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Wednesday, May 14, 2008
5/15: More “House of Payne” on the way, B98.5’s Kelly Stevens in rehab
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
TBS has given Tyler Perry the green light for 26 more episodes of “House of Payne” on top of the 100 they already committed to and have been airing since last summer. The show regularly draws 2 million-plus viewers a week.
Perry turned the syndication model upside down. He paid for 10 pilot episodes out of his own pocket, gave them for free to networks in 2006 to prove the show’s worth, then sold the 100 to TBS upfront. So instead of airing 22 episodes a year for four or five years, he taped an incredible 100 episodes in less than a year. And TBS is airing them in a year’s time, two a week. Critics haven’t been too kind but the show is successful for what TBS is looking for.
Atlanta-based TBS and TNT are both adding more and more original programming. TNT has three upcoming dramas, all with big names: law drama “Raising the Bar” created by Steven Bochco of “NYPD Blue” fame with Mark Paul Gosselaar and Jane Kaczmarek; modern-day “Robin Hood” called “Leverage” starring Timothy Hutton; and “Truth in Advertising,” starring Eric McCormack (“Will & Grace”) and Tom Cavanagh (“Ed”).
TBS plans to flip its current 80% acquired content vs. 20% original content to 80% original and 20% acquired. The network, which focuses on comedy, has no choice. The pipeline of broadcast sitcoms of any note has dried up.
-Kelly Stevens, off the air for more than five weeks from B98.5’s lame duck morning show, had his on-air co-host Alpha Trivette tell listeners last week that he was at a rehab facility to grapple with alcoholism.
This was an unusual admission for such a light-hearted morning show and his cohosts apparently had no clue about his problems. It’s unknown when or if Kelly will be back on the air before July 1, when Steve McCoy and Vikki Locke take over.
Kelly & Alpha, who have had a successful run with B98.5 for nearly a decade, are under contract through the end of the year. Producer Will Gara, who will stay on with former Star 94 morning hosts Steve & Vikki, is covering for Kelly for now.
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5/14: 11 p.m. newscast lead story comparison
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For kicks, I checked how each 11 p.m. newscast opened their first five minutes:
Three of the stations — WAGA, WSB and WGCL — started with the evacuation of the Marriott Marquis last night due to some chemical release. It ended up being minor but nobody knew that at the time. WXIA waited until the fourth minute and its third story to get to the Marquis story. WGCL definitely was the quickest paced. WSB worked hard to focus on “breaking news.” WXIA felt the most laid back.
- WGCL, which prides itself on stuffing the top 5 minutes with lots of news, had video and teased to an upcoming later report, then jumped to an exclusive story about two teens were charged with gang-related offenses at Lovejoy High School after WGCL found the video on YouTube. Joanna Massee interviewed the police, a random school parent and a student unrelated to the fight. Stephany Fisher did a quick review of a gun bill and Sunday alcohol sales. Bill Gaines then talked about an allegedly racist Obama T-Shirt being sold in Marietta. Tony McNary reported on a couple that kept its water bill to $7 over two months through various water conservation methods. At minute four, Dagmar Midcap gave a quick weather forecast. McNary came back live with the Marriott Marquis evacuation and noted the chemical fire location and thinks it’s chlorine, which was the case.
— WSB-TV had Richard Elliot live on the scene of the Marriott. He didn’t have the information McNary had about the fire and chlorine at that time (just a “chemical event”) but talked about how the hotel guests were moved to down the street to another hotel temporarily. Another live report: Tara Jones did a piece on an HGH drug raid in Roswell, with WSB missing the homeowners’ getaway. WSB then announced “breaking news” out of White County, where a dam failed and a “flash flood” warning issued. Pruitt mentioned an election to replace Ron Sailor Jr. Monica Pearson referenced the West Virginia Hillary Clinton primary victory.
— Fox 5’s “News Edge” with Tom Haynes opened with the Marriott story. Denise Dillon was shown live and she had the electrical closet fire information. She is the only one who interviewed hotel guests, who didn’t seem to disturbed. Haynes asked about any injuries. (There were none.) Haynes then goes to a Devon Fehely story about women blatantly stealing from a liquor story. Fehely uses some footage of himself from the security camera moments after showing tape of the alleged roobers. They then updated the guy whose dead wife’s rings were stolen at Grady — a suspect has been found but no details. Chris Shaw (they identify him wrong on the graphic on the screen as “Shephard Smith”) then did a live story about the HGH drug rain Roswell. WXIA caught the couple on camera (which WSB missed.).
— I DVRed the re-broadcast of the WXIA newscast in the middle of the night and I’m not sure if it opened at the very top of the broadcast. The DVR opened with a very soft story about why Lake Lanier’s lake levels are not rising very fast. Ted Hall then does an update on the tornadoes from Sunday. He and Brenda Wood talked about the flash flood warning in White County, giving meteorologist Paul Ossmann the spotlight, then a weather forecast. In the third minute, Wood referenced the “chemical spill” at the Marriott Marquis with Steve Adamson live. He said he had heard about the chlorine that WGCL also mentioned but the other two stations did not. (I’m not sure if the word “spill” is correct in this context but the story was developing). The fourth story: Wood reported that a former Georgia Tech worker has pled guilty to using work credit cards to buy personal items. The fifth story: a quick update on the Kathryn Johnston drug raid trial.
Then Keith Whitney did a story on foreclosed, abandoned new homes off Hamilton Homes with some nice turns of phrase: “For years, the mantra of many developers in Atlanta was if you build it, they will come. But some divisions like this are anything but a field of dreams. The only thing missing in this ghost town of broken glass and promises are tumbleweeds.” I only wish he had been more specific where this story was coming from up front because I’m sure most folks don’t necessarily know where Hamilton Homes are.
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5/14: CBS’s new fall lineup includes more comedy, the CW cobbles its lineup, too
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Comedy has been in retreat for years. Each network has reserved just one night for sitcoms this past season.
But CBS, which has the top-ranked sitcom “Two & a Half Men,” added a Wednesday block of sitcoms on top of Monday night.
“We’ve been looking to expand our comedy lineup, and we now have the depth and development to make the move,” said Nina Tassler, President, CBS Entertainment in a press release. “Monday is already television’s signature night for comedy and we think we can make the case that CBS is the signature network for comedy overall.”
Eighteen existing shows survive for the fall: the three CSI shows, “60 Minutes,” “Survivor,” “Amazing Race,” “NCIS,” “The Unit,” “Ghost Whisperer,” “Numb3rs,” “Criminal Minds,” “Without a Trace,” “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “Two & a Half Men,” “The Big Bang Theory” and “48 Hours Mystery,.” “Rules of Engagement” comes back midseason.
“The Unit” gets moved to 10 p.m. Sundays while “Without a Trace” gets the dreaded 10 p.m. Tuesday slot, a place that has been the death of many recent CBS dramas. This is the third time “Trace” has moved in three seasons but it still pulls in solid numbers.
CBS is adding three new dramas, two new comedies, no new reality shows. It’s mostly steady as it goes for a network that, like the others, is seeking some fresh blood as most of its hits are starting to feel a bit arthritic.
CBS has been using the 9:30 p.m. Monday slot to launch new sitcoms and the network will place “Worst Week” there. Its description of the show’s premise:”a comedy about Sam Briggs, an entertainment magazine editor who will do anything to please his girlfriend’s parents … but instead becomes a one-man wrecking crew whenever he’s around them.”
On Wednesday, Jay Mohr (now on “Ghost Whisperer”) gets his own sitcom called “Project Gary.” It will open at 8:30 p.m. after “New Adventures of Old Christine.” Here’s the CBS spin: “a comedy about Gary Barnes, a recently single painting contractor, and his controlling ex-wife, Allison, who face post-divorce mayhem after 15 years of marriage as they each embark on new relationships. He’s the fun parent and she’s the strict one.” They have two kids so this isn’t exactly like “Old Christine,” just complementary.
CBS’s new ••”The Mentalist”** takes the Tuesday 9 p.m. slot reserved last fall for “The Unit.” Golden Globe Award nominee Simon Baker (“The Devil Wears Prada”) plays Patrick Jane, a detective and independent consultant with the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI), who has a remarkable track record for solving serious crimes by using his razor sharp skills of observation. (Monk would be proud!)
Jerry Bruckheimer’s “The Eleventh Hour” gets the 10 p.m. Thursday slot against the aging “E.R” and the new ABC show “Life on Mars.” Dr. Jacob Hood (Rufus Sewell, “The Illusionist”) plays a brilliant biophysicist and special science advisor to the government, as he investigates scientific crises and oddities. (This would seem to be work well after “CSI.”)
Finally, the show that takes over for “Moonlight” on Fridays at 9 p.m. is “The Ex List.” This has the silliest premise and implies “dramedy:” Bella Bloom (Elizabeth Reaser, “Grey’s Anatomy”) is a single, 30-something, successful business owner who is surprised to learn from a psychic that she’s already dated her future husband AND there’s a catch: if she doesn’t find him in the next year, she’ll remain alone forever.
And given that the CW has become increasingly irrelevant, here’s a very brief summary of its 2008-09 schedule, featuring two new dramas, one new reality show and zero new comedies.
The Monday night combo of its buzzworthy (if not ratings-worthy) “Gossip Girl” and “One Tree Hill” remains.
Tuesdays features the remake of “Beverly Hills 90210” followed by another show about rich people, “Surviving the Filthy Rich,” starring JoAnna Garcia (“Reba”) as the live-in tutor to wild and wealthy teenage twin sisters in Palm Beach.
Wednesday is reality night with aging “America’s Next Top Model” and a new series “Stylista” in which 11 fashion enthusiasts view for a job at a fashion mag. (Bye, bye for now, “Beauty & the Geek” and anything to do with the Pussycat Dolls.)
Thursday is still “Smallville” and “Supernatural,” though midseason, “Reaper” will take over for the presumably retiring “Smallville.”
Friday night, now that “Smackdown!” has moved to MyNetwork, the remnants of the comedy block from Sunday will air at 8: “Everybody Hates Chris” and “The Game,” followed by a repeat of “Next Top Model.”
The CW has sold off its Sunday night time slots to an advertising company. We don’t know what they will conjure up. “Aliens in America” and “Life is Wild” didn’t make the cut either while “Girlfriends” retires after eight seasons.
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5/14: Atlanta couple vying for free wedding on Today Show
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
An Atlanta couple is battling four others for a free wedding, courtesy of “The Today Show.”
Darnell Suggs and LaDonna Bradford, both engineers, were chosen to be in the final five. They started competing Wednesday morning and each week, someone gets eliminated by public vote. The video they submitted was a spoof on the Today Show. LaDonna played Meredith Viera and Darnell played Matt Lauer.
Bradford, 24, who lives in Midtown, said the couple got engaged in Egypt on New Year’s Day. The proposal video is here:
And here’s the Today Show profile.
“We have a no-bounds relationship. There are no limits on what we could do. He’s everything I ever dreamed of,” LaDonna said.
Darnell, who lives in Lithonia, noted: “We inspire each other. She makes me want to go above and beyond for her.”
Darnell said they have a wedding set (budget $5,000 to $10,000) for April, 2009. But they’re willing to let NBC and the Today Show do it for them in Rockefeller Center June 25 if America votes for them.
If you want to vote for the local couple, you can go here at the “Today” Web site..
