A true Chicago treasure has passed away at 96. Louis “Studs” Terkel, the literary giant and Pulitzer Prize winner who had a radio show on WFMT for an amazing 45-year run, died Friday afternoon.Terkel was a well-known author, activist, and Chicago icon. His latest book, P.S. : Further Thoughts From A Lifetime of Listening, was due out this month. His […]
Check this out: A cool 1970’s-like promo for ABC’s upcoming crime drama Life On Mars, about a guy who wakes up one morning, and thinks it’s 1973. To see the clip, click here. The clip features ABC graphics and the “meatball” logo from the era, and even uses an Ernie Anderson-like voice to promote the show (Anderson, who did voiceover […]
Also: RTN loses CBS programming Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting and Los Angeles-based MGM are teaming up to launch this. Yes, this. As in “This TV”. Beginning in October, MGM and Weigel plan to launch the new-digital channel, featuring classic movies and television shows from the MGM library (material that wasn’t bought by Ted Turner in the 1980’s, so no Chips, Gone […]
The CW took center stage at the TCA Press Tour on Saturday, with perhaps the biggest breaking news of the tour thus far: Shannen Doherty returns to 90210. Yes, bad girl Shannen Doherty will appear in “multiple episodes” of the new version of 90210. She’ll reprise her Brenda Walsh character, joining Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling, who’ll also reprise their […]
Every move you make, I’ll be watching you… Creepy! Hold the flag above your heads kids, because there is a network that will make you proud to waive the red, white, and blue this 4th of July. But it doesn’t have an American flag as part of its logo. And the programming (crummy as it is) hasn’t really changed. Yet. […]
Fox affiliate XETV is becoming a former Fox affiliate on August 1, when it joins The CW. The station plans to re-brand itself as San Diego 6 effective on that date as well . The moves after Tribune made a deal to switch the affiliation of its KSWB-TV from CW to Fox last March. Fox was looking for a new […]
Ron Hunter, a news anchor who made headlines as an news anchor for NBC-owned WMAQ-TV in the 1970’s, passed away at his home in Las Vegas on Tuesday. Hunter made headlines for Chicago’s TV critics, who relentlessly bashed him for his on-air persona. He succeeded Floyd Kalber at WMAQ in 1976, and lasted just two years at the station, which […]
Program Partners is offering two new strips in syndication this fall – both coming from north of the border. The company already offers several first-run dramas which have originally aired on Canadian broadcast networks CBC, CTV, and Global in weekly broadcast syndication, including ReGenesis and Cold Squad. Branding the block Daytime Plus, Program Partners is offering Style by Jury – […]
Emmy-award winning sitcom writer Ken Levine links to an article from TV Crunch on his blog, and it’s yet another worst TV shows list – only this time it is sitcoms post-1980 and it lists losers such as Webster, Mr. Belvedere, Charles in Charge, and others, ranked from #25 to #1. The problem I have with these lists is, ranking […]
In a major coup for Sony Pictures Television, the syndicator has picked up the new Dr. Oz project from Harpo Productions, which is Oprah Winfrey’s production company. The program features Dr. Mehmet Oz, a heart surgeon who has made appearances on Oprah and on programs produced by Discovery Communications. Many syndicators were bidding for Oz, but Sony came up big […]
Oh no they didn’t! An “interstitial ad” for the unfunny The Bill Engvall Show on TBS popped up during a Family Guy episode on Monday night. Engvall simply walked up to the screen, paused it, and plugged his useless sitcom – then unpaused it and was back to Family Guy. Three seconds later, a real commercial popped up (and in […]
The Chicago-born comedian, best known for his roles on The Carol Burnett Show, has died at the age of 81. The comedian died after suffering complications from the rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Korman won four Emmys and a Golden Globe award on Carol Burnett, and also appeared in numerous films, including Blazin’ Saddles and the Pink Panther movies. […]
Good thing you didn’t take my advice. Yours truly did watch WGN’s celebration and it turned out to be well done. Jim Belushi actually did a decent job of hosting (yes, I’m surprised myself) – though he was a little wooden. Personally, I would’ve preferred Dean Richards or Bill Murray, but Belushi did an alright job. (This blog praising Jim […]
More cable news: Male-oriented cable network Spike has acquired the rights to air all 259 episodes of the former Fox comedy Married… With Children beginning in September in a deal worth $12 million. Married… was Fox’s first-ever prime time series (premiering on April 5, 1987), and was the first Fox sitcom to be sold in syndication. The deal with Sony […]
Jack Klugman, who starred in the NBC crime drama Quincy, is suing the network over the show’s profits. Klugman has filed a lawsuit against NBC Universal over the program’s revenue, and claims the studio is being dishonest over the issue. In the contract, Klugman and his production company was entitled to a quarter of the profits. Klugman claimed his agent […]
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