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Tracking Celebrities in Their Native Habitat

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TV Tidbits: Law and Order Canceled!!

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A few of the big TV networks might have ordered several new series for the fall, but the big news is the cancellation of one of the biggest shows: Law & Order, the original series. Well, at least NBC has cancelled it and Dick Wolf is accusing them of reneging on their deal. The alternative is to take the 21st season over to TNT, but TNT was in fact supposed to be part of the original NBC deal.

Seems like there’s a fair bit of politics going on. But as far as I’m concerned, Law & Order has become long in the tooth and should be put out of it’s misery. They’ve changed the cast too many times and I’ve lost interest in the remaining characters. This is something that another hit franchise, CSI, has been doing, and likely losing viewers as a result. Here’s a clue: when your favorite characters are all gone, there’s no incentive to watch the same old stories rehashed.

Instead, NBC seems to be focusing on the six new series they’ve ordered for Fall 2010, many of which appear to be comedies, which possibly more to follow. (Gee, I remember when comedies ruled network TV, not franchised police dramas.) But if you didn’t already know, the L&O franchise isn’t dead yet. The new one, Law & Order: Los Angeles (aka LOLA), is launching next season. Actually, I thought the CSI franchise would beat them to it. I guess not. Now, I couldn’t find any good video for LOLA nor LO:TOS, so here’s a Muppets spoof of LO:SVU.

Jay Leno’s Explosive Cover

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I was hoping they’d put Conan O’Brien on the cover, but I guess he’s had his fair share of media attention for the past few weeks. It’s Jay Leno’s turn. Entertainment Weekly featured the Jay Leno Show host on this week’s cover.

Their cover blurb, “TV’s 50 Biggest Bombs Ever” caught readers’ attention in the midst of NBC’s late night shuffle hullabaloo.

“Sometimes TV networks, producers, or actors do something so stupid, it makes you ask: What the heck were they thinking?” wrote the EW staff. “In that spirit, we decided to take time out to honor (if you want to call it that) television’s biggest bombs and blunders. We’re talking the decisions both bad (hey, let’s give Felicity a haircut!) and bizarre (XFL, anyone?). And at the top of our list: NBC’s decision to put Jay Leno at 10 p.m. It destroyed not only five hours of primetime programming, but also the local newscasts that followed.”

Sounds like an intellectually juicy read to me. Grab your copy at your nearest newsstands, if you haven’t already.

Conan O’Brien: Read Between The Lines

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If you’ve been following the NBC late night comedy shuffle crisis, then you probably already heard that Conan isn’t happy. For those who aren’t familiar with the O’Brien-Leno-Fallon hullaballoo, then here’s a news clip that sums it up:

19th Annual Beat The Odds Awards

And funnyman Conan has a lot to say about the matter. In fact, he released a lengthy statement for the world to see. Taken from The Hollywood Gossip, here it is:

People of Earth,

In the last few days, I’ve been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I’ve been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I’ve been absurdly lucky. That said, I’ve been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.

Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over The Tonight Show in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future.

It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.

But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my Tonight Show in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.

Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the Tonight Show to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35. For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting.

The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t the Tonight Show. Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.

So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn’t matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more.

There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.

Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it’s always been that way.

Yours,
Conan

Chuck Gets New Stars

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Zachary_Levi_in_Chuck_TV_Series_Wallpaper_1_800
Chuck fans were on pins and needles towards the end of the last season, for fear that the TV series would not be renewed. Thank heavens, we have been given another season, and guess what? More stars are joining the episodes as guests. Here is a sneak peek: Angie Harmon (Law & Order), Brandon Routh (Superman), and Kristin Kreuk (Smallville). What can you say about these new additions?