News

News

This week in Mad Men history lessons: Time looks at the history of Burger Chef while Vulture explains I Am Curious (Yellow) the “dirty movie” Don and Megan saw.

AMC is previewing Halt and Catch Fire, the upcoming period tech drama. This is the first time a cable channel has previewed a show on its Tumblr page. Too bad AMC still insists on streaming video in that tiny window.

Halt and Catch Fire

How accurate was Lysa‘s claims about what happens to the victims of the Moon Door on Sunday’s Game of Thrones? Surprisingly, it turns out the show overstated the dramatic impact. However, it would still be pretty deadly. Lysa probably hates finding out she was wrong.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, departing Dancing with the Stars showrunner Conrad Green says the show has been increasingly difficult to cast, “The problem is, we’re...

New York -- Fox reality chief Mike Darnell said Friday that he's exiting the network after an 18-year stay, ending a reign that – depending on one's point of view – has made TV more exciting or more squalid. And great for Fox.

In a puckishly worded announcement, the 50-year-old Darnell said that the end of his current contract in June presented him with a decision: "either stay (and basically admit to myself I was going to retire at Fox ... not a terrible choice) or leave and try something new."

"I've been in `reality' since before it was even called that," added the exec who was once called "the world's scariest programmer." But now, "with hundreds of channels and limitless ways to watch television, I've decided this was the perfect time to take advantage of the rapidly changing marketplace."

Darnell, who was named the network's president of alternative entertainment in 2007, joined Fox in 1994 as director of specials.

After 18 years, Fox’s legendary reality chief is stepping down.

Mike Darnell, a colorful provocateur who pioneered the genre, will leave the network at the end of June.

For nearly two decades, Darnell’s shows have generated ratings, headlines and occasional outrage. In the late 1990s, he helped kick-start contemporary reality TV through a series of attention-grabbing specials, such as World’s Scariest Police Chases, When Stunts Go Bad, Close Calls: Cheating Death and, of course, When Animals Attack! (and don’t forget the exclamation point). As the reality genre began to take shape in the wake of CBS’ Survivor,...

Chris Cowan has been tapped to lead unscripted TV and video for Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun’s BermanBraun. As part of his new role, the former Rocket Science Laboratories and Angel City Factory principal, whose credits include Joe Millionaire, My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance and Mobbed, will oversee all video development and production for the company’s digital unit, including the building of an in-house video studio. “Chris is one of the best story tellers and producers we have ever worked with,” Berman and Braun said in a joint statement. “We are thrilled to have Chris join our company

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Chris Cowan, a former principal of Rocket Science Laboratories and Angel City Factory, has joined BermanBraun as head of unscripted television. He also will oversee all video development and production in the company’s digital unit, including the building of an in-house video studio to supply BermanBraun’s three You Tube channels and websites. This is a new position. Cowan also is taking over responsibilities previously held by Jared Heinke, who was recently promoted to co-run digital division with Paco Vinoly. “Chris is one of the best storytellers and producers we have ever worked with,” said Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun, who have known Cowan for a while. Cowan’s reality series credits include Temptation Island, Joe Millionaire, My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance and Mobbed.

THR is reporting that NBC has officially ordered the eight-part series "Love in the Wild," a show being billed as a reality hybrid of "Survivor" and "The Bachelor." Is this another delightfully mindless summer show? Or is it NBC hearkening back to the over-saturation of reality fare we had several years ago?

After the initial success of shows like "Survivor," "The Amazing Race" and "The Bachelor," suddenly networks couldn't put out reality shows fast enough. The airwaves were flooded with trash like "My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance" and "Average Joes." Luckily, in recent years the reality craze seems to have died down, with only the original successes soldiering on (at least on network TV).

But now NBC has announced "Love in the Wild" -- is it happening again? Or is this a desperate attempt by a floundering network trying to capitalize on the success of the CBS and ABC reality...

Fox Networks Group is launching a unit dedicated to the exploitation of Fox's broadcast and cable unscripted formats internationally, tapping Fox Reality Channel president David Lyle to run it.

Called Fox Look, the division will represent internationally new unscripted formats from Fox Broadcasting Co. and Fox cable networks, including National Geographic, FX and Speed. It will license them, partner with foreign production companies to co-produce local versions or handle the production itself by launching production entities in some countries.

Additionally, the new unit -- the first of its kind at a major TV studio -- will take over the unscripted formats in the 20th Century Fox library, including "Temptation Island," "Beauty and the Geek," "My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance" and "Celebrity Spelling Bee."

Lyle will introduce Look to foreign broadcasters and producers at the upcoming Mip market.

The division, to be based in Los Angeles with additional staffers in several foreign territories,...

Today, Fox announced its latest reality show project: The My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance-esque, My Parents Are Gonna Love You, a series that allows singles to punk their own parents by bringing home a celebrity who purposely acts detestable. So the main question here is: Which celebrities would you like to be fake-engaged to? I've got three choices in mind (and I'm not going completely A-list here, because I have a feeling the George Clooneys of the world have better things to do)... 1) David Cook. Since my mother is a Cougar 4 Cook, I would love to see how she'd...

French production powerhouse Banijay Entertainment is expanding its growing TV empire stateside with Angel City Factory, a new U.S.-based company it has launched with veteran reality producers Chris Cowan and Jean-Michel Michenaud.

Meanwhile, Cowan and Michenaud have dissolved their 11-year-old company Rocket Science Laboratories, which hit it big at the beginning of the decade with the Fox hits "Temptation Island" and "Joe Millionaire."

Banijay CEO Guillaume De Verges said his company had been working for weeks to reach an agreement with Cowan and Michenaud.

"They're true inventors and producers, they have a great relationship with Fox, and we've worked with them in the past," De Verges said. "We know the U.S. quite well, but not better than them."

Cowan and Michenaud have strong ties to Fox, home of most of their series, including "Island," "Millionaire," "My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance," "Married by America," "Trading Spouses," "Renovate My Family" and,...

Fox is teaming with "The Bachelor" producer Mike Fleiss for a new dating-competition series that casts "average-looking" people.

The series, titled "More to Love," is billed as the first "dating show for the rest of us," throwing open its doors to overweight contestants.

"For six years it's been skinny-minis and good-looking bachelors, and that's not what the dating world looks like," Fox president of alternative Mike Darnell said. "Why don't real women -- the women who watch these shows, for the most part -- have a chance to find love too?"

The project has a similar format to "The Bachelor," where a group of woman compete for one man (producers describe him as a "Kevin James-type"). It marks the first time Darnell and Fleiss have teamed for a series in about nine years. The duo's previous dating show was the controversial,...

Warner Bros. has lassoed Stallions, a comedy spec from reality TV producers Steve Sobel and Alan Wieder, who are making their first foray into feature film. Principato-Young principals Peter Principato and Paul Young are producing.

Stallions tackles 21st century fatherhood through the eyes of four longtime buddies. Three of the friends, all with new babies, struggle with the pressures of being a modern dad: lack of sex, annoying in-laws, changes of lifestyle and identity. Meanwhile, their womanizing bachelor friend, envious of his pals' seemingly more meaningful lives, comes down with an unlikely case of baby fever. The studio is looking at it as a raunchy R-rated comedy.

Sobel and Wieder hail from the world of reality television, where they served as segment producers on Temptation Island and as co-producers on My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance and My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss. Principato-Young noticed their skills in comedy and pushed them into writing the spec, helping to develop it along the way.

The WGA West has helped a second group of reality television writers and editors to file a class-action suit to further their organizing goals and win back alleged lost wages, it was announced Wednesday. This suit -- the second in an expected series -- targets Fox Broadcasting Co. and production company Rocket Science over seven series including Trading Spouses, Joe Millionaire and My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance. Three of the 10 named plaintiffs joined union leaders Wednesday in Los Angeles to announce the suit, which they believe could draw retaliation from employers.

Joe Millionaire has a distinctly French accent these days, calling himself Greg Le Millionnaire. In fact, the American-conceived reality TV show is being recycled in Russian, German, British, Scandinavian and a host of other nationalities. It's all part of a worldwide push by Fox World, a unit of Fox TV Studios, to make local-language programs around the world from its bank of U.S. reality formats that air on the Fox network. Fox World executives are in meetings this week with leading international broadcasters at the Los Angeles Screenings about their expanding slate of foreign reality productions, including My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance, Temptation Island and Fox's new reality order The Partner, all created by Los Angeles-based Rocket Science Laboratories for Fox.

SYDNEY -- Network Ten has dumped local flagship drama The Secret Life of Us after only three episodes of the current 22-episode series after it could only muster 512,647 viewers, half its 2003 audience. The Southern Star drama languished in fourth place in its Wednesday night timeslot, after U.S. series Missing Without a Trace (1.7 million viewers) on the Nine Network and My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance (882,707 viewers) on the Seven Network, and local pop culture show Mondo Thingo (544,203) on pubcaster ABC. A Ten spokesperson blamed a timeslot change for the ratings drop. "It will continue in production and return later in the year," she said. While the UK's Channel 4 invested in the first and second series of the drama, this fourth series has yet to be sold overseas.

The finale of My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance gave Fox a big, fat win in primetime Monday in the adults 18-49 demographic, according to Nielsen Media Research. NBC was competitive with an all-reality slate, with 90 minutes of Fear Factor followed by another 90 minutes of Average Joe: Hawaii. ABC's second installment of quiz show Super Millionaire cooled off considerably from Sunday's premiere, but it still pulled in credible numbers at 10 p.m. against CBS' dominant CSI: Miami. Fox had the eye-popping numbers of the night at 9 p.m. with Fiance drawing 21 million viewers and 10.2 rating/23 share in adults 18-49 -- the best numbers for any reality series finale this season, including CBS' Survivor: Pearl Islands. Clearly, a lot of folks tuned in to see the moment of truth in the show revolving around a young woman pretending to be in love with a lout. Fiance took a huge leap from its first half-hour (18 million, 8.8/20) to its second (23.8 million, 11.6/26).

NBC and Fox popped big numbers on Monday with reality shows but CBS hung tough with Everybody Loves Raymond, Two and a Half Men and CSI: Miami. NBC won the night in the adults 18-49 demographic thanks to the crowd that gathered at the start of primetime for Fear Factor, which averaged 17.8 million viewers and 8.0 rating/21 share in the adults 18-49 demographic from 8-9 p.m., according to preliminary estimates from Nielsen Media Research. CBS and Fox took over at 9 p.m., as Fox's My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance (13.8 million, 6.4/15) tied CBS' Raymond (17.5 million, 5.9/14) in adults 18-49 and pulled ahead of CBS' "Men" (16.9 million, 5.9/14) at 9:30 p.m. NBC's 9 p.m. drama Las Vegas (12.1 million, 5.1/12) lost ground from its Fear Factor lead-in, but the peacock perked up again in the demo at 10 p.m. with Average Joe: Hawaii (12.3 million, 6.1/15). But CBS' 10 p.m. anchor CSI: Miami continued its hot streak, drawing the largest audience for any show of the night with an average of 21.7 million viewers and 7.5/19 in adults 18-49. ABC was pretty much out of the game with its 8-11 p.m. telecast of 2001's The Mummy Returns drawing an average of 6.6 million viewers and 2.3/6 in adults 18-49. CBS led for the night in viewers (17 million), followed by NBC (14.1 million) while the peacock prevailed in adults 18-49 (6.4/16) followed by CBS (5.7/14) and Fox (4.8/12).

Just in time for the February sweep, American Idol has transformed Fox Broadcasting Co.'s primetime fortunes. Fox won the week ending Feb. 8 in the adults 18-49 demo (5.0 rating/13 share) on the strength of three hours of American Idol, including Monday's 8 p.m. special American Idol: Road to Hollywood and reality newcomer My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance, according to Nielsen Media Research. In its third week on the air, the latest round of Idol hit Nielsen highs with its regular Tuesday edition, packing in 30 million viewers from 8-9 p.m. CBS' Sunday telecast of the 46th annual Grammy Awards, however, and a season-high showing from CSI: Miami on Monday ensured a weekly win for CBS in total viewers (15.4 million) and was within a hair of Fox in adults 18-49 (4.9/13). The week overlapped the start of the February sweep (Feb. 5-March 3).

A new makeover reality series is headed to Fox. Joe Millionaire producer Rocket Science Laboratories has launched a nationwide search for families to participate in the as-yet-untitled show, which will chronicle the experiences of families as everything in their lives, from home to wardrobe to personal aspects, gets changed for the better with the help of experts. While the company declined to announce which network the series is being produced for, sources indicated that it is Fox, which has a deal with Rocket Science as well as a long-standing relationship that has resulted in such successful reality shows as Temptation Island and My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance. Fox declined comment.

On a busy Monday in primetime, Fox popped again with an 8 p.m. American Idol special and the third week of My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance to take the night by a comfortable margin, according to preliminary estimates from Nielsen Media Research. Despite the heat of Idol, Fear Factor, Las Vegas and Average Joe pushed NBC into a tie for second place for the night (5.6 rating/13 share) with CBS, the incumbent leader on Monday. Fox's American Idol: Road to Hollywood special (21.1 million, 9.7/24) narrowly topped CBS' 10 p.m. stalwart CSI: Miami (20.5 million, 7.3/18) as the most-watched program of the night. NBC's Fear Factor (14.3 million, 6.0/15) did solid business opposite Idol at 8 p.m., as did 9 p.m.'s Las Vegas against Raymond (18.8 million, 6.1/14) and another strong showing from the eye network's freshman comedy Two and a Half Men (16.6 million, 5.4/12). ABC trailed its Big Four rivals for the night with its 8-11 p.m. telecast of the 2000 Oscar winner Gladiator (7.8 million, 2.9/7). Fox led for the night with an average of 18.6 million viewers, followed by CBS (16.7 million) and NBC (12.7 million).

Sunday's Golden Globe Awards drew big year-to-year increases for NBC, but the real TV news of last week was the third-season return of Fox's American Idol, which behaved like a ratings hurricane, mowing down anything unfortunate enough to cross its path. Monday's Idol premiere at 8 p.m. was the week's top-rated program in the key 18-49 demographic, as well as the top premiere of any series, new or returning, on any network this season, according to figures from Nielsen Media Research. With its "supersized" element (the program ran till 9:20 p.m.), Idol provided an extra-large boost to the premiere of a new reality series, My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance. Overall, Fox took the demo race for the third straight week (5.6 rating/14 share), trailed by NBC (5.0/13), CBS (3.1/8) and ABC (2.6/7). Fox also sneaked past NBC in total viewers (12.8 million vs. 12.7 million), followed by CBS (11.2 million) and ABC (7.5 million).