ABC Cancels Eastwick, Orders More Of The Forgotten

November 9th, 2009 | 0 Comments

ABC has decided against ordering the back nine episodes of Eastwick, essentially canceling the show. It will halt production after wrapping its initial run of 13 episodes. In its most recent airing on November 4, the show averaged only 4.6 million viewers and a 1.6 rating in the 18-49 demo. Despite the strong lead in from Modern Family and Cougar Town, Eastwick could never pull in the satisfactory ratings, even losing to the Jay Leno Show.

In more positive news, ABC ordered five more episodes of Christian Slater’s The Forgotten. Jerry Bruckheimer’s procedural drama has been a steady performer in the ratings on Tuesday nights.

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Disney Channel Renews Jonas For A Second Season

November 9th, 2009 | 0 Comments

Disney Channel has ordered a second season of the The Jonas Brothers’ comedy series Jonas. Showrunner Lester Lewis and director Paul Hoen have also taken on the role of executive producers. Production on the second season is scheduled to begin in February for a premiere in the middle of next year.

Additionally, Disney Channel has renewed the group’s short-form reality series Jonas Brothers: Living the Dream for a second season. Filming already is under way for a premiere early next year.

TNT Gets Off-Network Syndication Rights To The Mentalist

November 6th, 2009 | 0 Comments

TNT has bought the off-network syndication to The Mentalist. According to the deal between TNT and Warner Brothers Domestic TV Distribution, The Mentalist will begin running weekly on the cable network in fall 2011, followed by a full-blown launch in 2012. Neither side would discuss the financials of the deal, but the Simon Baker starrer is said to have fetched from $2.2 million-$2.3 million an episode. Created by Bruno Heller, The Mentalist stars Baker as an independent consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation who solves crimes using razor-sharp observation skills. The Mentalist launched as the top new series of the 2008-09 season and has been a solid ratings performer this fall in its new 10:00 PM/ET Thursday timeslot.

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USA Lands Off Network Rights To NCIS: Los Angeles

November 6th, 2009 | 0 Comments

USA Network has bought the off-network syndication to the freshman drama NCIS: Los Angeles. USA has agreed to pay CBS Television Distribution around $2.5 million per episode for the rights to NCIS: Los Angeles, which will be available in fall 2013. As part of the deal, USA will be able to start airing weekly repeats of the show’s first season starting in September 2011. The deal comes after just seven episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles have run on CBS.

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The Goode Family Moves Into Comedy Central January 6

November 6th, 2009 | 0 Comments

Comedy Central will premiere The Goode Family on January 6. The network will run the entire first season of The Goode Family, which originally aired on ABC in the summer. “We started building a nice cult fan base (on ABC) and hope those fans will come back and we would be able to reach new fans on Comedy Central, where people are used to such shows,” said John Altschuler, who created the series with Mike Judge and Dave Krinsky. The series, from MRC, Ternion Pictures and 3 Arts, will air Wednesdays at 10:30 PM/ET.

If a success, Comedy Central could pick up more of The Goode Family beyond the 13 produced episodes with new episodes. “If the show works, the intention is to do more (episodes),” MRC co-CEO Modi Wiczyk said said.

TNT Picks Up Southland, Airing In January Against Leno

November 2nd, 2009 | 2 Comments

TNT has picked up Southland from NBC. The critically acclaimed cop drama was canceled a week before it’s second season premiere, a casualty of Jay Leno’s primetime talk show. TNT will re-air the John Wells series’ original seven episodes NBC broadcast, plus the six new hours that NBC ordered but chose not to air.

Depending on ratings, TNT will order more. By only committing to airing episodes that have already been produced, the deal minimizes TNT’s financial risk and allows the cable network to evaluate the success of the show before investing in a re-start of production. The network plans to run the tough cop drama Tuesday nights at 10:00 PM/ET, opposite The Jay Leno Show. Southland will make its TNT debut on Tuesday, January 12.