Enough doom and gloom! Time for some happy news (if you can call it that…) Two of television’s most durable franchises received pacts ensuring their future for some time to come. While this news actually became “official” when they started work on next season’s episodes last July, Fox announced Wednesday the renewal of The Simpsons for seasons 21 and 22, […]
As Soul Train rides into the into the rail yard for good (for now, anyway), an article in the Chicago Reader Thursday features a new book that takes a behind-the-scenes look at the dance program’s Chicago days at WCIU-TV in the early 1970’s.Titled A Critical History of Soul Train on Television, author Chris Lehman takes a look at the program’s […]
Quick, when was the last true first-run syndicated hit? Though many syndicators would argue, it was six years ago with Dr. Phil averaging a 4.4 Nielsen rating in its freshman season. Before that, you would have to go all the way back to June 1996 for the last breakout hit – Warner Bros.’ The Rosie O’Donnell Show. And if you […]
Is Soul Train about to make a comeback? The venerable program, which ended its long run in 2006 after 35 seasons with little fanfare (the program simply went into weekly reruns afterward) may return in the future. MadVision Entertainment, a company formed two years ago, has bought the rights to Soul Train from Don Cornelius Productions in a deal which […]
Music awards show is also gone -for now. But a Soul Train Movie is in development In the post below, I mentioned the fate of U.S. Farm Report, one of two programs which were left hanging after the shuttering of Tribune Entertainment. Now the other shoe has dropped for the other show. The Soul Train Music Awards was canceled this […]
Company to live on as ad-sales operation only The company that launched its first syndicated show in 1982 with At the Movies featuring Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, has closed its doors. Tribune Entertainment’s syndication division shuttered a few days ago, ending its station sales (distribution) operations, with three executives from its Chicago office laid off. However, its advertising sales […]
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