David Hyde Pierce is an accomplished actor who's won awards for his various performances on stage and screen. But there's no doubt he's best known for playing the finicky Niles Crane, brother of the titular psychiatrist in "Frasier." Pierce won four Emmys for his performance in the beloved sitcom, which ran from 1993 through 2004, heralding what was basically the official end of the '90s when both it and "Friends" wrapped up in the same year.
To be fair, if all Pierce did in his career was play Niles, there'd be no problem. As the Washington Post put it in a 1996 profile of the actor, Pierce "may have been born to play Niles Crane." At the time, he'd been co-starring in "Frasier" for three years, but from the very first episode, he really did seem like the one and only choice to play Niles.
The pilot episode of "Frasier" remains truly...
To be fair, if all Pierce did in his career was play Niles, there'd be no problem. As the Washington Post put it in a 1996 profile of the actor, Pierce "may have been born to play Niles Crane." At the time, he'd been co-starring in "Frasier" for three years, but from the very first episode, he really did seem like the one and only choice to play Niles.
The pilot episode of "Frasier" remains truly...
- 1/15/2024
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
Spinoffs have long been a staple of the broadcast network landscape, but precious few have successfully captured an audience to such a degree that they lasted as long as the series that spawned them in the first place. “Frasier,” however, managed to defy the odds: it made its debut on NBC 25 years ago and ran for 11 seasons, which is the same length of time that its predecessor “Cheers” maintained its slot on the prime-time schedule.
“A lot of times shows really evolve a lot over the course of the first season, when you kind of discover what you have, but ‘Frasier’ was pretty solid going in,” Ken Levine tells Variety.
Levine wrote, directed and served as a creative consultant on the series at various points during its run. Some things, he admits, were discovered along the way, but he says there was never the need for “a real sea change.
“A lot of times shows really evolve a lot over the course of the first season, when you kind of discover what you have, but ‘Frasier’ was pretty solid going in,” Ken Levine tells Variety.
Levine wrote, directed and served as a creative consultant on the series at various points during its run. Some things, he admits, were discovered along the way, but he says there was never the need for “a real sea change.
- 9/14/2018
- by Will Harris
- Variety Film + TV
While the Oscars have yet to make room for casting directors — a pivotal part of the Best Picture equation — the oversight isn't stopping the Casting Society of America from readying its third decade of picking up the Academy's slack. Csa announced Monday morning that the 30th Annual Artios Awards will honor Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning director Rob Marshall and Emmy Award-winning casting director Ellen Lewis for their individual work in the world of casting. The news arrives with nominations in categories of television, theater, new media and short film, and on the heels of the ceremony's move from November to Jan. 22, the thick of the awards season. Feature film nominations will be announced closer to the show date. Marshall, whose adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's "Into the Woods" bows Dec. 25, will receive the New York Apple Award, "recognizing individuals who have made special contributions to the New York entertainment...
- 9/22/2014
- by Matt Patches
- Hitfix
CBS has given a straight-to-series 13-episode order for “Under the Dome,” based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name about a small New England town whose inhabitants struggle to survive and search for answers when they are suddenly and inexplicably sealed off from the rest of the world by an enormous transparent dome. King and Steven Spielberg will executive produce the project, which was originally in development at Showtime in 2011.“This is a great novel coming to the television screen with outstanding auspices and in-season production values to create a summer programming event,” CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler said in a statement. “We’re excited to transport audiences ‘Under the Dome’ and into the extraordinary world that Stephen King has imagined.”ABC has ordered five additional episodes of Tim Allen’s “Last Man Standing” and Reba McEntire’s “Malibu Country.” (Casting directors Sheila Guthrie and Suzanne Goddard-Smythe of...
- 11/29/2012
- backstage.com
Top independent casting director Meg Liberman is joining the executive ranks as senior vp casting for CBS Paramount Network TV.
Liberman will oversee the day-to-day casting for all studio shows, reporting to Peter Golden, executive vp talent and casting for CBS Par TV Group. She replaces Sheila Guthrie, who will return to her independent casting career.
"Meg has incredible relationships with writers, directors, agents and fellow casting directors, and she has an encyclopedic knowledge of actors," Golden said. "Sheila is highly respected, and we're looking forward to continuing our relationship with her."
Liberman founded her own company in 1984 before partnering with Marc Hirschfeld from 1987-99. For the past nine years, since Hirschfeld left to become exec vp casting for NBC, Liberman has been partners with Cami Patton.
Liberman, a second-generation Hollywood casting director whose mother Pat Harris cast such series as "Get Smart," has won two Emmys, with Hirschfeld for the HBO miniseries "From the Earth to the Moon" in 1998 and with Patton for "Band of Brothers" in 2002.
"I look forward to working alongside her on the NBC/Paramount series 'Medium' and competing against her in the talent marketplace," Hirschfeld said.
Liberman's credits also include "Seinfeld" and "3rd Rock From the Sun" (with Hirschfeld) and, most recently, ABC's "Pushing Daisies," HBO's "The Pacific" and CBS/Par's new drama "The Philanthropist."
On the feature side, Liberman/Patton cast the blockbuster hit "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."...
Liberman will oversee the day-to-day casting for all studio shows, reporting to Peter Golden, executive vp talent and casting for CBS Par TV Group. She replaces Sheila Guthrie, who will return to her independent casting career.
"Meg has incredible relationships with writers, directors, agents and fellow casting directors, and she has an encyclopedic knowledge of actors," Golden said. "Sheila is highly respected, and we're looking forward to continuing our relationship with her."
Liberman founded her own company in 1984 before partnering with Marc Hirschfeld from 1987-99. For the past nine years, since Hirschfeld left to become exec vp casting for NBC, Liberman has been partners with Cami Patton.
Liberman, a second-generation Hollywood casting director whose mother Pat Harris cast such series as "Get Smart," has won two Emmys, with Hirschfeld for the HBO miniseries "From the Earth to the Moon" in 1998 and with Patton for "Band of Brothers" in 2002.
"I look forward to working alongside her on the NBC/Paramount series 'Medium' and competing against her in the talent marketplace," Hirschfeld said.
Liberman's credits also include "Seinfeld" and "3rd Rock From the Sun" (with Hirschfeld) and, most recently, ABC's "Pushing Daisies," HBO's "The Pacific" and CBS/Par's new drama "The Philanthropist."
On the feature side, Liberman/Patton cast the blockbuster hit "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."...
- 8/18/2008
- by By Nellie Andreeva
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Ann Donahue, one of the executive producers of CBS' CSI series franchise and showrunner of CSI: Miami, is set to talk about the casting process as keynote speaker during the Talent Managers Assn.'s "An Evening With CBS," to be held Tuesday at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood. The event, moderated by Robert J. Dowling, editor-in-chief and publisher of The Hollywood Reporter, also will feature a preview and discussion of CBS' new lineup. The panel discussions will include five senior casting executives from CBS: Peter Golden, executive vp talent and casting; Sheila Guthrie, senior vp talent and casting, network TV; Fern Orenstein, vp casting, movies and miniseries; Lucy Cavallo, vp casting, drama; and Karen Church, vp casting, comedy. Also involved in the panel discussion will be series casting directors including Risa Bramon-Garcia (CSI: NY), Lisa Miller Katz (CBS' Everybody Loves Raymond) and Molly Lopata (movies-of-the-week and miniseries). The event, which starts at 7 p.m., is open to TMA members, managers, agents, industry professionals and media. TMA is a 50-year-old nonprofit trade group that represents professional managers in the entertainment industry.
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