By Stacey Harrison

If NBC has a hit on its hands with Parenthood, it’ll certainly have earned it.

The network first attempted to adapt Ron Howard’s 1989 dramedy as a half-hour show back in 1990 — a straight-up adaptation with Ed Begley Jr. in the Steve Martin role. It lasted one season and is memorable now mainly as an early screen credit for Leonardo DiCaprio and David Arquette. Twenty years later, the concept was revived with a new set of characters and situations to explore. Howard was back as executive producer, and the all-star cast included Peter Krause, Craig T. Nelson, Monica Potter, Bonnie Bedelia, Erika Christensen, Dax Shepard, and in a critical role as troubled sister and single mom Sarah, Maura Tierney. The pilot had been completed and sent out to critics for the show’s premiere last fall. Before that could happen, though, Tierney announced that she had to leave the show to fight her newly diagnosed breast cancer. That left the production having to recast the role and shoot a new pilot.

Enter Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls), who joined the cast and has sought to make the role her own, having to answer just as many questions about Tierney as anything else. That should all be over tonight after the pilot premieres. The many plights of the Braverman clan — the pilot alone covers overbearing sports fathers, adult children moving back home, teen rebellion, work/life balance, an autistic child and unexpected paternity — provide plenty of drama that could make it NBC’s first step toward making amends for The Jay Leno Show.

I spoke with Krause and Christensen at a recent press tour to get their thoughts on their characters and why they connected to them. [Read more →]

Categories: Drama by sharrison76
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Tags: Asperger's Syndrome, Bonnie Bedelia, Craig T. Nelson, Dax Shepard, Erika Christensen, Jason Katims, Lauren Graham, Mae Whitman, Max Burkholder, Monica Potter, NBC, Parenthood, Peter Krause, Ron Howard, Stacey Harrison

Los Angeles, Calif. — To help promote the release of its newest original drama series Justified, FX has launched the interactive online game Justified Pursuit: The Scavenger Hunt Sweepstakes, giving players the chance to win cash prizes and clothing from Stetson. Justified premieres on FX Tuesday, March 16, at 10pm E/P.

At www.Justifiedthepursuit.com, players will sign up as “deputies” in Harlan County, Ky., and collect clues to track a fugitive.  The game leads participants through 16 sightings in the pursuit of fictional bank robber, Jarrett Lee Cook. On the way, they will learn key elements about the series and unlock hidden content from the show. Each player will be assigned a virtual deputy desk and tracking map to follow the sightings. The final clue will be revealed in the series premiere on March 16.

Participants will receive an entry into the sweepstakes for every sighting they enter. Four winners will be selected:  1 Grand Prize winner will receive a $5,000 reward and a $500 wardrobe from Stetson that will include a hat, pair of boots, jeans, and a shirt.  Three first prize winners will receive $1,000 as well as the $500 Stetson wardrobe.

In Justified, Timothy Olyphant stars as Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens,  a true-blue hero born and reared in the hill country of eastern Kentucky, who left at age 19 to become a U.S. Marshal.  Now, years later, after shooting a gun thug in Miami hotel and thereby incurring the wrath of his Marshals Service superiors, Raylan has been sent in punishment (and by fate?) to the one place to which he vowed he would never return — Kentucky. But, being back in Kentucky, Raylan will also have to confront a past crowded with enough skeletons to choke a graveyard.

Check back here in the coming days for our interview with best-selling novelist Elmore Leonard, who created the character of Raylan Givens in his books Pronto and Riding the Rap.

Categories: Drama by sharrison76
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Tags: Elmore Leonard, FX, Justified, Justified Pursuit: The Scavenger Hunt, Raylan Givens, Stacey Harrison, Stetson, sweepstakes, Timothy Olyphant

Burbank, Calif. (Jan. 12, 2010) — ABC Family’s two hit original scripted series, The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Make It or Break It, have each been picked up for a new season, it was announced today by Paul Lee, president, ABC Family. Set to return this summer, The Secret Life of the American Teenager has been renewed for a 3rd season and Make It or Break It for its 2nd season.

“We’re thrilled to announce both The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Make It or Break It will be coming back this summer for new seasons,” said Lee. “Both returned last week to record numbers — our Millennial audience is just so passionate about these shows and has responded to both of these dramas in such a big way.”

The Secret Life of the American Teenager, which focuses on the relationships between families and friends and how they deal with issues including teen pregnancy and motherhood, currently airs on the network on Monday nights (8:00-9:00PM ET/PT). The series stars Shailene Woodley, Molly Ringwald, Mark Derwin, India Eisley, Ken Baumann, Daren Kagasoff, Francia Raisa, Megan Park and Greg Finley. It is created and executive-produced by Brenda Hampton. [Read more →]

Categories: Drama, TV News & Program Updates by sharrison76
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Tags: ABC Family, Ayla Kell, Brenda Hampton, Candace Cameron Bure, Cassie Scerbo, Chelsea Hobbs, Daren Kagasoff, Francia Raisa, Greg Finley, India Eisley, Josie Loren, Ken Baumann, Make It or Break It, Mark Derwin, Megan Park, Molly Ringwald, Peri Gilpin, Shailene Woodley, Stacey Harrison, Susan Ward, TCA, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Zachary Burr Abel

Heat Wave by Richard Castle, star of the hit ABC series Castle (Mondays, 10:00-11:00 p.m., ET), has been a successful cross-platform collaboration between ABC and Hyperion. Published at the end of September 2009, Heat Wave has spent 14 weeks on the New York Times Hardcover bestsellers list, currently holding the No. 32 position for Sunday, Jan. 17, 2010. Hyperion has gone back to press eight times and now has over 170,000 copies in print. With this great success, a second book from Richard Castle will be published at the end of September 2010.

Heat Wave is Hyperion’s No. 2 bestselling ebook for 2009, surpassed only by The Last Lecture. It is also Hyperion’s No. 5 Kindle bestseller for the year. The free chapters of Heat Wave offered on ABC.com have been downloaded almost 100,000 times since the first chapter posted in August 2009. Heat Wave will be released as a mass market paperback edition in August 2010.

UNTITLED CASTLE BOOK 2 by Richard Castle —

In the sequel to Heat Wave, Castle’s new thrilling mystery continues the story of NYPD Homicide Detective Nikki Heat. Tough, sexy, professional, Nikki Heat carries a passion for justice as she leads one of New York City’s top homicide squads. In what’s sure to be another smash sensation by this blockbuster author, readers will once again follow Nikki Heat and hotshot reporter Jameson Rook as they trade barbs and innuendos, all while on the trail of a murderer!

For more information on “Castle,” visit ABC.com

Categories: Comedy, Drama, TV News & Program Updates by sharrison76
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Tags: ABC, Castle, Heat Wave, Nathan Fillion, Nikki Heat, Stacey Harrison, Stanka Katic, TCA

Code 58 (working title), the new action-comedy from Matt Nix (Burn Notice), will have special previews on two nights, Wednesday, May 12, at 8pm ET, and Wednesdays, May 19, at 8pm ET, before making its series premiere Monday, June 7 at 9pm ET on FOX.

“I’m incredibly excited to be doing the show at FOX,” Nix said. “It’s a network that’s known for pushing limits, and that’s what we’re doing here. They’ve really embraced the quirkier, more unconventional aspects of the show, and even encouraged me to go further with them.”

Code 58 (working title) is a comedic look at what happens when an old-school cop and a modern-day detective try to expose the big picture of small crime. Dan Stark (Bradley Whitford) was once a big-shot Dallas detective. Thirty years later, Dan Stark is a washed-up detective who spends most of his time drunk or rehashing his glory days. Dan’s new partner, Jack Bailey (Colin Hanks), is an ambitious, by-the-book and overall promising detective, but is sometimes a bit too snarky for his own good. His habit of undermining himself has earned him a dead-end position in the department. Jack may not see it, but he has little chance of getting out of his situation; his knack for making enemies at the station has assured he is not going anywhere anytime soon.

Jack’s only ally is Assistant District Attorney Liz Townsend (Jenny Wade, Reaper), a quick-witted former girlfriend whom Jack hasn’t quite gotten over and the one person he turns to for help with his current professional predicament. Not helping matters any is Jack and Dan’s boss, Lieutenant Ana Ruiz (Diana Maria Riva), who has committed herself to seeing that Jack and Dan spend the remainder of their days in the Property Crimes Division, assigned to investigate seemingly minor crimes in order to keep them — and the department — out of major trouble.

Code 58 is produced by FOX Television Studios. Matt Nix and Mikkel Bondesen serve as executive producers. Tim Matheson will direct the pilot episode.

Encores of both preview episodes will air Monday, May 31, at 8pm.

Categories: Comedy, Drama, TV News & Program Updates by sharrison76
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Tags: Bradley Whitford, Burn Notice, Code 58, Colin Hanks, Diana Maria Riva, FOX, Jenny Wade, Matt Nix, Mikkel Bondesen, Stacey Harrison, TCA, Tim Matheson, USA

© 2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. CR: Matthias Clamer/FOX

PASADENA, Calif. - Jan. 11, 2010 — FOX has ordered a second season of the genre-defying comedy Glee, it was announced today by Kevin Reilly, president, entertainment, for FOX Broadcasting Company. Glee has become a bona fide cultural phenomenon boasting winning ratings, critical acclaim, a rabid fan base of “Gleeks,” two certified Gold albums and more than 4 million song downloads. The series has received four Golden Globe nominations, including one for Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy; a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series; two Directors Guild of America Award nominations; and a Writers Guild of America nomination for Best Comedy and Best New Series. Additionally, the American Film Institute name Glee one of the Top 10 TV Programs of the Year, and the series also recently own a People’s Choice Award for Favorite New Comedy.

“We’ve loved Glee ever since it was a pilot script, so it’s been an incredible thrill to watch the show take root and see audiences embrace these characters in such a huge way this season,” Reilly said. “The show is a true and rare gem in television. We couldn’t be more proud of what Ryan Murphy and the Glee team have created so far, and can’t wait to see what they come up with for Season 2.” [Read more →]

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Tags: Amber Riley, Brad Falchuk, Chris Colfer, Cory Monteith, Dianna Agron, FOX, Glee, Gleeks, Ian Brennan, Jane Lynch, Jayma Mays, Jesalyn Gilsig, Junna Ushkowitz, Kevin McHale, Kevin Reillly, Lea Michele, Mark Salling, Matthew Morrison, open casting call, Ryan Murphy, Stacey Harrison, TCA

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - Jan. 10, 2010 — NBC will showcase an impressive gallery of marquee guest stars in its series in January-February with Kathy Bates in The Office, Jack Black and Katharine McPhee in Community; Debra Winger in Law & Order; Sharon Stone and Mischa Barton in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit; Elizabeth Banks, James Franco and the return of Jon Hamm in 30 Rock; James Van Der Beek and Michael Imperioli in Mercy; Jason Ritter in Parenthood.

In addition, Pam and Jim experience the birth of their baby in a special two-part episode of The Office on Thursday, March 4, and Thursday, March 11 (9-9:30pm ET both nights).

The announcements were made by Angela Bromstad, president, primetime entertainment, NBC and Universal Media Studios.

A summary of the guest stars and their roles includes:

• In The Office, Oscar and Golden Globe Award winner Bates (Misery) portrays the CEO of Sabre, the mysterious company that buys Dunder Mifflin. The charismatic and iconoclastic CEO is the most exciting guest the Scranton branch has ever seen — and a Southern charmer who has always done things her way. Bates will appear in a multi-episode arc beginning on Thursday, Feb. 4. [Read more →]
  

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  Tags: 30 Rock, Chevy Chase, Community, Debra Winger, Dunder Mifflin, Elizabeth Banks, Jack Black, James Franco, James Van Der Beek, Jason Ritter, Joel McHale, Jon Hamm, Katharine McPhee, kathy bates, Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Mae Whitman, Mercy, Michael Imperioli, Mischa Barton, NBC, Parenthood, Sharon Stone, Taylor Schilling, TCA, The Office

Jeff Gaspin, NBC Universal Television Entertainment chairman, announced Sunday that as of Feb. 12, The Jay Leno Show will no longer air at 10pm ET. This cuts short the 52-week trial balloon Gaspin had hoped to grant Leno’s primetime experiment, but affiliate pressure stemming from the negative effect Leno’s lead-in was having on local news broadcast forced the exec’s hand.

In shuffling the deck, however, Gaspin is hoping all his late-night cards remain in hand. He has proposed Leno move to 11:35pm, while Conan O’Brien would stay host of The Tonight Show at 12:05pm, and Jimmy Fallon would stay with Late Night at 1:05am. This would push Carson Daly’s talker Last Call into affiliate time, and Gaspin says the network hasn’t addressed what Daly’s role would be, but says he wants to keep him aboard.

None of the late-night hosts have agreed to the shakeup, Gaspin says, but they are still “thinking it over” this weekend. He called them “incredibly gracious and professional” about the situation. He also said the jokes he’s hearing on Leno and O’Brien’s shows by the hosts themselves are helpful, not hurtful.

Gaspin described the network’s new strategy as a “back-to-basics” approach that hints that the traditional broadcast model of scripted dramas and ad-based revenue still has more life left in it than previously thought. He stressed that the network was happy with the show, and that it was making money off the 10pm slot, but that discussions with affiliates “grew louder and stronger as time went on,” and that he was forced to make the difficult decision.

To fill the void, the Peacock is embarking on an ambitious development slate that Gaspin estimated would net two more hours of scripted programming per  week, one more hour of reality programming, and perhaps more editions of Dateline.

Among the programs in development (no casting has been announced) are:

Prime Suspect: An American version of the hit British series about a tough female detective investigating complex mysteries in a politically explosive city.  Hank Steinberg (Without a Trace) and Erwin Stoff (The Blind Side) are executive producers. [Read more →]

Categories: Comedy, Drama, TV News & Program Updates by sharrison76
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Tags: Adam Carolla, Angela Bromstad, Chase, Cheryl Hines, Cindy Chupack, Curb Your Enthusiasm, David E. Kelley, David Shore, David Tennant, Dick Wolf, Doctor Who, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, House, J.J. Abrams, Jeff Gaspin, Jerry Bruckheimer, Kindreds, Last Call With Carson Daly, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, Law & Order, LOLA, Love Bites, NBC, Prime Suspect, Rex Is Not Your Lawyer, School Pride, Sex and the City, Stacey Harrison, Steve Carell, TCA, The Event, The Jay Leno Show, The Rockford Files, The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien, Undercovers

Hugh Dillon and Michelle Forbes star in Durham's season 2

By Elaine Bergstrom
I confess that I have seen the entire second season of Durham County and if you watched the intense opening episode Sunday night, I can also assure you that it just gets better from here, with Forbes (Pen Verrity) and co-star Laurence Leboeuf (Sadie) shining in their roles.

Though when we spoke, she was recovering from the flu, Michelle Forbes was happy to discuss what it is like to take on the role of a mother gone way over the edge.

On Durham County you play a very conflicted woman - part victim/part villain and very sad -what do you think of Pen Verrity?
Michelle Forbes: It was an amazing opportunity to play someone as tricky and as complicated as Pen, and how [series creator] Laurie Finstad-Knizhnik came up with this character, I have no idea. But I think Laurie takes a cold stark look at true womanhood on many different levels, including the ugly parts of being female that we don’t want to look at. I think one of the things that fascinated me the most is what happens to a woman’s psychology when she’s not a good mother. It’s the one thing you are biologically predisposed to do, and if you don’t have that maternal instinct, what happens to you psychologically when you fail at being a mother and at being a wife? She truly explores the darker side of what happens to us as human beings. [Read more →]

Categories: Drama, Interview by Elaine
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Tags: Durham County, Michelle Forbes, Pen Verrity

Will Dexter's son follow the code?

By Elaine Bergstrom

Spoiler Warning

We all have friends about whom we say, “Why did he (or she) ever marry that person?” I’ve felt that way about Dexter marrying Rita for the entire season, but as last night made clear, my feelings are irrelevant. Dexter married Rita because he loved her. He actually put off killing Trinity because he hoped to learn how to be a good family man. When he saw how Trinity terrorized his family, he saw how different his own life with Rita and the kids had been. And, when Trinity’s family was led away by police, he saw the potential future for his wife and children. Has there every been a better reason for a man to abandon his homicidal ways? [Read more →]

Categories: Drama by Elaine
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Tags: Dexter, Dexter Season 4 finale