USA Network's $1.5 million per episode signing of Modern Family (which starts in 2013).
2 Broke Girls will return for its second season this fall on CBS. The series is produced by Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with MPK Productions and Warner Bros. Television. TBS' deal for 2 Broke Girls adds another outstanding contemporary comedy to a slate that includes Cougar Town, which is making the move to the network as an original series in 2013, and acquired hit The Big Bang Theory, which is currently dominating the charts as basic cable's #1 sitcom. TBS' roster also includes the original sitcom Men at Work, which premiered in May; Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse, returning with new episodes July 13; Sullivan & Son, premiering July 19; and one-hour comedy Wedding Band, set to premiere later this year.
And cable is not all for 2 Broke Girls. It has already been sold for local broadcast syndication as well with another comedy! Warner Bros. Domestic Television's Mike & Molly and 2 Broke Girls have both been sold to the CBS Television Stations and Weigel for off-network debuts in fall 2014 and 2015, respectively. The CBS Television Stations will serve as the primary launch group, taking the show for their stations in New York (WLNY), Los Angeles (KCAL), Philadelphia (WPSG), Dallas (KTXA), San Francisco (KBCW), Boston (WSBK), Atlanta (WUPA), Detroit (WKBD), Seattle (KSTW), Tampa (WTOG), Miami (WBFS), Pittsburgh (WPCW) and Sacramento, Calif. (KMAX). In addition, both series also have been bought by the Weigel station group for its stations in Chicago (WCIU) and Milwaukee (WDJT-WMLW). As of now, both have already been cleared in 35% of the country. Stay tuned for more clearances as we get closer to Fall 2014 for Mike & Molly and Fall 2015 for 2 Broke Girls. A cable deal is expected to be reached for Mike & Molly by next week...so stay tuned for that announcement. What network do you think will make a run for that? TBS like 2 Broke Girls and Big Bang? FX like Two and a Half Men? ABC Family like The Middle? USA Network like Modern Family? Or a dark horse? Tweet us or Facebook us!
Finally, we leave you today with a review of the live evening comedy show Worst Audition Ever! As we reported last week, the show hit New York City for the first time on Monday (June 18) and we had the honor to be in attendance to see this vibrant show at Joe's Pub. The evening benefited The Actors Fund, so it was for a great organization. Creator/producer Christine Lakin along with producers Alec Ledd, Daniel A. Miles and Corri English have already found success with the show in Los Angeles but doing a New York style show is completely different. The New York show certainly had a New York style to it with all the worst auditions being theater-themed, which New York of course is famous for. The producers did a fabulous job in making the theme very obvious. There were six performers telling their worst auditions ever and each one was completely different from the other. That made the night more interesting, intriguing and of course funny! As we mentioned last week, performing were John West, Jenna Leigh Green, Tyler Maynard, Jena Friedman, Cheryl Stern and Kevin Duda. There were plenty of sitcom references for us sitcom lovers as well...from Saved by the Bell (John West learned to kiss for an audition by watching Zach Morris!) to Sabrina the Teenage Witch (Jenna Leigh Green of course played Libby on the show). I think there was a M*A*S*H reference somewhere in there, too. Wow! As for the audition stories, I think Tyler Maynard stole the show with his hilarious story of one night in New York working at a hotel and being in P. Diddy's "crew" for the night. I don't want to give anything more away, but that one really got the audience dying of laughter. Jenna Leigh Green shared a comical story of auditioning for Wicked as Nessarose. Other worst audition stories from the night included Cheryl Stern in La Cage aux Folles starring Kelsey Grammer and how she had to re-audition for the part when Kelsey left...and didn't get the part! John West shared his story of auditioning for the very first time when he was 12 in Tennessee and learned about homosexuals. Some of his wording in his story was really amusing (rated TV MA, ha). The night was hosted by theater veteran Daniel Reichard and directed by Kristin Hanngi, who was celebrating her birthday on that night!
Worst Audition Ever is a must see. It has the perfect set-up and it is simple. Sometimes simplicity is all that is needed to make a show work well. It makes for a good night of laughs and fun. If you've ever gone to a sitcom taping you know what I mean. While this isn't scripted like sitcoms, it's the inside stories of how auditions work and how sometimes they don't work out that make this very cool. And sometimes they come out hysterical and sharing them to others makes it even better. Painfully true, mutually hilarious and completely cathartic is really the perfect way to describe these worst auditions ever. The New York version was the first time I got to see the show live, and I have to say, I wish I was in attendance for the Los Angeles shows over the last year. Hearing these inside stories is very cool and you just want to hear them all. It's like a TV series you can't miss from the beginning like Lost. Yes this live show doesn't have the storylines being connected for each show, but once you see a few you, you want to go back and see them all and want to see the upcoming ones as well. Thankfully there are some worst auditions on their website for everyone to sample and hopefully the New York show auditions are put up soon for you to see. A TV version of Worst Audition Ever is in the works, so if and when that happens, we'll get to see even more actors/directors telling these inside stories. I see success if it happens and whoever airs it will be lucky to have it. Christine Lakin and company have created this very unique idea and this can go on for many years to come. It's got branding written all over it! When the next evening of comedy is scheduled (in LA, NY or perhaps even another city?), make sure you attend and feel the show in person. It's a great atmosphere (you get to talk with the performers/producers in person after show!) and of course the audition stories are off-the-wall. I'm already dying to know who is coming up next to share their worst audition ever!
Read our story from last week for complete information on Worst Audition Ever. Stay with us for any further news on the show and don't forget to visit their website.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Saturday, December 21
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 16)
Friday, December 20
- Jason Bateman (Arrested Development/George and Leo/Chicago Sons/Simon/The Hogan Family/It's Your Move/Silver Spoons) - Watch Jason on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Sharon Horgan (Bad Sisters/HouseBroken/Catastrophe) - Sharon is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Dwayne Johnson (Young Rock) - Dwayne appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Colton Dunn (Superstore) and Diona Reasonover (Clipped) - Colton and Diona are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Zachary Quinto (Big Mouth/So Notorious) - NBC's Today catches up with Zachary in the 9am hour.
- Billy Eichner (Friends from College/Difficult People/Parks and Recreation) - Billy talks about Mufasa: The Lion King on NBC's Today in the 10am hour. He can also be heard on The Morning Mash Up on SiriusXM.
- Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Kerry talks about The Six Triple Eight on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am and on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- James Marsden (30 Rock) and Ben Schwartz (The Afterparty/Space Force/Parks and Recreation) - James and Ben talk about Sonic the Hedgehog 3 on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Jamie Lee Curtis (The Sticky/Anything But Love/Operation Petticoat) - Jamie Lee chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Whitney Cummings (Whitney) - Whitney talks about Max's Fast Friends on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Access Daily with Mario & Kit has the best of Henry and Kit Hoover, so check your local listings.
- Howie Mandel (Good Grief) - The Talk celebrates 15 seasons with a special finale episode; friend of the show Howie Mandel makes his 21st appearance on the show when he stops by one last time with a surprise for the hosts on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - The Ropers - The Complete Series (VEI)
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - Video Scrapbook
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K UHD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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