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Monday Ratings: NBC’s ‘Voice’ Wins But Remains Sluggish; ABC’s ‘Light Fight’ Brighter
34 minutes ago
NBC won Monday’s primetime ratings race among the broadcasters behind the semifinals of “The Voice” and rookie drama “State of Affairs,” but the net’s grip on the night has clearly loosened. Last night also saw a solid return for ABC’s limited-run series “The Great Christmas Light Fight” and an Ok season premiere for CBS’ “Mike & Molly.”
Espn figures to win the night as its Atlanta-Green Bay “Monday Night Football” matchup, a game that was lopsided at halftime but got interesting late, averaged a 9.0 overnight household rating. This is the best prelim score for the franchise since the Oct. 27 game between Washington and Dallas did a 12.1.
Looking at the preliminary national estimates from Nielsen, NBC’s “The Voice” averaged a 2.5 rating/7 share in adults 18-49 and 10.6 million viewers overall from 8 to 10 p.m., down a bit from last week and the lowest score to date for a performance »
- Rick Kissell
Digital Audience Ratings: ‘Better Call Saul’ Rings Early, ‘Looking’ Finds Trending
1 hour ago
Provided by ListenFirst Media, Dar – TV measures what entertainment content is resonating most across Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Tumblr, YouTube and Wikipedia combined. For more on the methodology behind Dar – TV, scroll to the bottom of the article.
Digital Audience Ratings (Dar) – TV Broadcast Monday Dec 1, 2014 – Sunday Dec 7, 2014 Rank Last Week Program Rating(000) 1 1 The Voice 15,793 2 3 America’s Got Talent 4,308 3 4 America’s Funniest Home Videos 3,203 4 6 The Simpsons 2,865 5 5 The Flash 2,100 6 2 Dancing With The Stars 1,954 7 7 Arrow 1,818 8 - The Vampire Diaries 1,259 9 - Supernatural 942 10 - Grey’s Anatomy 851 -
Cable/Streaming Monday Dec 1, 2014 – Sunday Dec 7, 2014 Rank Last Week Program Rating(000) 1 1 Key and Peele 6,602 2 3 Top Gear 4,580 3 4 Pretty Little Liars 4,452 4 - South Park 3,797 5 2 The Walking Dead 3,716 6 10 Sons of Anarchy 2,239 7 - Better Call Saul 2,079 8 5 WWE Raw 1,320 9 - Looking 947 10 - The Fosters 924 -
Late Night Monday Dec 1, 2014 – Sunday Dec 7, 2014 Rank Last Week Program Rating(000) 1 2 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon 28,648 2 1 Jimmy Kimmel Live 16,101 3 3 Conan 9,673 4 5 The Graham Norton Show 2,564 5 4 Last Week Tonight With John Oliver »
- Jason Klein
Discovery, Netflix In Talks Over Program Streaming
1 hour ago
Discovery Communications would like to do a deal with Netflix to stream its programming over the popular company’s site. But the two sides have yet to come to terms on “value,” according to Discovery’s chief executive.
“”We want to do deal with them. They want to do deal with us. It’s a question of value,” said David Zaslav, speaking at an investor conference held by Ubs.
His remarks come after Discovery and Hulu, the video-streaming site owned jointly by Comcast, Disney and 21st Century Fox unveiled a new agreement that gave Hulu exclusive subscription video on demand rights to the series “Deadliest Catch” and rights to other programs as well.
Zaslav said he felt Discovery programs would make a good fit for Netflix, which he suggested has become more of a “premium service” in recent years, with an obvious focus on original content.
Discovery struck a two-year »
- Brian Steinberg
TNT Renews ‘Rizzoli & Isles’ for Season 6
1 hour ago
TNT has renewed “Rizzoli & Isles” for a sixth season targeted to air next summer.
The Warner Horizon TV procedural has been a top 5 cable series throughout its run to date. But despite strong ratings the renewal was not a given at at time when TNT is looking to overhaul its programming profile to bring more edge to its original series.
TNT has ordered 18 episodes for season six. The show’s fifth season is set to bow early next year.
“Rizzoli” stars Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander as a Boston police detective and medical examiner who partner on cases. Jan Nash is exec producer and showrunner with Bill Haber for Ostar Prods. It’s based on the series of crime novels by Tess Gerritsen.
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- Cynthia Littleton
Tomorrow Studios Nabs ‘Crow Girl’ Book Trilogy for TV Series
1 hour ago
Tomorrow Studios, the newly formed partnership of Marty Adelstein and ITV Studios, is developing a TV series based on the Scandinavian book trilogy “The Crow Girl.”
Michael London is on board to help shepherd the property through his Groundswell Studios. The books, written by an author duo billed as Erik Axl Sound, revolves around a psychotherapist treating two clients who are struggling with the toll taken by psychological torture and physical trauma.
Adelstein will exec produce with Tomorrow’s Becky Clements. Erik Axl Sund — the pen name of scribes Jerker Eriksson and Håkan Axlander Sundquist — will also exec produce with Niclas Salomonsson and Federico Ambrosini of the Salomonsson Agency lit shingle.
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- Variety Staff
NBC News Names Janelle Rodriguez Senior VP, Editorial
2 hours ago
NBC News said it lured CNN executive Janelle Rodriguez to take the role of senior vice president, editorial, and said she would supervise the unit’s investigations and medical news as well as set direction in breaking-news situations.
Rodriguez will report to NBC News President Deborah Turness, and will start at NBC News in January. Rodriguez is vice president of programming at CNN’s U.S. operations.
Rodriguez “will lead our regular division-wide editorial planning meetings. She will also work closely with correspondents to support their journalism and identify development opportunities,” Turness said in a memo to staffers Tuesday.
Rodriguez was named to her role at CNN in 2012, after serving as a producer and executive producer there. Her Twitter profile tells followers to look for “breaking news and juicy stories.”
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- Brian Steinberg
Watch: President Obama Takes Over ‘The Colbert Report’ for ‘The Decree’
2 hours ago
President Barack Obama paid a visit to “The Colbert Report” on Monday night, and since host Stephen Colbert spends plenty of time telling the Commander in Chief how to do his job, Obama decided he’d take a swing at hosting while the show was on his turf in Washington, D.C.
Obama took over the host’s desk for Colbert’s regular segment “The Word,” but in an effort to sound more presidential, Obama renamed it “The Decree,” promising to read exactly what was on Colbert’s teleprompter. It was ostensibly a screed against Obamacare, which allowed the President to admit to a few mistakes (the glitchy rollout of healthcare.gov) and promote the plan to Colbert’s youthful audience.
Later, Colbert and Obama sat down for a full interview, discussing the mid-terms, the recent jobs report and immigration. Watch those segments below.
“The Colbert Report” airs Monday through Thursday at 11:30 p. »
- Variety Staff
‘Wayward Pines’ Event Series to Premiere in May on Fox
3 hours ago
Fox thinks the world of its upcoming M. Night Shyamalan event series “Wayward Pines,” giving the psychological thriller’s premiere an unprecedented day-and-date launch in 125 countries.
The network and Fox International Channels announced on Tuesday the global rollout of the 10-episode “Wayward Pines,” which will premiere Thursday, May 14 at 9 p.m. on the network while also debuting simultaneously in more than 125 countries across Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe and Latin America.
The debut will be the world’s largest day-and-date launch for a scripted series ever.
The series stars Matt Dillon as a Secret Service agent on a mission to find two missing federal agents in the bucolic town of Wayward Pines, ID. In addition to Dillon, the cast includes Melissa Leo, Terrence Howard, Carla Gugino, Shannyn Sossamon, Toby Jones, Reed Diamond, Tim Griffin, Charlie Tahan and Juliette Lewis.
“Wayward Pines” is a production of FX Productions. The series was developed »
- Rick Kissell
James Murdoch Says 21st Century Fox has ‘Clear Succession Plan’
3 hours ago
As media barons like Sumner Redstone and Rupert Murdoch began to show more mileage, questions of succession at the companies they run inevitably arise.
James Murdoch is no stranger to that kind of speculation. The 21st Century Fox co-chief operating officer stopped short of mapping out what the future holds for the entertainment conglomerate, but he did tout the combined experience of the company’s leadership, ticking off the names of Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey and Chief Financial Officer John Nallen, while fielding a question at the Ubs Global Media and Entertainment Conference on Tuesday about what will happen when his father steps down or dies.
“We do have a pretty clear succession plan,” said Murdoch, arguing that 21st Century Fox has been more transparent than its rivals in signaling how its future leadership might manifest.
The future, be it who wears the crown or how the content that »
- Brent Lang
Starz CEO: ‘Shortsighted’ of Networks to Sell Hot Shows to Netflix
3 hours ago
Starz CEO Chris Albrecht questioned the wisdom of networks selling hot properties to Netflix, noting that such shows have helped build the netcaster into a premium-tv heavyweight.
“I think it’s really shortsighted for all these networks to be selling their shows to Netflix. If they didn’t what would be on Netflix?” Albrecht said. The Starz topper spoke Tuesday as part of the Ubs Global Media and Communications conference.
Albrecht noted that Netflix built a lot of its initial streaming business on the back of a licensing deal with Starz that Albrecht described as “terrible” for the premium cabler. The former HBO CEO disentangled the company from that deal after taking the reins of Starz in early 2010.
At the same time, Albrecht said he understands the motivation of networks and studio suppliers to take the big checks from Netflix for content rights: “It’s hard to turn down the »
- Cynthia Littleton
USA Network Experiments with Ad Sales, VOD in ‘Playing House’ Renewal
4 hours ago
USA Network has renewed comedy “Playing House” for a second season, turning the show into an experiment for new windowing and ad sales strategies.
USA said that episodes of “Playing House” would be available via cable VOD and authenticated on-demand platforms before they air on USA’s linear network. NBCUniversal ad sales chief Linda Yaccarino said the network would experiment with premium ad placements spread across those services to harness the small but passionate fan base for the femme buddy comedy written by and starring Jessica St. Clair and Lennon Parham.
“Playing House” had a modestly-rated run of 10 episodes this past spring. USA’s decision to renew “Playing House” is a sign that networks are trying to find ways to capitalize on shows that generate outsize traction in social media. St. Clair and Parham have developed a following among alternative comedy fans for their past TV and improv efforts. But »
- Cynthia Littleton
SAG-aftra Leaders Approve Network Code Contract
15 hours ago
The SAG-AFTRA national board has approved the tentative agreement reached with ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox for a successor agreement on the union’s network television code master contract.
The board met Monday by video conference in New York and Los Angeles to review the terms of the new agreement and voted to send the contract to those eligible among the 165,000 members for ratification.
Members who are current on dues should receive the ratification package within the next week.
The tentative deal, reached Nov. 14, covers most non-primetime TV work and about $200 million in annual earnings for members. The gains are similar to those in the three-year SAG-AFTRA master contract covering feature film and primetime work, which members ratified in August.
“This is a terrific deal and I congratulate the hard-working negotiating committee,” said SAG-Afta president Ken Howard, who chaired the committee. “This agreement achieved significant gains across »
- Dave McNary
Syfy Developing Superman Prequel ‘Krypton’ with DC, David S. Goyer
17 hours ago
Syfy has cut a deal with David S. Goyer for a Superman prequel revolving around the Man of Steel’s grandfather.
David S. Goyer, the prolific producer who has shepherded DC Comics properties in the past including “Man of Steel,” is spearheading “Krypton” with DC Entertainment and Warner Horizon Television. Ian Goldberg (“Once Upon a Time”) is writing the teleplay based on a story that he conceived with Goyer.
The project will revolve around Superman’s grandfather as he struggles to bring hope and equality to the planet Krypton at a time when the house of El is shamed and ostracized.
Goyer and Goldberg are exec producers.
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- Cynthia Littleton
Aaron Sorkin Responds to ‘Newsroom’ Writer’s Complaint on Rape Storyline
18 hours ago
As “The Newsroom” marches onward to its third season and series finale, controversy has arisen outside of the show’s content, as one of the show’s writers, Alena Smith, has said that creator Aaron Sorkin kicked her out of the writer’s room for questioning the campus rape storyline of this Sunday’s episode. However, Sorkin responded on Monday, saying Smith was happy with the final draft of the script.
The episode, “On Shenandoah,” featured Don Keefer (Thomas Sadoski), a producer on the show’s nightly news program, debating with a Princeton student, Mary (Sarah Sutherland), who runs an anonymous website where victims of sexual assault can tell their stories. The plot generated controversy over social media, especially given the recent blow-up surrounding Rolling Stone’s Uva campus rape story, and its subsequent retraction and apology.
After the episode aired, Smith tweeted the following:
As @emilynussbaum points out in her review of tonight's ep, »
- Kevin Noonan
Pivot Cancels ‘TakePart Live’
18 hours ago
Millenial-skewing cable network Pivot said it has cancelled “TakePart Live,” an ambitious talk program meant to galvanize a young audience to engage with pressing issues of the day, barely two months after adding a new co-host to the show.
“We thank our hosts and producers,” the network said in a statement. “They are incredibly talented and we’re already in discussion to work with them in different ways so that they can continue to have a place on Pivot.” A spokeswoman did not respond immediately to questions about the show’s performance or why it was being taken off the air, and did not specify a final date for the program.
Meghan McCain, daughter of Senator John McCain, and Jacob Soboroff, a founding host of “HuffPost Live,” have held forth regularly on the program, a centerpiece of the young network, which launched in August, 2013. They were joined in October by Baratunde Thurston, »
- Brian Steinberg
‘The League’ Renewed for 7th and Final Season
18 hours ago
Thank Shiva! “The League” is coming back — but for just one more season.
Fxx has ordered a seventh and final season of “The League” from creators Jeff Schaffer and Jackie Marcus Schaffer. The comedy, following a group of friends in a hyper-competitive fantasy football league, wrapped its sixth season in November.
“We are incredibly excited to work with our amazing cast for another season, especially because I can now announce that I finally won the fantasy football league that we play in with them,” said Jeff Schaffer.
“Whatever, I’ve won it twice,” Jackie Schaffer added. “Most players in the NFL don’t make it seven seasons, and most TV shows even less so. We want to thank FX Networks and all our Eskimo Brothers and Sisters – NFL teams would be lucky to have fans as diehard as ours.”
Starring Paul Scheer, Steve Rannazzisi, Mark Duplass, Katie Aselton, Jon Lajoie and Nick Kroll, »
- Kevin Noonan
Ken Weatherwax, Pugsley on ‘The Addams Family,’ Dies at 59
18 hours ago
Actor Ken Weatherwax has died at the age of 59 following a heart attack, according to TMZ.
A woman saying she is Weatherwax’s niece posted the news on Facebook.
Weatherwax is best known for playing Pugsley Addams on the original “Addams Family” television series, later voicing the character in the animated series and playing Pugsley Sr. in TV movie, “Halloween with the New Addams Family.”
The actor later worked behind the camera as a grip and set builder, frequently making appearances at “Addams Family” fan and tribute events.
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- Variety Staff
‘There Is No Plan’ in New ‘Girls’ Trailer
20 hours ago
HBO has released a fresh trailer for the upcoming fourth season of “Girls,” featuring a few questionably quoted turns of phrase and a possible new relationship developing among the show’s central characters.
Along with mishaps for Marnie (Allison Williams), Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet) and Hannah (creator/Ep Lena Dunham), the trailer, set to Nico Vega’s “I Believe (Get Over Yourself),” features a few shots perhaps hinting at a burgeoning romance between Jessa (Jemima Kirke) and Adam (Adam Driver), who seem to be spending some time together while Hannah’s off finding herself in Iowa… which may explain why things get physical between Hannah and Jessa, as seen in a previously released promo.
Season 4 of “Girls” premieres Jan. 11 at 9 p.m. on HBO.
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- Kevin Noonan
Best And Worst Ads Of 2014: From The Oscars ‘Selfie’ To The Beer That Drank Up A Town
21 hours ago
In 2014, advertisers figured out they should stop interrupting the media they sponsor and instead start finding ways to look just like it.
Some of the year’s most memorable ads were the ones that blended into the content that attracted consumers in the first place, or ones that became a show unto themselves. Little wonder that Ellen DeGeneres’s Oscars “Selfie” generated so much attention for a Samsung smartphone planted in her hands by the technology company as part of a deal with ABC, the network that broadcast the awards. Rather than interrupt the proceedings with a commercial, Samsung added more content that people wanted to see – in this case, a star-studded moment featuring everyone from Bradley Cooper to Jennifer Lawrence to Brad Pitt.
You can expect a lot more of the same in 2015. Ever since the advent of the DVR granted viewers the power to untether themselves from the »
- Brian Steinberg
TNT’s ‘The Librarians’ Series Off to Good Ratings Start
21 hours ago
TNT’s “The Librarians,” based on the network’s successful “Librarian” movie franchise, opened to good numbers as a series Sunday night, becoming cable’s top-rated premiere of the year.
The 8-10 p.m. launch of “The Librarians” averaged a 1.3 rating in adults 18-49 and about 5.4 million viewers overall, according to Nielsen, a higher demo rating than some dramas airing Sunday on ABC and CBS.
TNT’s “The Last Ship” and FX’s “The Strain” had previously been the calendar year’s top basic cable premiere in 18-49 (both 1.2), but “Librarians” edged it out. It also has become the most-watched new cable series launch overall for the year, slightly more than “Last Ship” when it opened in June (5.33 million).
Add in an encore telecast, and Sunday’s premiere of “The Librarians” drew 7.3 million viewers, including about 2.3 million adults 18-49.
“The Librarians” centers on an ancient organization hidden beneath the Metropolitan »
- Rick Kissell
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