TV with MeeVee

Upfronts Update: "Moonlight" Could Be Un-Dead!

There are reports that the canceled CBS vampire drama "Moonlight" could get picked up by Media Rights Capital, the media conglom that has bought Sunday nights from CW to air its own programming slate. Could cult fave Mick St. John (played by Alex O'Loughlin, right) bring CW its biggest audience to date - with a show canceled by another network, on a night that's been outsourced? That would be embarrassing.

But otherwise, CW's programming presentation yesterday left us with only the titles of four new shows that might air on Media Rights Capital Sundays: “Surviving Suburbia,” “Book of Murphy,” “I.M. Valentine, Investigations” and “Fat City.”

The "Moonlight" dramatics come before CBS even announces its fall schedule today. Word is CBS will renew all of its popular Monday comedies and perhaps use a couple of them to build a second night of comedy. We'll have all the details as soon as they're official, but we already know which shows are renewed and which are canceled. The only outstanding question is whether CBS moves to pick up Kelsey Grammer's "Back To You," which was dropped by Fox.

CW Releases '08-09 Schedule

• Mondays: "Gossip Girl" and "One Tree Hill"
• Tuesdays: The new "90210" with "guest star" Jennie Garth followed by "Surviving The Filthy Rich"
• Wednesdays: "America's Next Top Model" and "Stylista"
  
• Thursdays: "Smallville" and "Supernatural," same as now
• Fridays: "Everybody Hates Chris," "The Game" and an "ANTM" replay.

No word yet on what Media Rights Capital will produce for the three hours it's bought on Sunday night.

"Reaper" returns at midseason. Yayyyy!

Deets on the new shows after the jump...

(Right, "Gossip Girl's" Blake Lively and Leighton Meester at The CW Upfront presentation that was held at Lincoln Center today.)

CW Sells Sunday By The Seashore

I hate to bust on the folks at CW while I'm begging them to renew "Reaper." But. Here's some crappy news. After failing on Sunday nights this year with advertiser-friendly "CW Now," the network is going the rest of the way and selling the timeslots to a media-and-advertising conglomerate. According to multiple reports (here, here, here and here, for instance), the network is pimping our eyeballs to the Media Rights Capital studio, whose backers include ad-business biggies. Media Rights will produce some shows to put between the ads, but it's going to be hard to take seriously whatever they put on. There's your paradigm shift of the week.

Here's Hoping They Don't Send "Reaper" To Hell

CW's "Reaper" was one of my favorites among the new shows last fall, and now we're fighting to save it. How much does that suck?

Already it appears that "Aliens In America," another smart CW show, has been canceled, since cast members are taking other jobs, including a gig for Adhir Kalyan, who played Raja, on "Nip/Tuck."

Now "Reaper" has been listed as "on the bubble," and star Bret Harrison's web site is half-seriously suggesting that we follow the lead of "Jericho" fans and their peanuts and bury CW executives under an avalanche of tube socks. Because, you see, Harrison's everyman hero Sam Oliver finds much-needed comic relief with Tyler Labine's feral, Belushian sidekick Bert 'Sock' Wysocki.

I can't say the example of "Jericho" is ultimately all that inspiring - they got the show back on the air, for seven episodes, and even fewer people watched it this season. So buh-bye. In a way that sucks even more than a simple cancellation. But "Reaper" deserves to live.

CW Serves Up Spring Sked

More news from the busy bees at CW. After all the other recent fun, the network has announced a new spring schedule that puts fresh episodes of "Gossip Girl" (right) and "One Tree Hill" back to back on Mondays, beginning April 21, and shifts some other shows, but not the Thursday duo of "Smallville" and "Supernatural." The whole press release follows, including all the premiere dates...

THE CW NETWORK LOCKS IN MIDSEASON SCHEDULE
WITH NEW EPISODES AND NEW TIME PERIODS

New Episodes of Freshman Hit GOSSIP GIRL Return on Monday, April 21, Paired with Originals of ONE TREE HILL, Creating New Night of Drama for The CW

March 4, 2008 (Burbank, CA) ─ The CW Network has set its new midseason schedule, featuring brand new episodes of its scripted series and several strategic moves to bolster new nights and new time periods.

New episodes of freshman sensation GOSSIP GIRL return to The CW schedule beginning Monday, April 21 (8:00-9:00p.m. ET). On April 7, ONE TREE HILL moves to its new night and time on Mondays (9:00-10:00p.m. ET), following GOSSIP GIRL and creating a powerful night of drama for The CW.

With ONE TREE HILL moving to Mondays in April, the climactic final original episodes of PUSSYCAT DOLLS PRESENTS: GIRLICIOUS will air on Wednesdays starting April 9 (9:00-10:00p.m. ET), following AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL.

CW Giveth, CW Taketh Away

We told you yesterday about CW's early pickups for shows like "America's Next Top Model" and "Everybody Loves Chris." What they of course didn't mention was that at the same time they were sending out that press release, they were whacking 25-30 employees behind the scenes, including their entire comedy department.More reality shows are definitely coming down the pike for the fall, sez the Hollywood Reporter. Why? CW's decision not to renew pro wrestling means the network now has to find a low-cost Friday night programming lineup.

What all this means for shows that didn't get "early" renewals - notably our favorites "Reaper" (pictured) and "Aliens in America" - is not yet clear.

CW Announces Post-Strike Schedule

CW became the final network to announce its post-strike plans for original episodes of show like "Gossip Girl." But it's late on Friday afternoon and I'm all written out. So here's the dealio...I'm just gonna use the snip tool in Windows Vista and show you the chart they sent me. Finally, something good about Vista.

CW Sets Its "Midseason" (Strike) Schedule

The "big" moves are the return of three variously skanky reality shows and the reshuffling of some of the network's scripted series, most of which will be in reruns any second now if they're not already, thanks to the writers strike.

First if not foremost is the return of "Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious," premiering Feb. 18 at 9 as part of its new Monday line-up (right, Robin Antin). "Gossip Girl" moves to Mondays on Jan. 28. The catfights and insanity of "America's Top Model" return for a tenth cycle on Feb. 20 at 8, with Paulina Porizkova stepping in as a new judge. Repeats of "Girlicious" will follow on Wednesdays.

Then CW’s "social experiment" (yeah, right) "Beauty and the Geek" bows for a fifth cycle at 9 on March 11,  stepping into the post-"One Tree Hill" slot. "One Tree Hill" is the only scripted series with a significant amount of new episodes in the can for this season, as it bows tomorrow night with the new great-leap-forward storyline (apologies to the Chinese communists) that moves its characters four years into their futures.

Meanwhile, "Reaper" moves to Thursdays at 9 on Feb. 28, where it will follow "Smallville" for a night of entertaining reruns. There's also some Sunday stuff, but hell, I'll just paste the schedule in after the jump.

MeeVee Video Top 5: Fall Preview 2--Bionic Woman, K-Ville, Cane, and more

Fall is coming. That means the leaves are gonna start changing colors, temperatures drop, and children everywhere begin to complain how much they hate their teachers. Fall is a time for change and the world of television is no exception. Some of your crappy guilty pleasure shows didn't make the cut for the fall line-up and are replaced with potentially new crappy guilty pleasures. Hopefully, for the networks' sake, the five shows we have previewed this week will be successful on their debut this fall.

Video Top 5 features five fresh shows coming to your sets this autumn. We have preview clips for Bionic Woman, Cane, Gossip Girl, and Carpoolers. As well as, the full pilot episode for K-Ville. 

Also, in the wake of Miss South Carolina's "blonde moment", our YouTube Clip of the Week plays off the classic dumb blonde jokes.

"Hidden Palms" Is A Stepping Stone To "Smallville"

After two So-Cal hottie roles in "The O.C." and "Hidden Palms," Michael Cassidy will be moving to a more grownup role as the new editor for the Daily Planet on "Smallville."  TV Guide's Ausiello Report says that he'll appear in at least six episodes and will be a love interest for Lois Lane, which also means that he's going to face off against Clark Kent, if not Superman.

CW Fall Pilots: Love The Nerds, Hate The Mean Girls

Beginning next week, TV critics and networks gather in Los Angeles for the summer press tour, when the fall shows are unveiled, stars are interviewed and many shrimp are eaten. This week I'm preparing by watching DVDs of the fall pilots. We're not supposed to review them, as shows will change, actors will come and go. But that doesn't mean I can't give you a taste, eh? Following are quick first impressions of the CW's new fall series. I'll post more of these sneak peeks when I have time.

"Aliens in America" deserves all the buzz it's getting. As the Pakistani exchange student Raja and his American host-nerd Justin, Adhir Kalyan and Dan Byrd are funny and awkward and endearing. It's "Aliens" plural because Justin isn't any more comfortable in his life than Raja. The culture clashes wrought by Raja's arrival - at home and at high school - will bring the laughter of recognition to a lot of people and maybe open some minds. But most important, this is funny. (The role of the dad has been recast with Scott Patterson, aka Luke from "Gilmore Girls.")

Say Goodbye To "Hidden Palms"

TV Squad has a funny recap of the final "Hidden Palms" on CW: "It's a bit ironic when the show that ends up being your unexpected series finale is called 'Second Chances.' ... Curse you, CW! Now where will I turn for my need for teens in angst-ridden TV shows? Oh, thats right ... The CW."

"Hidden Palms" Has Unsatisfactory Ending, Satisfying Eye-Candy

John Kubicek, at BuddyTV, says he thinks "Hidden Palms" is a terrible show. In fact, he says this: "Creator Kevin Williamson... aimed for a Twin Peaks-ian level of intrigue, and wound up with a show so trashy, Paris Hilton would need a shower after only one viewing."

I'm not so sure: it's certainly trashy, but that's to be expected. It's a sexy teen soap for summer. What more do you expect? The ending is going to be confusing, you could drive a Hummer through the plot holes, and the actors are inexperienced at best.

Thats all beside the point. The show isn't really about who killed Eddie, or whether Nikki will stay sober. It's an excuse to watch beautiful people making out next to the pool while you're stuck at home in mom's basement. And for that, it's excellent.

"Aliens in America," In The News

The much-traveled "Aliens In America" comedy coming this fall on CW gets some ink - just in time for the London terror bombings. The show, to follow "Everybody Hates Chris" on Mondays, tracks the adventures of a young Muslim exchange student and his American host family. The New York Times recounts the show's long production history and calls it one of the year's most anticipated series, while the Hollywood Reporter says Scott Patterson - Luke on "Gilmore Girls" - has replaced Patrick Breen as dad in the show.

The real question is, what happens to this show if there's another major terror attack in the U.S.? As enlightening as this show may be about cultural differences and our own prejudices, it may be difficult to sustain the laughs if there's a bombing or other attack here. Think about it. Given what's happening in Iraq, this show is the equivalent of a 1965 sitcom in which a young Vietnamese communist comes to live with Beaver Cleaver. It's already pretty edgy.

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