The Office's Rainn Wilson Goes Drama for Fox; Paint the Town with Cougar Town

Wednesday, January 08, 2014

The Office's Rainn Wilson Goes Drama for Fox; Paint the Town with Cougar Town

Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox) has given a 13-episode series order to Backstrom, a one-hour drama from 20th Century Fox Television, based on renowned Swedish criminologist and novelist Leif G.W. Persson's hit series of books of the same name. Created and executive-produced by Hart Hanson (Bones, The Finder), the series centers on Detective Everett Backstrom (three-time Emmy Award nominee Rainn Wilson, The Office), an offensive, irascible detective, as he tries, and fails, to change his self-destructive behavior. Throughout the series, Backstrom leads his team, the Serious Crimes Unit, as they navigate Portland's most sensitive cases.

Hanson serves as executive producer on the series with Persson and Niclas Salomonsson. Emmy Award-nominated director Mark Mylod (Entourage, Shameless, Ali G Indahouse) served as director and executive producer on the pilot. Production is scheduled to begin in early 2014. The series will air in the 2014-15 TV season. In the pilot episode, after the apparent suicide of a Senator's son is ruled a homicide, the Portland Police Bureau's Serious Crime Unit, led by Detective Backstrom (Wilson) must solve the case. Following the team's arrival on the scene, forensics expert Sergeant Peter Nierdermayer (Kristoffer Polaha, Ringer, Life Unexpected) verifies that the death was indeed a homicide. This starts the trail for Backstrom and his team: Detective Nicole Gravely, Detective Sergeant John Almond (Dennis Haysbert, The Unit, 24), uniformed officer Frank Moto (Page Kennedy, Weeds, S.W.A.T.) and the tech-savvy Nadia Paquet (Beatrice Rosen, The Dark Knight, Cuts). Together, they must follow leads, while trying to maintain a low profile in this highly scrutinized case.

Cougar Town

To kick off the fifth season of Cougar Town, which premiered last night (Tuesday) on TBS, the hit series has partnered with Pinot's Palette, pioneer of the upscale social art and wine experience, on an unprecedented promotion bringing fans closer than ever to their favorite characters...wine included. The new partnership will offer Cougar Town viewers and Pinot's Palette fans a chance attend exclusive painting parties by utilizing a Pinot's Palette code that will be posted on the Cougar Town Facebook page. These exclusive parties will feature a Cougar Town inspired painting and guests in select markets will also receive special co-branded merchandise. Pinot's Palette will also extend the Cougar Town celebration through the month of January with Cougar Town themed public painting parties in various markets. The series airs Tuesdays at 10:00pm on TBS!

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, July 9

Shifting Gears - "Gummies" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Riley is horrified when she finds weed gummies in Carter’s pocket, prompting surprising advice from Matt. Meanwhile, Eve inadvertently lands Gabriel and Stitch in hot water after asking them to donate to a charity auction.

Shifting Gears - "Kiss" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Jimmy returns with a new job and a proposition for Riley and the kids to move into his house, Riley is torn between her past and her future. Meanwhile, Matt's feud with Eve flares up once again after she damages his car.

Abbott Elementary - "Volunteers" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Ava announces the school district is sending a group of volunteers to help out at Abbott; however, when they arrive, things don’t go as planned.

Abbott Elementary - "100th Day of School" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
During Abbott’s 100th day of school celebrations, Barbara receives a surprise from her daughter. Melissa, Jacob and Mr. Johnson join forces to conduct a search party.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "The Gang F***s Up Abbott Elementary" (FXX and FX, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Months after the Gang visited, Abbott's Principal Ava walks viewers through some of the unseen footage of the Gang's volunteerism and reveals their true intentions.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "Frank Is in a Coma" (FXX and FX, 9:33PM ET/PT)
The five stages of grief set in for Dee as Frank lies on his deathbed; the Guys plot their new path forward by pitching their business ventures to Philadelphia's elite.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 7)

Wednesday, July 9

Anthony Anderson (black-ish/Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons) - Anthony guest hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Salma Hayek Pinault (The Sinbad Show) - Watch Salma on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Jean Smart (Hacks/Samantha Who?/Center of the Universe/In-Laws/Style & Substance/Designing Women) - Jean is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Cole Escola (Human Resources/Search Party/Mozart in the Jungle/Difficult People) - Cole appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Richie Moriarty (Ghosts), Betsy Sodaro (Ghosts/Duncanville/Disjointed/Animal Practice) and Punam Patel (Ghosts/Return of the Mac/Kevin from Work) - Richie, Betsy and Punam are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
Tika Sumpter (mixed-ish/Final Space/The Game) - Tika sits down with the Tam Fam to talk about her new children's book I Got It From My Mama a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Isabela Merced (100 Things to Do Before High School/Growing Up Fisher) - Isabela chats about her film Superman on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Anna Camp (Perfect Harmony/Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt/The Mindy Project) and Justin Bartha (The New Normal/Teachers) - Anna and Justin discuss their film Nuked on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Simon Helberg (The Big Bang Theory) - Simon talks about Peacock's Poker Face on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.