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NBC Terrorist Series Ignites Ethics Row

14 July 2009 2:21 PM, PDT | From Studio Briefing - TV News | See recent Studio Briefing - TV News news

NBC's upcoming The Wanted series, in which suspected terrorists are tracked down and exposed by a team consisting of a former Green Beret, a former member of the Navy Seals, a former war-crimes prosecutor, and an NBC News producer, is generating heated controversy among veteran journalists, including some within NBC itself, the New York Times reported today (Tuesday). Like NBC's "To Catch a Predator" series, critics are raising a red flag over what appears to be the open collusion between journalists and government agents. In an interview with the Times, Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, asked, "Is this supposed to be journalism?" Jane E. Kirtley, professor of media ethics and law at the University of Minnesota, expressed her concern that Adam Ciralsky, the NBC News producer who appears on the series, seems to be working hand-in-hand with the government and thereby playing

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NBC Needs a College Course in Marketing

8 July 2009 2:39 PM, PDT | From The Wrap | See recent The Wrap news

By TempX

I've been told never to speak ill of Joel McHale since my sister has a bit of a crush on the host of "The Soup" and the upcoming NBC comedy "Community." So before I get started, I want to clarify that this has nothing to do with Joel, just NBC's marketing department.

It appears the Peacock's marketeers are just as incapable as their boss, Ben Silverman.

"Community" is another "Office"-like show NBC picked up for their "Must See"/"Please Watch" Thursday lineup. It's got a...

harley lond

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Premiere Dates of NBC's Fall 2009 Schedule

25 June 2009 11:48 PM, PDT | From Aceshowbiz | See recent Aceshowbiz news

NBC is the latest network to announce the Fall premiere dates of its shows. "The Jay Leno Show" shows a domination in the air time, airing Monday to Friday starting Monday, September 14 at 10/9c. The talk show thus becomes the first-ever entertainment program to be stripped across primetime on broadcast network TV.

The next day, "The Biggest Loser" returns with a two-hour episode presenting once again the non-couples season. A contestant named Amanda has been cast via audience votes in the previous season and shooting had begun in May.

Premieres for Wednesdays line-up in that week are skipped for Thursday comedies. Starting September 17, "Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday" will kick off the night at 8/7c followed by the new episodes of "Parks and Recreation", "The Office" and "Community". On later dates, "Weekend Update" slot will be replaced by "Community" and the 9.30/8.30c slot is given to the season premiere

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AceShowbiz.com

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NBC Announced 2009-2010 Fall Premiere Dates

25 June 2009 11:55 AM, PDT | From MovieWeb | See recent MovieWeb news

NBC kicks off the Fall 2009 season on Monday, September 14 with the highly anticipated primetime debut of The Jay Leno Show (10-11 p.m. Et/9-10 p.m. Ct), followed by the premiere of the network's marquee night of comedy on Thursday, September 17, as Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday and new series Community join Parks and Recreation and Emmy winner The Office.

NBC's dramas will premiere with a two-hour Heroes on Monday, September 21 (8-10 p.m. Et), the compelling family drama Parenthood premieres on Wednesday, September 23 (8-9 p.m. Et) leading into Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (9-10 p.m. Et). The new high-octane Trauma will premiere the following Monday, September 28 (9-10 p.m. Et).

Emmy winner 30 Rock returns to the Thursday comedy line-up on October 15 (9:30-10 p.m. Et).

In addition, Saturday Night Live returns for its 35th season on September 26 (11:30 p.m.-1:00 a.m.

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The Ben Silverman-Barack Obama Show

25 June 2009 8:42 AM, PDT | From The Wrap | See recent The Wrap news

By Ira Teinowitz

It’s a White House visit for Ben Silverman, co-chair of NBC Entertainment and Universal Studios.

 

In Washington for Wednesday night’s premiere of “The Philanthropist” that was co-sponsored by the Creative Coalition and Microsoft’s Bing search engine,  Silverman was due Thursday to join the star of the program, James Purefoy, and others involved in the show in a tour of White House, an NBC spokeswoman said yesterday.

 

"The Philanthropist" is loosely based on the story of billionaire turned philanthropist Bob...

Lew Harris

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Updating: Company To Revive Indie Film Production

17 June 2009 11:17 AM, PDT | From Studio Briefing - Film News | See recent Studio Briefing - Film News news

Earlier Report:

At a time when financing is drying up and cutbacks are affecting all of the major players in Hollywood, a group of entertainment professionals has set up shop in New York with plans to finance and distribute 12 low-budget movies a year, the New York Times reported today (Monday). Their company, Df Indie Studios plans to focus on films with budgets of up to $10 million. It is led by CEO Mary E. Dickinson and company President Charlene Fisher, who, the Times said, have signed up an advisory group including Oscar-winning actress Tilda Swinton; NBC co-chairman Ben Silverman; Ira Deutchman, a longtime distribution expert and producer; and John Hadity, a former production executive at Miramax.

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Company To Revive Indie Film Production

15 June 2009 11:29 AM, PDT | From Studio Briefing - Film News | See recent Studio Briefing - Film News news

At a time when financing is drying up and cutbacks are affecting all of the major players in Hollywood, a group of entertainment professionals has set up shop in New York with plans to finance and distribute 12 low-budget movies a year, the New York Times reported today (Monday). Their company, Df Indie Studios plans to focus on films with budgets of up to $10 million. It is led by CEO Mary E. Dickinson and company President Charlene Fisher, who, the Times said, have signed up an advisory group including Oscar-winning actress Tilda Swinton; NBC co-chairman Ben Silverman; Ira Deutchman, a longtime distribution expert and producer; and John Hadity, a former production executive at Miramax.

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Speidi Jesus camp ends, NBC 'I'm a Celebrity' once again, says goodbye

8 June 2009 11:15 PM, PDT | From Monsters and Critics | See recent Monsters and Critics news

Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag Pratt are maybe, possibly, hopefully off the NBC bungle in the jungle show, "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here." NBC honcho Ben Silverman must be doing back flips at the monster ratings this show is getting. This may be their "American Idol," with many more seasons to come. The Pratts prayed, and shared their tales of woe and poverty. "There was a time I couldn't even buy tampons," whined Heidi, who was earlier casting out "the demons" via her mouth. Afterwards she confessed she wanted to hug African orphans and dreamed of being a missionary. My own evil demonic twin stood up and told me to quickly change the channel; "Weeds" was back

April MacIntyre

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Joe Jonas Squirms, Spencer Rants, Miley Talks to God

6 June 2009 11:45 AM, PDT | From E! Online | See recent E! Online news

Another week has passed, and once again, the grand old gal that is show business has coughed up a fantastic mess of Soup. Grab a spoon and take a seat. • Cross-dresser Joe Jonas gives the fans what they want. And the fans are apparently a bunch of pervs with an odd sense of humor. • From sexy Costa Rica, Spencer and his ego phone home to tell NBC the best slot for I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here is up Ben Silverman's butt. • Miley won an MTV movie award. Is the Lord really responsible? • Stephen Baldwin is going to ruin heaven by getting Spencer in. • Abraham Lincoln likes to polka. Look,...

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The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien A Ratings Success

4 June 2009 9:56 PM, PDT | From HollywoodOutbreak.com | See recent Hollywood Outbreak news

His first Nielsen Media Research report card showed a 7.1 rating and 17 audience share in the nation’s biggest media markets. Those numbers indicate more people checked out O’Brien’s show out than watched David Letterman’s "Late Show” on CBS and ABC’s "Nightline” combined. "We were very happy,” said O’Brien’s boss, Ben Silverman, co-chairman of NBC [...]

Hollywood Outbreak

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Review: “I’m a Celebrity, Get me out of here”

2 June 2009 12:21 PM, PDT | From TVovermind.com | See recent TVovermind.com news

Last night NBC premiered its summer reality show I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here, a show where a group of reality-show and would-be celebrities rough it in the jungle in order to earn money for charity.  The show, at its core, is a cross between Survivor, Big Brother, and a little bit of VH1’s old Surreal Life series.  And just to keep you up to speed, the idea isn’t a new one.  The show is based on a British series called Celebrity, that has been very popular in the UK.  But NBC’s version has definitely been Americanized, and in this case I don’t really mean that in a good way.

The celebrities are your typically group of reality TV stars such as Sanjaya Malakar (American Idol) and Janice Dickinson, who’s done Surreal Life, the British version of the show, Celebrity, and currently

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AstroJones

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Craig Olejnik and Christina Jennings Talk The Listener

1 June 2009 7:38 PM, PDT | From MovieWeb | See recent MovieWeb news

The star and executive producer of the new NBC summer series talks about the upcoming premiere and more

The Listener is set to premiere on both NBC and Canada's CTV on Thursday, June 4 at 10 Pm Et and the new series' star Craig Olejnik, who portrays Toby Logan and executive producer Christina Jennings recently held a conference call to discuss the new series. Here's what they had to say.

I wanted to ask is Toby really as good as he seems? I mean is he going to stay this really good Robin Hood kind of a character or does he have some flaws?

Craig Olejnik: Well he's human. He's thankfully born with flaws which in my opinion makes him exciting. Throughout the season there is certainly highs and lows yes I don't know where we're going into season two. But season one you're basically getting him at the beginning of

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Weekly TV Wrap Up - May 28th, 2009

28 May 2009 7:38 AM, PDT | From ScreenRant.com | See recent Screen Rant news

Welcome to my corner of Thursdays where we get to chat about some of the other goings on from the world of  (soon to be totally digital) TV.

This week, we take a look at some noise about Chuck, news about some Dexter casting, the premiere date for Eureka on Sci-Fi (SyFy) and why Eleventh Hour got dumped.

While we’re at it, I also chat about TNT ordering it’s own version of V, Doctor Who guest starring in The Sarah Jane Adventures, and if there are any Gigantor fans out there, I’ve got a bit of news for you.

And of course, at the end of the article, I entice you with a ratings chart showing how our favored shows did last week.

 

Curious Tidbit About Chuck

Despite the lengthy wait from NBC to actually commit to Chuck, NBC entertainment president Ben Silverman is being noted in

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Bruce Simmons

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Mega Buzz on Chuck, Gossip Girl, Without a Trace, True Blood and More!

26 May 2009 7:00 PM, PDT | From TVGuide - Breaking News | See recent TVGuide.com - Breaking News news

Chuck</i>), Leighton Meester (<I>Gossip Girl</i>) and Anthony Lapaglia (<I>Without a Trace</i>)" style="margin:0 5px 5px" />Every week, senior editors Matt Webb Mitovich, Mickey O'Connor and Tim Molloy satisfy your need for TV scoop. Please send all questions to mega_scoop@tvguide.com.

Chuck deserves a whole season, not just 13 episodes. Any chance of more? — Darryl

Matt: Actually, yes. NBC entertainment president Ben Silverman says that while the current plan is to deliver 13 midseason episodes, depending on the ratings, "we may extend it out and continue it through the summer," where he thinks it could pair nicely with Friday Night Lights. "We're looking to ... keep [Chuck] incredibly viral and buzz-worthy until it returns, and then hopefully have it on our air for many years to come." That'd be Awesome. And even more so? I chatted up Scott Bakula at TNT's upfronts luncheon, and he's game for more Chuck, if need be.

Any

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Matt Mitovich, Mickey O'Connor & Tim Molloy

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Suplee Fumes Over Earl Axing

24 May 2009 4:05 PM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

My Name Is Earl star Ethan Suplee has slammed network bosses for cancelling the show without warning - because he's convinced his campaign to save it would have worked if he'd had more time.

After announcing NBC's decision to axe the comedy series on his Twitter.com blog, Suplee quickly urged fans to sign a petition urging network chiefs to change their minds.

He's praying the campaign works, but fears he's too late to save the show - which has run for four years - because he had no warning about the cancellation.

Suplee tells PopEater.com, "It would have been nice to get a call two weeks ago, or a week ago, saying 'Hey, this isn't going to work.' Or even months ago. If they'd said, 'We really don't know,' we could have done something."

He is even more angry with the reasons NBC entertainment boss Ben Silverman gave for the axing - and is begging fans to put pen to paper in a bid to save the show.

He adds, "When it happened, (co-chairman of NBC Entertainment) Ben Silverman said the reason they picked up Chuck and not Medium and Earl is that the fans didn't make a big stink about picking up Earl or Medium.

"If it's just a matter of some people saying, 'We want to watch the show,' let's see if some people want to say that."

Suplee insists he'd be happy with just a partial reprieve, because he's desperate to give the programme - about a man on a mission to repent his sins - some closure, adding, "Ultimately there are just a couple more episodes that I'd like to see done. It doesn't have to be the show that runs infinitely, but there a few episodes that (creator Greg Garcia) wanted to make, that I was excited about making. Just to close it out. Is this guy stuck making amends for the rest of his life?"

Patricia Arquette's show Medium was axed at the same time as My Name is Earl, but has since been picked up by rival network CBS.

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Medium Axed And Then Saved

23 May 2009 7:15 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Patricia Arquette's Us T.V. show Medium has been cancelled and saved all in the space of 24 hours.

Just a day after NBC announced it was dropping the drama series - along with comedy My Name is Earl - rival network CBS has picked it up and announced plans to unveil a new season in the autumn.

CBS bosses reacted passionately after NBC entertainment chief Ben Silverman announced the axing on Thursday claiming Medium had received not "a single fan letter" of support.

A CBS spokesperson responded: "NBC's cancellation of Medium is inexplicable to us. The ratings don't lie: Medium outperforms many of NBC's renewed shows.

"Despite inconsistent scheduling, Medium - under the creative vision of (creator) Glenn Gordon Caron, one of the most preeminent producers in television - has always performed with distinction both creatively and commercially. Multiple award-winning actress Patricia Arquette and the cast have delivered a stellar series for five consistent seasons. The awards and ratings speak for themselves."

Arquette has played spirit communicator Allison Dubois in Medium since the show first aired in 2005.

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Medium: CBS and NBC Feud Over Show's Cancellation

20 May 2009 9:31 AM, PDT | From TVSeriesFinale.com | See recent TVSeriesFinale news

Fans aren't the only ones who were upset to hear that NBC had cancelled Medium. CBS Television Studios, the company that produces the Patricia Arquett drama was not pleased either. While the studios and networks tend to play nice in public, this time the gloves have come off.

In a conference call with reporters, Ben Silverman, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios, praised the fan efforts to renew Chuck and slammed shows like Medium and My Name Is Earl for being devoid of fan support.

Just hours later, CBS issued a statement that said, "NBC's cancellation of Medium is inexplicable to us. The ratings don't lie. Medium outperforms many of NBC's renewed shows."

It continues, "Despite inconsistent scheduling, Medium, under the creative vision of Glenn Gordon Caron, one of the most preeminent producers in television, has always performed with distinction both creatively and commercially. Multiple-award-winning actress Patricia Arquette

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TVSeriesFinale.com

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NBC announces their game plan for 2009-2010

20 May 2009 7:54 AM, PDT | From Monsters and Critics | See recent Monsters and Critics news

NBC announced its 2009-2010 schedule featuring more original programming and a shared time-period strategy around NBC.s Olympics platform along with .The Jay Leno Show.. NBC issued renewals to .Law & Order" and fan favorite .Chuck" as well. .NBC has picked up more scripted shows than last season even with .The Jay Leno Show. at 10 p.m.,. said Ben Silverman, Co-Chairman, NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios. .We.re incredibly excited about our new and returning series and have more comedy programming than anyone else, as well as two of the most buzzed about new shows, .Community. and .Parenthood.. We can.t wait for the fall.. "We are extremely proud to introduce these strong new series to NBC's schedule next season

April MacIntyre

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Mega Buzz on Grey's, CSI: NY, Fringe, Chuck, Smallville & More

19 May 2009 7:01 PM, PDT | From TVGuide - Breaking News | See recent TVGuide.com - Breaking News news

Chuck</i>), Melina Kanakaredes (<I>CSI: NY</i>) and Anna Torv (<I>Fringe</i>)" style="margin:0 5px 5px" />Every week, senior editors Matt Webb Mitovich, Mickey O'Connor and Tim Molloy satisfy your need for TV scoop. Please send all questions to mega_scoop@tvguide.com.

Please, oh please, bring Chuck back next season. Make it happen. With all the craziness in the world, this show was so refreshing. — Stephanie

Matt: As you have since read, Chuck will be back, though not until midseason and perhaps for only 13 episodes. On the bright side, talk that the action-comedy would shave overhead by culling down the cast appears to be inaccurate. "We're not looking to lower the cost in any way," says NBC boss Ben Silverman. "We want [executive producers] Josh Schwartz, McG and Zach [Levi] to perform at their highest level." In other words, Silverman says, "The show you love is the show you'll get." Oh, and there's this from the cover of Duh!

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Matt Mitovich, Mickey O'Connor & Tim Molloy

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NBC Releases 2009-2010 Primetime Schedule

19 May 2009 1:37 PM, PDT | From MovieWeb | See recent MovieWeb news

NBC announced today its 2009-2010 schedule featuring more original programming than ever before and a shared time-period strategy around NBC's Olympics platform that, along with The Jay Leno Show (Mondays-Fridays 10-11 p.m. Et), allows the network to broadcast all-new content year-round.

In addition, NBC issued renewals to Law & Order and Chuck as part of its strong slate of new and returning shows announced recently at the network's highly successful Infront.

"NBC has picked up more scripted shows than last season even with The Jay Leno Show at 10 p.m.," said Ben Silverman, Co-Chairman, NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios. "We're incredibly excited about our new and returning series and have more comedy programming than anyone else, as well as two of the most buzzed about new shows, Community and Parenthood. We can't wait for the fall."

"We are extremely proud to introduce these strong new series to NBC's schedule

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2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006

1-20 of 52 articles from 2009   « Prev | Next »

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