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Fall TV Premiere Dates: New and Returning Shows
34 minutes ago
Here’s a look at the broadcast premieres, scripted cable premieres and select unscripted cable shows bowing this fall:
(All times Eastern. New shows in bold)
September
Sunday, Sept. 6
Masterpiece: Arthur & George (PBS), 8 p.m.
Review: While this fact-based look at an episode in the life of Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle appears designed to cash in on interest in all things related to the fictional sleuth, it’s a slim construct, with a mystery that’s as wispy and unsubstantial as fog drifting in over the moors.
Monday, Sept. 7
Pickle and Peanut (Disney Xd), 9 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 8
Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS), 11:35 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 9
The League (Fxx), 10 p.m. (Season 7)
You’re the Worst (Fxx), 10:30 p.m. (Season 2)
Friday, Sept. 11
For Better or Worse (Own), 9 p.m. (Season 5)
20/20 (ABC), 10 p.m. (Season 39)
Continuum (Syfy), 11 p.m. (Season 4)
Z Nation (Syfy), 10 p. »
- Variety Staff
Digital Audience Ratings: Kermit & Friends Hop to Broadcast Leaderboard
50 minutes 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 Aug 31, 2015 – Sunday Sep 6, 2015 Rank Last Week Program Rating(000) 1 1 The Voice 10,074 2 2 America’s Got Talent 9,542 3 3 Dancing With The Stars 3,088 4 5 Empire 2,460 5 4 America’s Funniest Home Videos 2,276 6 – Grey’s Anatomy 1,781 7 – Kitchen Nightmares 1,667 8 – The Muppets 1,543 9 – Arrow 1,524 10 – Quantico 1,364 –
Cable/Streaming Monday Aug 31, 2015 – Sunday Sep 6, 2015 Rank Last Week Program Rating(000) 1 1 Key & Peele 13,651 2 3 Dance Moms 4,648 3 5 Top Gear 4,056 4 4 Beyond Scared Straight 3,561 5 6 Pretty Little Liars 2,406 6 2 Lip Sync Battle 2,249 7 – Impact Wrestling 1,864 8 10 Impractical Jokers 1,841 9 – Narcos 1,708 10 – All Access 1,657 –
Late Night Monday Aug 31, 2015 – Sunday Sep 6, 2015 Rank Last Week Program Rating(000) 1 2 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon 38,310 2 1 Jimmy Kimmel Live! 32,109 3 3 Conan 8,994 4 4 Last Week Tonight with John Oliver 7,386 5 5 The Late Late Show With James Corden 3,967 –
Trending Monday Aug 31, 2015 – Sunday Sep 6, 2015 Program »
- Jason Klein
‘Empire’ Stars, Jimmy Kimmel Among Primetime Emmy Presenters
1 hour ago
The Television Academy has announced its first batch of presenters for the Primetime Emmy Awards and the list includes past and present nominees.
“Empire’s” Taraji P. Henson, who is nominated this year for lead actress in a drama, is presenting, as are Jimmy Kimmel and Amy Poehler. His “Jimmy Kimmel Live” is nominated this year in the Variety Talk Series category and this year marks her sixth consecutive nomination for lead actress in a comedy series for “Parks and Recreation.”
Other presenters include “The Honorable Woman” star Maggie Gyllenhaal, who is nominated this year for lead actress in a limited series or movie, and “NCIS: Los Angeles” star LL Cool J, who was nominate for an Emmy in 2012 in the special class category as an exec producer of that year’s Grammy Awards.
Henson’s “Empire’ costar, Terrence Howard, is also presenting.
More names of presenters will be released in the coming days. »
- Whitney Friedlander
‘Game of Thrones’ Casts Richard E. Grant for Season 6
2 hours ago
“Game of Thrones” has cast Richard E. Grant in an undisclosed role for season 6, Variety has confirmed.
The “Withnail and I” actor joins a crop of renowned British actors who have recently boarded the hit HBO series, including Jonathan Pryce and Ian McShane.
Grant will be the third “Downton Abbey” star to cross over to “Game of Thrones” (he played art historian Simon Bricker in “Downton”). His most recent roles include Ian Margrove on USA’s “Dig,” “Doctor Who” villain the Great Intelligence and Jasper in “Girls.”
Grant’s talent agency added (then quickly removed) the show on his online resume. The director’s column beside the role initially noted “various,” suggesting that Grant would appear in multiple episodes.
Other season six “Game of Thrones” additions include “UnREAL” actor Freddie Stroma as Dickon Tarly, “Borgen” star Pilou Asbæk as Euron Greyjoy, Ian McShane in an unspecified role and Max von Sydow as the Three-Eyed Raven. »
- Maane Khatchatourian
Andrew Stearn Named President of Working Title Television U.S. (Exclusive)
2 hours ago
Working Title Television has recruited Andrew Stearn, formerly president of television at John Wells Productions, to run its U.S. operation.
Stearn is set to join the company this week as president of Working Title Television U.S. He’ll work closely with Working Title Films founders Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner as well as Liza Chasin, Working Title’s president of U.S. production. His mandate is to work with creative talent and broadcasters on both sides of the Atlantic to develop a range of projects and co-productions.
Based in London and Los Angeles, Working Title Television is a joint venture between NBCUniversal International Studios and Bevan and Fellner. Stearn will work closely in that capacity with Michael Edelstein, president of NBCU International Studios, and JoAnn Alfano, exec VP of scripted programming.
Working Title has taken a few stabs at the U.S. TV market. It has a limited series, »
- Cynthia Littleton
NFL Network Will Launch New Series To Accompany Football Season
2 hours ago
NFL Network will launch an eight-episode documentary series about the importance of football in a small town along with two one-hour specials and a slate of returning programs in time with its ongoing coverage of NFL football in 2015.
The docu-series, “Football Town,” will explore small towns and cities where football is of paramount importance. The first season will debut Thursday, September 17 following the Thursday Night Football postgame show and focus on Barrow, Alaska, and the Barrow High School Whalers football team. Following the premiere episode on September 17, “Football Town: Barrow, Alaska” will air Tuesdays at 8:30 Pm Et on NFL Network, with an encore Thursday following the Thursday Night Football postgame show.
A condensed version of the first episode will be available to more than 16 million followers of the NFL and NFL Network on Facebook beginning Sept. 15. The condensed version of episode one will remain viewable up to the premiere »
- Brian Steinberg
Hillary Clinton to Appear on Jimmy Fallon’s ‘Tonight Show’
2 hours ago
Hillary Clinton’s media tour has officially commenced.
Clinton will make her first late-night talk show appearance since announcing her presidential run on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on Sept. 16. This also marks her first visit to the show.
The Democratic presidential candidate will be interviewed by ABC News’ David Muir Tuesday night and visit Ellen DeGeneres’ daytime talker on Thursday during the premiere week of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
“The Tonight Show” has become a must-stop destination for presidential candidates. Fallon recently interviewed New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and will chat with Gop candidate Donald Trump on Sept. 11.
Oval Office contenders are flocking to late-night, in general. Stephen Colbert will interview Republican candidate Jeb Bush on the series premiere of “Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on Tuesday and Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders on Sept. 18.
Rumored potential candidate Vice President Joe Biden will appear on the Sept. 10 episode of the CBS show. »
- Maane Khatchatourian
‘American Horror Story’: How Costume Designer Lou Eyrich Created the ‘Freak Show’
3 hours ago
Crafting a circus full of freaks was quite the ride for creative the team behind “American Horror Story,” but with consecutive nods for outstanding costuming, hair styling, makeup and prosthetic makeup, ever since the limited series’ offset at the 2012 Creative Arts Emmys, the “Freak Show” was in good hands with Ryan Murphy’s below-the-line team.
“Starting over each season is both a blessing and a curse,” admits costume designer Lou Eyrich, the 2014 Emmys reigning champ.
In anticipation of “American Horror Story’s” 2015 Emmy fate, Eyrich spoke to Variety about perfecting creepy costuming for the limited series’ fourth installment.
What are the challenges that come with changing the look season-to-season in an anthology series?
Prep is more intense, as creating each character takes time and often multiple fittings. However, creatively, it’s exciting to create a new look for actors you have been working with for several seasons. You never get bored. »
- Elizabeth Wagmeister
TV Station Mega Merger: Media General Sets $2.4 Billion Acquisition of Meredith Corp.
3 hours ago
Media General has set a $2.4 billion acquisition of Meredith Corp., creating a TV station colossus that will rank as the nation’s third-largest owner of network affiliates.
The cash and stock deal was unveiled Tuesday. Meredith Corp. CEO Steve Lacy will become CEO of the combined Meredith Media General entity, with Media General chairman J. Stewart Bryan III remaining in the same role. The deal is expected to close next June.
Meredith Media General will own 88 stations in 54 markets — including 40 Big Four network affils in top 75 markets. It’s projected to have earnings of more than $900 million on revenue of more than $3 billion. The companies expect to squeeze out $80 million in cost savings within the first two years.
The combination of Meredith and Media General continues the consolidation trend among TV stations that has led to handful of mega groups wielding renewed clout with networks and Mvpd operators. But it »
- Cynthia Littleton
FremantleMedia Nabs French Scripted Production Company Fontaram
5 hours ago
Aiming to further expand its presence globally, FremantleMedia has acquired a 51% stake in Fontaram, the French scripted company recently launched by producer/writer partners François Aramburu and Pascal Fontanille.
The deal with Fontaram, which follows the acquisition of Italian TV and film company Wildside, was brokered by FremantleMedia France CEO Monica Galer, who will have a seat on the board of the new company.
“François (Aramburu) and Pascale (Fontanille) are incredibly talented drama producers with a wealth of experience and long standing relationships with all of the major French broadcasters. This is an important deal for FremantleMedia as we establish our scripted presence in France and I look forward to a successful creative partnership with the duo.”
François Aramburu and Pascal Fontanille said that their partnership with FremantleMedia would give their “new production company the best possible foundation to grow while also fulfilling our creative ambition.”
The pair added, “Joining »
- Elsa Keslassy
As Stephen Colbert Takes Stage, Late-Night TV Is Nothing to Laugh About
5 hours ago
When Stephen Colbert holds forth at New York’s Ed Sullivan Theater later this afternoon for his first taping at the helm of CBS’ “Late Show,” he will no doubt do something, maybe even many things, that will make people chuckle. Behind the scenes, however, it’s not clear that executives at CBS – or any other network that has invested in a late-night program in recent months – have much cause to smile.
On TV, late-night has always been a place for funny business, whether it be Johnny Carson’s Art Fern or David Letterman’s Alka-Seltzer suit. Now, after Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon and a cadre of new hosts with no direct ties to the genre’s landmark Carson era have hit upon new methods to make the shows resonate, the entire enterprise of the time-slot has grown exponentially more serious. TV’s primetime schedule usually draws the most notice, »
- Brian Steinberg
Fox TV Sweden Picks Up ‘Limitless’ From CBS Studios Intl.
5 hours ago
Fox TV Sweden has acquired “Limitless,” the TV drama based on the eponymous feature film starring Bradley Cooper, from CBS Studios International.
The series centers around Brian Finch (Jake McDorman), an ordinary man who discovers the brain-boosting power of a mysterious drug known as Nzt and is coerced by the FBI into using his extraordinary cognitive skills to help them solve complicated cases.
McDorman stars opposite Jennifer Carpenter (“Dexter”) who plays a highly skilled special agent with a dark past, Hill Harper (“CSI: NY”) as a former military officer who has become a special agent, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (“The Color of Money”), as a canny manipulator who is in charge of special agents and has a clandestine relationship with a shady senator and presidential hopeful played by Bradley Cooper.
“Limitless” is produced by CBS Television Studios in association with K/O Paper Products and Relativity Television. Repped by CBS Studios International, »
- Elsa Keslassy
High-End Drama Powers France to All-Time TV Export Record
5 hours ago
Biarritz. France – The U.S. is getting the French TV touch. Pre-sales on four flagship French fiction series –“Transporter: the Series,” “Panthers,” “Versailles” and ”Taxi Brooklyn” – to the U.S. or beyond helped power up Gallic TV exports to an all-time record last year of €210.3 million ($231.3 million).
A muscular 17.1% up on 2013, figure reps the fifth year of consecutive growth for French TV programs and is near 30% up on international French TV levels in pre-crisis years of 2005-08, TV France International and French agency Cnc announced Tuesday at Tvfi’s annual Biarritz Rendez-Vous. Drama pre-sales soared an extraordinary 449% year-on-year in 2014.
If any figures were needed to demonstrate that it is not only the U.S. that is benefitting from a fiction feeding frenzy, Tuesday’s Gallic stats announcement was conclusive.
“There’s been a crisis but exports have really picked up,” said Mathieu Bejot, Tvfi head.
Beyond the U.S , the U. »
- John Hopewell
Jean Darling, ‘Our Gang’ Star, Dies at 93
19 hours ago
Actress Jean Darling, one of the last surviving cast members of the “Our Gang” silent comedy shorts who also appeared in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s original production of “Carousel,” died Friday in Rodgau, Germany, reports the New York Times. She was 93.
Darling broke out onto the scene in the early ’20s, scoring the role in Hal Roach’s “Our Gang” after starting to act when she was only 4 years old.
Darling appeared in six “Our Gang” talkies and 46 silents. The series of shorts would become the inspiration for 1994 film “The Little Rascals.”
In addition to her work on “Our Gang,” Darling also moved into film, starring as young Jane in the 1934 adaptation “Jane Eyre.” She also appeared in an uncredited role in “Babes in Toyland.”
She later turned toward the stage, making her debut in 1942 in the musical “Count Me In.” She starred in “Carousel” in 1945, originating the role of Carrie »
- Alex Stedman
Judy Carne, ‘Laugh-In’s’ ‘Sock it to Me’ Girl, Dies at 76
21 hours ago
Actress Judy Carne, best known for being the “Sock it to me!” girl on “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” in the ’60s, died on Sept. 3, according to the Telegraph. She was 76.
Carne rose to overnight fame with her appearances on “Laugh-In,” where the bouncy actress’ zany persona would be doused with water every time she uttered the phrase “Sock it to me,” accidentally or not. She acted on the sketch comedy show for two years, making the occasional appearance in the third season.
Carne was also known for her tumultuous relationship with Burt Reynolds. She was the actor’s first wife, marrying him in 1963 before they divorced in 1965. She detailed their relationship, confessing to partaking in several affairs and struggling with drug addiction, in her 1985 autobiography “Laughing on the Outside, Crying on the Inside: The Bittersweet Saga of the Sock-It-To-Me Girl.”
She battled heavily with drug addiction after leaving “Laugh-In,” being »
- Alex Stedman
Streaming Services Should Be a Part of Pay TV (Guest Column)
22 hours ago
The rapid growth of streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon has created a two-tier system of content. It’s also created a two-tier system in our living rooms, where traditional cable and broadcast channels are accessed via a set-top box while streaming channels are accessed via a Roku box, never the twain to meet.
That’s unfortunate, because integrating the two competing systems into a single interface may be exactly what the industry needs to survive.
Creating an elegant interface that combines streaming services and pay-tv services, so that Netflix and NBC both live on the same grid, would go a long way towards improving TV’s user experience. It would also benefit all parties, from networks and MVPDs to streaming services. But most of all, it would benefit the consumer.
MVPDs would love to be able to offer popular streaming services like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu to their customers, »
- Alan Wolk
Martin Milner, Star of ‘Adam-12,’ ‘Route 66,’ Dies at 83
23 hours ago
Martin Milner, who starred on TV on “Adam-12” with Kent McCord and, earlier, on “Route 66” with George Maharis, died Sunday night, Diana Downing, a representative for his fan page, confirmed. He was 83.
Milner was also known for his roles as a jazz guitarist in the brilliant 1957 film “Sweet Smell of Success” and in the 1967 camp classic “Valley of the Dolls.”
Milner began acting in movies while a teen, after his father got him an agent, first appearing in the 1947 classic “Life With Father.” The film starred William Powell and Irene Dunne, and thus Milner, along with his co-star Elizabeth Taylor, bridged the generations in Hollywood between the golden age and contemporary era.
He appeared as Officer Pete Molloy alongside Kent McCord’s Officer Jim Reed in NBC’s “Adam-12” from 1968-75. Molloy was the seasoned, savvy veteran bringing along Reed who was, at first, a rookie.
The innovative series »
- Carmel Dagan
TV Review: ‘You’re the Worst,’ Season 2
7 September 2015 8:00 AM, PDT
“You’re the Worst” might not be the best series on TV about self-absorbed Millennials, but it’s far from the worst. Stripped of that context, the show – which returns for its second season, now on the comedy-oriented Fxx – is mildly likable, with Chris Geere and Aya Cash as the grudgingly involved central couple, who chafe at any suggestion they might settle down or become boring like, well, other people. The central joke, however, has a repetitive quality, and if series creator Stephen Falk brings a singular voice to the proceedings, it’s partially dulled by the fact that every character essentially speaks with it.
Season one charted the hookup-turned-relationship between struggling writer Jimmy (Chris Geere) and music publicist Gretchen (Aya Cash) as well as the quirky characters that surround them. In season two, they’re both so aghast and agitated about circumstances dictating that they live together that, in the premiere, »
- Brian Lowry
BBC Chief Tony Hall Sets Out Vision for Broadcaster in Internet Era
7 September 2015 6:42 AM, PDT
London — Tony Hall, director general of U.K. broadcaster the BBC, set out on Monday how it will respond to the challenges and opportunities posed by the internet era.
Speaking at the Science Museum in London, Hall said that as the network negotiated with the government to formulate a new Charter, the agreement that defines its purpose and the scope of its operations, it had the chance to refine itself to fit the demands of the new media environment.
Hall said that the watchwords of the BBC were “creative freedom,” “universal reach” and “trust and consent,” and that it should stand for “excellence without arrogance.”
He stated that one of its central challenges was to adapt to technological change, as it had done throughout its history. “The challenge we face up to in what we’re publishing today is how to continue to achieve excellence in a time of change, »
- Leo Barraclough
Rome’s New Mia Market Targets Co-Productions (Exclusive)
6 September 2015 10:00 PM, PDT
The first edition of the new Italian market, called Mia, will run Oct. 16-20 during the Rome Film Festival.
The market will be dedicated to feature films, TV series, documentaries and video games, and will be launching Make It With Italy, a co-production forum for international projects seeking an Italian minority co-production partner. The move is part of the mart’s stated mission to make the Italian film industry more international.
Make It With Italy will be for films from outside Italy with elements that can have particular appeal for Italian producers to come on board as minority co-production partners. Projects must be budgeted at more than Euros 1.5 million, and have 30% of financing in place.
Mia topper Lucia Milazzotto (pictured) said that the idea is not to generate “exclusively financial co-productions.” That said, “they don’t all have to come shoot in Italy,” she added. “But they should involve some »
- Nick Vivarelli
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