Category Archives: Fall 2015

Blood & Oil: Post 2

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In addition to a fairly star-studded cast, Blood & Oil‘s off-screen talent provides insight on the quality that viewers may expect come its premiere later this month. For the writers: Josh Pate, whom has had relative success in film bearing titles as Deceiver and The Grave, pairs with Rodes Fishburne, a novelist whom makes his TV writing/producing debut with the premiere of Blood and Oil.

The show, which has gone through multiple name changes, from tentatively “Oil” to possibly “Boom” to finally Blood & Oil, could be potentially defined by the talent and ambition of its producers.

Tony Krantz, the man behind the success of 24, could be the game changer for Blood & Oil. While his latest broadcast venture Dracula with NBC was canceled after its first season, Krantz has brought heart and ambition to Blood & Oil.  Don Johnson, arguably the show’s most recognizable and experienced actor, claims he originally said no to the series. However, after meeting with an insistent Krantz, Johnson claimed he was taken by “the passion that everyone had with the project” (Source: Entertainment Weekly, Sept. 18-25 issue #1382).

 

TCA SUMMER PRESS TOUR 2015 - "Blood & Oil" Session - The cast and producers of ABC's "Blood & Oil" address the press at Disney | ABC Television Group's Summer Press Tour 2015 at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California. (ABC/Image Group LA) JOSH PATE (CREATOR/EXECUTIVE PRODUCER), RODES FISHBURNE (CREATOR/EXECUTIVE PRODUCER), TONY KRANTZ (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER), AMBER VALLETTA, DON JOHNSON, CHACE CRAWFORD, REBECCA RITTENHOUSE

TCA SUMMER PRESS TOUR 2015 – “Blood & Oil” Session – The cast and producers of ABC’s “Blood & Oil” address the press at Disney | ABC Television Group’s Summer Press Tour 2015 at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California. (ABC/Image Group LA)
JOSH PATE (CREATOR/EXECUTIVE PRODUCER), RODES FISHBURNE (CREATOR/EXECUTIVE PRODUCER), TONY KRANTZ (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER), AMBER VALLETTA, DON JOHNSON, CHACE CRAWFORD, REBECCA RITTENHOUSE

Limitless- Post #2

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Initial reviews of CBS’s new action thriller, Limitless, remain somewhat skeptical.  One of the first published reviews from tv.com called the show “smooth and genuinely exciting” as well as “well- executed”.  However, they also reported the show to lack “substance” in the story.  Overall, the review deemed Limitless as visually appealing and enticing. [1]

Entertainment Weekly recently sat down with Limitless show director, Marc Webb.  Webb also directed both of The Amazing- Spidermans and revealed how the Executive Producer of both Spiderman and Limitless, Alex Kurtzman, referred him to the script.  Although, it is interesting how little involvement the director of Limitless, Neil Burger, had in the television adaptation.  Webb noted that him and Burger only “emailed once or twice”. [2]

Despite this, support from the film’s star, Bradley Cooper, executive producer, as well as the involvement of a successful director in the genre, Limitless seems to have all the right ingredients for a popular premiere next week.

 

The Grinder – Post 2

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As reported in late August, a new face officially joined the team of The Grinder for Fall 2015. Ben Wexler, from The Comedians, signed an overall deal with 20th Century FOX producers.

As Wexler joins The Grinder, Greg Malins gets swapped out. Malins is said to have exited the series for creative differences. I found it interesting to read on The Hollywood Reporter (THR) website that this is not the only show that has experienced its share of new showrunners for the upcoming season. On that same note, The Grinder has actually become the fourth first-year series to change its showrunner.

THR makes note of the increased pressure for new shows to make their mark fast, and gain as many ratings as possible. As the growing landscape of television viewing continues to change, ratings are scarce and hard to hold on to.

These types of decisions come as production heats up in August and cuts start being made to find the clearest pathway to success for a new series. If creative differences get in the way for showrunners or a cast doesn’t seem quite right anymore, it’s likely networks will make whatever changes need be.

Post #2 – The Muppets

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By Jamie Zaslav

Something that has already been gaining traction in the media is that Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy split up their iconic relationship. The show is set to air one week from today so they have put a heavy focus on television and internet advertisements as well as social media marketing.

Kermit Instagram PostMiss Piggy Instagram Post

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This show is a mockumentary-style sitcom that takes the viewers behind-the-scenes of Miss Piggy’s late night talk show, Up Late with Miss Piggy, and explores the personal lives of the Muppets on the set and off.

Kermit’s acts as the executive producer of Up Late with Miss Piggy. Gonzo is the head writer, and Fozzie Bear is Piggy’s on-air sidekick. Gonzo’s staff of writers include Rizzo the Rat and Pepe the King Prawn. Famed Muppets Dr. Teeth, Janice, Lips, Animal, Zoot, and Floyd Pepper make up Piggy’s on-air band, Electric Mayhem. Other recurring Muppets include The Swedish Chef and Beaker The boys are back in town!!!

Muppets TV Show Trailer

Minority Report- Post #2 Turning Blockbusters In To Series?

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As discussed in my last blog post, “Minority Report” is a sequel television series that is based off of the Steven Spielberg/ Tom Cruise 2002 film “Minority Report”. It turns out that this is a current trend for the upcoming fall series and Fox is not the only network to jump on the bandwagon. According to Variety.com, NBC is also bringing back “Problem Child” based on the 1990 John Ritter Film and CBS will be airing the series “Rush Hour” and limitless, both based on old films.

This seems to be the new trend for 2015 pilots, but it makes me wonder if movies being turned television series are just a way to lock in high ratings and an automatic fan base. Are networks running low on ideas or are they just trying to stick to what they know will sell. I’m curious to see if this already existing fan base of the 2002 film, “Minority Report”, will effect the ratings next Monday night when the new Fox series premiers.

Below you can find the trailers for both 2002 film and the 2015 TV series.

Week 2- Best Week Ever with Neil Patrick Harris

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In NBC’s eyes Neil Patrick Harris looks like the perfect host. Charming, good looks, improvisational abilities that exceed expectation. But can looks be deceiving? Variety suggests that NPH is a bit unconventional to the mainstream Middle-America market. Variety claims he is less traditional host material which may be unrealatable to viewers and audience members at home. Variety claims he acts as more of a “ringleader” to attracting a specific demographic, comparable to those who laugh to Sarah Silverman and Louis C.K. Yet, Siobhan Greene who is the executive producer of the show and has had her hand in the project since the start, as she also worked with the inception from the British counterpart swears the show is “a Rolls Royce of a show with the best driver in history.” Even with the Best driver,  September 1st the show welcomed Nicole Scherzinger as the sidekick to Harris. She will seemingly be assisting him in a variety of segments including the karaoke-based game Singalong Live where home viewers have a chance to join in and participate live in the broadcast. Scherzinger will also help with mini-game shows, competitions and contribute to the mysterious End of the Show Show.

Quantico Pre-Premiere #2: Character/Actor Analysis

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She was Miss World in 2000, has an impressive Bollywood acting career, her song, “In My City” was a previous NFL theme song, and she’s described in her upcoming lead actress role as the female version of Jason Bourne. Priyanka Chopra is about to be the next kickass head female actress on TV. She has done action films before but she really put in the effort this time by training with real FBI. She signed the development deal for this series in 2014 and part of her decision to go with ABC was because of, “how the network has changed the landscape of TV through the diversity of their lead characters.” Seems to me that Priyanka will be bringing more than just a new demographic group to the network. [http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/priyanka-chopra-signs-development-deal-with-abc-tv-1201380292/]

Since the pilot a significant character, Liam O’Connor has been re-cast. Originally played by Dougray Scott, Josh Hopkins will be the new FBI teacher. The other supporting actors and actresses may not have the international acclaim that Chopra hails from but, each of their characters is diverse in their own ways to attract non-linear audiences to the show. There’s an openly gay character, a Mormon, a FBI golden boy, an orphaned southern belle, and a hijab-wearing recruit. With the shows initial cold open, this unraveling back and forth plot line combined with diverse characters will be a show to watch this season.

Scream Queens – Post #2

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Scream Queens is set as FOX’s anchor on its all-new Tuesday programming schedule, following Grandfathered featuring John Stamos and Rob Lowe in The Grinder. This is a bold move for the network, but they continue to exude confidence with these adjustments. Tuesday night’s schedule overall is highly focused on female content, leaving Ryan Murphy with the slight hesitation as to whether men will tune in, or not. It’s not a concern for Scream Queens creators, but it is a curiosity to see if men will become a fan of the show’s combination of horror-like elements, comedy and drama.

Pertaining to the show’s pre-production, it was interesting to read in Variety that Jamie Lee Curtis initially turned down her role, despite Murphy writing it specifically for her. Curtis’ primary reasoning was that she had bigger responsibilities back at home. Not taking no for an answer, Murphy created a shooting schedule for Curtis, grouping workdays into four-or-five day periods at a time and limiting her travel. There was no way she could pass this opportunity, and Curtis now considers it the role of a lifetime.

The show airs next week, so let’s see how the ratings pull through in next weeks blog!

“Rosewood”-Post #2

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The Fox Network seems to be continuing its male/female partner dynamic tendency with their upcoming fall comedy-drama “Rosewood”. Fox already has many shows that center around a male and female duo, such as “Bones”, “Sleepy Hollow” and “Minority Report”. “Rosewood” will continue this trend with a pathologist and detective duo that come together to fight crimes in Miami. Morris Chestnut and Jaina Lee Ortiz team up in “Rosewood” to create an interesting dynamic on screen. Ortiz plays a distant and abrasive counterpart to Chestnut’s fun-loving and outgoing nature. This seems strangely similar to Fox Network’s “Bones,” where the female plays the more distant and cautious partner to the outgoing male anthropologist, which is starting its 11th season this year.

With the predestined ending of “American Idol” this coming January, Fox is putting all its marbles in it’s hit series Empire. Thus, putting “Rosewood” in front of Fox’s leading series says a lot about how the network feels about their new comedy-drama. Fox is counting on “Empire” to promote its 2015-16 season launch of a fall slate.

 

Week 1- Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris

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NBC is premiering this fall a new live variety show with the Broadway renaissance man, Neil Patrick Harris, as the host. Tuesday, September 15th marks the live one-hour event where audiences will watch and wait as they expect the unexpected, as the shows’ tagline reinforces that “anything can happen, and it can happen to you.” While we are not exactly sure what we are in for it is bound to be lots of comedy and music with the stereotypical game-show elements. As one promotional video delves, turns out lots of pranks as well, that seems oddly reminiscent of America’s Funniest Videos. The show itself is based on the popular British show ” Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway,” where comedy duo Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly feature a number of large-scale stunts and comedy sketches,with various pranks and practical jokes that are performed on members of the studio audience, home viewers and even celebrities. NBC may be testing their luck with this slightly risky show, yet are presumably banking on the “razzle dazzle” of five time Emmy awarded and Tony awarded Neil Patrick Harris as the perfect star to conduct stunts and skits with sparkle for this unique live show unlike anything else on American television. Harris is anything but a stranger to live television as he has hosted the Tony’s, the Emmy’s, and even this years own Academy Awards. I can hardly wait to tune in at 10pm for the live event and to see if it really will be the Best Time Ever.