Halloween is this Sunday -- and most of the big networks (except CBS) are getting in on the fun. Here is the schedule of animated specials celebrating the holiday.
Thursday, October 28
8pm ET on ABC --
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
The third prime time animated television special based on the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz.
Debuted on CBS on October 27, 1966 --following the CBS premieres of A Charlie Brown Christmas (December 9, 1965) and Charlie Brown's All-Stars (June 8, 1966).
It just never gets old watching poor Linus waiting in the pumpkin patch for The Great Pumpkin! And hearing Charlie Brown's repeated infamous line while trick-or-treating!
Stick around to watch Linus run for office in You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown -- which originally aired on CBS on October 29, 1972.
8pm ET on NBC -- Scared Shrekless
All-new special featuring film star, Shrek -- the second spin-off from the movie series which started in 2001 (the Christmas special Shrek the Halls debuted on ABC on November 28, 2007).
Halloween is Shrek's favorite holiday, and this year he’s planning a night of frights -- as he challenges Fiona, Donkey, Puss in Boots and the other fairy tale characters to spend the night in Lord Farquaad’s haunted castle telling scary stories. The last one to be scared "Shrekless" will win.
Friday, October 29
8pm ET on ABC -- It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
ABC is re-airing the classic one night later -- with You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown following once again at 8:30pm ET.
Saturday, October 30 8pm ET on NBC -- Scared Shrekless 8:30pm ET on NBC -- Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins From Outer Space
NBC kicks off the night by repeating the new Shrek special.
Next up is the new-ish special starring the cast of the 2009 hit film, Monsters vs. Aliens.
The Monsters vs. Aliens special premiered on NBC on October 28, 2009.
Susan (aka Ginormica) and the Monsters must stop mutant aliens disguised as innocent-looking Halloween jack-o-lanterns from implementing their fiendish plan to take over Earth.
Sunday, November 7
8pm ET on FOX -- The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror XXI
Due to the MLB World Series, the annual Simpsons Halloween special is delayed a week.
It's the 22nd season of The Simpsons -- and even if you no longer watch, you have to tune in for the annual Halloween special!
The 21st "Treehouse of Horror" episode -- like the others before -- will consist of three self-contained segments. Guest stars include Hugh Laurie and Daniel Radcliffe.
Tale #1 -- "War and Pieces" -- Marge, worried about the effects of excessively violent video games, encourages Bart and Milhouse to give wholesome, classic board games a shot. The best friends discover that board games are not boring after all when they find themselves playing a real-life game in which they must beat all the challenges before they are allowed to return to home. Think Jumanji!
Tale #2 -- "Tweenlight" -- Twilight fans are in for a real treat as Lisa becomes smitten with a mysterious new student, Edmund (Daniel Radcliffe), who also happens to be a vampire. When a romance blossoms, the young lovers run away to Dracula-la Land, leaving Homer to come to Lisa's rescue.
Tale #3 -- "Master and Cadaver" -- Homer and Marge set sail on a romantic second honeymoon, but are interrupted when they rescue Roger (Hugh Laurie), a castaway who escaped an attempted poisoning on his ship. Convinced that Roger is sabotaging their getaway and plotting a murder of his own, Homer and Marge take matters into their own hands.
Thought you saw all of Betty White's great hosting job on Saturday Night Live last night? Think again! As I noted from my visit to the NBC set earlier this season (click here), sketches performed in the evening's dress rehearsal often get cut due to timing.
Here are four sketches that didn't make it to last night's live show -- three include White. And all feature some female regulars from seasons past. Included are two series favorites -- "Debbie Downer" and "Bronx Beat." The other sketches are "Joyologist" and "Car Bomb Press Conference." ENJOY!
Yesterday, a friend and I made a trip to (the real) 30 Rock in NYC to sit in on the 2-hour dress rehearsal for the NBC mainstay, Saturday Night Live. Episode #666 of the 35-season series was hosted by Blake Lively (CW's Gossip Girl) with musical guest Rihanna.
Arriving in Manhattan in the afternoon, we were greeted by pouring cold rain and sidewalks so full, we had to dodge many an umbrella spike. When we finally reached Rockefeller Center, I was shocked at how small the Christmas tree looked in person. Television cameras really have a way of making everything seem so much larger. As the rain turned to snow though, the tree aglow in an abundant number of multi-color lights looked perfect. Onto the dress rehearsal. Each Saturday, the cast and crew do a complete run-through of the show from 8-10 pm. Yes, an extra 30 minutes. Before the live show starts at 11:29 pm, a full half hour has to be cut. So what made the cut and what didn't? Stay tuned!
When you enter the studio, you're reminded again that everything looks bigger on TV. The studio is quite tight -- and it's interesting to see how the stage is sectioned-off into different compartments allocated to certain sketches. A large crew is endlessly moving scenery and setting things up in between skits -- you'd be amazed how fast they turn things around during those short commercial breaks! Some skits end up being outside your view -- and some scenes like the commercials and digital shorts are shot ahead of time. So monitors appear before you to allow you to see all the action -- giving you the exact feel of watching the show on your home TV.
About ten or 15 minutes before the rehearsal start time, legendary announcer Don Pardo came out to greet the audience and introduce us to the band, the band leader and castmate Jason Sudeikis. Sure, Pardo may have gotten some names mixed up along the way -- but all is forgiven. He'll turn 92 in February -- and he's still quite spry! Sudeikis did a great job warming up the crowd with his humor -- and even brought up fellow castmate Will Forte to sing a duet of the Doobie Brothers' hit, "Takin' it to the Streets."
And then it was onto the show -- sketches/segments included "Obama and the Salahis" (the White House party crashers), "Host Monologue with Adult Muppets," "Carter 'n Sons" (repeat commercial), "Vagisil Superstars of Bowling Tournament 1989," "The Situation Room" (Breaking news on Tiger Woods incident),"Shy Ronnie" (Digital Short), "Gossip Girl: Staten Island," "10th Annual Kickspit Underground Rock Festival," "Virginaca Hastings at Barney's," "Weekend Update," "UPS" (two commercials), "Late Night with Chris Hansen," and "NASA Recruitment Office."
Cut for time before the live show were 3 skits, 2 segments from "Weekend Update" and one more UPS commercial. The cut sketches included:
an "Action News Promo" where Sudeikis and Lively appeared as anchors, and Fred Armisen was a bumbling traffic reporter
a "Norwegian Country Diner" segment where Lively played a counter waitress
a "Paparazzi Brothers" family Christmas scene -- where the photography gets a bit out of hand thanks to the aggressive brothers played by Bill Heder and Fred Armisen
The diner skit deserved to be cut -- it was my least favorite. I enjoyed the other segments, but once again -- it's all about cutting things to the exact timing needed for a live show.
"Weekend Update" went through several revisions before the live show. Two sets of guests were cut. Jenny Slate and Sudeikis played a married couple affected by recent gay marriage legislation. It was a funny segment -- and I was surprised it didn't make the cut. I was less surprised by the omission of an Andy Samberg character -- an ecstatic NJ Nets fan thrilled that the team finally won a game --and later revealed as an actual team member. Some other jokes and images within "Weekend Update" were slightly re-worked.
There were some minor edits made to some other skits as well. An ending image in the "Situation Room" changed from a tiger to a bear. Why? And a skirt reference in the "Virginaca Hastings at Barney's" was altered from Juicy Couture to Prada. The most glaring of the minor script edits was the last name used for the character Michelle, one of the bowlers in the "Vagisil" skit. Her last name changed from "Harvey-Oswald" to "Rayburn-Gene." Again, why? Is an old-time dead game show host's name funnier than that of a long-dead presidential killer?
Overall, the show had plenty of laughs -- with the "10th Annual Kickspit Underground Rock Festival" segment being my favorite. Watch here. Figures it was pre-taped! So you saw it exactly as I saw it. There were so many funny references in that short piece, that I had tears rolling down my face. Would I have laughed as hard if I was just watching this episode at home? Probably not. Sure the show has been mediocre at best this year. But this weekend's episode seemed above average for the season.
So how was Lively? Honestly, I knew so little about her before the show. I never saw a "Traveling Pants" movie, nor a "Gossip Girl" episode. She definitely was appealing, but not naturally funny -- and she wasn't really challenged by the material either. My attention was still focused on the regulars -- and I have a new-found respect for all the hard work they put in to pull off the show week after week.
Notes:
Rihanna performed "Russian Roulette" and "Hard" (with previously unannounced surprise guest Young Jeezy) She also appeared in the digital short with Samberg. Check back tomorrow as I review her performances in the weekly MusicMonday post!
NBC is being criticized in some circles for airing the "Situtation Room" skit -- because it poked fun at possible domestic abuse at the hands of Tiger Woods' wife. Was the skit in bad taste with domestic abuse victim Rihanna in the house? Maybe. But it was still funny. And since when do we want SNL to be politically correct? You can view the skit here.
Other clips: view "Obama and the Salahis" here, "NASA Recruitment Office" here, and more here.
So how do you get free tickets to a live SNL show or dress rehearsal? It's not easy. I have been applying for years to gain a pair of tickets via the show's random lottery system. Each August, you can send NBC one email with your full name, address and telephone number to snltickets@nbcuni.com. For years, I never heard back. But just a few weeks ago, I got word that I was randomly picked for this rehearsal. So make a note on your 2010 calendar -- to send that email next August.
NEW YORK (AP/TMZ) — CBS says an employee has been charged with attempted grand larceny in an investigation involving "Late Show" host David Letterman, who has acknowledged that he had sexual relationships with female employees and that someone tried to extort $2 million from him over the affairs.
CBS says the employee (identfied by TMZ as Robert Halderman) worked on "48 Hours" and has been suspended pending the results of the investigation. The network says the employee was arrested Thursday, hours before Letterman went public with his account during a taping of his show in New York.
Click on the video below to view Letterman's announcement -- and then vote in the poll at left.
Conan O'Brien scored a 7.1 rating Monday for his big debut on The Tonight Show, more than his major time-slot competitors, The Late Show with David Letterman on CBS and Nightline on ABC, combined. While his ratings dropped 30 percent for Tuesday's show (and will probably continue to erode all week), that was still 22 percent better than Jay Leno's average for the last quarter.
Last night, Conan delivered an instant classic with a modification of his recurring "In the Year 2000" segment. Introducing "In the Year 3000," Conan announced that YouTube, Twitter and Facebook will merge to form one super time-wasting Website called, "YouTwitFace." Check out the video clip ("YouTwitFace" is mentioned at the end; 5:15 in): click here
Note: Here are results of a recent EntertainmentBlogger poll on the debut episode:
If you watched it, how would you rate the premiere of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien?
TMZ is reporting that sources at "American Idol" have told them that the margin between Kris Allen and Adam Lambert "wasn't even close" -- and the biggest factor in Allen's win was Danny Gokey.
Although not given the exact vote count, here is what the celebrity news site found out:
After Gokey was eliminated, the "lion's share" of his fans voted for Kris Allen in the finale
The extent of the lopsidedness surprised a lot of the big wigs at Idol
The AT&T texting "scandal" had no impact on the outcome -- the spread was that wide
So what do you think? Will this finally end the story? Do you think Idol should release the exact count? In earlier seasons, host Ryan Seacrest would announce the final vote count -- or at least the percentages. Should that policy be resurrected? And if revealed for this year, would the results match the percentage spread from last week's EntertainmentBlogger Idol poll (see left for results)?
Update: Poll now removed from side bar; here it is with results:
WHO DO YOU WANT TO WIN AMERICAN IDOL?
Kris Allen: 61 votes (57% of total votes) Adam Lambert: 46 votes (43%)
Total votes: 107. Poll conducted over two days and closed before live airing of results finale.
(AP) -- Twitter, the Web site that asks what everybody's doing, says it wants to be doing a TV series. The social-networking service said today that it has teamed with Reveille productions and Brillstein Entertainment Partners to develop an unscripted series based on the site, which invites 140-character postings from members around the world.
The show would harness Twitter to put players on the trail of celebrities in an interactive, competitive format. The producers call their proposed series the first to bring the immediacy of Twitter to the TV screen.
The San Francisco-based Twitter, which was founded in 2007, is one of the Internet's fastest-growing sites. A recent Nielsen report found that unique visitors to Twitter skyrocketed from 475,000 during February 2008 to 7 million a year later.
NOTE: You can follow EntertainmentBlogger on Twitter @ Entertainment2u -- where I bring the entertainment news to you.
The 2009-2010 television schedules have been finalized by the big networks. The CW's announcement this morning ends a week of unveils. To recap:
Here are some highlights on highly-anticipated cancellations/renewals:
ABC
According to Jim - cancelled (finally!)
Better Off Ted - renewed for a second season
Castle - renewed for a second season
Cupid - cancelled again (please, networks -- no more future incarnations!)
In the Motherhood - cancelled after very short run
Samantha Who? - cancelled -- this one hurts -- a good show that was treated badly with poor programming by the network; sign online petition to save - click here
Scrubs - renewed for a 9th season -- even after airing what was originally called a "series" finale.
The Unusuals - cancelled
CBS
Cold Case - renewed for a 7th season
Eleventh Hour - cancelled
Gary Unmarried - renewed
How I Met Your Mother - renewed
Medium - picked up from NBC; moved to Friday
Numb3rs - renewed for 22-episode 6th season
Old Adventures of New Christine -renewed
Rules of Engagement - renewed
The Unit - cancelled after 4-season run
Without a Trace - cancelled
Worst Week - cancelled
The CW
Everybody Hates Chris - cancelled
The Game - cancelled
Privileged - cancelled
Reaper - cancelled
FOX
Bones - renewed for TWO more seasons (#5 and 6)
Dollhouse - renewed for 13-episode second season
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - cancelled
NBC
Chuck - renewed for 13-episode third season
Law & Order - renewed for 16-episode 20th season (tying record with Gunsmoke for longest-running drama)
Medium - cancelled, but picked up by CBS (yay!)
My Name is Earl - cancelled; may be picked up by ABC or FOX; follow the Twitter petition to save the show: click here
Not sure about other shows on the renewal bubble? Check out my updates on the March 19 post. And follow Michael Ausiello's great renewal/cancellation cheat sheet -- compliments of Entertainment Weekly: click here.
NBC has made Entertainment Blogger a happy camper today (which negates his unhappiness over rival network ABC cancelling Samantha Who?). Why? Because his favorite band was announced as Conan O'Brien's first musical guest when he takes over the reins of The Tonight Show from Jay Leno! NBC announced today that Pearl Jam and Land of the Lost star Will Ferrell will appear on O'Brien's debut show, scheduled for June 1.
FOX announced its 2009-2010 schedule this morning. Seven new shows have been added -- with one having a sneak preview after American Idol tomorrow night. Highlights include:
Renewals of old hits (and some misses): American Idol, The Simpsons, Bones, House, American Dad, Family Guy, 24, COPS, America's Most Wanted and 'Til Death
Renewals of newbie hits Lie to Me, Fringe and Dollhouse
Cancellation of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Added fall edition of summer hit, So You Think You Can Dance
Addition of Wanda Sykes' talk show to replace MadTV on Saturday nights at 11:00pm
Addition of full-season drama, Glee -- about a high school choir group -- which has a sneak preview tomorrow
Addition of two full-season comedies: The Cleveland Show (spinoff of Family Guy) and Brothers, which follows a former pro football player who returns home to his mom's house
Addition of one mid-season family comedy: the quirky Sons of Tucson
Addition of two mid-season action dramas: Human Target (based on the DC Comics franchise) and Past Life, about a psychologist who works with a former detective to solve mysteries
For a full recap of FOX's fall 2009 and mid-season (spring) 2010 schedules, check out this article from Entertainment Weekly: click here
It was an explosive end to season 5 of LOST as the producers cleared some things up, then confused us all over again. To recap some highlights:
We finally got to meet the never-before-seen uber-boss of the island, Jacob...only to see him stabbed to death by Ben as angry payback for decades of being ignored.
We finally got to see Rose and Bernard -- boy, have they been missed. But they really didn't seem to miss anyone else.
And we finally learned the identity of the major character rumored to be killed off: Juliet, who had plunged to the bottom of a shaft where, moments before, Jack had dropped his handy mini nuclear warhead. It failed to trigger on cue. But Juliet, badly injured, pounded the bomb with a rock to set it off and fulfill Jack's mission.
So did the explosion work to return all to a safe landing of the original flight? That is not yet clear. What is clear is the usual black end title screen with 'LOST' in white lettering has been reversed. We were now left with a white title screen with 'LOST' in black lettering. Because everything has changed. Now we must somehow patiently wait nine months til the final season explains it all.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - NBC is adding four new dramas to its 2009-10 schedule, including a pair of medical shows and the Ron Howard-produced "Parenthood," based on the 1989 movie he directed, the network announced Monday.
Two new comedies, "Community" with Chevy Chase and "100 Questions," were announced, and the network is ordering prime-time episodes of the "Saturday Night Live" fake newscast "Weekend Update." NBC said it's renewing "Heroes" and newcomers "Parks & Recreation" with Amy Poehler and police drama "Southland."
NBC is building its next schedule on a bold gambit, giving its daily 10 p.m. EDT slot to "The Jay Leno Show" - the title announced Monday - after he steps aside as "Tonight" show host this month. Conan O'Brien takes over the late-night talk show June 1.
The fourth-place network, which has struggled to launch new shows, is "doubling down on its scripted commitment," said Ben Silverman, co-chair of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios. "We're going to have more strength from 8 to 10 p.m. than we've ever had to assure that Jay has big lead-ins," Silverman said.
NBC had previously announced the return of "30 Rock,""The Office,""Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,""The Celebrity Apprentice,""Biggest Loser" and "Friday Night Lights." The new reality shows "The Marriage Ref," produced by Jerry Seinfeld; "Breakthrough With Tony Robbins" and "Who Do You Think You Are?" also had been announced.
The fate of other series won't be known until NBC unveils its full schedule May 19. That includes "Medium,""Chuck,""My Name Is Earl" and the original "Law & Order." NBC's announcement jumped the gun on the traditional "upfront week" in which networks present their lineups to the advertisers who make preseason ad buys.
Seth Meyers anchors "Weekend Update," which is expected to kick off NBC's Thursday nights. The network already has two comedies on Thursday starring former "Weekend Update" anchors - Poehler and Tina Fey of "30 Rock," and it's likely they'll be making return visits. That announcement doesn't seem to bode well for "My Name Is Earl," a comedy considered on the bubble, but Silverman said no decision has been made about the show.
The new shows announced this morning:
"Parenthood," starring Peter Krause ("Six Feet Under"), Maura Tierney ("ER"), Craig T. Nelson ("Coach") and Bonnie Bedelia as family members dealing with the pressures of life. The show was shadowed by tragedy last week when NBC executive Nora O'Brien died after collapsing on the set in Northern California.
"Trauma," about the heroics of San Francisco paramedics and deemed by Silverman the "adrenaline-rush" successor to NBC's recently departed "ER." The cast includes Derek Luke ("Notorious"), Aimee Garcia ("George Lopez") and Jamey Sheridan ("Law & Order: Criminal Intent"). Peter Berg is the executive producer.
"Mercy," a hospital drama that puts nurses at center stage. The ensemble cast includes Taylor Schilling ("Dark Matter"), Jamie Lee Kirchner ("Rescue Me"), James Tupper ("Men in Trees") and Guillermo Diaz ("Weeds").
"Day One," a saga about neighbors who must rebuild their lives and society after a mysterious catastrophe decimates the world's infrastructure. Adam Campbell ("Date Movie"), Catherine Dent ("The Shield") and Julie Gonzalo ("Eli Stone") star. The drama is planned as a "big event" to follow the Winter Olympics, Silverman said.
"100 Questions," a comedy about a young woman (Sophie Winkleman, "Peep Show"), looking for love with the help of an online dating site and counselor (Amir Talai, "The Ex List"). It's a traditional multicamera sitcom, a format that has dimmed in popularity in recent years, but which NBC believes in, Bromstad said.
"Community," a sitcom about community college misfits that brings Chevy Chase of "Saturday Night Live" fame back to TV. The cast includes Joel McHale ("The Soup"), Gillian Jacobs ("The Book of Daniel") and Yvette Nicole Brown ("Rules of Engagement").
Things will be heating up this August as two hit contestant shows return to the air. Here are the details:
Philbin to Return with New Episodes of ABC's "Millionaire"
ABC is reviving "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" this summer, with original host Regis Philbin. A decade after "Millionaire" became a smash hit, it will return to prime time as a special event. Eleven episodes will air August 9-23. The quiz show burst on the U.S. scene in August 1999. Ratings slid when ABC aired the show too often, and it was canceled as a series back in 2002. But renewed interest has been signaled by "Slumdog Millionaire," this year's Oscar-winning drama about a young contestant on a version of the show in India.
"Project Runway" Returns August 20 on Lifetime
One of the better reality programs, previously on Bravo, will be back this summer on Lifetime. The legal battle over airing "Project Runway" is finally over, and the season six premiere date is set for Thursday, August 20. Lifetime announced the season premiere of the designer-competition series along with a new companion series, "Models of the Runway." Lifetime says "Models of the Runway," which looks at the reality competition from the models' viewpoint, will follow "Project Runway."
ABC is burning off the final episodes of Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone and Dirty Sexy Money. They will be aired on consecutive Saturday nights at 10 EST beginning May 30 and ending August 8. Keep in mind, unlike how the network handled another cancelled series, Life on Mars, these three shows did NOT film wrap-up series finales. Here's the schedule:
Pushing Daisies: final three episodes will air May 30 to June 13
Eli Stone: final four episodes will air June 20 to July 11
Dirty Sexy Money: final four episodes will air July 18 to Aug 8
After 15 seasons and 332 episodes, the longest-running medical drama in the history of television ended its run tonight. ER was the most Emmy-nominated series in TV history with 122 nominations, 22 of which resulted in wins (including one for best drama in 1996).
During its peak, in the 1995-96 season, ER was the most popular show on television and averaged 32 million viewers a week. To put that in perspective, only one entertainment program - ABC's broadcast of the Academy Awards - has gathered more than 32 million viewers this entire season. ER was TV's No. 1 show for three seasons and, as late as 2000-01, was the top-rated scripted series after reality and game show fare like Survivor and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
This season, ER limped along to 49th place, averaging 8.2 million viewers an episode, according to Nielsen Media Research. But the quality was not the reason for the decline. Viewers have so many more options nowadays. There were no DVRs when ER started, let alone opportunities to watch TV programs over the Internet or on DVD. The gaming industry was in its infancy. The average American home received 41 stations in 1995 and 119 in 2007, according to Nielsen Media Research. Cable stations once content to air reruns now produce award-winning original series.
Thanks to my VCR -- and later, TiVo, I never missed an episode of ER. But honestly, for the most part I was home on Thursday nights glued to my set at 10pm. And come the fall, the time slot will be Jay Leno's. If NBC was smart, I think Leno should pay homage to the show on Thursday nights for at least one year. It would be fitting for him to fill one guest spot for each Thursday night with a past star from ER. There are certainly at least 52 actors who could be considered. The original core cast was fantastic, but ER thrived for as long as it did by always working in equally-intriguing characters -- portrayed by equally-talented actors. The Emmy committee should also follow suit by honoring the show with a final nomination as best dramatic series.
What I loved about ER was its realistic portrayal of humanity. In life, sometimes you have a chance to prepare for hardships. But often enough, illness, injury and death come out of nowhere. And for me the show's main message was always clear: none of us know how much time we have left...so make the most of your life. STAT.
4/3 Update: (AP) - An estimated 16.4 million people paid one last visit to the "ER" on Thursday, as the last piece of NBC's once-mighty "must-see TV" lineup signed off after 15 years. It was the biggest audience for a drama series finale since "Murder, She Wrote" on CBS in 1996, Nielsen Media Research said on Friday.
NEW YORK — “Guiding Light” will go dark in September after 72 years and 16,000 episodes, CBS announced Wednesday. The last episode is set to air on September 18, according to CBS spokeswoman Cindy Marshall.
The show, which the Guinness Book of World Records lists as the longest-running television drama, first aired on NBC radio in 1937 as a 15-minute serial, Marshall said. It moved to television on the CBS network in 1952, and is produced in New York.
The daytime soap opera’s declining viewership led to the decision, Marshall said. The remaining soap operas are also dealing with falling viewerships. How long before the entire genre is gone? Stay tuned.
Spring is in the air -- well by tomorrow anyway -- and television's annual rite of passage has the networks planning their fall schedules. To make room for new shows, some of your favorites may not live to see another season. With ad revenue down due to the shaky economy, some of the more expensive shows may be axed in cost-saving measures. Look for most of the cuts to occur at NBC, where room has to be made for Jay Leno's move into prime time.
In its March 23-29 issue, TV Guide reports the following shows are most in jeopardy:
ABC
Samantha Who? - update: officially cancelled
CBS
Cold Case - update: renewed for 7th season; moved to 10pm E/P
Eleventh Hour - update: cancelled
Gary Unmarried - update: renewed
Rules of Engagement - update: renewed
The Unit - update: cancelled
Without a Trace - update: cancelled
Worst Week - update: cancelled
The CW
Everybody Hates Chris -update: cancelled
The Game - update: cancelled
Privileged - update: cancelled
Reaper -update: cancelled
FOX
Dollhouse - update: renewed for 13-episode second season
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - update: cancelled
NBC
Chuck - update: renewed for 13-episode third season
Friday Night Lights - update: renewed for two seasons; 13 eps each
Kath & Kim - update: cancelled
Knight Rider - update: cancelled
Law & Order - update: renewed for 16-episode 20th season
Life - update: cancelled
Medium - update: cancelled, but picked up by CBS and moved to Friday
My Name is Earl - update: cancelled, but may be picked up by ABC or FOX
Stay tuned! The fall schedules are announced by the networks in May. Update: Here is a link of a great cheat sheet from Entertainment Weekly for all renewals/cancellations: click here
